St James's, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Situated just below Fortnum & Mason, in what was once an in-house ‘Buttery’ of F&M, now a wonderful restaurant in its own right” – this sophisticated St James’s haunt is a feather in the cap for this famous store, which successfully relaunched the space over a decade ago now. It’s “always a pleasure” for a host of occasions, making it “a definite favourite” for a variety of diners: “great for popping in just for a glass of champagne at the bar, or for something more substantial”; “the location is top for a biz meet-up”; “I adore the Sunday lunch and they do some of the best Bloody Marys and espresso martinis”. Top of the list is the “traditional breakfast” – “a really good selection” and “super-consistent cooking from the finest ingredients”. “Thoroughly recommended”.

Back in 1993 – when it was rescued from oblivion by the late Sir Terence Conran – this huge St James’s ballroom (est. 1929) – became an icon of London’s 1990s restaurant resurgence. Still owned by the remains of Sir Tel’s empire (renamed recently as The Evolv Collection), it’s nowadays out-of-sight and out of mind for most Londoners and perennially attracts scant feedback in our annual diners’ poll. Reports are of hits and misses – the latter are too common (and in accordance with our own past experience) to ignore: “good steak and nice to have some music. However, our meal and a bottle of (moderate) wine did not deserve a bill totalling £318… Shocking is an understatement”.

“I still love it!” For a “grand occasion”, this “sophisticated”, “European-style” grand café near The Ritz is “a classic that works” and which has endured the boardroom battles that beset its owners in 2022. Even if it’s “now lost the Jeremy King touch” – and, perhaps, a smidgeon of A-lister cachet as a result – “it has survived the rule of the money men (so far)” to remain one of the capital’s key rendezvous for just about any occasion. “There’s no finer start to a special day in London” – “breakfast is as good as it gets, if what you happen to want is the best room, a newspaper and a bacon roll… just put a suit on and feel like you own Piccadilly”. Amidst the “noisy” mêlée of West End visitors, shoppers and theatre-goers (“wonderful people-watching”), there is a perennial backdrop of expense-accounters from the start of the day onwards, as “no one ever got fired for taking a client to the Wolseley” (it’s “the perfect place to seal a deal!”). “For a celebration or a special night out, you can bring pretty much anyone along and they will find something to eat, a nice place to sit and charming service”. OK, the food from “a wide-ranging menu of European classics” is “not remarkable”, but it never has been and it’s not the point. Booking well in advance is a good idea, but “they always have a few tables for walk-ins so it’s worth a punt when passing”. Top Menu Tip – “your goal is to get in, eat breakfast, and charge through the rest of the day on a post-black-pudding high”, or go for the “perfectly cooked kippers and scrambled eggs!”; “the afternoon tea is good and very good value in a lovely setting”.

2022 Review: When it opened in April 2019, this heart-of-Mayfair restaurant aimed for a blend of British Modern cuisine with accents of West Africa, but nowadays a more confident Pan-African narrative is dominant, both in the styling and cooking. No survey reports as yet; online feedback has its ups and downs, but – for anyone interested in African cuisine – this is London’s most poshly located destination.

Chef Adam Byatt of Trinity (see also) fame in Clapham oversees the kitchen in this “lovely”, wood-panelled chamber, which sits at the heart of a marvellous old-fashioned Mayfair hotel nowadays owned by Rocco Forte; and is one of London’s most agreeable traditional dining rooms. “The room is so spacious: you can have a cosy, intimate dinner with no-one overhearing you” and it’s oft-recommended this year for a “romantic” occasion. Fans say the traditional-ish food is “pretty good” too, but while the cuisine is generally acknowledged as “tasty and reliable” ratings supported sceptics this year who feel the performance is “fine” but they “had expected more”.

“Exciting dishes, all full of flavour” and with “a sustainability ethos too” are hailed by fans of this well-regarded five-year-old, which started out on Heddon Street and nowadays occupies a “big and buzzy” site with open kitchen on the Haymarket – in fact, it was voted as providing many ‘best meals of the year’ in 2025. A sceptical minority, however, view it as hyped by the media and drag down its overall ratings (“I suppose if you knew nothing about the background, you’d just see this as a perfectly competent place between Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly. Me? I just see it as a lot of fuss about… what?”). Top Tip – “it does an excellent Saturday brunch and an excellent breakfast the rest of the week”: “the croissants are a tasty work of art”; “Black pudding Benedict on a honey waffle is divine as are the hash browns with the intense umami mushroom ketchup”.

“Chef Anthony Demettre will often come out and have a chat” if you dine regularly at this “good stand-by in the heart of the West End”, where “beautifully presented dishes with hints of France are served by smiling waiting staff” in a stylish and “well-spaced” chamber convenient for Trafalgar Square and Theatreland. Long-term fans remember the two smaller, more personal incarnations of his Wild Honey project (“I was concerned its spirit would have been lost in the move to a Sofitel. I need not have worried: Anthony Demetre was very much at the stoves and it was clear his enthusiasm for French regional cooking was still reflected in a range of memorable dishes of some skill, using top ingredients: no corporate corner-cutting here!”). Top Tips – “a new, more informal bistro sits alongside the main restaurant and offers a similar authentic menu for a more modest outlay”; “great-value lunch menu”.

“A couple of years after reopening they are now into their stride” at this resurrected, traditional Mayfair veteran – re-launched in late 2021, but with a long history from the 1970s onwards, which spans numerous owners (including actor Michael Caine) and with many highs and lows along the way as its performance has waxed and waned. Having started shakily, the latest regime now seem “a bit more “professional” than they used to be”, providing service that’s “friendly and attentive without being overbearing” which helps to bring out the “delightful” atmosphere. One or two reports do still accuse it of “trading on the reputation of yesteryear with prices that are difficult to justify”, but ratings staged a comeback this year and a more representative view is that the “enjoyable if not cheap” brasserie fare “has improved in the last couple of years” and that although “the overall style is actually quite different from that of the original, it is still very much a place to be seen and people-watch”. Top Tips – the business crowd still love the place for client entertaining, for which “the new ‘Upstairs at Langans’ club enhances the offering further” (with its bar, live music, and cigar terrace with retractable ceiling).

An amazing oasis of calm for somewhere slap bang in the centre of the West End – this “civilised” hotel dining room in a cute courtyard near Piccadilly Circus makes a charming setting for afternoon tea in particular. At other times the "unobtrusive" food “does what you need for a business meeting” and will do nothing to detract from a more social occasion.

The “large, two-storey” outpost of a brand from India’s Massive Restaurants group on Haymarket is worth knowing about if you’re fighting hunger in the heart of the West End; and offers “a good selection of food including a great variety of small plates” at a quality level that can surprise for such a touristy location. Wallet-friendly lunch and pre-theatre set meals add to its appeal.

“What an experience to be sitting in front of Green Park with fantastic views being treated to a gastronomical journey, with a wine list longer than the Bible!” – this two-floor landmark on Piccadilly is under the same ownership as Mayfair’s Hedonism wines, and you can order any of their 10,000 vintages when you sit down to eat, allowing 15 minutes for delivery. That’s “amazing” obviously, but since its launch in 2018 the aspiration of this “vast” space has towered above that of a fancy wine bar, with its “lovely wooden decor” and “fantastically interesting cuisine”. The latter was overseen until recently by star-chef Ollie Dabbous, but since his departure in early 2025 – and the elevation of Josh Angus to head up the kitchen – ratings here for the “wonderfully presented and meticulously thought-through cuisine” have held steady. On either of the two floors, you can order either à la carte, a set menu, or the eight-course tasting menu (for £165 per person) – cooking that leaves most diners “blown away with every visit”, although there is also a constituency who feel that for the nosebleed-inducing prices it “should be better”. Expense-accounters particularly like the formula here, and note that there’s “good space between tables so you can talk” (“sit someone you want to do business with at the first- floor corner table above the junction of Clarges St and Piccadilly, and the deal is pretty much sealed”). Fans are “very into the cocktail bar as well” in the basement. Breakfast here has long been a key attraction and “a remarkable experience” – “the classics are served and some original dishes to boot” (“the French toast is worth the admission price”!).

This “delightful Central London spot” – the dramatically decorated all-day dining room of a boutique hotel on Haymarket – is a “lively and fun place to eat before going to the theatre in the West End”. It’s “dependable and comfortable, with a range of cuisine to suit most tastes” – plus afternoon tea, cocktails, and an outdoor terrace for al fresco meals.

“Kudos to the chef” – Seamus Sam, who arrived in mid 2024 and is maintaining the culinary renown of this funky 12-seater in the cellar of Layo & Zoë Pasking’s period pub on the fringe of Chinatown, where he delivers a five-course menu for £135 per person. By all accounts it’s “just a wonderful experience” with “extremely interesting cooking” and “some intriguing wine pairings”, all delivered by “excellent staff”. “Not one for claustrophobics” perhaps, but most reporters find its style “lovely and intimate”.

“Properly special and intimate for date night” – this “lovely restaurant” in Mayfair’s pretty Shepherd Market has come roaring back in our annual ratings, with its superior bistro fare consistently highly rated: “I know it’s had its detractors recently but this was great – the food was outstanding – ambience was intimate, quiet but loud enough to not feel conscious about your conversations”.

“Restaurants like this are such a rarity nowadays” – and this “raffish and romantic”, “cosy, dimly-lit and lively” ancient townhouse retains its quirky “very special” and “sensual” appeal (“still love it after all these years: 35 and counting!”). “Even without the characterful Mr E [who died in 2022] the feeling of old Soho is maintained (he would be proud)” and its very tightly packed interior is a major magnet for lovers, old mates and ‘meeja’ types. The simple and “honest” “seasonal” British cooking is “always changing, interesting and doesn’t break the bank”, and – in particular – the “astonishing wine and sherry selection” is “a joy” (being particularly strong in “very fairly priced, older red vintages”). “Knowledgeable and friendly staff further add to the experience” of “a delightful place with great charm” and “real hospitality”. Top Tips – “Stay on the ground floor for the full Dickensian experience” – “the level of romance depends very much on where your candle-lit table is located in this quirky place”. And plush it ain’t (“I defy anyone to feel romantic or raffish after sitting on a pew seat through dinner…”; “we do know people who are simply too big for it to be comfortable”).

2023 Review: “A great change to the ghastly chains” – Victoria & Grace Sheppard’s elegant, “friendly” café is tipped for its “terrific coffee”, as well as a quiet bite or their ‘bottomless brunch’.