The Crusting Pipe

I would hate to count how many times I have been here – it’s just one of those convenient places where you can sit out on the al fresco tables (which are within the covered area of the market so rain proof) and get yourself a reasonable bottle of wine and enjoy the informal free entertainment – and this varies from opera singers, to dancing string quartets and sextets and on to violin players. All the entertainers do just that – entertain – and good naturedly pass around a hat or basket at the end of their set.

Inside is typical Davy’s wine bar – dark and cellar like with saw dust floors and lots of little brick walled nooks and crannies. Just as a wine bar should be. I haven’t eaten there very often but the menus look ok – grill and salad and some bar snacks. But with all the choice in Covent Garden I think you’d probably do better off just stopping here for a bottle (or two) and moving on to somewhere else for supper or dinner. But it is convenient for the Royal Opera House.

The wines are good value – and I once found them serving the rare but lovely Cloudy Bay New Zealand white – at £8 a glass!

As well as a good central place to meet up with friends, I have also used it as a starting point for group outings – including hen nights. There are always lots of groups here – a few tourists and shoppers but mostly natives. It is particularly lovely at Christmas when the market is decorated to look like something out of a winter wonderland or the snow scenes in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. It’s a must see.