Marylebone, French Restaurant Guide

“So long as you don’t mind queuing and the fact that there’s just one item on the menu” – “entrecôte, salad, secret sauce and sublime frites” – this Gallic duo in Marylebone and the City can offer “a wonderful evening of no-frills dining”, and it’s an “obsession” to more ardent fans . “The only pressing question is ‘house red or Bordeaux’” – while the “hugger-mugger seating and bustle is all part of the charm”. The original Paris branch opened 60 years ago in a bankrupt Italian restaurant – hence the name.

Sommelier Xavier Rousset is behind this “wonderful and quiet little restaurant” and wine bar in Marylebone, “serving delicious, serious food” – mostly inspired by Italy – and “an outstanding Rhône-specialist wine list”. Service is notably “friendly, with a relaxed vibe”.

This “beautiful space in a covered courtyard” at the Wallace Collection museum and art gallery makes an unusually “delightful” rendez-vous for lunch or afternoon tea near Oxford Street… or it would if it were not for the “disappointing food and shambolic service”.

A “gorgeous bright room, overlooking a churchyard” – “especially lovely on sunny days when you can get a terrace seat on the roof” – this D&D London property above Marylebone’s Conran shop provides a classy and intimate setting. It’s no longer seen as a particularly gastro destination, as once it was, but the kitchen is currently putting in an “expensive but reliable” performance that avoids criticism and makes it a potentially useful choice, especially for a slightly “formal” or upscale occasion.

A “gorgeous homage to the Côte d’Azur” – this “exciting” operation, just around the corner from Claridges, serves beautiful, fresh-tasting Med-inspired sharing plates to an “urbane and international” crowd, who like its informal, somewhat “cramped” style. But while the prices here have always been eye-catching, its (previously stellar) ratings slumped this year amidst a feeling that you increasingly need “more money than sense” to pay them. (“There is no doubting the cooking skill and the careful sourcing of produce. But the dishes are so simple that it feels eye-watering to pay so much for a lentil salad… that is literally just a lentil salad”).

Jason Atherton’s elegant, “professional” wine bar and bistro is decked out in an understated, classic style that’s a little more retro than at his main gaff (Pollen Street), which is across the street. Here, chef Frankie van Loo offers less ‘foodie’ “bistro-style” dishes raised to a “superb” standard. The bar area is tiny, but “you can always have a pre-dinner drink at its big brother opposite, which has a great cocktail bar”. Top Tip – visit in summer, when you can eat outside on the pedestrianised street.