LONDON, French Restaurant Guide

“Perfect for a slick business lunch” – “if the weather permits get an outside table” at this D&D London operation on the top floor of No 1 Poultry, where you eat just a minute’s walk from the Bank of England amidst leafy roof terraces. Despite the upheavals at its owning group (sold to new private equity owners in October 2023) it put in a stronger-than-ever performance this year. True, “it’s best when the meal is not at your own expense”, but perennial complaints were absent this year. Instead, “nothing but praise for the lovely staff and excellent kitchen”; and for the “consistently good” modern French cuisine: “I’ve taken numerous guests – all very happy!”

“Still the best cheap steak in London” for fans, despite growing competition – these “bustling” and “tightly packed” Paris-based ventures thrive on an “unchanged formula (steak + salad + frites + secret sauce + French staff outfits + bustle)” with branches in Marylebone and the City, whose permanent queues testify to their winning style. “A bit bish, bash, bosh but great fun”, they “do what it says on the tin, without grandstanding or ludicrous pricing (are you watching Hawksmoor?)”.

“A City Institution!” – Looking down onto Leadenhall Market from the eves of the old Victorian structure (which it has inhabited since the 1980s), this traditional brasserie is an excellent all-rounder by the standards of Square Mile lunch spots. The classic French fare is not going to distract from your lunch, but prices are sufficiently reasonable as to make this a bill that can be paid, if necessary, from your ‘personal account’.

“Tap the ‘Press for Champagne’ button, add a little caviar tasting plate to the low-level lighting and small booth seating, and you have an ideal formula for a romantic dinner!” or, indeed, for a casual business tête-a-tête at Leonid Shutov’s willfully decadent retro-diners, styled in a kind of Art Deco steampunk. Both at the Soho original and in the newer City spin-off that occupies a floor of “The Cheesegrater”, they provide “an amazing setting”; and “somehow the totally OTT gaudiness of the place makes the overall experience a genuinely fun one”. Fans also say “the Beef Wellington is really very good” and approve of its other luxurious comfort food like Lobster Mac ’n’ Cheese, Chateaubriand for One, or Salmon en Croute. “It’s not cheap mind you” and harsher critics say the food “just doesn’t cut it” (“the novelty of the fun Champagne button sadly wears off when the dishes arrive; and while the bling and the booths create an atmosphere of unrestrained wealth, I prefer restaurants where food is the prime objective”).