Chigwell, American Restaurant Guide

Giant nachos, a bucket of beer and a platter of jumbo shrimp – if that sounds, good head off to these “large and vibrant” US-style ‘Bar.B.Q & Crabshacks’, which have multiplied in recent years from their age-old Chelsea home to colonise Covent Garden, Canary Wharf and Westfield Stratford. They are the kind of places you can make a reservation for 20 and they won’t blink. Top Menu Tip – “great lunch and weekend deals”: e.g. “lobster, salad and chips with a glass of Prosecco for £15 in WC2 – what more could you ask for!”

“What is better than an amazing breakfast?…” and you are certainly spoilt for choice all day long at this greasy-spoon-esque chain, which is celebrating its 20th year in 2024 with the addition of a St Pancras branch to its empire of 16 caffs (11 of them in the capital) and 3 pubs.

“What is better than an amazing breakfast?…” and you are certainly spoilt for choice all day long at this greasy-spoon-esque chain, which is celebrating its 20th year in 2024 with the addition of a St Pancras branch to its empire of 16 caffs (11 of them in the capital) and 3 pubs.

“What is better than an amazing breakfast?…” and you are certainly spoilt for choice all day long at this greasy-spoon-esque chain, which is celebrating its 20th year in 2024 with the addition of a St Pancras branch to its empire of 16 caffs (11 of them in the capital) and 3 pubs.

Opened in 1870 as London’s first licensed casino, this impressive Covent Garden mansion is proof that it takes more than a fine space in a handy location to make a terrific eatery. Relaunched as a luxurious American restaurant in 1991 (by the son of a Tory grandee), it aims to import Manhattanite sophistication, top-quality surf ’n’ turf and high-class brunch to the capital, alongside a popular Martini bar. But, while it does still receive the odd nomination as a place for a business lunch, it’s largely ignored in our annual diners’ poll nowadays.

The Atrium – a “beautiful” glass-ceilinged space in a New York-style boutique hotel carved out of the former Bow Street Magistrates’ Court – is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular and “atmospheric” settings for a meal in Covent Garden. But one or two reporters feel that “they need a better menu” as the current one is “underwhelming” (“food was average with a few honourable exceptions”).

This “big, buzzy faux-Parisian brasserie” in the heart of Covent Garden certainly looks the part, but it “can get very busy” and “extremely noisy” as a result. It provides “lots of classic French cuisine”, but with very mixed results: fans say it’s “executed pretty well” but reviews overall are often jaundiced – for example: “dull food, impossible to chat… really bad experience and a ridiculous bill”.

This Theatreland relic retains much of its 1970s Manhattan charm – it’s the long-established sibling to a famous NYC brasserie by Times Square, and moved five years ago to a new Covent Garden site just around the corner from the old one (though you’d never know: it looks just the same). As a destination for “great cocktails” it’s superb, but as a restaurant its retro American brasserie fare and steaks (with famous off-menu burger) is decidedly “tired and past its sell-by date”… as it has so often been over the decades.

Giant nachos, a bucket of beer and a platter of jumbo shrimp – if that sounds, good head off to these “large and vibrant” US-style ‘Bar.B.Q & Crabshacks’, which have multiplied in recent years from their age-old Chelsea home to colonise Covent Garden, Canary Wharf and Westfield Stratford. They are the kind of places you can make a reservation for 20 and they won’t blink. Top Menu Tip – “great lunch and weekend deals”: e.g. “lobster, salad and chips with a glass of Prosecco for £15 in WC2 – what more could you ask for!”

“Amazing grass-fed” USDA prime steaks (hand-cut and dry-aged for 28 days) are the USP of this NYC-based brand, whose London outpost has a Manhattan-esque location, on the ground floor of the landmark Adelphi Building, just off the Strand. No-one doubts the quality of the offering, and the odd reporter had their best meal of the year here (“amazing!”). But the level of value is a perennial issue and even a fan who rated their visit as “outstanding” noted: “the price is high… everyone seems to be either on holiday or on expenses!”

“THE place to go for top-class Californian cooking in London” – Victor Garvey’s Soho five-year-old may be “eye-wateringly expensive” (“the price, ooh la la!”) but serves “top-notch cooking well deserving of its Michelin star”. “SoLa is that rare place that sources genuinely top-class ingredients and cooks them to perfection”: presenting them in either a 10-course tasting menu for £139 per person, or 17-course tasting menu for £229 per person. There are also drinks pairings to the above (at £170 and £230 per person) and a “fabulous” wine list drawn mostly from the US (and primarily, but not exclusively, from the West Coast). Despite refurbishment two years ago, the café-style ambience is the weakest link in the experience.

Evoking the tao of lazy weekends in NYC – well, over the East River in Williamsburg in any case, which is where its Brooklyn namesake is actually located – this imported “brunch favourite” wins votes as a chilled haunt for burgers, maple praline pancakes and other tasty treats by day; and funkier, more ambitious dishes in the evenings. They must be doing something right, as in summer 2024 a sibling opened a short walk from Selfridges in St Christopher’s Place.

Giant nachos, a bucket of beer and a platter of jumbo shrimp – if that sounds, good head off to these “large and vibrant” US-style ‘Bar.B.Q & Crabshacks’, which have multiplied in recent years from their age-old Chelsea home to colonise Covent Garden, Canary Wharf and Westfield Stratford. They are the kind of places you can make a reservation for 20 and they won’t blink. Top Menu Tip – “great lunch and weekend deals”: e.g. “lobster, salad and chips with a glass of Prosecco for £15 in WC2 – what more could you ask for!”

Evoking the tao of lazy weekends in NYC – well, over the East River in Williamsburg in any case, which is where its Brooklyn namesake is actually located – this imported “brunch favourite” wins votes as a chilled haunt for burgers, maple praline pancakes and other tasty treats by day; and funkier, more ambitious dishes in the evenings. They must be doing something right, as in summer 2024 a sibling opened a short walk from Selfridges in St Christopher’s Place.

“Le Caprice vn 2.0!” – “Welcome back Mr Jeremy King” – “like a phoenix rising from the ashes”, this “baby-bum-smooth” brasserie off Piccadilly has been resurrected by its former owner and is “virtually unchanged, except for the name!” The very many old regulars who comment say “it’s wonderful to see” this in-crowd haunt “restored it to its former glory”, and declare “the magic is back!”: “it feels just as before with the same, quite ritzy crowd” all packed into a setting that’s “smart, sophisticated and comfortable” yet with “tables set close together”. And even though legendary maitre d’, Jesus Adorno didn’t stay long, the service sets “an example of its type of how to do things right”. But while most reports are full-on hallelujahs to its reincarnation, there are grumbles amongst a noticeable few that it “feels a bit like a weird time machine”: “the food is stuck in the 1980s”, when the die for the original menu was cast and “we’ve had enough of the Bang Bang chicken nostalgia – let’s have a more modern menu!”. The main sense overall, however? – “It looks and feels like the old Caprice. Hurrah!”