Mayfair, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

“A carnivore’s paradise” where “you can’t go wrong if you crave quality meat cooked over coals” is the reputation that precedes this “classic gem” of a pub, in a quiet Mayfair mews, which boasts a large (much extended) “traditional” grill room next to its quaint, old bar: and which wins praise for “top-notch steaks” and “the best pint of Young’s too”. Long famous – some fans feel that “it’s stepped up another gear since they extended into the building next door” (in 2024), but far too many diners also feel this has coincided with “prices going OTT, even allowing for the fact that it’s located in an expensive part of London”.

With its trollies, oil paintings and plush banquettes, this Mayfair dining room is worth considering for an old-fashioned traditional meal, and one fan declares it “just the right place for a special occasion” thanks to attractions like “great Dover sole” (filetted at the table). Other retro offerings in the hotel include an ‘Original Sweet Shop Afternoon Tea’.

“Iconic” and “opulent” – 007’s favourite restaurant oozes “elegance” and “glamour” under Richard Caring, but is more than just a Mayfair A-lister magnet: it’s also “up there with the very best when it comes to fish and seafood in London”. “You marvel at the wide-ranging menu” and, “though it’s very expensive”, results are “sensational”. (“What a great showcase it is for all that is best around our shores”). Still in the Top-10 most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll, it’s also “still hugely impressive in every way” (if not, perhaps, scaling the giddy peaks it was in the days when Mark Hix was at the stoves and Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi dined here almost daily). It can also seem “a little showy” now, certainly compared with its über-stuffy and fuddy-duddy reputation of decades ago (“customers have evolved – along with the immediate area around Mount Street – alongside formally dressed fiftysomethings you also now get twentysomethings dropping in by limo!”). Top Menu Tips – “you can’t go wrong with the classics here”; “half a dozen Loch Ryan native oysters provide a delicious start with red onion and vinaigrette dressing; grilled Dover sole on-the-bone is perfect, moist and tender”; “sautéed monkfish cheeks and snails are an indulgence for sure – as is the lobster thermidor – but never disappoint”.

The “refreshingly traditional” afternoon tea served in the Drawing Room of Rocco Forte’s Mayfair hotel is “as English afternoon tea should be”, with “none of the thematic faff often seen in other tea offerings these days”. “A long, long-time London favourite” (since Queen Victoria was on the throne), it has dispensed with “the trolley that used to trundle around serving massive slices of traditional cakes as an unofficial fourth course, but still provides just what one wants from the meal”. In the evening, the room serves a dinner menu created by Adam Byatt (of Trinity in Clapham), which provokes vanishingly little feedback. Top Tip – “they serve afternoon tea at lunchtime as well… Wonderful idea!”

“Definitely worth a visit if you like a pie” – the speciality at this “nicely buzzing pub” in Mayfair, which has “good prices too, compared with other options in the area”. A dip in ratings over the last couple of years sounds a warning note, but fans still say its selection of pie-inspired options is “in a different class: a great variety and absolutely packed with flavour”.

“THE best place to impress…”; “always a very special occasion…”’ “has to be the most attractive dining room in London…”; “couldn’t be more romantic…” – this “splendidly OTT” chamber, decked out in the “spectacular” style of Louis XVI, is riding high, not least on its elevation to a “well-deserved [and overdue] second star” by Michelin in their 2025 awards. “Of course, it is the epitome of hotel fine dining which isn’t for everyone, but” it is “astonishingly good”. Executive Head Chef John Williams MBE joined in 2004 and his team “show no sign of ever resting on their laurels”: “the cuisine is superb and keeps many classics interesting with well-judged updates” (although “thankfully there are no sharing plates of foraged fermented yeast and the like”). “There is usually a bit of theatre too, when other tables order the crepes suzette – made at the table, so that every so often the room is dotted with bursts of flame!”. “Service manages to combine the right amount of formality – which absolutely belongs in a restaurant such as this – with warmth and an absence of hauteur (in most cases)”. “The wine list is good too and not as financially crippling as you might expect”. You are not held hostage to a tasting format (though five-course, and eight-course options are available) with an excellent à la option; and even though the vertigo-inducing bills “can take some of some shine off the experience”, harsh disappointments are rare and most diners judge this is “an extravagance, but one that’s definitely worth it”. Top Menu Tips – “Luxury ingredients including foie gras, langoustines, turbot, Anjou pigeon, are all cooked to perfection. And don’t miss out on the Ritz Chocolate Soufflé” – “a must (and always delicious)”.