Clerkenwell , British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“A popular chain with an interesting and varied international menu” – “V.G. value too” – these Kiwi-run cafés are “still seeing off all of the competition” for their many fans. In particular, they do a “great brunch, and they’re right to boast about their filter coffee” – and given the volume of feedback they generate, there is remarkably little negative criticism. Depending on the venue and the time of day, they work equally well for a “working lunch meeting” or “families out for the day visiting the sights”. Top Menu Tip – “the cornbread is to die for”.

Still “consistently knocking its many imitators out of the park” – London’s original gastropub celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, while head chef Ed Mottershaw has run the kitchen for 21 of those years, guaranteeing an “always interesting” Mediterranean-inspired menu and “reliably brilliant cooking: no fuss, no faff, no fancy flourishes. Just dedication to the palate and wholehearted devotion to flavour”.

“Deserving its hype for being terrifically romantic” – this “magical” Clerkenwell venue occupies part of a big, Grade II listed courthouse (which features in Dickens’s Oliver Twist) and a ride in the lift leads onto a superb space with “a stripped-back interior, giant windows, enormous fireplaces and dimly lit corners for canoodling” (and there’s also a gorgeous outside terrace). Abigail Hill (in post since February 2024) has made a good fist of replacing launch chef Florence Knight and her “clever” cooking adds to its appeal “for a foodie date”. “Fair prices” – “not outlandishly expensive for its quality” – mean it’s “popular for good reasons”.

2024 Review: “Very decent” French-influenced food helps elevate this fine old Clerkenwell pub restaurant into being a “good all-rounder”, as does its attractive, glazed dining area. That said, it doesn’t attract the attention it did a few years ago when Henry Harris was at the stoves.

“Stylish and discrete” captures the appeal of Daniel Willis & Johnny Smith’s successful “favourite” north of Smithfield Market (which severed its ties this year from Clove Club owner, Isaac McHale). A handsome front bar, pretty glazed rear terrace (“if you can get a seat here, you are in a little idyll”), and elegant spaces in-between provide a comfortable backdrop to “dish after dish of gorgeous and inventive modern Italian cooking” – “the food quality is nailed-on if pricey” – and “there’s a balanced Italian wine list to complement things”, introduced by “a great sommelier team”. Top Menu Tip – “best Lemon Tart in town”.

“A cut above your average wine bar”: this 20-year-old group remains highly popular in our annual diners’ poll thanks to its “decent wines at fair prices” in “jolly” settings. “The food can be terrific – but not always”, and the overall performance shows signs of steadying after a tricky patch when the business was sold out of administration.

2024 Review: “Amazing steak (though the rest of menu is good too)” and terrific views over the City and St Paul’s share top billing at the flagship restaurant at the top of a handsome Grade II-listed former Smithfield market warehouse. It can be “a bit noisy”, but it makes for a “solid dining experience” that’s “always good for business”.

2024 Review: “Somewhere to go that isn’t fine dining but is above the ordinary” – this Clerkenwell site became well-known under chef Anna Hansen as The Modern Pantry (RIP), and was relaunched (under new ownership) as this all-day restaurant and deli in 2022. It does do brunch, but that’s no longer the top feature it was in its former guise. The menu includes some “retro” dishes such as prawn cocktail (“mains of Holstein chicken and mushroom ragu were excellent”) and has a something-for-everybody quality to it. What’s more, “service is a notch above the usual” helping to create “a relaxed feel to the place”. (In his November 2022 review, The Telegraph’s William Sitwell noted the venue’s “polite” qualities and thought it a place to “take my favourite aunt”.)

2023 Review: “Recently revamped” with eight ‘boutique guestrooms’, this handsome Clerkenwell establishment is one of the oldest public houses in central London. There are too few reports for a rating as yet, but it looks promising and “the Sunday roast sharing board is pretty impressive”.