The Daily Telegraph
William Sitwell hustled a table for the first night of full trading at “the hottest ticket in London”, earning bragging rights as the first national critic into print on restaurateur Jeremy King’s multimillion-pound revival of a revered institution dating back to 1828.
It was everything he could have hoped for, both in culinary terms and – more importantly for William – as a symbolic and political statement: “a monumental f–k you to the Labour Government… a vehemently aggressive show of defiance in a time of relentless attacks on hospitality.”
His meal was “the most fabulous hoot”, “a welcome blast of good cheer”, and “a theatrical tour de force” of chefs in extravagant crumpled hats, of silver salvers and the famous roast beef trolley. The food might be a “mere aside”, but it was perfect: Carlingford oysters and a classic prawn cocktail followed by the roast beef-on-wheels – “two large slices carved by the chef, pink and tender with melting fat” for “a vast Sunday lunch on a Tuesday night”.
William Sitwell - 2026-03-15Evening Standard
David Ellis was pleasantly surprised by the excellent cooking at this revival of the grande dame of London restaurants from Jeremy King, whose venues tend to prioritise atmosphere over cuisine.
The “bulging” suet pudding was “better than any I’ve had, the pastry light where often it is gloopy”, while broccoli and cauliflower cheese was another “best in class” which “showed someone in the building’s cavernous kitchens is making sure the small stuff isn’t overlooked”.
He also noted that the Grand Divan, its main dining room, looks and feels far better than it has in recent decades, now that “there is no flaking gold leaf [and] fractured woodwork has been healed”. The prices are generous, too, with starters from £9 and mains from £16 – which might explain why “the room is filled with all ages chatting furiously”.
David Ellis - 2026-03-22The Guardian
Grace Dent turned her attention to the 1828 classic relaunched by the debonair restaurateur Jeremy King to a fanfare of critical acclaim – to which Grace her own, summing it up as a “handy-as-heck, posh canteen a short stroll from Covent Garden” whose main restaurant, the Grand Divan, is (take your pick) very "Hogwart's", "Samuel Pepys’ London", "ancient Oxbridge feasting hall" and “I’m a member of the British establishment meeting my former Eton fencing team for claret and rabbit with grain mustard”.
“World-class” soundproofing means that even when things are in full swing on a Saturday night, conversation is wholly audible as you tuck into a "rollicking list of cosy British joys": bubble and squeak, bacon chop, dressed Portland crab, Gentleman’s Relish on toast.
As to the possibly less important question of 'how good is the food?', Grace rated it "better than I expected.... and, at times, rather lovely" – including beef that is "well worth a punt, not least because it’s served erring on the rare"; roast loin of cod in lobster bisque sauce which is "pretty wonderful", and bubble and squeak that is "delightful".
Grace Dent - 2026-04-12The Times
Camilla Long knew this institution from its faded late-Noughties nadir, when it resembled a “three-star hotel in Cleethorpes” rather than a grand landmark in the capital. So she was thrilled to be swept into “by far the finest dining room in London” follow the Grand Divan's Jeremy King refurb.
"It’s pure last day on the Titanic," she wrote. "The menu contains all the things you’d ask for if you’re heading straight for the ’berg. There are roasts and puddings and jellies and rillettes and quails and oysters and fat-laced, creamy salads and light naughty wines (hocks and moselles — the housewives’ favourites), designed for sustained long-distance drinking, as is the Edwardian won't."
For all her wisecracks, though, Camilla insisted that the old place has caught the Zeitgeist: "This is a serious restaurant for serious times. It absolutely responds to something deep in the culture: a need for reassurance and stability."
Camilla Long - 2026-04-12Daily Mail
Tom Parker Bowles declared restaurateur Jeremy King’s newly restored 200-year-old grande dame in the Strand “an old classic reborn. And, dare I say it, she’s better than she’s ever been before.”
Most importantly, the famous roast beef carved table-side from the trolley was “magnificent”: a rib of Devon-reared Ruby Red accompanied by a billowing Yorkshire pudding, proper gravy, crisp-shelled roast potatoes and horseradish “as fierce as a Pictish warrior”.
“The menu is both nostalgic and thoroughly à la mode. There are oysters and Russian salads, boiled ham with parsley sauce, railway mutton curry and grilled Barnsley chop, alongside pie and pudding of the day. Today is Thursday, so steak and kidney pudding it is, the suet crust ephemerally light, the filling rich, sticky and unashamedly meaty. These are classics, splendidly done.”
Tom Parker Bowles - 2026-04-19
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