Italian restaurant near the Brunswick Centre and Curzon Bloomsburydinner and a film, five minutes from Fiena

The Brunswick Centre replaced streets of run-down Georgian terraces. It was designed by the architect Patrick Hodgkinson in the mid-1960s, building started in 1967 and it was finished in 1972, although it never reached its full planned size: the original scheme stretched all the way up to Euston Road. It combines homes and shops, which was rare for a private development in Britain at the time.

For decades the concrete was left bare, because the money ran out before the blocks could be painted. Despite being disliked by many people who don't care for modernist architecture, it was listed Grade II in 2000. A £22 million renovation began in 2002, finally painting the blocks in the cream colour Hodgkinson had always intended, a nod to the Georgian houses around it, and adding water features by the artist Susanna Heron. The work was largely complete by late 2006. Today it has 560 flats above the shops.

The Brunswick is a favourite with location scouts. Jack Nicholson walks along its concourse in the 1975 film The Passenger, and in 2022 the Star Wars series Andor filmed scenes of the planet Coruscant here. Background from Wikipedia's Brunswick Centre page.

The centre, which now calls itself The Brunswick, sits right outside Russell Square Tube station. According to its own website, it's anchored by the largest Waitrose in central London and a Curzon art-house cinema, Curzon Bloomsbury, with shops, cafés, family entertainment and a year-round events calendar, and it welcomes more than 8 million visitors a year. The centre is open from 7am to 11pm every day, though individual shops and the cinema keep their own hours, so check the opening times page and the Curzon's listings before you go.

From the centre it's about 370 metres, around 5 minutes on foot (walking route from OpenStreetMap): north up Hunter Street, then along Tavistock Place and Leigh Street to Judd Street. Making a day of it in Bloomsbury? See our posts on Russell Square, the Foundling Museum and the British Museum.

Before the film: our main menu starts at midday. With five minutes' walk to the screen, a pizza is the easy choice: the Margherita, the Buffalo with buffalo mozzarella, or the Diavola pepperoni with spicy nduja, and a gluten-free base is available. For pasta, try the Linguine Fiena with chicken, mushrooms and cream, or the Ravioli ricotta & spinach; gluten-free penne is available for every pasta dish. Tell your server what time your film starts and we'll do our best to keep things moving. See our posts on the Margherita and eating before a show.

After the film: the kitchen serves until 22:00 Monday to Saturday and 21:00 on Sunday. Share a bruschetta, pick a cocktail from the bar, and finish with Tiramisu or an Affogato; see our desserts. Going on a date? See date night at Fiena.

Earlier in the day: breakfast runs from 08:00 to 14:00, with coffee all day, so a morning's shopping can start with eggs Benedict or a flat white.

Guests are often surprised to find us tucked away here. Celia called us A hidden gem not far from Kings Cross or Euston (Celia, Google review), Maria liked that it was spacious, music not too loud (Maria, Google review), and on a busy morning Ciara's group found that they fit us in as a walk-in (Ciara, Google review).

“So delicious and comforting”

Anastasia, Google review, 2025