Joe Allen

Located at the popular tourist place at Covent Garden. I always like to visit here with friends. The restaurant is actually at the basement with good atmosphere and good ambience. During evening time, a pianist will doing a live performance while you are dining. I love the foods with reasonable prices and good portion. it always maintain the good foods quality whenever I visited… it is delicious and tasty. For theatre lover at surrounding area.yes.they do a special pre theatre course meal for you… so don’t miss it!

Good food and service. All the staff looked liked they were getting with each other and one of them had a good bum xx

My recent visit to Joe Allen was a successful evening. I went to there with a group of friends but one of them arrived nearly an hour later due to traffic, the restaurant team was very understanding. They didn’t rush us at anytime through our meal which was quite enjoyable. While we were waiting we had the homemade tortilla chips with guacamole and our first bottle of wine.
Three of us ordered a lemon & rosemary chicken, a sirloin steak, and Joe’s spiced baby back ribs. The rest of us opted for the famous ‘secret’ burger which is not listed on the menu. The burger was a classic cheeseburger but well executed. The beef was tasty and juicy. I had mine with bacon and cheese and requested shoestring fries to come with it. I also tried my boyfriend’s main (baby back ribs), they were tender and delicious with a very nice smokey taste.
None of us took desserts as we were all pretty full after our drinks and main dishes.
Overall I really enjoyed my evening at Joe Allen, the atmosphere was great with live piano playing in the background. It was the perfect place to a catch up with a group of friends with tasty classic dishes and nice wine.

I was really pleased we ended up here pre-​theatre, because it was fab, even though I was a bit nervous about the reviews being so-​so. I’d had this spot on my bookmarked list for ages because it had come up on some recommendations for veggie burgers in London.
I love when they’re home made and the one here is a beany-​chickpea hybrid that had the taste of falafel but none of the dryness. Magic!
Portions are suitably American — one starter, main and side filled us both up quite happily. The mac and cheese also deserves a shout-​out for being perfectly cheesy and not the pants milky-​version that places sometimes try and pawn you off with!
Will totally return!

A more unknown restaurant in Covent Garden. Isn’t the cheapest but you get a great atmosphere and I enjoyed splashing out on a steak. It was delicious!

Such a great atmosphere. Saturday night was buzzing with people and the service good. They have a secret burger that’s not on the menu.
Add cheese and bacon to it and the chops are really good.

Place looked cool, very American bar style, had to sit at bar stool as had no reservations. But didn’t mind, ordered a pre theatre set menu, starter soup was ok, but when the mains. Fish and vegetables arrived, I was shocked, was the smallest portion I’ve ever seen, it was like 3 fork fulls. I almost wanted to laugh at how anyone could think a grown ass man could eat this as a mains. Ate then left and had to look for more food. Won’t ever go back!

wow, a great steak place, actually…
The place is located in the basement so it is a perfect place to go for dinner — it has posters for old theatre and perfect placer to go before /​after catching west end shows.
The setting is very nice and classic without being over bearing.
It is an American restaurant — I had chopped salad, crispy calamari, steak, burger — everything is not that impressed except for steak /​burger. Its meat menu is AMAZING — don’t waste your time getting non-​meat dishes… they are hardly American but its steak and burger are really high quality and worth paying for. I had sirloin and it was very tender and juicy — one of the best sirloin I had in London.
Definitely recommended — good for all ocassions and for groups and friends as well as couple but it is seriously a great date place!

My experience here was pleasant. I came to the Covent Garden restaurant a month back. They have coat check and are a theater themed American food restaurant. The staff was friendly and boisterous. I love my meat and therefore ordered the steak sirloin 300G. The steak came with steak sauce and fries. All I can say is that is was neither the best nor worst steak I have ever had.
The thing this restaurant has going for it is its overall experience– theater, themed servers, average American fare… taken together it can be a nice night out and a pleasant change of pace.

In the heart of Covent Garden, littered with show stills on the walls, the sort of place where you can have champagne cocktails at the bar and play drinking games forfeiting your drink, downing your Bellini at the sight of Sue Pollard.
Service was great, down-​to-​earth for the theatre patron clientelle letting their hair down after a west end show.
On arrival there was a coat check, I love a cloakroom, bonus points there and the nice touch of a (I discovered later to be a comically surly) pianist at the entrance accompanying the evening with lilting show tunes in the back ground of this dimly lit sub terrainian basement. It has an air of exclusivity, it isn’t (but early booking is advised).
Our party was probably one of half a dozen celebrating that night and said surly pianist threw a comedy strop and slammed down his piano lid when the evening began drawing to its rowdy crescendo and this was as early as the parsnip bisque starter arriving
I could’t quite tell what the menu was about; goats cheese salad, burger or steak? Not that fancy at all. The Christmas menu wasn’t either. My pulled pork and duck terrine, served with a side of cranberry ketchup, looked more like a tipped out tin of Sheba and although I am not the queen of– I was expecting something a little finer.
From the Christmas menu, I then chose the mackerel which was disappointing to say the least, not unlike supermarket vacuum packed mackerel I’d have for a quick mid-​week dinner, it was fried and unpleasantly super fishy tasting and I have my suspicions that the potatoes on the side may have been tinned as they were unpleasantly briny and tasted of a tin. A cheese course for sweet also came, bizarrely, with a toasted currant bun.
My dining companions going for the turkey were also left unimpressed with this star dish’s best impression of a single serve mum’s gone to Iceland microwave meal.
Did Joe Allen’s have the X Factor, no but nevertheless we thought we saw Sue Pollard several times so drinking games were successful. A pleasant evening was had by all and the service staff were exemplary, truly in the sprit of things, however the food was not a showstopper.

We were very lucky to get a booking for 7 people for lunch. The place was fully booked.
The food is American. Steaks, grills and salads, appetisers and market fish etc. If you are a fan of burgers ask for a Secret Burger — it’s not on the menu — and you will be surprisingly shocked — it is AMAZING!!!
The brick work walls are adorned with posters of classic musical and stage productions, famous American stars and the odd sporting icon.
Great place for food and drinks!

Really nice staff, a talented piano player, wall to wall with vintage west end film posters, I felt like I was in a Woody Allen film.
Shhhh… If you ask the staff nicely, there are a few ‘off the menu’ specialties.

Fun brunch with lots of laughs, nice champagne! We felt like we were back in the US, which sometimes can be a fantastic thing. It is located close to a lot of fun areas.

After a couple of rounds of cocktails at The Dorchester, followed by a few more rounds of drinks at a pub, we decided we needed some food. But as it was 10.30pm at night and being London, of course everything was closing. Where to go? A friend suggested Joe Allen and off we went.
As mentioned in other reviews, you could miss this place, signage is minimal. Down the stairs and we were immediately sat at a table, luckily as it was quite busy (guess others had the same in mind).
I had the chicken, another had turkey/​stuffing, another surf & turf, the other half of HampsteadLife just had cheesecake.
And of course a round of martinis! All was tasty. It’s a bit pricey for what it is, but hey, they’re open late and the food was tasty!
Whilst I wouldn’t go here during normal London food serving times, for a late night meal, would be back here in a flash.

Dinner at Joe Allen, a little ‘secret’ downstairs spot on a Friday night. Casablanca playing on the TV, movie star photos on all the walls, you get the feeling that you could be off-​Broadway somewhere in New York.
Being particular, I wanted the cheese plate as a starter. They graciously agreed. Though I felt the walnut raisin bread was just too sweet and overpowered the delicate cheeses.
Of course I had to order the ‘secret’ burger, and my companions followed suit. It was okay. Since the burger revolution hit London, our expectations stepped up a bit but this was pretty alright. A small but really thick patty, I ordered mine with bacon and cheese. Very tasty and left me feeling SO FULL!
The highlight for me was dessert: sour cream, pear and caramel pie. Just amazing.

I love the New York version of this place and have now been to the London branch three times. Each time it has found a new way to just not be quite right.
My sister and I came here for some supper before going to the theatre round the corner. We weren’t overly hungry and the mains looked just too substantial, so we opted to have a starter and a salad each. I had the scallops with mushrooms, my sister had the mozzarella and tomato, then we both had the caesar salad.
The scallops and mozzarella were amazing, The mushrooms that came with my starter were fantastic, the scallops were tiny, and packed with flavour. Much nicer than large fatty ones.
The caesar salad was unfortunately dunked in dressing, and I know, I should remember to ask them to go light or put it on the side, but I forgot and didn’t like it too much. The lettuce was very crisp though!
We had the chocolate brownie to share for a pudding. It wasn’t hot, and didn’t come with ice cream! (We had to ask for it).
What looses points for me was the odd service. It wasn’t bad, just really fragmented (we were served by about 5 different people, all who seemingly did not speak to each other). Also, one waitress stood at the end of the bar tapping out her own personal song on a glass with a spoon. That’s just obnoxious!
What really pissed me off was the extra 2.50 for a very small dollop of ice cream, when the waitress had said it would be comped. bad bad bad.

Epic burger fail! Intrigued by the great experience Dan H has with the BurgerMonday event hosted by Young & Foodish at Joe Allen, I added it to my burger shortlist. And when the Champagne & Fromage Elite event was right around the corner, this seemed like a perfect time to give it a go.
I ducked out of work early, sped over to Covent Garden, and within 15 minutes I was the proud owner of a brand spanking new bacon cheeseburger from Joe Allen. The sun was shining on a convenient spot in Covent Garden market with some pretty decent live music and the friendly hostess had thrown in a quarter full bottle of Heniz ketchup to go with the fries. Life was good. Well until the first bit at least.
To be far, the bun is decent and the cheese tasty. Overall, it’s a tad on the small size but filling enough especially with the large portions of fries. But it’s when you get to the meat that it all goes to hell in the breadbasket.
First off, the patty is about 2 inches think and about that in diameter so rather than the typical burger shape you get a cylindrical lump of meat. And it’s dense. How dense is it? Well it’s denser than your stereotypical line backer after a 3 day bender. It’s so dense that I didn’t bite into it so much as gnaw away at the edges. And as Dan H has mentioned, it’s dry. And given I had ordered it medium rare (to avoid just that) and it was very pink, that’s a damn impressive feat of cooking.
The fries were alright but nothing special. They are medium-​thick cut with moderately fluffy insides but severely lacking in crunch factor.
On the plus side, the interior décor is pretty cool and the hostess was über friendly and helpful. In fact, I liked almost everything (well prices were a tad high for the quality but not for the location) except the burger patty. And since that’s what I specifically came for it was a bit of a letdown. I can’t say I won’t ever return, but it’s definitely not going to be high on my list. Given you have a Byron and even MEATMarket just around the corner, Joe Allen’s will need to up the stakes in the burger department if it wants to compete.

I’ve been meaning to eat at this restaurant for ages and as if by magic, Seb surprised me with an invitation to come dine with him there.
The restaurant entrance was so discreet that we very nearly missed it, but literally as soon as we followed the winding stairwell down to the very cosy basement, I knew we were onto a winner.
The brick walls were covered with a splatter of various West End posters and the dining area was arranged in cosy twos and larger tables, stretching to the back of the dining room, where an open hatch gave us a direct view into the kitchen.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive, taking our order promptly. While we waited, she despatched a bread basket, which included some beautiful rosemary rolls.
Then my main arrived. It was delicious. Starting with a tiny pot of coleslaw that I was expecting to be an overly sweet afterthought. It turned out to be the correct balance of carrot and cabbage, covered in a dressing just the right side acidity and sweetness, nicely seasoned.
The grilled chicken was perfectly charred, moist and juicy inside and not overpowered by its spices. And the ribs… OMG ! A cheeky, dripping festival of sweet sticky ribs, so perfectly cooked that cutting through them, was as easy as butter. The accompanying rice was lovely and just enough to mop up the ribs gravy.
Just one bugbear (but then again isn’t there always ?) the cornbread which I was really looking forward to was unfortunately, an uninspiring heavy polenta/​cornmeal mixture that was dense in texture and tasted incredibly bland.
Cornbread is only ever the real mcCoy when it actually contains real corn, is moist inside and perfectly baked.
The Joe Allen vibe is undeniably cosy and intimate enough to make you feel right at home. Its patrons are diverse — from ladies that lunch to families and tourists.
Also there’s the theatre darlings, represented at our sitting, by comedy legend Jackie Mason who shuffled through the dinning room looked incredibly small and very, very grumpy.
Cheer up Jackie ! It may never happen if it has already, at least you had another great meal at Joe Allen !

I was keen to try Joe Allen as its burger made many a top 10 list for the best burgers in London. And the verdict is… meh it’s just OK and a bit small, hence the 3 star rating.
Interestingly enough the burger is not on a menu and you have to «secretly» ask for it. However it can’t be too much of a secret as I saw many a table dining with said burger. The meat itself was well cooked and clearly higher-​quality chuck. The bacon was a bit undercooked and its smokiness actually overpowered the burger and its brioche bun.
The buffalo wings as a starter are delicious — I’d definitley get them again, though be forewarned they are covered in a tangy sweet bbq sauce instead of your traditional tabasco laced sauce (see pics).
As for the atmosphere, the other reviewers are spot on, Joe Allen is an interesting exposed brick space below the streets of Covent Garden. Has the atmosphere of a higher-​end American family-​style restaurant, almost like a fancy candle lit TGIFridays — though that sounds a bit harsh, Joe Allen is actually nicer than that.
All in, Joe Allen is a solid but not spectacular 3 star place for American fare in Covent Garden.

NB — the four stars is for the burger, the rest of the food would be lucky to scrape a two…
Descend down the dark staircase into the basement space, bare brick walls covered in West End folio posters from shows currently on and those that are 30 year old. It’s comfortable, clubby and always busy. Grab a drink at the long bar and listen to Jimmy the pianist hit a range of showtune standards on late week nights.
The menu is a dogs dinner of vague Americana and 70’s oddities. It’s hardly a thing of beauty, but guests can chose from a mash-​up ranging from Caesar Salad, Chilli Con Carne and cornbread through to 70’s relics such as chicken with orange sauce. The best advice I can give you is not to follow suit. The portions might be large, it’s an American restaurant after all, but what I’ve sampled over the years has struggled to raise the bar beyond the pedestrian at best, and can be sub-​TGI Fridays at it’s worst.
Go for the burger. And only the burger. It’s not on the menu, but don’t feel bashful, everyone knows about it these days. It’s a thick charred bombe of a patty served medium rare as standard housed within the soft sweet cathedral of a brioche bun. Good crispy bacon and melted (cheddar) cheese are a worthy accompaniment, as are the spears of gherkin served on the side. Add skin on fries, occasionally over salted but generally as good as these things can be, and serve with a side of salacious gossip, preferably about who’s doing who in the current show you’re working on.