Oriole

Oriole is the second act of the team behind Nightjar, and it carries the same obsession with cocktails and live music into a two-floor home in The Yards, off St Martin's Courtyard. The original opened in 2015 beneath Smithfield Market and built a reputation as one of the city's serious destination bars before the market's redevelopment forced it to close at the end of 2022. It returned in August 2024 in Covent Garden, reworked but recognisable: an aperitivo-style Bamboo Bar at street level and a plush, low-lit restaurant in the basement.

The ground-floor Bamboo Bar reads as modern-vintage, with a curved green counter, oxblood stools, globe pendants and tall windows onto the courtyard, plus a handful of pavement tables for warmer afternoons. Downstairs is where the night lives. The basement recreates the speakeasy feel of the original Smithfield room, wrapped in a tropical mountain mural, parquet floors and warm lamplight, with a long backlit bar and a stage for live music. The kitchen leans on Latin fusion, drawing on Nikkei, Argentine-Italian and regional Mexican cooking, and the cocktail list ranges widely across the Old World, the New World and the Orient.

For a private event the basement is the draw. It takes a DJ or a live band on its stage, served by an in-house PA and sound system, which is rare in a room this intimate and makes it a genuine option for a music-led party rather than just a dinner. The Bamboo Bar suits a stand-up reception of up to forty; the restaurant holds up to ninety, and the two floors can be taken together for a full takeover. With Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Charing Cross all within a few minutes' walk, it is well placed for a late London night.