Chinatown, French Restaurant Guide

“Kudos to the chef” – Seamus Sam, who arrived in mid 2024 and is maintaining the culinary renown of this funky 12-seater in the cellar of Layo & Zoë Pasking’s period pub on the fringe of Chinatown, where he delivers a five-course menu for £135 per person. By all accounts it’s “just a wonderful experience” with “extremely interesting cooking” and “some intriguing wine pairings”, all delivered by “excellent staff”. “Not one for claustrophobics” perhaps, but most reporters find its style “lovely and intimate”.

“Hidden away in a basement at the side of Leicester Square”, “a marvellous little subterranean wine bar with a decent selection of mid-range wines that are not too overpriced for central London”. A “wide-ranging” food menu (including the famous ham-and-cheese pie that has been on the menu since 1971, of which about 1,000,000 portions have been sold) makes it a “great pitstop in tourist central – happily off the radar for most of them”. “You can’t drink in this place without feeling part of the iconic venue’s history”: its “tried and tested reputation” was established by founder Don Hewitson and is maintained by his successor Will Clayton.

“Showing what can be done with plant-based ingredients. Bravo!” – Alexis Gauthier gave up meat personally in 2016 and professionally in 2021 at this “intimate” townhouse in Soho – a destination renowned before he took it over in 2010 (from Richard Corrigan when it traded as The Lindsay House) for its air of quirky romance, from the moment when you knock at the door for entry (“I love the many different rooms to eat in”). The French cuisine here remains, in essence, “fairly traditional”, but nowadays has “a superb meat-free ethos” resulting in “some of the most complicated and sophisticated vegetarian food around”. At least, that’s the majority view, although even a number of fans do “miss some of the old dishes from previous, pre-vegan visits” (and ratings, here, have somewhat trended down in recent years).

“A buzzing French-style brasserie with excellent service and attractive atmosphere” that helps “lift the spirits” if you are counting the pennies – “where else in central London can you get three courses of decent grub for £20-odd?”. “Splendid for pre-theatre”, this Soho fixture offers an “unusually wide choice” on its set menus, “while the dishes are well executed and flavoursome”. Top Tip – “eating à la carte may be a mistake. True to its name, the fixed price menu is probably a better option”.

“Unbeatable value for money and wow factor” underpins the titanic popularity of this “superb” and “bustling”, “Beaux-Arts dining room”: a “unique” setting that’s all-the-more remarkable for being in a gigantic basement less than 100 metres from Piccadilly Circus. “It feels just like a proper Parisian-style venue and the menu is exactly as you would expect of such a place”: a huge assortment of “brasserie-stye French staples” that are incredibly “reasonably priced” for the heart of the West End (although careful selection is advised: “results do have their ups and downs, so stick to the cheaper dishes”). Service is occasionally “grumpy” but is mostly “excellent even when busy” (and “the expected disaster of losing Corbin & King from the management has not materialised”). Top Tip – “stick to the ‘Formule’, enjoy the view of the great room and you’ll never have a bad time”.

2023 Review: Rihanna celebrated her birthday in February 2022 at this lavish Creole haunt next to The Ivy, in Covent Garden, where the former site of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon nowadays combines a restaurant (ground floor), bar (first floor) and roof garden. Whether the tastes of New Orleans are faithfully replicated is a matter of some dispute – there is the odd take-down of “overpriced and under-seasoned dross”, but most reports actually say its gumbo, Louisiana crab cakes and other eclectic dishes are “very good”.

“Solid, classic Gallic cooking in the heart of Soho” has proved an enduring formula for London’s oldest French restaurant, which opened in 1927 (but has origins dating back to 1896). It helps that it occupies a “charming” and “timeless” dining space where the “professional service” (“no intrusions”) adds further to its “traditional” appeal, making it ideal as a place “to impress” for “a central London business meal” or to charm a date. There’s some debate over whether the food is “superlative” or merely “solid and classic” but it is consistently well rated in reports. Top Menu Tip – “excellent (and very reasonably priced) pre-theatre venue”.

“Chef Anthony Demettre will often come out and have a chat” if you dine regularly at this “good stand-by in the heart of the West End”, where “beautifully presented dishes with hints of France are served by smiling waiting staff” in a stylish and “well-spaced” chamber convenient for Trafalgar Square and Theatreland. Long-term fans remember the two smaller, more personal incarnations of his Wild Honey project (“I was concerned its spirit would have been lost in the move to a Sofitel. I need not have worried: Anthony Demetre was very much at the stoves and it was clear his enthusiasm for French regional cooking was still reflected in a range of memorable dishes of some skill, using top ingredients: no corporate corner-cutting here!”). Top Tips – “a new, more informal bistro sits alongside the main restaurant and offers a similar authentic menu for a more modest outlay”; “great-value lunch menu”.

2023 Review: With a menu inspired by the French Riviera, this spacious outfit in Golden Square “quickly became a firm favourite for business lunches”, despite the unfortunate timing of its launch in late 2019. Parisian patron Guillaume Depoix’s vision of the ‘perfect Soho brasserie’, it delivers “delicious French food done simply and well”, with a “great clubby feeling, especially when the DJ is there at weekends”.

“Luxurious decor, booths and the infamous ‘Press for Champagne’ button by the table, make it all feel quite Russian oligarchy” at Leonid Shutov’s “fun”, “blingy and gimmicky” Soho diner, which feels a bit like a stage set for ‘The Orient Express’. It also has a less commented-on sibling in the City’s ‘Cheesegrater’ building, decked out in a similar but more glossy style, which puts a Bladerunner-esque spin on the theme suited to its skyscraper setting. Both offer privacy and a supremely cosetting setting and are often tipped for special dates or less-formal business entertaining. “The menu likewise has oligarch vibes, with the likes of caviar, vodka shots, oysters and truffles, but this is alongside a great mix of comfort food like pie, chicken Kyiv, and mac ’n’ cheese”. On balance, the food is judged “well-executed” but even so fans can still feel that “some items are highly priced for what they are”. Top Menu Tips – “the real reason to go is the beef Wellington… utterly delicious, cooked perfectly and a generous portion”. Also “fine wine mark-ups are capped at £75” – so if you push the boat out enough it can be a relative bargain!

“Famous for being London’s top romantic dining spot with good reason” – this bewitching Covent Garden “haven” comes complete with an “exquisite” rear conservatory, with “a glass roof that opens in summer” and “the treat of a log fire in winter” – and “on the first floor you dine under a vibrant canopy of flowers”. By most accounts the European cuisine is “beautifully presented and tastes as good as it looks” too, although a slight slip in its ratings of late supports those who feel that “it’s more hit and miss since the pandemic”. No change in its “wonderful wine selection” however: “a surprisingly eclectic list of wines, alongside the bonus of an extensive cognac offering (and Armagnac dating back 70 years!”). “A must for a special celebration”.

A set from ’Allo ’Allo would struggle to seem more French than this “classic brasserie” near Covent Garden, billed as the capital’s oldest French restaurant and now under only its third family ownership in 74 years. But “pretty ordinary food and service” often undermine “the Gallic charm of yesteryear”, leaving some diners reporting a “rather a sad come-down from the glories of long ago”. More romantic types, though, feel that “holding hands in this legendary space still works at whatever age… with traditional brasserie food, good wines, and a pleasant atmosphere”.

“Busy and full of energy” – this “joyful” and highly successful, high-ceilinged room in St James’s stylishly introduces some refined chic into central London with its white leather seating, elegant lighting and subtle earthy tones. In particular, it is a big hit with business-types: “clients love it” even if it can become “loud (that is what comes of being a hedge fund and art world favourite!)”. But even fans – who see it as “several cuts above a typical Parisian brasserie with exceptionally good, traditional food” – admit “there is a price for delight”; while to less charitable reporters it’s merely “pleased with itself” and “astoundingly average given the inflated prices”.

2022 Review: Below Maison François (see also), this amiable, new, no-bookings wine bar in St James’s mixes a nowadays-proven formula of unconventional wines with hearty Gallic small plates: charcuterie, pâté and so forth. Handy to know about in a pricey area.

The Balthazar website promises an ‘elegant evocation of a traditional French brasserie with an authentic Parisian feel’, and many reporters feel that this “big” Covent Garden destination delivers just that: “good Gallic classics, a bustling (noisy) atmosphere all in a touristy area” (“with a wide menu for everyone, kids included… French onion soup and steak frites excellent!”). But while fans say that “if you go with that in mind, it’s a good choice for the right occasion”, there’s a persistent minority happy to write the place off (“very disappointing food and rushed service trying to get you out ASAP”, “at a high price”).

“Spectacular food, spectacular service, spectacular theatre… amazing!” – This glittering and gilded chamber occupies the top floor of one of Mayfair’s most impressive mansions and is a fairytale location and showcase for the cuisine of star French über-chef Pierre Gagnaire. One or two reporters do dismiss it for its “silly prices” and “the number of Instagrammers taking pictures of themselves”. On balance, though, it stacks up better than many competing London outposts of Gallic star chefs dutifully blessed by the French tyre men: “the various small plates provide never-experienced-before combinations” for some diners, and all acknowledge the “stunning” nature of the “beautiful” and “romantic” interior (and that’s just the Swarovski-clad toilets…)

If Willy Wonka was a restaurateur, he might open this perennial fashionista favourite in a huge Mayfair Palazzo, with its shimmering walls and artworks by Yinka Shonibare adorning the walls (not to mention the egg-shaped WCs). Actually, it’s the work of Parisian dining impresario, Mourad Mazouz, and has been a talking point of the London restaurant-scene since it first opened in 2003. For the uninitiated, maybe dip your toe in the water with afternoon tea, with its “delicious finger foods, sprightly service and no rush to move you on”. That it’s “very expensive” is part of its DNA however, and those visiting for its dinner menu of wacky European dishes are fairly likely to find it “poor” and/or “overpriced”.

“Good pre-theatre option very close to the Royal Opera House” – this Covent Garden fixture is “not overly expensive”, and even if its French brasserie food is sometimes “OK but uninspiring”, it “hits the spot for a quick dinner” and provides a very “buzzy” launchpad for an evening in the West End. Top Menu Tip – “excellent onion soup”.