When Cheeses Go Around: Pick and Cheese, Covent Garden

I don’t have a degree in cheese, but I could tell that a lot of thought and serious cheese knowledge and passion have gone to each plate

Pick and Cheese is located in the Seven Dials Market in Covent Garden, London. In a nutshell, it’s a cheese conveyor belt restaurant where customers sit around a counter with a sushi-style conveyor belt, on which portions of very attractive looking cheese trundle round.

We came in August 2020 when they were running bottomless plates for £20pp. Normally, the price of each plate is between £3-6.

You will sanitise your hands and check your temperature at the entrance of the market. I believe they may take your details here too for ‘test and trace’ if you don’t already have a reservation (or you might have to register online, please check before you visit). Once we’re at the restaurant, we’re seated at the counter within a safe distance to other diners. The whole operation looked well organised. (August 2020)

We were given an hour and 15 minutes to eat plate after plate of wonderful cheeses to our heart’s content. This was a totally and utterly new experience for both C and I; culinary, culturally, physically and mentally. I thought about our numerous visits to London’s various food markets in the past, and the joy and excitement we felt when we were able to try out a tiny piece of artisan cheese on a tooth pick. Well Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore. The time has come for us to eat cheeses like we never have before.

Each plate of cheese is paired with various condiments such as chutney, jam, chocolate brownie (!)… They also had some ‘off belt’ dishes and of course some wines that could be ordered separately, but we gave our full attention to the conveyor belt cheeses.

Every cheese we tried was high quality, tasty, fresh and really different and interesting… and the pairing condiments took each cheese experience to a whole new and higher level! I don’t have a degree in cheese, but I could tell that a lot of thought and serious cheese knowledge and passion have gone to each plate. It really was a food experience like no other. Service was spot on: attentive, friendly and professional.

Eating as many delicious cheese as we can, from a cheese conveyor belt, truly was a once in a life time bucket list experience. We will remember and cherish the surprise, the excitement, the anticipation, the smell, the taste and the serious cheese coma – thank you Pick and Cheese.

Of course, what we were fortunate enough to experience, is not how diners normally ‘use’ Pick and Cheese. Would I go back when the restaurant returns to a normal service? Yes, I probably will perhaps for a pre dinner drink+nibble on a special occasion or something like that. £10/20 pp for a glass of wine and a couple of cheese plate is way over our usual budget, but the food was fantastic and with such good service and great atmosphere, and of course a beautiful memory of our first cheese coma, I really don’t have a reason to say no.

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