Blackfriars, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

It’s “all about the wine, as you might expect” at James Dawson’s “relaxed” wine-bar group, whose branches boast a “splendid list” of “high-quality and well-sourced” bottles. The food is very much “second fiddle”, though “unobjectionable”, while the most interesting venue is the original one, off Fleet Street, “hidden in the vaults of St Bride’s Church”. Top Tip – “go on a Monday night for wine at shop rather than restaurant prices”.

Founded in 1895 in Paris, the famous ‘Le Cordon Bleu’ culinary institute hit London in 2012 in Bloomsbury; and then opened here in the Lutyens-designed former Reuters HQ in 2022. All reports agree this in-house restaurant is “a beautiful room” – “light and well spaced” – if occasionally “lacking a bit of spark”. Service is “correct” and the modern European menu focuses on “seemingly simple dishes”, whose “realisation ranges from exemplary refinement to the merely satisfactory”.

2022 Review: The name says it all about this new ‘Britisserie’ (an ‘authentic British patisserie’), which opened on a corner site near St Paul’s in December 2019. Owners Daniel Jobsz and his mum honed their classic pie-making skills at markets, festivals and pop-ups from 2015 before they found the site, which incorporates a small courtyard. Full English breakfasts (in a tart, of course), plus epic mash and a good list of beers and other drinks complete the formula.

“OK, but I have always thought it too expensive” is sadly one of the more enthusiastic reports we received this year on this South Bank landmark, whose “great views” over the Thames and St Paul’s are less of a rarity than when it first launched in 1996 with the opening of so many rooftops nowadays. Over three-quarters of feedback here are nominations for either ‘most overpriced’ or ‘most disappointing’ meal of the year in our annual diners’ poll. The modern British menu is too often judged “expensive and tasteless”, which it shouldn’t be when a bowl of chips costs £9. “It’s so disappointing because its great views and location should make it a fantastic restaurant”. “A tourist trap if ever I’ve seen one”.

“A most enjoyable meal in an attractive setting” is reported by just over half of reporters visiting the cheaper section of this rooftop landmark on the South Bank. The remainder, though, “expect much, much better at these prices”: “it has a great view but very disappointing food and service – trading off its location!”

Easily missed, “near the Millennium (wobbly) Bridge” directly opposite Tate Modern, Neleen Strauss’s “sparse” riverside venture is worth investigating. The focus is simple: “great steaks (from Yorkshire) with everything else – including passionate rugby support – from South Africa”. Star of the show is, some would say, the “Saffer wine list – a reasonably priced one, too”.

“This beautiful space by the river” – the stylish dining room of a South Bank hotel, designed by Tom Dixon – has “a wonderful view if you get a table by the window” and “plenty of space between the tables, so conversation is easy”. Standards in other respects, though, have been up-and-down over many years.

With its “great view over the river”, the sixth-floor restaurant in this converted power station opposite St Paul’s Cathedral is a “really rather splendid place for a decent set lunch”. The food is “better than expected, perhaps better than it needed to be” – “appropriately arty”, too, with dishes inspired by artists on display in the gallery. (Over at Tate Britain, “the Rex Whistler dining room is sorely missed and a real loss” – its closure brought about by a combination of Covid and dilemmas about the depiction of slavery in its Whistler murals, nowadays deemed ‘unequivocally… offensive’.)

“A great wine list from all corners of the globe” has helped underpin the ongoing popularity of this modern wine bar chain, despite a year that saw it sold out of administration and the closure of its popular King’s Cross branch. Although this period inspired iffy marks and the odd report of “totally disorganised” service, the four remaining outlets still inspire tons of, albeit slightly lukewarm nominations as a handy option “for a simple meal”: “don’t expect any sort of culinary fireworks” from the “straightforward” dishes “but there are some very nice, reasonably priced wines” and the interiors are “definitely pleasant”. Top Menu Tips – “lovely cheese croquettes and steak ’n’ chips”.

Gordon Ramsay’s comfortable, upscale brasserie chain continues to inspire feedback that’s very mixed and surprisingly limited for the sizeable empire of an international megastar. Naysayers reckon: “What a disappointment! Average food is served in a cavernous space by staff who seemed unhappy to be there”; or that “they no longer seem like they care, just serving formulaic, bland food”. This year’s most positive comment? “It was actually much better than I expected, having no great hopes. Service and speed were pretty laid back, which suited us. The food was well-cooked and presented, even if menu choices (mains especially) struck me as a bit weird and perhaps trying to cover too many bases”.

2021 Review: “Surprisingly good food and charming service” make it worth remembering this historic hostelry (refurbed in recent times), near the Royal Courts of Justice. You can eat in the ground floor bar, or in the upstairs ‘Pig and Goose’ restaurant.

Robbie Lorraine has upped sticks from Brixton with his Del Boy-inspired pop-up – a witty, multi-course trip back in time to the cuisine of the 80s and 90s (duck-liver paté, prawn cocktail…). This new home is part of a Grade II listed pub just off the Strand: not to be confused with Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street, which is about ten minutes’ stroll away (although both claim Dickens as a former patron). No survey feedback as yet – reports please!

“A wonderful location overlooking St Paul’s and the river” – complete with “fantastic view of the Thames” – creates a “gorgeous”, if unavoidably touristy, setting for this South Bank pub, which is incorporated into Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. Locals support it too though: in particular it’s “a lovely spot for afternoon tea” and “even if the teas are Shakespeare-themed, they aren’t over-tacky”. The contemporary British food is also well-rated at other times.

2021 Review: “Escape the feel of the City for very reasonable home cooked-food” in the ancient crypt of Bow Bells church. “There are no better dining establishments in the Square Mile: affordable, great service, good food with delicious daily changing salads” including “excellent veggie and vegan options”. Depending on when you go, it’s either a “quiet” space or quite a “noisy” one.

2021 Review: “A firm favourite for breakfast and brunch in Southwark” – this café-style fixture a short stroll from Tate Modern serves “a great menu to suit all tastes”, and fans say it’s “unbeatable”.

2023 Review: “This low-key wine bar is an absolute gem”, “hiding” in the new waterside Westin Hotel, “with a huge window looking across the Thames” to Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre (“spending the evening watching the river drift by with a glass in hand is a really great way to end a tough week”). The interior has a contemporary Scandi look and the menu is put together by Jorge Colazo, ex-head chef at Aquavit. Feedback is too limited for a rating, but initial reports are upbeat, talking of “interesting wine and imaginative small plates”.

2023 Review: “Imaginative Caribbean fine dining” is an unlikely find at any time – particularly considering the bland location of Anguilla-born Kerth Gumbs’s Bankside newcomer, which opened in early 2022 amidst the anonymous glass-fronted offices behind Tate Modern. The Evening Standard’s Jimi Famu thought his east Caribbean-inspired tasting menu to be “dumbfoundingly good… laser-honed… top end” cuisine, while one early reporter questions “is this a potential Michelin star at some stage”. Definitely “worth trying”.

“Sourcing from their 600-acre estate in Argyll and fish farm in Loch Fyne”, the Landsberg family have – with this “traditional-in-a-good-way” Smithfield yearling – “created a restaurant that serves a Best of British menu that is, generally, a roaring success”. “Sustainably sourced food is expertly cooked” and “while it emphasises nose-to-tail cooking, it does so in a much more restrained manner than nearby St John”. “There’s an interesting short wine list (including from their own vineyard in Provence) at quite modest mark-ups, particularly for the City”. “Coupled with friendly service, the result is awesome!”. Top Menu Tips – “Black Pig, Rabbit, Duck and Foie Gras terrine, which draw together its various meat components into one delightful whole”; also “a very good Clam & Mussel Chowder, quite a refined Morteau Sausage with well-flavoured Puy lentils; and first-rate faggots in an intense jus”.

“Every course of the tasting menu is a revelation”, say fans of Johnnie Crowe, Luke Wasserman & Toby Neill’s “calm” and “imaginatively decorated” two-year-old, which enjoys fine views of St Bartholomew the Great and its cloisters through its floor-to-ceiling windows. The cuisine is strongly rooted in the British Isles and results can be “stunning” – “well deserving of the star” the tyre men awarded swiftly after it opened. Perhaps reflecting increasing prices (now £160 per person for a six-course menu), it didn’t quite achieve the top ratings this year that it did in last year’s annual diners’ poll, and the odd critic feels it risks becoming “too cool, up itself and expensive”.