Marylebone, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Trading on a once-great name but disappointing in every category (except perhaps breakfasts)” – this brasserie brand themed around the Theatreland classic feels “very ‘chain restaurant’ now”. Some reporters do suggest their “comfort food staples” and “buzzy interiors” make them useful destinations, but too many suggest they are “haphazard” and “not a place to return to”.

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.

A “fabulous wine list with so many wines available by the glass” is the key draw to this trio of wine-bar/kitchens from the West End to Chelsea (the Draycott Avenue branch closed this year). Dining can seem “quite pricey” for what it is, but most diners say they “love the food as well”.

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.

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?

Will Lander and Daniel Morgenthau have created an understated classic at this Fitzrovia fixture, with open kitchen on view. No-one minds that the “informal atmosphere is nothing particularly special” or that “tables are too close together” – they value the positive vibes generated by “low-key, friendly and unobtrusive staff who are helpful without hovering or being overly servile”. Most importantly, “if the decor is slightly bland, the food is anything but”: it can be “outstanding”; comes at “a very reasonable price given the location and quality”; and is backed up by “unusual and excellent wines”.

“The most original brunches” – with “a good selection of super-tasty, tapas-style dishes” fusing eclectic flavours from the Middle East to the Pacific – are the top feature of these “nicely vibey” haunts, which also boast “great coffee and pastries, plus interesting non-alcoholic drinks (like sodas and kombuchas)”. And they serve “lots for vegans and veggies too”. On the downside, they become “noisy”; staff can be “overstretched” and ratings are dragged down by those who find them “a convenient option, but, in truth, a slightly disappointing one”. Expansion is still on the cards, though, with 2023 seeing a big new opening in Covent Garden, in a workspace on Drury Lane, complete with outside terrace.

“An upmarket but wonderfully understated local without pretensions” that’s “just 10 minutes’ walk from Oxford Circus”. Will Lander and Daniel Morgenthau’s well-regarded – if “fairly cramped and noisy” – Fitzrovia corner site wins continues to win support with its “very competent, modern British cooking”, “varied international wine list, with many options by the glass”, and “staff who are friendly and passionate about what they serve”. Is it the cost of living crisis though? – “rather small portions” is a repeat complaint this year. Top Tip – “great value lunch with an (always) interesting menu”.

“Who would have believed you are eating in a department store!” – Richard Caring’s “glitzy but useful” second-floor brasserie has “a real buzz”. “With huge windows, the decor is fabulously glamorous and Damien Hirst’s stunning ‘Pegasus’ dominates the scene”. The “Ivy-style menu” is “appealingly eclectic, if with rather average execution”, but by-and-large comes at “fair prices”.

The “interesting, unusual” and “occasionally really great” vegan cuisine at this “romantic and candle-lit restaurant close to Oxford Circus” has won enough fans to crowdfund its transformation from pop-up to permanent status at the same address. “The best test is that it continues to attract non-vegetarians because the food is so good”. Former Fat Duck and Chiltern Firehouse chef Rishim Sachdeva was a committed meat-eater before challenging himself to create knock-out veggie dishes (with some cheese permitted).

2023 Review: Promising ‘layers of country pub’ on its website, this popular pub/restaurant (also with rooms) is tucked away in a Marylebone townhouse. Part of the posh Cubitt House group, it offers “decent upmarket pub fare with reliable cooking and service” in a buzzing setting.

Perhaps our user-base isn’t impressed by the c’leb ownership of Guy Ritchie’s rustic Fitzrovia pub, where pal Becks has been seen pulling a pint, as we receive few reports. But such as we do get praise “fantastic food, attentive service and good value”.

Jason Atherton’s elegant, “professional” wine bar and bistro is decked out in an understated, classic style that’s a little more retro than at his main gaff (Pollen Street), which is across the street. Here, chef Frankie van Loo offers less ‘foodie’ “bistro-style” dishes raised to a “superb” standard. The bar area is tiny, but “you can always have a pre-dinner drink at its big brother opposite, which has a great cocktail bar”. Top Tip – visit in summer, when you can eat outside on the pedestrianised street.

This “grand but friendly” tavern, in “magnificent” 18th-century premises a short walk from Oxford Circus, offers Kitchen Table chef “James Knappett’s take on traditional pub classics with inventive twists”. In the main bar you’ll find elevated snacks, while a “concise British menu” is served in the upstairs dining room, including “incredible roast dinners – huge slices of beef with what can only be described as a chimney-sized Yorkshire pudding!”.

Chantelle Nicholson’s Mayfair yearling has “a menu balance that’s the opposite way around to most restaurants, with an emphasis on vegetarian/vegan cooking, but also with a few meat/fish options”. Although some more critical reviewers “were expecting more after reading the glowing reviews”, even they said it was “perfectly good”. And most feedback this year was uniformly positive, hailing it as an unqualified “winner”: “there was no need to order any meat or fish: the vegetarian and vegan dishes we had were spectacular!”.

“All of the Cubitt’s pubs are class acts”, and this recent (2022) addition to their glossy tribe is a gentrified Mayfair boozer with fine period features. In culinary terms, it fits the “pricey but good quality” DNA of the group – in fact, it’s at the upper level of achievement in that respect. There’s a bar downstairs and a more formal restaurant on the first floor.

“Taking you back to a different era”, this glitzy American brasserie is spread over three floors of an extravagantly refurbed Georgian townhouse in Mayfair, where the entertainment runs to live jazz and burlesque shows. It’s the creation of Montreal-born, Middle East-based ‘tastemaker’ Joey Ghazal. Naturally it does a “nice brunch”, and the rather obvious menu – New England-style seafood plus some steaks and American-Italian favourites – is consistently well-rated.

A “fabulous wine list with so many wines available by the glass” is the key draw to this trio of wine-bar/kitchens from the West End to Chelsea (the Draycott Avenue branch closed this year). Dining can seem “quite pricey” for what it is, but most diners say they “love the food as well”.

Plus ça change! After 20 years of mucking about with megastar chefs, like Gordon Ramsay, Simon Rogan and Daniel Humm – this landmark Mayfair hotel’s glorious Art Deco dining room is finally going back to sailing under its ‘own brand’ flag: returning to an updated version of the format it abandoned two decades ago. Coalin Finn is to be at the stoves, and the food will be a bit fancier than when the space was something of an undiscovered traditional gem. Few five stars in the late ’90s were serving barbequed radish skewers braised in homemade teriyaki, laced with horseradish; but grilled native lobster with crushed Jersey royals and sauce Américaine… that sounds more like it.