Belgravia, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

This “fashionable” Belgravia gastropub serves “good-quality pub grub” in its downstairs bar and a more formal restaurant-style menu in its “stunning upstairs dining room”. The launchpad of the upmarket Cubitt House group, it takes its name from the early 19th-century master builder responsible for much of Belgravia and Pimlico – and great-great-great grandfather of Queen Camilla. Top Menu Tip – “the grilled chicken surprises and excels”.

Contemporary gastropub from the Lunar Pub Company (on the former site of the Ebury Wine Bar, long RIP) which has built a select but enthusiastic following, who hail it as “Belgravia’s jewel”. The kitchen aims to put a ‘twist’ on classic dishes, with a degree of success (according to one fan, “quite literally the best place for a pithivier in London”).

“Part of the Eccleston Yards gentrification development round Victoria coach station” (which is itself “beginning to develop a bit of a buzz”) – this useful venue provides a “great location” (complete with “a lively terrace”) and serves a “slightly unusual menu (including good steaks)”. Ratings would be higher were it not for those who find it “a little pricey”.

2023 Review: This smartly kitted-out pub with a “nice outdoor terrace” on a cobbled Belgravia street has a “short, simple and well-executed menu”, providing “Sunday roast and fish ’n’ chips of quality”.

“The room is probably one of the more beautiful dining rooms in London” and its domed glass ceiling and gracious decor provide an elegant backdrop to a meal at this showy and impressive hotel on Hyde Park Corner. Since the arrival of chef Shay Cooper in 2023, it has received more support for the cuisine, although feedback is still relatively limited and some incidents of “mixed” service and the odd botched meal limit the ratings. Bridgerton Afternoon Tea is notably well-reviewed: at £89 per person, it’s “expensive but worth it for a memorable experience”. Top Tips – “the comprehensive wine list has some good-value bins if you search carefully”; and “great-value set menus feature really imaginative cuisine” (at lunch it’s two courses for £44 per person).

2024 Review: Hermès, Loewe and Zimmermann help inspire the Spring/Summer 2023 Prêt-à-Portea collection on the ‘cakewalk’ of this Belgravia chamber, which takes annual inspiration for its wizard patisserie selection from the catwalk of the fashion industry. If you have money to burn, it’s an impressively skillful and witty twist on the afternoon tea experience – tuck into “Hermès’ tasselled bucket bag, crafted out of Victoria sponge sandwiched with apricot jam, wrapped in chocolate and finished with a chocolate feather plume!”

2023 Review: This “fun” rustic-chic pub/hotel/events space is a magnet for an “attractive crowd” on the Pimlico-Chelsea border, and serves a “varied range” of food, from wood-fired pizza in the bar to more formal meals in the dining room upstairs.

“Perhaps the food should not have left the farm…” – the feedback we receive (admittedly thin) remains sceptical regarding the fashionably located London satellites of Lady Bamford’s enviable Cotswold estate in Brompton Cross, Notting Hill and Pimlico. Some reports do say they are “great places for lunch when shopping, with fantastic home-made soups and cakes”, but even fans can find them “pricey” – to critics the level of value is “scandalous” or “just crazy”.

“Bravo!”. “At last, the team behind Medlar [David O’Connor & Joe Mercer Nairne] get the well-worthy Michelin recognition they have long deserved at this new high-end all-rounder tucked away in Eccleston Yards, on the edge of Belgravia”. “It’s not the easiest place to find in a new redevelopment close to Victoria station”, and a few diners feel that the “bare and unrefined” room “could use a touch more pizzazz given the level they are aiming for”. More positively, it’s certainly “understated and not too full of itself” and overall the “fantastic ethos” of the enterprise cuts through any lingering reservations to make this “a stunning addition to the capital”. “It’s all the things you love about Medlar, but dialled up a notch”. Service from “engaging” staff is “faultless” and the cooking “top class” – “premium ingredients, creatively combined and outstandingly prepared all make Cornus a special find”. “The wine list is fascinating and the head of wine, Melania, has some really superb recommendations”. “It’s not cheap, but nor should it be, there are other options in town for that”. Top Tip – “the set lunch and lunchtime corkage of £20 per bottle make this a great value option”.

Occupying a prime rooftop location at the lavish Peninsula London hotel just south of Hyde Park Corner, with “stunning views (especially from the balcony)” – Claude Bosi’s dazzling two-year-old is a “real treat” of an all-rounder. The kitchen is run by long-time Bosi right-hand man Francesco Dibenedetto, who is “absolutely at the top of his game”. Price-wise, “it helps if you’re rich – this is oligarch country, which is a shame given the culinary skills on display” – but the offering does include a number of set menus at various price points (“the Concorde set menu – £65pp, lunch only – looks minimalist, but includes a couple of pre-starters and a couple of amuse bouches after the dessert”).

“A great addition to the Sloane Square area” – Jason & Irha Atherton’s new “oasis” at the south of chichi Pavilion Road (named for their three darling daughters) has successfully created a casual haunt for the well-heeled locals, and “the buzz is 10/10”. It’s particularly suited to a posey brunch, with “fantastic croissants and coffee and a good choice of small plates”. Viewed as an exercise in the gastronomy that’s made Atherton’s reputation, the grills and other comfort food bites (like wagyu sausage roll or skate wing schnitzel) are no better than ‘fine’, especially at these SW1 prices; but for the local market – ‘mission accomplished’. Top Tip – “very nice patio seating” in warmer weather.