LONDON, British, Traditional - Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: “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”.

“Old school is sometimes the best school” and that’s certainly still the view on this “City landmark”: a “charming and unique institution” by Mansion House tube that’s seemingly “unchanged by time or fashion” (it’s been on its current site since the 1920s and can trace its origins back to 1830). About 99% of its audience are suited City brokers, who come for simple if pricey British fish and seafood that’s “nothing fancy or pretentious but who cares?”; and for whom the “austere, old-fashioned ambience” is a treasured part of Square Mile culture. “Lunch only: it’s always busy, so best to arrive early or late”. Top Menu Tips – “Don’t be in a hurry...enjoy the black velvet, oysters and super fish pie...”; alternatively “start with the whitebait, then take whatever comes washed down with a bottle of Sancerre and what’s not to like?”

2023 Review: This “unique” institution – a traditional City chophouse founded in 1757 – is “the sort of place cooking the kind of food that doesn’t exist any more… except it does here!”. Guests seated in 19th-century oak-panelled stalls feast on full English breakfasts and grills or pies for lunch followed by the signature stewed cheese pudding (there is no evening or weekend service). “My father took me there 65 years ago – it’s hardly changed, but there’s no longer an open fire!”

2022 Review: 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.

If it were not part of the high-profile Evolv Collection (fka D&D London), we would drop the entry for this City chop house, such is the lack of interest and disappointing ratings and reports that it generates. Claims by fans that it’s a “safe option” are let down by reports of “overcooked steak” and “poor” food generally. The name is a bit confusing too – originally it was located in nearby Paternoster Square.

“Unbelievable views” of the Thames and across to St Paul’s Cathedral are reason enough to eat at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre’s in-house restaurant. But the modern British menu is well-constructed around carefully sourced ingredients, and the Shakespeare-themed afternoon teas also go down well.