Restaurants
W1J 7BH
Half Moon Street
Flemings of Mayfair
The Front Room,
After braving the turmoil and boiling mass of Christmas shoppers on Oxford Street, Regent Street, or any other of London’s crowded streets, there really is nothing like finding a quiet, cosy corner in which to relax and refresh tired spirits.
As its name suggests, stepping into The Front Room off dark Half Moon Street (just off Piccadilly) is like walking into someone’s warm front parlour.
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Past the neon curries of Brick Lane, and the kitschy shuffle of Spitalfields Market, The Hawksmoor seems forgettable. On a bend of commercial street laden with warehouse conversions, it sinks into the surroundings with its small signage and minimal décor. Walking past without knowing what it was, one might see it as a quiet union clubhouse, a solicitor’s office – maybe even a deserted bingo room. Yet, perhaps the greatest asset of this place is its strong subtlety: American without the sports television and bad beer; a persuasive menu of cocktails and steaks, without the nagging tagalongs of wannabe Mexican or giant deserts.
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NW1 6JQ
London
222 Marylebone Road
If you’re a guest at The Landmark London in Marylebone, the chances are that you will naturally set foot in the stunning atrium for breakfast during your stay. But if you’re a Londoner, chances are you’ve walked past the hotel entrance once or twice, but never set foot inside. There’s something terribly indulgent about eating out at breakfast time, and that’s just what we did at this five star hotel.
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Tottenham Hale is not usually associated with top end restaurants, but that’s what chef Adebola Adeshina has managed to create at The Lock. As a South-of-the-river kind of girl, it takes a half decent reason for me to hop onto one end of the Victoria line and jump off at the other end. Even the travelling wouldn’t have been such a big deal if the Victoria line hadn’t closed on the way back, turning my three-legged journey into a five-legged one.
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W12 7GA
London
Ariel Way
Unit 1026, Westfield London Shopping Centre
This place wins on location, with its prime spot slap bang opposite Westfield's quite simply huge shopping complex. And it's not the kind of restaurant you'd walk past either, just down to the fact that there's so much of it. With over 300 covers, including a roomy bar space downstairs, and a sizeable chefs table upstairs, The Meat & Wine Co knows how to cater to large numbers.
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ME17 4DA
Boughton Monchelsea
Hermitage Lane
There has to be a good reason for trekking an hour and a half through winding country lanes on a dark, rainy night to find a restaurant in deepest Kent. It’s a long way to come from the Sussex coast, even for the promise of a warm meal, but we’d heard good things about The Mulberry Tree.
Proprietor Karen Williams and her family rebuilt the derelict pub that stood on the site into a stylish foodie destination.
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SE1 9PH
South Bank
Barge House St
Oxo Tower Wharf,
The Oxo Tower, as a building, takes a bumbling old part of British culture (Oxo) and transforms it into the backbone of something ever so urbane and chic. This is reflected in the most recent addition to the Oxo Brassiere’s menu: an afternoon mini-meal that is Not Afternoon Tea.
For traditional afternoon tea you really need to be somewhere traditional – The Ritz, Fortnum’s, your aunty’s house, Yorkshire – certainly not the spacious interior of the glass-walled Oxo Brasserie.
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E14 5FW
London
40 Canada Square
The Park Pavilion,
The Parlour is a low-lit, cavernous venue which you can easily imagine heaving with well-dressed office types later in the week. It was still busy on the Monday night on which we dined. And why not? The cocktails tasted as good as they read on the menu and were well-priced for Canary Wharf. Their extensive menu would also appeal, whether you are looking to diet, graze or stuff yourself silly.
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After an abstemious January (me) and an extension of the festive season (the other half), we were looking forward to what the National Portrait Gallery could offer. So, having made our way through the frankly biting cold we were relieved to be shown to our table.
First off, the view is amazing. Being almost level with Nelson on his column, you sit with some of the best sights of London stretched out before you.
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