Rules
London's oldest restaurant, open since 1798, serving classic British game, oysters, pies and puddings among walls covered in vintage drawings, paintings and cartoons.
- Food
- Price: £££ · Splurge
Open in A Reason to StopFree on the App Store. iPhone, iOS 26 or later.
Did you know
Rules opened in 1798 as an oyster house and, by its own account, has changed hands only three times. Charles Dickens, Thackeray and H. G. Wells are among the writers who dined there.
Local tip
Open seven days a week from noon; book online in advance, as the largest table you can reserve is six. Smart dress is requested (no shorts or sportswear) and children under ten are not admitted after 7pm.
Famous dishes
Finding it
- Address
- 35 Maiden Lane, London WC2E 7LB
- Nearest station
- London Charing Cross (National Rail), 253 m away
Details change, so check with the place before you set off.
More places nearby
- London Transport MuseumA museum tracing 200 years of London's public transport, from horse-drawn buses to Tube trains, in a former Victorian flower market building.
- The Lamb & FlagA snug pub tucked down an alley off Garrick Street, one of the oldest drinking spots in Covent Garden.
- The HarpA narrow, award-winning real-ale pub just off Covent Garden, repeatedly named London's best pub by CAMRA.
- Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden's home of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet, with a Victorian glass-roofed hall that anyone can walk into for a drink or a look.