A May 2022 walk through Seven Dials begins with filter coffee on Monmouth Street, passes through Neal’s Yard and Seven Dials Market, stops for pork-belly buns at Yum Bun and ends with a pint at The Crown.

Archive note, updated August 2026: This Roberts London film was published on 15 May 2022. It records the businesses, menus and prices seen on that visit. Monmouth Coffee, Seven Dials Market, Yum Bun, Pick & Cheese and The Crown remain in the area, but current details should be checked before travelling.

Walking to Seven Dials from Charing Cross

The film opens around Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross before settling into the walk north from the station. This is a useful approach to Seven Dials because it reveals how quickly central London changes character. The railway platforms and traffic around the Strand give way to narrower West End streets, small shopfronts and the seven-road junction at the centre of the neighbourhood.

Seven Dials was laid out around 1693 by Thomas Neale. Edward Pierce designed the sundial pillar at its centre with six faces; the column itself supplies the seventh “style”. The plan survives as one of London’s most distinctive pieces of urban geometry, although the best way to experience it is less mathematical: choose one of the streets and allow the route to unfold.

This visit follows Monmouth Street towards coffee, crosses Neal’s Yard to Shorts Gardens, enters the market on Earlham Street and returns to the central junction for a final drink.

Monmouth Coffee on Monmouth Street

The first principal stop is Monmouth Coffee Company at 27 Monmouth Street. The shop opened here in 1978 and its narrow black frontage remains closely tied to the identity of Seven Dials.

In the film, a filter coffee costs £3. The more interesting part of the transaction is the cup. Monmouth had moved away from disposable paper cups, so taking coffee into the street required a £5 deposit for a reusable cup. The alternatives were to bring a cup or drink from ceramic inside.

That price belongs to May 2022, not the present day, but the principle has lasted. Monmouth’s current shop information still says that it does not use paper cups for takeaway coffee. What felt like a new rule in the film has become part of how the shop operates.

Neal’s Yard beyond the photograph

Coffee in hand, the route turns into Neal’s Yard. The courtyard is one of the smallest and most photographed parts of Covent Garden: painted window frames, mature planting, outdoor tables and entrances at either end compress an entire version of London into a few steps.

It is worth treating Neal’s Yard as a passage rather than a photographic dead end. Continue through it and the courtyard opens towards Shorts Gardens, Neal’s Yard Dairy and the brick entrance to Seven Dials Market. Our broader Covent Garden shopping guide explores the surrounding streets and specialist shops in more detail.

Inside Seven Dials Market

Seven Dials Market occupies the former Thomas Neal’s Warehouse on Earlham Street. The nineteenth-century building was used to store bananas and cucumbers, names preserved in the modern market’s Banana Warehouse and Cucumber Alley.

The conversion kept the brick arches, cast-iron columns and glazed roof, then introduced orange balustrades, communal tables and a ring of counters across two levels. It works differently from an outdoor market. You choose from individual traders but eat within one shared interior, making it practical for a group that cannot agree on one cuisine.

The trader list changes, which is part of the point. This article does not present the filmed line-up as a permanent directory. It records what was there on one visit in May 2022, then checks the continuing businesses separately.

Pork-belly buns at Yum Bun

The meal comes from Yum Bun. Its counter serves folded steamed buns rather than the fully enclosed buns seen in our London Chinatown food walk. Here, the white dough folds around a visible piece of pork belly.

The filmed menu lists two buns for £9.50. Barry chooses pork belly with pickled cucumber, hoisin sauce, sesame and spring onion. The result is built on contrast: soft steamed bread, rich meat, sweet and salty sauce, fresh cucumber and the crunch of sesame.

Crucially, the film shows the actual food. The pieces of pork are substantial rather than hidden beneath garnish, and the buns are compact enough to eat at the counter without turning the stop into a formal lunch. Yum Bun still appears on the market’s current vendor list, although prices and menu details should be checked directly.

The Pick & Cheese conveyor belt

The next sequence looks across the market towards Pick & Cheese. Plates travel around a conveyor belt beneath clear covers, borrowing the visual logic of a sushi counter and applying it to British cheese and accompaniments.

Barry does not eat there during this visit, so it remains an observation rather than a review. Even so, the moving plates provide one of the film’s clearest images of the market’s approach: familiar food presented with enough theatre to make choosing part of the entertainment.

A final pint at The Crown

The route ends back at the central junction. The Crown occupies the corner of Monmouth Street and Shorts Gardens, directly facing the sundial pillar. It is the sort of pub that makes sense as the final stop because there is no need to leave the route to find it.

Inside, the film finds a compact wooden bar, etched glass, traditional fittings and the ordinary lunchtime movement of a central London pub. The Crown is Grade II listed and remains open under Greene King. CAMRA records that it was refurbished in March 2025, another reason to read the film as a view of the room at a particular moment.

What remains useful from the 2022 walk?

• The route still works: Monmouth Street, Neal’s Yard, Seven Dials Market and The Crown form a compact walk without unnecessary backtracking.
• Monmouth’s cup policy remains relevant: the shop still asks takeaway customers to avoid disposable paper cups.
• Seven Dials Market remains changeable: the official site currently describes 21 traders and two bars, but the individual line-up is regularly refreshed.
• Yum Bun and Pick & Cheese remain listed: both businesses seen in the film appear on the market’s current food-and-drink page.
• The Crown remains at 43 Monmouth Street: the pub still faces the Seven Dials monument, although its interior has since been refurbished.

The prices in this article are archive details from May 2022. Check current menus, opening times and booking arrangements on the official venue pages before making a special journey.

Planning the same Seven Dials food walk

• Starting point: Charing Cross Station, followed by a walk north through the West End
• Monmouth Coffee: 27 Monmouth Street, London WC2H 9EU
• Neal’s Yard: between Monmouth Street and Shorts Gardens
• Seven Dials Market: Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LX
• The Crown: 43 Monmouth Street, London WC2H 9DD

For current trader information and opening times, use the official Seven Dials Market food-and-drink page. Monmouth Coffee and The Crown publish their current details on the pages linked above.

Watch the original Roberts London film

The 15-minute film follows the complete May 2022 route through Seven Dials, including the coffee transaction, Neal’s Yard, the market interior, the Yum Bun meal, Pick & Cheese and the final pub stop.

For more Roberts London food archives, continue to London Chinatown street food, Camden Market street food and pubs or the Prospect of Whitby in Wapping. More stories are collected in Hospitality.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Seven Dials in London?

Seven Dials is immediately north-west of Covent Garden in London’s West End. Its central monument stands where Monmouth Street, Earlham Street, Mercer Street and Shorts Gardens meet.

Why are there only six sundials at Seven Dials?

The monument has six sundial faces. The column itself acts as the seventh “style”, which explains the apparent mismatch between the name and the visible dials.

What did Barry Roberts eat at Seven Dials Market?

Barry ordered two pork-belly steamed buns from Yum Bun, served with pickled cucumber, hoisin sauce, sesame and spring onion. The filmed menu priced the pair at £9.50 in May 2022.

Does Monmouth Coffee use disposable takeaway cups?

No. Monmouth Coffee’s current shop information says it does not use paper cups. Customers can drink from ceramic, bring a reusable cup or use the company’s returnable-cup option.

Is The Crown pub still open at Seven Dials?

Yes. The Crown remains at 43 Monmouth Street, facing the Seven Dials monument. Current opening times are published on the official Greene King page.

When was the Roberts London Seven Dials film published?

The film was published on 15 May 2022. This expanded Journal article keeps that archive date and adds current context checked in August 2026.