Tuttons of Covent
Garden
Richard D. Carreño
and his guests enjoyed themselves
at this popular Covent Garden Brasserie
9th November 2007 - Tuttons
Covent Garden - Top marks
After "Hairspray" at
the Shaftsbury,we ended the evening
with a memorable meal at Tuttons.
We didn't know the area and just
liked the look of the restaurant.
We were greeted, waited at the
friendly bar and then had our
meal --- Beautiful fish course. The Staff made dining
a pleasure.
I have recommended the restaurant
to Canadian friends visiting
London later this month
Thank you
Sabina Thomson |
When people think of Covent Garden, Tuttons is
never far
from their mind. "It's the kind of place that everyone seems to know even if
they have never actually been here," says Louise Barclay, Tuttons' manager. These
days more and more people are getting to sample Tuttons' fare - much to their
delight.
Tuttons' success parallels Covent Garden's explosion as one of London's top
tourist sites. This came after the old Covent Garden's conversion about twenty
years ago from its historic role as a flower, fruit and vegetable market. Tuttons
was there from the beginning. The relaxed, brasserie-style dining was compatible
with the hip new Covent Garden (now converted to a shopping mall) and still
just a stone's throw from the even hipper shopping in Neal Street as well as
the more traditional theatre-going in the nearby theatre district.
The night we visited, the restaurant was filling up and we grabbed a table
overlooking an enclosed conservatory. Inside the restaurant one hundred diners
can be served. The conservatory seats another forty and is particularly popular
in the summer when opera is featured on big outdoor screens erected across
the piazza at the Royal Opera House. (The Opera House is now expanding and
the restaurant is bracing itself for even more 'passing trade' when the new
theatre opens.)
Tuttons also covers the basics from breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea to
dinner. Prices are very moderate. A continental breakfast is £3.90 and
tea is also £3.90. Lunch and dinner are served from an 'all-day menu'
and starters are about £4 with main courses from £8.50 - penne
with mushrooms; shredded chicken; bacon and chilli to £12.50 -grilled
sirloin steak with chips.
One of our starters, a delightful stilton cheese, walnut tart, salad combination
(£3.90) came from the main menu. We were equally pleased with one of the
daily specials from the blackboard, a mound of plump mussels, also at £3.90.
Our main courses from the menu included a tender grilled lamb steak (£11.20)
and a tasty roasted chicken with smoked bacon (£9.50). Our third main
course, pork escalope, was one of three blackboard specials. For £8.90
this course, accompanied with mushrooms and a parsnip purée, was both
delectable and economical.
Making our selections was tough: the other blackboard specials seemed almost
as appealing - grilled tuna at £10.50 and roasted guinea fowl at £9.90.
We drank a crisp Pouilly Fumé at £15.50, which came from an equally
reasonable list of nearly thirty options.
For many diners, two courses of Tuttons' generous servings will be enough.
Our research required that we plough on - alas, the lot of the restaurant reviewer
- to sample the desserts. Of course, no one was feeling sorry for us as we
cleaned out plates of such delectables as chocolate truffle cake with a mocca
sauce (£4.70), a cheesecake with a raspberry coulis (£3.90) and a
lemon tart (also £3.90).
Because of its West End location, Tuttons also caters to theatre-goers with
a pre and post-theatre menu at a fixed price of £10.90 for two courses.
Private parties of up to fifty people can be accomodated in cellar vaults.
Covent Garden continues to boom so you'd be wise to book ahead at Tuttons,
especially during the summer when the outside is one of the Market's most popular
spots.
Tuttons, 11-12 Russell Street, Covent Garden WC2. Tel: 020 7836 4141
Open Sunday to Thursday from 9.30am to 11.30pm. Friday and Saturday from 9.30am
to midnight. All major Credit Cards.
