New York City’s Buvette has been drawing diners to the West Village neighbourhood for 15 years with its Paris cafe-inspired cooking and unfussy, warm approach to hospitality. Soon, it’ll do the same for Neal’s Yard: after confirming in January that a London outpost was imminent, founder Jody Williams has just announced it will open in the Covent Garden corner on June 4.
It’s round two in London for the buzzy diner, which originally launched in the thick of the pandemic and closed in early 2024. When it opens in less than a month, the restaurant will continue Buvette’s tradition of French-infused all-day dining, while celebrating the bounty of the UK’s suppliers and producers.
“Part of the joy of creating a Buvette in Neal’s Yard is discovering all the delicious local ingredients and new purveyors, from bakers to brewers to farmers,” Buvette chef-founder Jody Williams tells Broadsheet. “Not to mention using all the seasonal ingredients like jersey royals, rhubarb, purple asparagus and fresh goat’s cheeses.”
The menu will star Buvette signatures, starting at breakfast: coffee, croissants, warm madeleines, and a waffle sandwich with bacon and eggs. Buvette’s classic creamy steamed eggs with smoked salmon and crème fraîche have also jumped across the pond. There’ll be the diner’s beloved croques, including a croque monsieur and a croque forestier with roasted mushrooms. Other highlights will include tarte tatin and seasonal dishes like steak tartare, coq au vin and cassoulet.
While the menu riffs on Buvette NYC, Williams says the main signature the venue will bring is “the Buvette vibe … simply a place to squeeze in to eat and drink well all day, whether it is early morning croque madame or afternoon aperitifs with a roast chicken salad or celebrating with late-night bubbles [and] tartinettes.”
The wine list is definitively French, from crémant to rosé and beaujolois. And cocktails lean classic: Martinis, French 75s and Kirs.
Buvette London is taking over the former St John Bakery site, and its design will nod to Neal’s Yard’s 400 years of history with exposed brick walls, a vintage tin ceiling and a long marble bar. The space will seat 80 – mainly walk-ins – and dishes will be ferried to tables on silver trays.
Williams – who co-founded New York City hits including Via Carota, I Sodi and The Commerce Inn with her wife Rita Sodi, as well as Buvette branches in Tokyo and Seoul – draws parallels between the West Village and Neal’s Yard. “They are probably distant cousins … both are interesting small neighbourhoods with unique histories and cultures located in world-class cities.”
And while Buvette is a specific hybrid of Paris and New York City, Williams isn’t against adding a few British-inspired dishes to her London menu in the future. “I would love to learn to master a meat pie or toad in a hole! Stay tuned.”
Buvette opens on June 4 at 2 Neal’s Yard, WC2H 9DP.
