Yahoo Finance London's most iconic dining experiences to rediscover
- 1/11
London's most iconic dining experiences to rediscover
The capital’s restaurants have begun gingerly welcoming back hungry customers and many will be hoping that the new ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme will help keep tables full in August. The government initiative sees registered restaurants offering 50 per cent off food and non-alcoholic drinks from Monday to Wednesday throughout the month (up to a maximum of £10 per diner).
In order to prepare for the reopening of eateries post-lockdown, there’s been a mammoth effort behind the scenes; table layouts changed, air purification systems installed, and maître ds more used to enforcing jacket and tie policies have suddenly had to work out where they stand on face masks and hand sanitiser stations.
And while small independents will be feeling the pain, we shouldn’t assume that the bigger beasts of the restaurant industry are Covid-immune. The announced closure of The Ledbury, Le Caprice (at least at its current site) and The Goring Hotel’s just-opened fish restaurant, Siren, should serve as a timely warning. We take some of London’s most beloved restaurants for granted, giving them scant attention but always taking comfort from knowing they’re there.
So, as you get out and about once more, here is a round-up of what to eat at some of London’s most venerable venues that have been keeping us fed and watered for as long as we can remember.
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1) The Wolseley; Omelette Arnold Bennett
This indulgent breakfast classic with smoked haddock, hollandaise and cream originated at The Savoy, where it was created to get the eponymous British novelist and playwright Arnold Bennett going in the morning. They say breakfast is fuel for the day and indeed Bennett managed to write an entire novel while staying there. The Wolseley’s loving homage, which is topped with parmesan and grilled until browned and bubbling, was enough to win AA Gill’s praise in his book, Breakfast At The Wolseley. Do as Gill did: pick up a newspaper from the rack and hold court all day from your favourite table.
160 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9EB
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2) Nobu; Miso-marinated black cod
Nobu on Old Park Lane has been bringing Londoners swish Japanese fine-dining and their best chance of spotting an A-List celebrity since it opened in 1997. The fish- and seafood-focused menu is definitely Japanese, but with Peruvian influences, and the Miso-marinated black cod served on butter lettuce has borne a thousand hopeful imitations. The restaurant is located in a handsome space in the Como Metropolitan London hotel, with Hyde Park views through full-height windows— though of course visitors are often distracted by trying to catch a sight of the Kardashian-Jenner clan.
COMO Metropolitan, 19 Old Park Ln, Mayfair, London W1K 1LB
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3) Scott's; Dover Sole
An undoubted institution, Scott’s started its life on Haymarket in 1851 before moving to its Mount Street site in the late 1960s to give the Mayfair set somewhere to earn points on their Amex. This is conspicuous consumption at its best, and the place to go for a business lunch if you want to give your boss a reason to not switch to doing all client meetings over Zoom. The Dover Sole is the classic: seared on the grill then finished for a few minutes in the oven, before being trimmed and filleted in the dining room upstairs with 100 quid-a-head savoir-faire.
20 Mount St, Mayfair, London W1K 2HE
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4) St. John; Bone marrow on toast with parsley salad
When Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver founded St. John in an abandoned bacon smoke-house on the edge of the City in 1994, they couldn’t have predicted the cult following it would have a quarter of a century later. Its success—there are now three restaurants, a bakery, a winery and a wine company—is a cheering indication of our growing commitment to nose-to-tail eating. The bone marrow on toast with parsley salad is defining of Henderson’s proudly humble style of cooking: veal marrowbones from Smithfield Market and day-old leftover bread, paired with an ode to chef Rowley Liegh's "late night salad” for a piquant counterpoint to the rich marrow. As Henderson once said, “I’m married to the dish”.
26 St John St, Barbican, London EC1M 4AY
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5) Wiltons; Oysters
The lobster sporting top hat and cane outside Wiltons' front door has been welcoming patrons for a rather long time. This refined and understated bastion of Britishness opened in 1742 (though not on the current site) and vies with Rules for the title of capital’s oldest restaurant.
It received its first of six royal warrants in 1836 for supplying oysters to the royal household, and George Wilton's molluscs remain as much a hit today as they did at his 18th-century stall. The old-school interior today is as dignified as you’d expect, with green velvet banquettes lining the agreeably private booths at the back, so you don't need to fear judgement should you have a little too much fun.
Get a big plate of oysters, either natural or cooked/dressed, and wash it all down with a glass of Wiltons Cuvée NV or spring water (bottled, naturally, at Blenheim Palace).
55 Jermyn St, St. James's, London SW1Y 6LX
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6) The Ivy; Shepherd’s Pie
The fact they’ve managed to get away with serving school-dinner staples at top-end restaurant prices and leave one not feeling resentful is The Ivy’s peculiar genius. It began welcoming London’s celebrities while Chiltern Firehouse was still in the womb, and they all come for the same comfort food done extraordinary well. There are a clutch of classics here, but the Shepherd’s Pie is one of their most popular orders. Made with both beef and lamb mince and therefore actually a cross between a shepherd's pie and a cottage pie, it’s flavoured with veal stock, Worcestershire sauce, herbs and red wine. Follow it with a Knickerbocker Glory or a Tarte Tatin and then curl up on the classic Ivy Green banquettes in the lavish Art Deco surrounds of the Seven Dials original.
1-5 West St, London WC2H 9NQ
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7) Cecconi’s; Spaghetti Lobster
Now owned by the Soho House group, Cecconi's has gone global - with a string of venues in London and outposts in West Hollywood, Miami, Istanbul, Berlin, Barcelona, New York and Mumbai - but nothing beats the Mayfair original for old-school Venetian glamour. First opened by the general manager of the famous Hotel Cipriani in Venice, the restaurant exudes unabashed Italian confidence and glamour. There’s prosecco on tap and a hedge fund manager dining on the table next to you. Alba white truffle risotto was the signature dish at Enzo Cecconi’s original restaurant and the place still flaunts luxury in its ingredients - the spaghetti lobster with saffron, chilli and basil now being a firm favourite. Wash it down with a Bellini, close your eyes and try to imagine a turquoise-blue Venetian lagoon.
Various London locations
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8) Gymkhana; Muntjac Biryani
Chef Karam Sethi earned his first Michelin star at Marylebone’s Trishna, and Gymkhana soon earned him another one. It was also voted the country’s best restaurant only a few months after opening in 2013. A Raj-era Indian restaurant using interesting British game was always going to be a good idea and it finds its vindication in the signature Muntjac Biryani. A crisp pastry dome, flecked with carom and Nigella seeds, is punctured to reveal fragrant spiced rice and venison, served with a pomegranate and mint raita. Combine it with the lauded kid goat methi keema, some daal and crispy okra and you’ll be happy as a bunny—or, er, a deer.
42 Albemarle St, Mayfair, London W1S 4JH
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9) The Ritz; Crepes Suzette
A dish with royal provenance, hailing as it does from a slap-up meal enjoyed at Monte Carlo's Café de Paris by one of our more gluttonous former monarchs, Edward VII. For what better way to charm your beautiful female dinner companion than to name a dessert after her? Legend has it the creation was a total accident with the 14-year-old assistant waiter who was serving managing to set fire to the future King’s pud. Whatever the truth, it is a heavenly combination of paper-thin crepes bubbled in caramel and flambéed in booze (usually Grand Marnier), prepared tableside on a silver trolley by a jacketed gent with singed eyebrows.
150 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9BR
Simon John Owen Red Photographic - 11/11
10) Otto’s; Canard à la Presse
Yes you should come for any one of the French classics - such as steak tartare or Poulet de Bresse - at this slice of French indulgence in Clerkenwell, but the pressed duck is Otto Tepasse’s pride and joy. Trained at Paris’ Coq D’Argent, the chef has brought back the 19th-century art of duck pressing. Star of the show is the press itself— a gleaming contraption that you wouldn’t want tomess— and it is used to produce a multi-course fête of canard. The duck will first be brought to your table for inspection (complete with its feathered head), you will do your best not to appear squeamish and then you will hunker down and enjoy breast meat, diced up liver and grilled legs, all moistened in a jus made from the crushed bones. It is the best the duck could have hoped for.
182 Grays Inn Rd, Holborn, London WC1X 8EW
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Where to head this month to support the hospitality industry
