Harden's survey result
Summary
“I still love it!” For a “grand occasion”, this “sophisticated”, “European-style” grand café near The Ritz is “a classic that works” and which has endured the boardroom battles that beset its owners in 2022. Even if it’s “now lost the Jeremy King touch” – and, perhaps, a smidgeon of A-lister cachet as a result – “it has survived the rule of the money men (so far)” to remain one of the capital’s key rendezvous for just about any occasion. “There’s no finer start to a special day in London” – “breakfast is as good as it gets, if what you happen to want is the best room, a newspaper and a bacon roll… just put a suit on and feel like you own Piccadilly”. Amidst the “noisy” mêlée of West End visitors, shoppers and theatre-goers (“wonderful people-watching”), there is a perennial backdrop of expense-accounters from the start of the day onwards, as “no one ever got fired for taking a client to the Wolseley” (it’s “the perfect place to seal a deal!”). “For a celebration or a special night out, you can bring pretty much anyone along and they will find something to eat, a nice place to sit and charming service”. OK, the food from “a wide-ranging menu of European classics” is “not remarkable”, but it never has been and it’s not the point. Booking well in advance is a good idea, but “they always have a few tables for walk-ins so it’s worth a punt when passing”. Top Menu Tip – “your goal is to get in, eat breakfast, and charge through the rest of the day on a post-black-pudding high”, or go for the “perfectly cooked kippers and scrambled eggs!”; “the afternoon tea is good and very good value in a lovely setting”.
Summary
“A people-watching heaven” – this epic Grand Café near the Ritz is renowned for the “busy” and “buzzy” clatter of its “beautiful”, “high ceilinged” dining room and remains many a sophisticated Londoner’s “gold standard for business”; particularly early morning over one of its “legendary breakfasts” (it’s “a perfect way to start the day, with a client, a friend, or quietly in the corner with a newspaper”). However, its gigantic popularity has been won despite it being “nothing fancy in the food department”; and its broad menu of “traditional comfort food” has always been “tasty and well-presented… but formulaic”. Drama ensued in 2022, when its founders Corbin & King were ousted in a boardroom battle. But even those who feel the place has perhaps “lost a little bit of sparkle since the management shake-up” acknowledge that “on the ground, very little has changed”. Top Tip – also good for “a classic afternoon tea. Delicious finger sandwiches and plain and sultana scones and a selection of macarons and small cakes. It’s not a fancy themed afternoon tea as is all the rage, but all the better for that. You can order more sandwiches!”
Summary
“Reports of the death of The Wolseley are greatly exaggerated”. After a well-publicised boardroom battle in 2022 ousted its original co-founders, even though its long-term fans are “annoyed at the ousting of Christopher Corbin & Jeremy King”, there is “no evidence on the floor of any impact”: “it’s as good as it ever was (and just as full!”). This Continental-style Grand Café, near The Ritz (originally built as a car showroom, for which it is named) is celebrating its 20th year, and remains a hub of metropolitan living. The “impressive” and “always bustling” space is “one of the best dining rooms in London” and “if you want to wow a client or a foreigner, then bring them here”: it remains London’s No. 1 for business entertaining in our annual diners’ poll. Its “great menu of classics” is executed to a “solid and reliable” if “lacklustre” standard, but you “go for the overall package and peerless people watching, not the food”. The exception is “the most civilised breakfast anywhere on the planet” which is also our diners’ poll’s No. 1 choice in this category. The “varied menu, with something – and more – for everyone”, helps “elevate the occasion to a special level”; and it is also “a power scene” amongst business-types. Top Tip – afternoon tea is also “always impressive with its elegance and high standards”.
Summary
“The sheer style of the room” helps create an “unbeatable buzz” at this “very classy and smartly located” Continental Grand Café by The Ritz, which has, for nearly 20 years, established itself as London’s premier venue for a “reliably impressive” business occasion; and as “the absolute go-to for a totally unrivalled breakfast” (“a cliché, but really it is the best place to enjoy eggs Benedict in London”). And “afternoon tea is excellent too, with a good choice of sandwiches and cakes.” Established by Christopher Corbin and Jeremy King in 2003 in an erstwhile Edwardian car showroom (which provided the restaurant’s name), it has perennially been “the permanent buzz not the average food that’s created the magic of the place”. The “simple comfort fare at West End prices” has often rated poorly next to the “sparkling” atmosphere and “star-studded people watching” carefully cultivated by its well-connected founders. So “whether the place will survive the recent departure of those same founders remains to be seen”. A shareholder battle post-Covid saw Corbin & King edged out by their financial backers, the Thai Minor group, and many reporters fear “a ravens-leaving-the-tower moment” (“fingers crossed they don’t let the money-men spoil this…”; “it’s wait-and-see time…”; “if they ruin it, we will revolt…”). The schism happened in April 2022, immediately prior to our survey, and ratings this year are significantly down across the board. It could be that Brexit-induced staffing shortages bear some of the blame, but already some reporters fear the reason is clear: “it’s lost its soul now Jeremy and Chris have been ousted”.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at The Wolseley?
160 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9EB
Restaurant details
The Wolseley Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Extremely disappointing visit compared to earlier visits, a sense of milking a reputation rather than burnishing it. Unremarkable food and initially a postage stamp size table for three people."
"With the atmosphere as buzzy as always. Great crab and fish of the day stood out of the tables choices "
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £29.95 | £34.95 |  |
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Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Pudding |
|---|---|---|
| £22.00 | £29.80 | £9.50 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £37.25 |
| Filter Coffee | £5.95 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £3.00 |
| Service | 10.00% |
160 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9EB
| Number of Diners: | |
| Required Time: | |
Opening hours
| Monday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Tuesday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Friday | 7 am‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 8 am‑11 pm |
| Sunday | 8 am‑10 pm |
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