Old favourites that still deliver
Published 23 October 2026

A reliable Mayfair fixture since 1916, the self-titled ‘grand dame of Swallow Street’ is still shucking oysters with a vengeance under the stewardship of chef/patron Richard Corrigan. These days, regulars agree that its two great assets are the ground-floor Oyster Bar and the spacious gem of a terrace on Swallow Street itself (heated and covered for year-round bonhomie). If you’re indoors, the best seats are indubitably at the marble-topped bar counter, where you can watch the chefs expertly doing the business on ‘natives’ and ‘rocks’ from places as far apart as Pembrokeshire, Donegal and Jersey. Otherwise, squeeze into one of the close-packed tables for an ‘extremely fresh’ piscine blowout – perhaps scallop ceviche dressed with jalapeño, mint and lime ahead of Dover sole meunière or pan-seared turbot with olive-oil mash and langoustine sauce. You can also feast on classics such as cod and chips, Cornish fish stew, fish pie and Bentley’s handsome shellfish platters. Pudding might be crème caramel with Armagnac-soaked prunes. The classy fish-friendly wine list is priced for Mayfair’s big spenders, although it does offer some excellent bargains by the glass.

A self-styled ‘progressive working-class caterer’ back in the 19th century, the Quality Chop House is still providing a great service under its current custodians. QCH is moving with the times too – although the Grade-II listing ensures its heritage will always be faithfully preserved. In the main dining room, a central walkway with chequerboard flooring is flanked by oak benches and narrow tables with cast-iron legs, while an arched doorway offers a glimpse of the kitchen. The walls are partially panelled, with mirrors and chalkboards above. The food is excellent, well-considered and unapologetically generous, with a few defiantly British faithfuls such as game and hazelnut terrine rubbing shoulders with Euro-accented ideas including Suffolk lamb osso buco. True to form, steaks and chops are the headliners, whether you order a thick mangalitza bacon chop or a slab of Hereford sirloin sliced on the bone, served on antique crockery and accompanied by wonderfully crisp confit potatoes. For afters, there’s high-calorie comfort in the shape of, say, treacle tart with clotted cream. Everything runs seamlessly, and staff are also spot-on when it comes to recommendations from the wide-ranging wine list.

Simpson's has weathered the tsunamis of London's culinary fashion by sticking to its guns. Dating back to the late Georgian era, it moved to the Strand in 1904 and was a useful bolthole for theatrical types en route to Covent Garden. Its Grand Divan room proudly offered unreconstructed English cooking and fortifying puddings in an ambience of clubby wood panelling and deeply upholstered seating. Now part of the Jeremy King portfolio, it feels freshly minted – although the burgundy banquettes, swathes of leather and velvet are still intact, and the cooking remains assiduously traditional. Thanks to a perambulating 'hot trolley', you can enjoy your ‘Sunday roast’ any day of the week here: watch admiringly as a waiter carves generous servings of Devon beef rib, plating it up with Yorkshire pudding, roasties, root veg, horseradish and silky gravy. Meats are top-drawer, from the tenderest lamb chops to boiled ham in parsley sauce, and there are whole Dover soles for those with the surgical skills. Breakfasts are definitely worth setting the alarm for. Wine prices rapidly climb into the 'Good grief!' bracket, but they also have a solid selection of standard glasses.

For generations of thespians, journos and assorted bohemians, ‘The French’ has been a talisman of old Soho – a pub with its own code (no mobile phones, no music, beer in half-pint glasses). Yet this brilliant boozing relic also sports a cosily traditional upstairs dining room with proper culinary aspirations. The kitchen has played host to a clutch of big-name chefs in the past, but current incumbent Neil Borthwick is now into his eighth year at the stoves. Stout-hearted provincial French cooking is his forte, although he allows British ingredients to do a merry jig with their Gallic counterparts. Visitors can expect a line-up of classics bursting with gutsy up-front flavours: chargrilled ox tongue with rémoulade sauce; calf’s brains doused with brown butter, capers and parsley; ink-braised cuttlefish with coco beans. Order steak and you will get a mighty rump or ribeye plus French fries, watercress, shallot salad and béarnaise sauce. For afters, indulge in the French-accented cheeseboard, a plate of madeleines or Paris Brest with hot chocolate sauce. Drink French cidre or pick from the pub’s all-Gallic wine list.

Like bungee-jumping or a trip to Venice, dinner at The Ritz is an experience every life should ideally embrace at least once. There's nothing in either hemisphere that looks like the hotel's dining room on a balmy day, with the sun pouring in off Green Park – unless it be the evening scene, when gilded Poseidon lolls on his pedestal, sparkling chandeliers twinkle and the silverware gleams like honesty in a sinful world. Under the culinary direction of John Williams MBE, the food has steadily ascended towards global greatness. Needless to say, the style of service is an exercise in arts that have been cheerfully abandoned elsewhere, and yet there is genuine warmth within the impeccable propriety. Prime materials from the home nations furnish a choice of menus ranging from set lunches to an ‘epicurean’ tasting experience. To start, there might be Dorset crab dressed in crème fraîche and adorned with Imperial caviar, while delicacy of timing and sharp judgement suffuse everything from wild sea bass with artichoke and lemon to miraculously tender roe deer and its aromatic garnitures of smoked beetroot and juniper. Tableside service offers the chance to see the finishing touches being applied to dîner à deux servings of Dover sole, beef Wellington and crêpes Suzette. The wine list is a global lottery-win treasure trove with Champagnes of the month preceding classics from France, Italy and beyond.  

*Prospective diners should note that the Ritz's iconic dining room is currently closed for at least two years while the hotel is being renovated. Guests now eat in the more prosaic Arlington Street Wing, although the quality of the food remains exceptional.*