New look: the restaurant has had its first overhaul since 2018
(Picture: Press handout )The building has long been known for its air of exclusivity, but now Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House is for the first time set to open its upstairs restaurant, Piazza, to those without tickets for a show.
While most of the building has long been open for the public to wander around, the restaurant has been reserved for those heading to a performance. From September 27, anyone will now be able to eat there, with the change coming as Piazza is being relaunched after a subtle overhaul of its interiors. Piazza sits on the fifth floor with its own terrace.
Executive chef Richard Robinson, whose experience includes stints at Tom’s Kitchen and California’s three-star French Laundry, has likewise renovated his menu. As is par for the course for most substantial openings at present, the focus is on seasonality and sustainability. Dishes will be modern British, with the likes of London burrata and heritage beetroots promised alongside lemon sole with a sauce of mushrooms and English sparkling wine, as well as broccoli with citrus and pine nut. Cocktails will also be seasonal, with a menu offering the likes of a tequila beetroot bramble, and a parsnip and pears drink, which mixes bourbon with parsnip juice, pear liqueur, lemon and honey.
Sustainability does seem to be taken serious, with Robinson last year saying that the Opera House’s cafe provides both its leftover milk (for making ricotta) and its used teabags (for soaking raisins in, for puddings). At Piazza, there will be a focus on in-house butchery, to make use of offcuts and lesser-used cuts of the animals in the kitchen. Local suppliers are also being prioritised: fish will come from Mayfair merchant James Knight — who happen to be fishmongers to the Queen — while charcuterie will be sourced from British meat specialists Cobble Lane, with cheese from Jermyn Street’s Paxton and Whitfield.
The update marks the first major change to the 250-seater restaurant since it opened in 2018 and the first chance since Robinson joined the company in 2021. The building is, of course, much older, with the restaurant sitting in a part of it that dates to 1858. Though it has long been associated with opera, it was used as a dance hall during the war.
