British, Modern Restaurants in Marylebone
1. 108 Brasserie
British, Modern restaurant in Marylebone
108 Marylebone Lane - W1
“They know what they are doing” at this comfortable hotel brasserie, well-located with a covered terrace on Marylebone Lane. Even its harshest critic – who finds the menu “pretty standard if uninteresting” – says that it suits “a functional business lunch”. But most reports are more upbeat – “there’s nothing to ‘frighten the horses’ but what they do, they do well. A place to come and please everyone and be able to have a proper conversation. Hooray!”
2. The Ivy Café
British, Modern restaurant in Marylebone
96 Marylebone Ln - W1
“The dangers of overextending the brand are writ large at these places” – the sub-sub-brand derivatives from the Theatreland classic, which haven’t taken off like the slightly posher ‘Ivy Brasserie’ spin-offs (perhaps because “they do this better at Côte”). They are not without supporters, who say they have fab locations and “look great” (SW19 is particularly “delightful”); or that although “supper is terribly disappointing, for breakfast they are an absolute joy enhanced by the refined surroundings”. Too often, though, they are dismissed as a “so-so brasserie chain that’s only really aiming for gullible out-of-towners” nowadays.
3. Gunmakers
British, Modern restaurant in Marylebone
33 Aybrook Street - W1U
2022 Review: Winston Churchill was, it is said, once partial to the odd jar at this Marylebone hostelry, reopened in October 2019 by well-known sommelier Xavier Rousset (in charge of the vino) and Anglo-chef Mark Jarvis, who oversees the basement steakhouse. Early social media feedback says results are high quality but can seem pricey.
4. 28-50 Marylebone
British, Modern restaurant in Marylebone
15-17 Marylebone Lane - W1
This wine bar/restaurant group has a steady fanbase on the strength of its vinous offerings, although its “bistro fare” is perhaps not much better than “acceptable”. The best of its four venues is probably the “cosy” Marylebone flagship with live jazz and late opening at ’28-50 By Night’, and there’s a “very convenient” branch a minute’s walk from Oxford Circus.
5. AOK Kitchen
British, Modern restaurant in Westminster
52-55 Dorset Street - W1U
2022 Review: “Wonderfully fresh, tasty and simple flavours” stand out at this health-conscious Marylebone two-year-old, which has a decidedly pretty interior in the upstairs restaurant (there’s a bakery below). Dietary requirements are celebrated rather than being grudgingly catered for, so there are no refined sugars in the cooking, along with limited dairy and gluten. The owner, Kelly Landesberg, is the daughter of Gary, chairman of the Arts Club in Mayfair.
6. Roux at the Landau, The Langham
British, Modern restaurant in Marylebone
1c Portland Pl - W1
2022 Review: ‘Exciting concept changes’ are promised at this elegant Roux-branded dining room, within the luxurious five-star opposite Broadcasting House. Democratised in style in 2018, then closed for much of the pandemic and beyond, the presumption is that it will take another move to a less formal (perhaps brasserie?) style when it reopens in 2022. Just the other side of the wall is The Wigmore – a pub created from spare space at the hotel and launched with its own entrance and Roux input in 2017. A hint at what’s to come?
7. Portland
British, Modern restaurant in Fitzrovia
113 Great Portland Street - W1
The “outstanding quality and consistency” of Will Lander and Daniel Morgenthau’s Fitzrovia fixture, has helped it celebrate its 10th anniversary this year and for such a central venue, it’s unusual in feeling “genuinely local in its approach and feel”. The sophisticated cuisine is “expertly prepared and carefully judged” and manages to be “complex without being overthought”. “Friendly, knowledgeable and professional service” is a key strength and “helps to jolly a slightly dull space”.
8. Caravan
British, Modern restaurant in Fitzrovia
Yalding House, 152 Great Portland Street - W1W
A particularly solid choice for brunch – this “buzzy” Kiwi-run chain (with seven branches) fits the bill well, with “interesting small plates” of pan-global fusion food and an emphasis on notably good coffee (which they roast in-house). On the downside, the food is often “passable and no more” and their “lively” interiors (Granary Square in particular) can become “hopelessly crowded”, giving rise to incidents of “slapdash service”. Still, they’re “fun” and “reasonably priced”. (See also Vardo).
9. Clipstone
British, Modern restaurant in Fitzrovia
5 Clipstone Street - W1
More than the sum of its parts, Will Lander & Daniel Morgenthau’s highly regarded Fitzrovia corner-site looks uneventful but achieves a “convivial and relaxed atmosphere” (“similar in feel to a neighbourhood restaurant in New England”) thanks to its “charming” staff. On the menu – “extremely well-constructed, flavoursome and unfussy food” from a “changing menu” matched by an “accessible wine list” (“very good by the glass”); and all at a “fair price”.
10. Brasserie of Light, Selfridges
British, Modern restaurant in Westminster
400 Oxford Street - W1A
“A top stop-off after you finish your shopping” – Richard Caring’s spectacular venue on the second floor of Selfridges has plenty of pizzazz and is a destination in itself. The brasserie fare “is very similar to that at The Ivy” (no surprise, its essentially part of that group) “but Damain Hirst’s flying Pegasus sculpture helps give the place the upper hand stylewise” – the famous and striking centrepiece to an AbFab chamber filled with light by its huge windows.
11. Tendril
Vegan restaurant in
5 Princes Street - W1B
“Rishim Sachdeva’s ‘mostly’ vegan food is consistently thrilling in its creativity, ingenuity and presentation” and long-time supporters welcome his graduation from a pop-up to this permanent site in July 2023 near Oxford Circus. Rishim “magically roams the globe drawing from many cuisines which somehow harmonise”. The “smart (for a vegan restaurant)” interior mostly pleases, but “can perhaps seem a little hard-edged at times”, but fans say “I would enjoy Rishim’s food on a bed of nails – it is brilliant!”
12. The Grazing Goat
British, Modern restaurant in Marylebone
6 New Quebec St - W1
True to the Cubitt Group’s “comfortable” standards, this is a “lovely and above-average gastropub not far from Marble Arch” (with eight boutique hotel bedrooms). Foodwise, it’s a “reliable” bet, with the group’s menu ranging from small plates to poshed-up gastropub staples via oysters and steaks.
13. The Lore of the Land
British, Modern restaurant in Camden
4 Conway Street - W1T
Under the ownership of film director Guy Ritchie (pals David and Cruz Beckham have been spotted here), this “first-class” pre-Victorian Fitzrovia boozer is thriving. Everything is “done well”: and at heart, the food is “simple, and well-sourced” (although this description possibly under-sells a menu featuring such dishes as Wiltshire Venison Tartare with Togarashi Mayonnaise and South Coast Brown Crab Risotto with Coriander and Cherry Harissa dressing).
14. Little Social
British, Modern restaurant in Westminster
5 Pollen Street - W1S
With the closure of Pollen Street Social opposite (as Mary’s, see also), Jason Atherton’s elegant small Mayfair venue is now one of his two remaining ‘Socials’. It still wins praise for its “delicious, bistro-style offer” (e.g. “superb succulent pork chop with mash”) and “lovely booths and dining at the bar”. But its ratings slipped this year: service has seemed more up-and-down of late; and there is a view that it’s “a competent bistro with sound cooking but otherwise unexciting”. Perhaps as the dust settles on the reshaping of the Atherton empire, it will regain its va-va-voom?
15. Upstairs at The George
British, Modern restaurant in Fitzrovia
55 Great Portland Street - W1W
This “beautifully turned out” 18th-century tavern aims “at the upper end for pub food” (although the cooking “never strays into fussy fine-dining fare”). But while it mostly receives a good rep in reports – and its location near Oxford Circus makes it “handy when carpet shopping at John Lewis becomes all too much” – its performance is very modest for somewhere backed by the mighty JKS Restaurants and with a menu designed by chef James Knappett of Kitchen Table fame.
16. Apricity
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
68 Duke Street - W1K
Chantelle Nicholson and her team work to admirable sustainable and low-waste principles at her Mayfair two-year-old, whose plaster walls, bare tables and “simple” decor are in keeping with its wholesome ethos. The menu celebrates British veg first and foremost, as well as regeneratively farmed meat and sustainably caught fish. All reports acknowledge it as a “friendly” spot with a kitchen that “delivers good results”.
17. The Barley Mow
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
82 Duke Street - W1K
With its parquet floors and white Edwardian-style tiling behind the bar, this Mayfair boozer has undergone a fine restoration by the Cubitt House group. For a civilised pub meal in a pricey bit of town it’s worth remembering – “the ground floor bar is fine for beer and pub snacks, but it is the more cosy upstairs dining room where the menu showcases seasonal British dishes” with a ‘decadent French’ twist from chef Chris Fordham-Smith.
18. The Maine Mayfair
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
6 Medici Court, 20 Hanover Square - W1S
Montreal-born ‘tastemaker’ Joey Ghazal’s no-expense-spared transformation of a 1720 Hanover Square townhouse into a sleek 350-cover American brasserie still does not generate a huge number of reports three years on from its late 2021 launch. But they are all upbeat – fans say its “NY 1960s-meets-London 1920s vibe” is a winner, with live entertainment from jazz to burlesque, a basement bar for cocktails, and a straightforward menu that takes in brunch classics, steaks, Italian-American favourites and New England-style seafood – “all done well, if at a price…”
19. 28-50 Oxford Circus
British, Modern restaurant in Oxford Circus
4 Great Portland Street - W1W
This wine bar/restaurant group has a steady fanbase on the strength of its vinous offerings, although its “bistro fare” is perhaps not much better than “acceptable”. The best of its four venues is probably the “cosy” Marylebone flagship with live jazz and late opening at ’28-50 By Night’, and there’s a “very convenient” branch a minute’s walk from Oxford Circus.
20. Claridge’s Restaurant, Claridge’s Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Westminster
49 Brook Street - W1K
It’s a total case of ‘Back to the Future’ in this Art Deco dining room. After a string of collabs with the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Simon Rogan and Daniel Humm, it reopened in late 2023 much as it was 20 years previously, before all the celeb nonsense set in. Some bemoan this lack of stardust, but it’s hard not to find positives in the “delightful room” and “proper service”. That the conventional, posh brasserie cuisine is no longer ‘pushing the envelope’ similarly makes it “boring and bland” to the excitement-seekers, but on balance the rating for food here is “better-than-average” and we’re with those who say “the new format is an improvement on what it was before”: if you’re a very posh hotel dining room in Mayfair, don’t fight it! Top Tip – “the set lunch is very good and fairly priced for such a special location”, as is the pre-theatre deal.
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