Covent Garden veggie Food For Thought - Nov 2010

Where: Food For Thought, Covent Garden
How Much: £20 for 2 big plates of food and drinks


Years ago, a very good friend of mine worked at the Donmar Theatre, the 200 capacity, perma sellout celebrity hangout in Covent Garden. I was in a deep state of envy. Not so much for the job, he had to spend 3 hours a night crouched in silence backstage with occasional bursts of action, more for the fact he had Food For Thought as his unofficial work canteen.
The unfussy little basement has been there since the mid 70's, serving those in the know. Easy to miss if you didn't know exactly where so incongruous is it, sandwiched between the shoe shops, mid end retail boutiques and expensive coffee emporia of tourist trap Covent Garden. The students, local office workers and middle aged liberals who share the rough wooden tables certainly know why they're here though and are willing to queue patiently down the rickety stairs for a seat, or a portion to go.
They serve a small but eclectic menu with big healthy salads supported by crumbly homemade quiches, pies and bakes. The Vole went for a courgette, red onion and broccoli quiche, supported with a big leafy salad topped with a piquant and peppery sauce. I went for a wintery leek and mushroom bake, thick and hearty mixed veg nestled under a still crunchy pastry carapace, served with lashings of almost meaty gravy, roast new potatoes with rosemary and a green bean and cabbage mix.
By now it was 7pm and the place was packed, beardies queuing down the stairs. We were sharing our small table with another pair, Euro students, or tourists who'd wandered in on a whim, hopefully now clearer that you can eat well for cheap, even in the centre of tourist London's most touristy street.