Name: Rules
Item: Rules
Rating: 3
Author: Harden's editor

Harden's survey result

2025
2024
2023
2022

Summary

Price*

£85

££££

Food

Good

Service

Good

Ambience

Exceptional

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Step back in time at London’s oldest restaurant” – on this site, in Covent Garden, since 1798 – “where the best of British resounds in its decor, menu and ambience”. “Sometimes derided for being outdated or a tourist trap” (“fellow guests were either Yanks or elderly Brexiteers”), it actually remains remarkably “popular with the locals” and its large fan club says “a visit should be on everyone’s bucket list”. Hollywood would be proud of the decor (“it looks like the kind of place you dine in before deciding to conquer a remote land in the name of the crown”) and – though some of its antique furnishings are vaguely “preposterous” – the “special time warp” that’s created is “enchanting”. The “classic” menu has a fair share of “old-school-boy favourites” featuring a good amount of meat and game; and although it is “expensive” and “won’t blow you away”, it is “done well”. “The wine list is OK if not great (sort of gentlemen’s club level) but at least the mark-ups are reasonable”. “Don’t forget to visit the hidden gem of an upstairs cocktail bar to get the full experience”. Top Menu Tip – “the old fashioned steak and kidney suet pudding with rich extra gravy in a silver boat. Crisp on the outside, meltingly soft on the inside with gloriously tender pieces of meat”.

Summary

Price*

£83

££££

Food

Good

Service

Good

Ambience

Exceptional

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“What’s not to like about the oldest restaurant in London?” – in continuous operation on the same Covent Garden site since 1798. Of course, it’s “popular with tourists”, but its “quintessentially British” style makes it an “old favourite” for many Londoners too, and it provides “a beautiful, traditional experience”. The atmosphere of the beautiful dining room is “exceptional” and the “old school cuisine, with an emphasis on meat and game”, is very dependable; and backed up by an “extensive, if quite expensive wine list”. Top Menu Tip – “lovely steak ’n’ kidney pie”.

Summary

Price*

£83

££££

Food

Good

Service

Very Good

Ambience

Exceptional

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“It could so easily be a tacky tourist trap and is a bit pricey”, but there remains a whole lot of love for this Dickensian landmark in Covent Garden (London’s oldest restaurant to operate continuously on the same site – since 1798). The “beautiful” period dining room is “steeped in West End history and character” and the menu is “proper old-school” too – “no surprises, nothing extraordinary, but well-cooked and professionally served” grills, game, pies and puds. “And they do wonderful cocktails upstairs” too in the “splendid bar”. Top Menu Tip – “well worth it for old favourites like steak ’n’ kidney pudding followed by sponge pudding”.

Summary

Price*

£83

££££

Food

Average

Service

Good

Ambience

Exceptional

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

For a “quintessentially British” meal, it’s hard to beat this Dickensian icon in Covent Garden (London’s oldest restaurant to operate continuously on the same site – since 1798), which has a “beautiful” Victorian interior; and which delivers an archetypal mix of grills, game and stodgy puds. To an impressive extent, it has avoided pure Tourist Trap status; and many regulars have “so many happy memories here, going back decades” thanks to its “comforting” formula. No denying, however, that it has become “very overpriced” in recent years and increasingly risks “living on its old reputation”. But, for the time being, the overall verdict remains that “it’s one of a kind and the world would be poorer without it”.

For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at Rules?

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Leaflet | Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

35 Maiden Ln, London, WC2E 7LB

Restaurant details

Recommended For Business Yes

Childrens Facilities Highchair,Portions

Private Rooms 10, 18

Dress Code No shorts

Covers 133

Recommended for Romance Yes

Rules Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of Rules Restaurant in WC2, London by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of Rules restaurant.

Andrew B

Rules is a step back in time but in a lovel...

Reviewed 8 days ago

"Rules is a step back in time but in a lovely way, where attentive staff and a proper silver service is on offer. This a place to enjoy the decadence of rich food and a good wine list, in superb surroundings. Whilst this is slowly becoming a bit of a place where tourist flock, there is still the stalwart local diners who come here to enjoy all things Rules. We make an annual pilgrimage and hoping the traditions remains with the next generation. The menu is seasonal but with a main stay of rich and wonderful heaty dishes. Booking in advance is essential, especially around a weekend."

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Kevin F

Wonderful experience especially with the el...

Reviewed 3 months, 27 days ago

"Wonderful experience especially with the elaborate Xmas decorations "

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What the Newspaper Critics are saying

The Times

In his first review since joining the FT, Jay Rayner headed to London’s oldest restaurant, est. 1798 – a place where he has his own history. His late mother treated him lunch there almost 50 years ago, and he tasted his first oysters and Sancerre.

The restaurant has its own history, of course, but “has never been a prisoner of its history”.

“Rules bellows British, but in truth it has more in common with the great brasseries of Paris, places such as Bofinger and La Coupole, than it does with tatty pubs banging on about homegrown classics.” And, Jay added, a lot of the British dishes on the menu – Cornish crab salad, steak and kidney pudding – require “armfuls of French technique”.

“There are game chips, a fancy name for lattice crisps, hot from the deep-fat fryer. Anyone who does not love those has no business being in a restaurant”. To finish, a “glowing dome of steamed sponge pudding” that “manages to be both adult and childish. All the best desserts are.”

Jay Rayner - 2025-03-23