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?”

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.

“That stalwart of the British revolution in cooking in the 1990s and still going strong” – Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson’s famous Smithfield icon is an “austere white-walled room, close-filled with tables” that can surprise first-timers with its naked “functionalism”. World-renowned in foodie circles for its pioneering ‘nose-to-tail’, offal-rich cuisine, it’s “a restaurant where tripe, kidney and heart all become something sensational” and fans – many of whom have been regulars for decades – affirm it’s “still a stand-out after all these years” (“sometimes you want to eat everything on the menu and sometimes not so much, but you always eat well”). “Superb, genuinely engaging and caring” service and “excellent wines too” all contribute to its “unique and special” formula. And if ratings overall are not quite at their historical peak – with one or two disappointments related – its overall esteem amongst diners remains formidably high (“my favourite restaurant not just in London but bar none for all of its 30 years. It’s the only place where I always have a pudding, a part of the menu you simply mustn’t miss. Here’s to eating there for another 30 years!”). Top Menu Tips – “the Bone marrow starter and then Turbot on the bone are superb”. “Marmalade Bakewell, Rhubarb Trifle, Steamed Sponge – all excellent”; “be sure to go for the Madeleines: they’re made to order”.

A vantage point atop Borough Market, partly formed from an iron-and-glass structure that was once part of Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House, provides a dramatic location for this well-established fixture. When it was first opened by Indian entrepreneur Iqbal Wahhab OBE in 2005, it was ahead of its time in championing traditional British cuisine, but its performance has never been reliable, and it’s always been open to accusations that it’s “a smart place let down by casual service”, “expensive…”, “doesn’t live up to the hype”; or that there are “many better places to eat in Borough Market”. All that said, its “decor and location make it a stand-out from the usual business lunch options”; an “excellent place to host foreign clients”; and also a romantic nomination. Top Tip – top breakfasts.

The cheaper section of this South Bank landmark doesn’t generate as much feedback as its slightly grander adjacent sibling, but it occupies a similar rooftop space with large outdoor terrace and – on admittedly limited feedback – escaped its customary drubbing in this year’s annual diners’ poll, making a visit here the better bet: “visited for a work lunch… glad I wasn’t paying, but the simple food was excellent (if eclipsed by the view on a sunny day)”. Another highlight: “the superb team in the bar”.

“A perennial favourite” – this engagingly stark Spitalfields canteen provides a “more accessible entry point to the great St John” cuisine of Fergus Henderson, and “always has something original to tempt you on its classic menu” of simple punchy British dishes twinned with interesting wines. Top Menu Tips – “tasty brown shrimp with capers and smoked eel; devilled kidneys (always superb)”; “ox tongue and pigeon pie” – “leave room for pudding” (“Eccles cakes are probably best shared although they are the best you’ll ever eat”).

“A classic” that “never fails to delight”, this Clerkenwell institution was founded in 1869 as a ‘Progressive Working Class Caterer’, lending it “undeniable history and charm” (although “you either love or hate the austere bench seating”). These days part of Will Lander & Daniel Morgenthau’s smart group, it has an “ever-tempting menu” where “meat is the way to go” (non-carnivores may find it a little “over-chop-or-steaked”), leading to a meal that’s “always an absolute pleasure”. Top Menu Tips – “anything made from Middlewhite pork”; “spectacular confit potato”; “Bloody Mary (I don’t quite know what they do with them but they’re scintillating!)”

2024 Review: “Handy for the location” by the Thames, with spectacular views of Tower Bridge from its terrace, this modern take on the British chop house was created by the late Sir Terence Conran as part of his ‘Gastrodome’ complex in the 1990s. Nowadays owned by D&D London, it is a useful spot for tourists and business diners.

“Good for a working lunch” in Holborn’s ‘Legal Land’ – this “nicely atmospheric, old banking hall” offers a brasserie menu with a British twist, and is best known for its savoury pies: the Pie Room doubles as a private dining room, and there are pie-making masterclasses for true aficionados of pie-craft.

Autumn 2024 has become autumn 2025 when it comes to the projected launch date of this hotly awaited debut… if one can use such a word for the resurrection of this celebrated temple to roast beef on the Strand (est. 1828) which backs onto The Savoy (same owners). Restaurant supremo Jeremy King has partnered with Fairmont to rescue this “last of the ‘grande dame’ restaurants” and few openings carry such expectations and potential. The astonishing mediocrity of its traditional fare over recent decades has – notwithstanding its period charms; ongoing fame; large size; relaunch after relaunch; the huge surge in interest in dining out; and rising esteem for British cuisine – become an ever-more-obscure anachronism. King has said he envisions “a big-theatre brasserie”, but one that would “very much hark on its tradition” (“I want people to walk in there and say, ‘Oh good, they haven’t changed it’, although it will have changed”). Even if they have auctioned off the famous beef trolleys, if anyone can do it, it will be King… it could be so good.

A prime power-dining scene of yesteryear (where Lady Thatcher and her favourite tycoon, Lord Hanson would wine and dine in the 1980s), this panelled Art Deco chamber just off the foyer of the famous hotel remains a favourite with expense-accounters: “it’s definitely a restaurant to take guests who need impressing, with lovely, well-spaced tables and banquettes”. Run by Gordon Ramsay for most of the 2000s, its “first-class” traditional cooking is “wonderful” according to fans, but even they acknowledge that “it does seem to be overpriced for what it is”, and for a large band of critics it “doesn’t really deliver on its promise”. Top Menu Tip – “excellent Beef Wellington”.

“Proper old-school dining and a style of service rarely found nowadays” maintains the highest enthusiasm for London’s oldest restaurant: on this site in Covent Garden since 1798, and with “beautiful olde worlde decor” that looks like you’ve just “stepped back in time” to the era of Dickens, complete with “lovely wood panels and old paintings adorning the walls”. Of course the tourists flock, especially Yanks, and have for decades – get over it: it’s still an annual “tried and trusted” treat for many locals who “make an annual pilgrimage and hope the traditions remain for the next generation”. Its “seasonal, rich and wonderfully hearty British cooking” has proved of remarkably enduring quality over many years: “the beef pudding with an oyster? yes please, it’s is as good as it gets” (“superb, suet-encased, served with extra gravy”); and “the game in season is always good if a bit expensive” (e.g. “half a tender and flavourful roast partridge with bread sauce”). Top Tip – there’s also “a super bar upstairs that too many customers ignore”; “a favourite spot for a proper Black Velvet: that magical mix of champagne and Guinness devised during the time when Queen Victoria was in mourning”.