Italian restaurant near Mecklenburgh SquareVirginia Woolf's last London square, 9 minutes from Fiena

Mecklenburgh Square was part of the Foundling Estate, a housing development of 1792 to 1825 on fields owned by the Foundling Hospital. It was named after King George III's queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Building began in 1804 but wasn't finished until 1825. The houses on the east side were designed by the architect Joseph Kay.

In 1938, when part of the square faced redevelopment, the Georgian Group campaigned to save it, holding a fundraising ball and fair in the gardens. They called it "one of the last perfect examples of Georgian architecture in London". The square was damaged by bombs in 1940. Today it's Grade II listed, and its garden is listed together with neighbouring Brunswick Square and Coram's Fields.

• Virginia Woolf lived at No. 37 from 1939 to 1940. The house was bombed in an air raid in 1940, and William Goodenough House now stands on the site.
• Dorothy L. Sayers lived at No. 44 in 1920 to 1921, where she began her first Lord Peter Wimsey novel, Whose Body?. Her character Harriet Vane lives in the square in Gaudy Night.
• H.D., the American poet Hilda Doolittle, also lived briefly at No. 44, from 1917 to 1918.
• Helena Normanton, the first practising female barrister, is remembered with a blue plaque at No. 22.
• R. H. Tawney, the historian, and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan share a doorway, and blue plaques, at No. 21.

The 2-acre garden was laid out in 1809 and 1810, with lawns, gravel paths, mature plane trees, a children's playground and a tennis court, and the east side is planted with plants from New Zealand. It's open only to residents with a key, except on special occasions such as the Open Garden Squares Weekend. Goodenough College, a postgraduate residence, occupies the north and south sides. Background from Wikipedia's Mecklenburgh Square page.

It's about 700 metres, around 9 minutes on foot (walking route from OpenStreetMap), heading west past Coram's Fields to Judd Street. Making a day of it in the area? See our posts on the Foundling Museum, the Charles Dickens Museum, Gray's Inn and Lamb's Conduit Street.

Morning: breakfast runs from 08:00 to 14:00, with coffee all day. Try the Classic Benedict, the Scrambled eggs on toast with smoked salmon or the Fiena vegetarian. See breakfast until 2pm.

Lunch: the main menu starts at midday. A Pizza Margherita, the Ravioli ricotta & spinach in sage and butter, or a Chicken Caesar. When the weather allows, sit on our terrace on Judd Street.

Evening: the kitchen serves until 22:00 Monday to Saturday and 21:00 on Sunday, with cocktails and Italian wines from the bar. Coming alone with a book? See solo dining at Fiena.

Guests often find us on a walk through the back streets. Tina enjoyed an Interesting walk from Euston station as well via the back streets. (Tina, Google review) Ciara called us Truly a hidden gem in the city! (Ciara, Google review) And M Sinnott's group Were able to walk straight in and got a table for 4. (M Sinnott, Google review)

“Enjoyed the full English and a coffee al fresco.”

Charlotte, Google review, 2026