British restaurants in London
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Inn the Park
This stunning wooden cafe and restaurant in St James’s Park is run by the Irish wonder that is Oliver Peyton and offers cakes and tea as well as substantial and quality British food. The recent addition of extra seating under the trees for the cafe part and the new roof terrace are perfect, but if you’re up for a special dining experience, come here for dinner, when the park is quiet and slightly illuminated. One of London’s most gorgeous structures and locations.
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Rules
Established in 1798, this very posh and very British establishment is London’s oldest restaurant. The menu is inevitably meat-oriented – Rules specialises in classic game cookery, serving up tens of thousands of birds between mid-August and January from its own estate – but fish dishes are also available. Puddings are traditional: trifles, treacles and lashings of custard.
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St John Bread & Wine
Little sister to St John, this place is cheaper and more relaxed but offers similar ‘nose to tail’ traditional fare (duck hearts on toast, jellied ham, salt lamb and turnips) in a simple, clean and bright space popular with Spitalfields creative types. It also has an excellent selection of British cheeses and puddings.
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Great Queen Street
One of Covent Garden’s best places to eat, Great Queen St is sister to the Anchor & Hope in Waterloo. The menu is seasonal (and changes daily), with an emphasis on quality, hearty dishes and good ingredients – there are always delicious stews, roasts and simple fish dishes. The atmosphere is lively, with a small bar downstairs, and coming here to eat with a group of friends – when you can indulge in slow-roast meats for five – is as good as having a small intimate dinner for two (or indeed, one). The staff are knowledgeable about what they serve, the wine list is good and booking is, as you may have guessed, essential.
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Narrow
This gastropub with commanding views of the Thames may or may not be Mr Ramsay's idea of slumming it - or at least be Gordon without the glam. Housed in what was once the Limehouse Basin dockmaster's residence, the place comes with a lot of history and tradition and the food reflects that. Expect such old favourites as London Particular (pea and ham soup), braised Gloucester pig cheeks with bashed neeps and Huntingdon fidget pie made with bacon, onion and apple.
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Butcher & Grill
This combination grill and butcher shop has made quite a slap south of the river, winning awards as fast as it sizzles T-bones. But while not everyone likes the idea of seeing their meat au naturel on entry, the quality of the ingredients, the wide choice of sauces and the views from the main dining room (all brickwork and exposed ducts) are more than compensation.
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Black & Blue
This steakhouse chain might not merit a mention elsewhere in London, but in the desert of Belsize Park’s eating choices it’s a reliable option, easily identifiable by the life-size black plaster cow standing outside. In addition to a panoply of steaks (£13 to £26) there are also gourmet burgers (£8 to £13) and a good grill selection.
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Paternoster Chop House
Right next to St Paul’s Cathedral, this sprawling upmarket chophouse serves delightfully British fare – from the ‘beast of the day’ (£19) to a huge shellfish and grill selection, and favourites such as bubble and squeak (fried leftover veggies from a roast dinner) and haggis. Sunday brunch (noon to 4pm) features a carvery.
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Simpson's-in-the-Strand
For traditional English roasts and joints (as in meat) from the trolley, Simpson's is hard to beat. It's been dishing up fleshy fare in a fine panelled dining room since 1848 (when it was called Simpson's Divan and Tavern). It's a gorgeous place, although something of a museum piece these days. Breakfast is available from 07:15 weekdays.
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Porters
Porters specialises in pies, long a staple of English cooking but not regularly found on menus nowadays. There are unusual ones like lamb and apricot or chicken and broccoli as well as the more commonplace steak, Guinness and mushroom pie. It also does a mean fish and chips and roast beef with Yorkshire pudding.
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Canteen
Despite being part of the rather sterile-feeling ‘new’ Spitalfields, this popular place celebrates British food with a great menu catering to all tastes. Choose from freshly baked pies, roast chicken and the fish of the day, or just grab an outside table and a pork sandwich from the spit roast.
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Rochelle School Canteen
A truly unique eatery, the canteen at the former Rochelle School ostensively exists to feed workers from the surrounding design studios, but passers-by are welcome to join in the fun. It’s only open lunchtime, it’s BYO, and the menu of top-class British food changes daily.
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The Ivy
You’ll have to book one to six months ahead to enjoy the innovative modern British cuisine at this favourite hangout of London celebrities. The main reason to visit is the exquisite food, but there’s a definite fascination in seeing how the other half live.
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Medcalf
Medcalf is one of the best-value hangouts in Exmouth Market. Housed in a beautifully converted butcher shop dating back to 1912, it serves up innovative and well-realised British fare, such as handpicked Devon crab and Welsh rarebit.
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Plateau
Probably the slickest place to eat in Docklands, Terence Conran’s Plateau serves modern British haute cuisine in a futuristic dining room full of monochrome design furniture. It’s on the 4th floor, above the giant Waitrose.
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Table
Table specialises in organic, free-range and free-trade food, served at bench tables the Wagamama way. It’s below an architect’s practice and the design ethos shows in the décor.
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S&M Café
This sausage and mash specialist is set in the old Alfredo’s Café, a chrome-filled former Mods and Rockers’ joint. There are branches in Spitalfields and Notting Hill.
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Rivington Grill
Younger sister of the trendy bar and grill in Hoxton serves meals throughout the day.
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St John
This London classic is wonderfully simple – its light bar and cafe area giving way to a surprisingly small dining room where ‘nose to tail eating’ is served up courtesy of celebrity chef Fergus Henderson. This was one of the places that launched Londoners on the quest to rediscover their culinary past, and it’s a place for anyone who wants an off-piste eating experience. Don’t miss the signature roast bone-marrow salad with parsley and follow it with one of the tasty daily specials – roast kid, fennel and green sauce, for example, or smoked eel with beetroot and horseradish. The traditional British puddings are similarly superb.
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