Breaking news
Harden's says
Chef Robbie Lorraine has parked his popular retro-gourmet project in the upstairs room of the Cheshire Cheese pub off the Strand, serving a tasting menu of souped-up nostalgia from the 1980s and 90s with such dishes as confit duck eclair and scampi and chips made with poached langoustines and fried chickpeas. Downstairs you'll find bar snacks including lobster doughnuts alongside old-school cocktails.
Harden's survey result
Summary
Robbie Lorraine has upped sticks from Brixton with his Del Boy-inspired pop-up – a witty, multi-course trip back in time to the cuisine of the 80s and 90s (duck-liver paté, prawn cocktail…). This new home is part of a Grade II listed pub just off the Strand: not to be confused with Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street, which is about ten minutes’ stroll away (although both claim Dickens as a former patron). No survey feedback as yet – reports please!
Summary
In one of Pop Brixton’s hip containers, Robbie Lorraine’s 6-course tasting menu aims to take guests on a nostalgia trip to the 80s and 90s and is almost as much about pop culture as it is about the food. On limited feedback, though, the latter is much more than an afterthought. STOP PRESS: in July 2022, Lorraine announced that he would be leading the kitchen at the new Boys Hall in Kent and there’s no availability shown here till for the remainder of 2022, so its future direction seems up in the air.
Summary
‘You’ve never seen fine dining like this!’ is the claim at this new 28-seater amidst Pop Brixton’s containers, which first opened in December 2020 and which has its sights on a London high-street opening (originally earmarked for summer 2021). It’s a novel formula for sure, with decor modelled on a classic greasy spoon. But former Shard and Chelsea FC chef, Robbie Lorraine’s ‘brilliantly cheeky twist on classic British food’ (their words) is certainly an upscale one (crab Scotch eggs, duck éclairs, lobster doughnuts) and comes complete with ‘cocktails raided from your mum’s drinks cabinet’. In the evening, there’s a six-course tasting menu format.
For 33 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 Only Food and Courses?
5 Little Essex Street, London, WC2R 3LD
Restaurant details
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | £65.00 |  |
|
|
| Cost | Availability | Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menu1 | 75.00 |
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Pudding |
|---|---|---|
| £11.00 | £15.00 | £12.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £33.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 12.50% |
5 Little Essex Street, London, WC2R 3LD
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | CLOSED |
| Thursday | 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Friday | 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Saturday | 1 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
Best British, Modern restaurants nearby
British, Modern restaurant in Covent Garden
British, Modern restaurant in Covent Garden
British, Modern restaurant in London
Best similarly priced restaurants nearby
British, Modern restaurant in Covent Garden
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
