City, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

“A throwback to 100 years ago” – this “unique”, “magnificently unchanged” Victorian relic is “an old school experience of the best sort” and a revered haunt for its pinstriped clientele, attracted by “some of the finest fish and seafood”. “Sitting at the bar is lovely and you get great attention from the waiting staff”, or sit down at the back to a full meal of “black velvet in a tankard, followed by oysters and then lovely fish (perfectly cooked), with splendid jam sponge”. That prices are slightly “outrageous” has always been part of the package. Except for private parties, it’s always been a weekday lunch-only venue, but in September 2018, they seem to be experimenting with the odd evening service.

“Olde English tradition lives on” at this ancient chophouse down a picturesque alleyway: a City institution dating from 1757. “It could be a museum of the British restaurant” with its “engaging service that treats you like one of the boys”, Dickensian interior and “authentic period food”, including daily roasts and house special ‘stewed cheese’.

Overlooking St Paul’s from the fringes of the Square Mile’s Paternoster Square development, this D&D London operation caters mainly for City expense-accounters. It’s best known as the location for TV show First Dates, but for romance look elsewhere – “the tables are too close together” and the food’s “expensive and average”.