Bankside, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

“Fab food, awesome views and ambience” make this modern recreation of an Elizabethan tavern – part of the Shakespeare’s Globe theatre complex on the South Bank – a “real delight”, far superior to most tourist-site pit stops. The restaurant features contemporary British cooking, while the bar serves “great high-end pub fare, beautifully presented and in a stunning room overlooking the river”. It’s perfect for pre-theatre dining, naturally, but also works for full meals – thinning out when the audience is called in for the show.

2021 Review: “A firm favourite for breakfast and brunch in Southwark” – this café-style fixture a short stroll from Tate Modern serves “a great menu to suit all tastes”, and fans say it’s “unbeatable”.

The name says it all about this new ‘Britisserie’ (an ‘authentic British patisserie’), which opened on a corner site near St Paul’s in December 2019. Owners Daniel Jobsz and his mum honed their classic pie-making skills at markets, festivals and pop-ups from 2015 before they found the site, which incorporates a small courtyard. Full English breakfasts (in a tart, of course), plus epic mash and a good list of beers and other drinks complete the formula.

“Splendid views, especially from the balcony” are the saving grace of this brasserie, in the well-known Art Deco landmark building on the South Bank. Food and service have been so-so more or less since day one, but that hardly seems to matter – it still gets “very busy”.

“A unique institution for fish, not to be missed” – this timewarped Victorian curio has been part of life in the Square Mile for as long as anyone can remember (it was founded on a different site in the 1830s and has been here since the 1920s). Seating is fairly crammed and higgledy-piggledy – be it at the counter or in the rear dining room – but that’s all part of its appeal for a besuited clientele who don’t begrudge the daunting prices for simple seafood dishes and proper puds, washed down by the most ardent traditionalists with Black Velvet in pewter tankards.

“A stalwart for lunches in the City”, this “unpretentious” venue in “lovely Bow Lane by the famous church” has “kept its standards up” for 35 years. The outdoor seating was a major attraction during the pandemic restrictions, and prices are “very reasonable” for the area, while “the boisterous tables make it easy to have confidential chats without being overheard”.

This City-based grill overlooking St Paul's Cathedral, from D&D London, is pitched firmly at the location’s business diners – but it does have a romantic side, as the location for seven years of ‘reality’ TV show First Dates, starring maître d’ extraordinaire Fred Sirieix, with actors playing the parts of waiting and bar staff.

“It’s a lovely room, and fantastically well located, but the food never quite lives up to expectations” at this Borough Market fixture, picturesquely perched above the market in a glazed portico that was once part of the Royal Opera House. The culinary theme is British, er, roasts, and even though most diners do actually like the results, “the prices are a bit of a fantasy”. Top Tip – breakfast here gives you all the benefit of the location, and is better value. (There were plans a couple of years ago for a spin-off near Broadcasting House, but these seem to have hit the backburner.)