Holborn, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Founded in 1895 in Paris, the famous ‘Le Cordon Bleu’ culinary institute hit London in 2012 in Bloomsbury; and then opened here in the Lutyens-designed former Reuters HQ in 2022. All reports agree this in-house restaurant is “a beautiful room” – “light and well spaced” – if occasionally “lacking a bit of spark”. Service is “correct” and the modern European menu focuses on “seemingly simple dishes”, whose “realisation ranges from exemplary refinement to the merely satisfactory”.

It’s “all about the wine, as you might expect” at James Dawson’s “relaxed” wine-bar group, whose branches boast a “splendid list” of “high-quality and well-sourced” bottles. The food is very much “second fiddle”, though “unobjectionable”, while the most interesting venue is the original one, off Fleet Street, “hidden in the vaults of St Bride’s Church”. Top Tip – “go on a Monday night for wine at shop rather than restaurant prices”.

“The wine is – as always – the star attraction” at Mark Andrew & Dan Keeling’s original venue, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2025, and which is once again one of the Top-10 most commented-on entries in our annual diners’ poll. “Wonderful passionate staff really know the wines”: “the list is so long!” with select vintages listed on the “terrific blackboard, where there’s always something new to explore”. And the “intimate” (“slightly cramped”) environment is perfectly suited to tippling – an “old school” wine bar in Bloomsbury that (previously trading for decades as ‘Vats’, RIP) had been completely forgotten-about before they took it over. Fans say the “robustly delicious and bold” bistro food “nearly matches up, with some really good dishes kicking around here and there”. But “the bill can add up” (“those 125ml glasses don’t last long”); and while there were no specific criticisms this year, ratings here in general are more middling than once they were: perhaps the strains of now running three rather than just two sites?

“A very good pre-theatre meal” makes this mezzanine spot in a luxury hotel near Covent Garden a particularly useful option for eating around a show. It’s also “great for those who are gluten or dairy free”, and “the children’s chocolate-themed afternoon tea themed on Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is absolutely great”. Any downsides? It’s “a bit noisy”.

With “light streaming through the windows”, this “big, airy space in Somerset House” is “such a beautiful dining room”: “not cosy” but “very elegant” and with “luxuriously spaced” tables, it’s a really “great choice for an intimate conversation”. Skye Gyngell’s cuisine “is not in-yer-face gastro, but simply thoughtful, beautiful and heartwarming”; and together with the “personal” service it adds up to a “delightful” overall package. Top Tip – “the set lunch and early bird ‘scratch’ menus are good value” (utilising food that would otherwise be wasted).

“This Clerkenwell bolt-hole remains a genuine experience, accessed through a nondescript black door and a rickety brass lift before coming round a curtain into the expansive two-tier dining room”. It’s part of a large, Grade II listed courthouse which features in Dickens’s ‘Oliver Twist’. “From the moment you enter and take the lift to the wow factor of discovering the room itself onto the excellent food (up to the point where the staff gently encourage you to leave) it’s a wonderful experience”. The room itself is “like nowhere else”: so “beautiful” and “glamorous”. But while it’s one of London’s most atmospheric dining locations, the rest of the experience holds up well, with an “eccentric but good” small plates menu which “contains all manner of interesting morsels” and “a great wine list with interesting and eclectic choices”. Top Tip – “A glass of champagne on the roof terrace in the sunshine is a wonderful prelude to a yummy lunch of sharing plates”.

“Lovely jubbly!” – The ‘Naked Chef’ made his return to the national restaurant scene in November 2023 with this “rustic” venue inside the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, serving a miscellaneous menu mixing pasta, steaks and quite interesting sharing dishes (Lobster Thermidor say, or Chicken & Rabbit Pie) with the likes of burgers and Chicken Caesar. It inspired no particular criticisms, but it’s hard to get too thrilled: “a nice venue but the food’s average…”; “a good choice, but pricey for Covent Garden”.

A particularly solid choice for brunch – this “buzzy” Kiwi-run chain (with seven branches) fits the bill well, with “interesting small plates” of pan-global fusion food and an emphasis on notably good coffee (which they roast in-house). On the downside, the food is often “passable and no more” and their “lively” interiors (Granary Square in particular) can become “hopelessly crowded”, giving rise to incidents of “slapdash service”. Still, they’re “fun” and “reasonably priced”. (See also Vardo).

“Sourcing from their 600-acre estate in Argyll and fish farm in Loch Fyne”, the Landsberg family have – with this “traditional-in-a-good-way” Smithfield yearling – “created a restaurant that serves a Best of British menu that is, generally, a roaring success”. “Sustainably sourced food is expertly cooked” and “while it emphasises nose-to-tail cooking, it does so in a much more restrained manner than nearby St John”. “There’s an interesting short wine list (including from their own vineyard in Provence) at quite modest mark-ups, particularly for the City”. “Coupled with friendly service, the result is awesome!”. Top Menu Tips – “Black Pig, Rabbit, Duck and Foie Gras terrine, which draw together its various meat components into one delightful whole”; also “a very good Clam & Mussel Chowder, quite a refined Morteau Sausage with well-flavoured Puy lentils; and first-rate faggots in an intense jus”.