Italian restaurant near Red Lion Square and Conway Hall, Holborn14 minutes' walk to Fiena

The square was laid out in 1684 by the builder Nicholas Barbon and named after the Red Lion Inn that stood nearby. According to some accounts, the bodies of Oliver Cromwell, John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton, three of the regicides behind the execution of Charles I, were placed in a pit on the site.

By 1720 it was a fashionable address, though by the 1860s it had gone out of fashion: in his 1862 novel Orley Farm, Anthony Trollope jokingly reassures readers that a character is perfectly respectable despite living there. In 1885 the landscape gardener Fanny Wilkinson turned the middle into a public garden.

• John Harrison, the inventor of the marine chronometer, lived and died at No. 12, in 1776. A blue plaque marks the spot.
• No. 17 was home to Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1851, and then to William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones from 1856 to 1859. Morris's first decorating firm had its headquarters at No. 8.
• The suffragette sisters Irene and Hilda Dallas lived in the square and avoided the 1911 census in protest at women not having the vote.
• Young writers including Dylan Thomas, George Barker and David Gascoyne gathered at a bookshop on Parton Street, a lane off the square that no longer exists.

In the garden today you'll find a statue of Fenner Brockway by Ian Walters, put up in 1986, and a bust of the philosopher Bertrand Russell. The Royal College of Anaesthetists is on the square too. Background from Wikipedia's Red Lion Square page.

Conway Hall opens onto the square. It's the home of the Conway Hall Ethical Society, and it's a Grade II listed Art Deco building, designed by Frederick Mansford and opened on 23 September 1929. It's named after Moncure D. Conway, an American who led the society in the 19th century. George Orwell took part in a demonstration for press freedom here in November 1945. Look above the stage in the main hall for the words "To Thine Own Self Be True", from Hamlet.

The hall is known for its acoustics and hosts regular concerts, and its library holds the UK's largest humanist research collection. It has also appeared on screen, in Mr. Holmes and Hereafter. Background from Wikipedia's Conway Hall page.

It's about 1.1 kilometres, around 14 minutes on foot (walking route from OpenStreetMap). The route crosses Theobalds Road, passes Queen Square, then follows Guilford Street and Brunswick Square up to Tavistock Place and Leigh Street, at the corner of Judd Street. Making a day of it? See our posts on Lamb's Conduit Street, Sicilian Avenue, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Gray's Inn and the Foundling Museum.

Morning: breakfast is served daily from 08:00 to 14:00, with coffee all day. See brunch near King's Cross.

Lunch and dinner: the main menu starts at midday. Start with Bruschetta, then try the Ravioli ricotta & spinach in sage and butter, Linguine vongole, the Sea bass with capers sauce, or a Pizza al pollo with goat cheese and caramelised onion. Coming from an evening event? See after-work dinner near King's Cross and pre-theatre dinner.

Guests who arrive on foot like the back-street route. Tina wrote: Interesting walk from Euston station as well via the back streets. (Tina, Google review) And Martin: From walking in to a great welcome to ordering our meal everything was above and beyond. (Martin, Google review)

“Lovely quiet place to have brunch”

Ian, Google reviews, 2026