Clerkenwell, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “Lush surroundings” set a stylish tone at this “trendy”, six-year-old venue on a “hard-to-find” Farringdon corner, not far from Exmouth Market. It’s a ‘multi-faceted’ venue – a jumble of bar, café, restaurant, club, and private dining space – from a design team whose portfolio includes Pizza East and Riding House Café. “Fab cocktails” are maybe its most reliable attraction, although the food is consistently well-rated too.

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).

2021 Review: “Our local – we’re so lucky!” Near the foodie mecca of Exmouth Market, this “busy” Clerkenwell corner-boozer receives a consistent thumbs-up in reports: “the standard of the food is high”.

“The original gastropub and still streets ahead of the competition” – this enduring institution (est. 1991) continues to put in a remarkably enduring performance on Farringdon Road. Chef Ed Mottershaw rustles up a daily changing menu of “cleverly constructed, intelligently put together flavours… like the dishes you wish you cooked at home…”; “no faff, pretence or posturing, just honest fare packed with hearty flavour and devotion to the palate”.

“This Clerkenwell bolt-hole remains a genuine experience, accessed through a nondescript black door and a rickety brass lift before coming round a curtain into the expansive two-tier dining room”. It’s part of a large, Grade II listed courthouse which features in Dickens’s ‘Oliver Twist’. “From the moment you enter and take the lift to the wow factor of discovering the room itself onto the excellent food (up to the point where the staff gently encourage you to leave) it’s a wonderful experience”. The room itself is “like nowhere else”: so “beautiful” and “glamorous”. But while it’s one of London’s most atmospheric dining locations, the rest of the experience holds up well, with an “eccentric but good” small plates menu which “contains all manner of interesting morsels” and “a great wine list with interesting and eclectic choices”. Top Tip – “A glass of champagne on the roof terrace in the sunshine is a wonderful prelude to a yummy lunch of sharing plates”.

“Very decent” French-influenced food helps elevate this fine old Clerkenwell pub restaurant into being a “good all-rounder”, as does its attractive, glazed dining area. That said, it doesn’t attract the attention it did a few years ago when Henry Harris was at the stoves.

“A tiny nondescript frontage” north of Smithfield Market hides this “deceptively large” and “classy” Italian – a sibling (though you would never know it) of The Clove Club (see also). You enter through the “very convivial” bar (where they serve “a stunning set business lunch”) to enter “a spacious environment” including “a romantic hidden back terrace”. The cuisine is “sensational old school Italian cooking”: “classic dishes are elevated by the clever use of subtle flavours” and there’s “a beautifully-put together wine list (a not cheap, but interesting selection)”. Top Menu Tip – “worth it for the Parmesan churros, or the homemade Limoncello”.

“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”.

“Amazing steak (though the rest of menu is good too)” and terrific views over the City and St Paul’s share top billing at the flagship restaurant at the top of a handsome Grade II-listed former Smithfield market warehouse. It can be “a bit noisy”, but it makes for a “solid dining experience” that’s “always good for business”.

“Somewhere to go that isn’t fine dining but is above the ordinary” – this Clerkenwell site became well-known under chef Anna Hansen as The Modern Pantry (RIP), and was relaunched (under new ownership) as this all-day restaurant and deli in 2022. It does do brunch, but that’s no longer the top feature it was in its former guise. The menu includes some “retro” dishes such as prawn cocktail (“mains of Holstein chicken and mushroom ragu were excellent”) and has a something-for-everybody quality to it. What’s more, “service is a notch above the usual” helping to create “a relaxed feel to the place”. (In his November 2022 review, The Telegraph’s William Sitwell noted the venue’s “polite” qualities and thought it a place to “take my favourite aunt”.)

2023 Review: “Recently revamped” with eight ‘boutique guestrooms’, this handsome Clerkenwell establishment is one of the oldest public houses in central London. There are too few reports for a rating as yet, but it looks promising and “the Sunday roast sharing board is pretty impressive”.