Guide All Day / Formal Dining / Casual Dining / Food Shopping

Food
Guide
All Day / Formal Dining / Casual Dining /
Food Shopping / Drinking Spots
Eating locally
with plenty of food
for thought
Guide
All Day / Formal Dining / Casual Dining /
Food Shopping / Drinking Spots
For the all day dining experience, St James’s has become the top
destination. Nowhere else is the flow from breakfast to lunch,
afternoon tea and dinner quite so seamless.
All Day
This is all day dining
par excellence
The Wolseley
For a classic experience in the
European tradition, Corbin &
King’s restaurant The Wolseley,
housed in the original and
beautiful ’20s Wolseley cars
showroom on Piccadilly, is an
ideal destination. Their phenomenally good breakfast, service
and atmosphere was such a hit
with food critic grandee AA Gill,
he dedicated an entire book
to them.
Villandry
On the corner of Waterloo Place
and set in an Edwardian baroque
building, the new flagship of
Villandry creates a dining and
café experience effusing plenty
of French Mediterranean flair.
With a magnificent sense of
occasion and views of Big Ben,
the kitchen offers delights from
sun up to sun down.
Franco’s
Franco’s is an institution, serving
locals and visitors to St James’s
from early morning to late at night
for over 60 years. As the restaurant evolves from a quiet place
for civilised breakfast to charged
lunch and then on to romantic
dinner, the bon vivant staff
continue to smile. The menu
fuses traditional and modern
Italian: full of flavour and generous
of portion.
Cicchetti
Cicchetti on Piccadilly embraces
a light airy Venetian approach,
with fresh interiors, lustrous
colours, and huge expanses of
pale Italian marble. They serve
a form of Italian tapas ­– delicious
small dishes perfect for tasting
and sharing.
The Balcon
The Balcon on Pall Mall is all day
dining on a grand scale: high
windows, towering pillars and iron
circular staircases. Soak up the
ambience while taking high tea,
breakfast or late night charcuterie:
this is all day dining par excellence.
Formal Dining
St James’s has a long and distinguished reputation for formal dining,
and contemporaries not only maintain its high standards but
continue to push the boundaries of fine dining and haute cuisine.
Seven Park Place
Seven Park Place of St James’s
Hotel & Club is a prime example.
Created by the inimitable William
Drabble, its Michelin-starred
French cuisine is made using
the best of British ingredients.
Thirty Six
Thirty Six, of Dukes Hotel, is
known for its great service and
refined British cuisine. Preferring
to keep technology out of the
kitchen, head chef Nigel Mendham
uses time-honoured techniques
and fresh produce.
Quaglino’s
Quaglino’s is something of a
new-old classic. This infamous
restaurant was riotous during
the ’30s and hit the headlines
again in the ’90s when Jasper
Conran’s reinvention brought
in a raucous celebrity clientele.
Today, the atmosphere is more
of a big restaurant in full swing
with animated chatter, laughter
and bustling waiters, and the food
matches in scope and flavour.
Wiltons
A real old boy, Wiltons was
established in 1742, and it has
consistently enjoyed a reputation
for their Essex oysters. Unsurpassed, they even have their
own world champion shucker.
Sake No Hana
Sake No Hana adds some chic
Japanese precision to St James’s.
The incredible bamboo interior
designed by Japanese architect
Kengo Kuma climbs the walls
like a futuristic forest, and
dishes all come to the table like
miniature architectural marvels
in themselves.
The Ritz
For the purest form of dining
room haute cuisine, the Ritz
Restaurant is the only choice.
Established by Auguste Escoffier,
this venue is pure opulence and
the food is just as sumptuous.
For quick bites and swift lunches,
St James’s has plenty to offer
those who dine on the hoof.
Casual Dining
For peerless entrecôte
steak, look no further
Chop Shop
A fresh face to St James’s is
Chop Shop on Haymarket, which
is a butcher-themed eatery
serving a predominantly meaty
menu blending American and
English influences. Youthful and
entertaining, this venture rustles
up some original combinations.
Do not miss the cottage pasta pie,
and the prosciutto and mortadella
meatballs.
Cafe Murano
Angela Hartnett recently opened
Cafe Murano, an offshoot of her
Michelin star restaurant Murano,
with the desire of creating
“a restaurant that you could
drop into and eat in every day.”
The result is an intimate bistro
on St James’s Street serving
great Northern Italian fare made
from the best of ingredients.
Rowley’s
Founded in the very building
where the famous Wall’s
sausages business began,
Rowley’s has a particularly meaty
heritage. They serve a menu of
delicious steak and grill dishes,
which has not changed too much
since this family run restaurant
started in 1976. For peerless
entrecôte steak, look no further.
Avenue
The recently refurbished Avenue
captures the buzz of the New York
dining scene with a menu of New
American cuisine and brings it to
the heart of St James’s. Decked
out in eclectic modern art
and standout design features,
stepping into Avenue is like being
transported into the energy and
glamour of uptown New York.
Boulestin
With chequerboard flooring,
fin de siècle illustrations and
clinking glasses of cuvée de
patron, Boulestin creates French
bonhomie attuned to St James’s
tastes, with superb modern
cooking reinterpreting recipes
from a dynastic great and premier
television chef, Marcel Boulestin.
Food Shopping
St James’s boasts some of
the oldest and most esteemed
specialist food and wine shops
in London.
Fortnum & Mason
For pioneering food imports,
no shop in the world can quite
match Fortnum & Mason. They
brought an empire-wide spread
of culinary delights to the doorsteps of a feverishly excited
London. The six-storey Piccadilly
store offers an entire floor of
classic world teas, a fabulous
basement food hall filled with
fresh fruit and vegetables, meats,
fish and crustacea, delicatessen
delicacies, baked goods, and pantry provisions of all kinds.
And of course another floor dedicated to the famous Fortnum
& Mason food hampers.
Paxton & Whitfield
The home of cheese in St James’s
is Paxton & Whitfield, London’s
oldest cheesemonger. These
Royal Warrant holders work with
independent cheese makers
in both British and Continental
regions, producing cow, goat and
ewe’s milk varieties to bring St
James’s an incredible selection
of the rarest and best cheese.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
Berry Bros. & Rudd, a wine and
spirits merchant, started out
by supplying the fashionable
coffee and chocolate houses
of St James’s during the 17th
century. When the trend for
cocoa slumped, they outlived
their customer base by switching to the booming St James’s
gentlemen’s club scene and
quickly became another local
Royal Warrant holder. Today,
315 years later, they still operate
from their original St James’s
Street shop, making them the UK’s
oldest wine and spirit merchant.
Prestat
Prestat, established in 1902 by
French émigré Antoine Dufour,
part of the renowned family who
invented the chocolate truffle,
has been a British favourite for
decades. The Queen and the
late Queen Mother adored them.
Their Princes Arcade HQ,
a brightly coloured gem of a
shop, will draw even the most
abstemious through its doors.
From local pub to sake bar,
there is a heady mix of drinking
options in St James’s.
Drinking Spots
No better place to
escape the afternoon,
or decade even
The Red Lion
For a traditional establishment,
The Red Lion of Crown Passage
is a cosy pub and close to the
tourist trail, with a selection of
well-kept beers and bountiful
number of whiskies.
Dukes Bar
Dukes Bar in Dukes Hotel is
internationally renowned for its
martinis. Frequented by James
Bond author Ian Fleming, the bar
is said to be the inspiration for
the classic line, ‘shaken, not
stirred’. Best saved for a special
occasion, ‘drinks at Dukes’
is something to savour.
The Rivoli Bar
The Rivoli Bar at the Ritz is
another bar that does not
shy from its history. Likened
to a ‘gorgeous little jewel box’, the bar is flirtatiously Art Deco,
with camphor wood walls inset
with illuminated Lalique glass
panels, patterned mirrors and
decorative bas relief bar; all
overarched with gilded ceiling
domes. It invokes the frivolity
and richness of the hotel’s
founding years, and, secluded
from bustling Piccadilly, is no
better place to escape the
afternoon, or decade even.
The American Bar
The American Bar at The Stafford
is another St James’s legend –
and one that wears its history
on its walls. Here you can find
a bewildering array of memorabilia,
photos and other curios donated
by satisfied past guests of the
luxury hotel.
Ni Ju San
Ni Ju San is a calming counter­
point to the St James’s of old.
With its extensive sake collection,
they host sake and umeshu
(a traditional Japanese plum
wine)­­appreciation classes with
their resident guru for those who
like to learn before they drink.
All Day
The Balcon
8 Pall Mall, SW1Y 5NG
thebalconlondon.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7968 2900
Cicchetti
215 Piccadilly, W1J 9HL
sancarlocicchetti.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)20 7494 9435
Franco’s
61 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6LX
francoslondon.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7499 2211
Directory
Villandry
12 Waterloo Place, SW1Y 4AU
villandry.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7930 3305
The Wolseley
160 Piccadilly, W1J 9EB
thewolseley.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7499 6996
Formal Dining
Quaglino’s
16 Bury Street St James’s,
SW1Y 6AJ
quaglinos-restaurant.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)20 7930 6767
The Ritz
150 Piccadilly, W1J 9BR
theritzlondon.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7300 2370
Sake No Hana
23 St James’s Street, SW1A 1HA
sakenohana.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7925 8988
Seven Park Place
7 – 8 Park Place, SW1A 1LS
stjameshotelandclub.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7316 1615
Thirty Six
35 St James’s Place, SW1A 1NY
dukeshotel.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7491 4840
Wiltons
55 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6LX
wiltons.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)20 7629 9955
Casual Dining
Avenue
7– 9 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EE
avenue-restaurant.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)20 7321 2111
Boulestin
5 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EF
boulestin.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7930 2030
Cafe Murano
33 St James’s Street, SW1A 1HD
cafemurano.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)20 3371 5559
Chop Shop
66 Haymarket, SW1Y 4RF
chopshopuk.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7842 8501
Rowley’s
113 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6HJ
rowleys.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)20 7930 2707
Food Shopping
Berry Bros. & Rudd
3 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EG
bbr.com
Tel. +44 (0)800 280 2440
Fortnum & Mason
181 Piccadilly, W1A 1ER
fortnumandmason.com
Tel. +44 (0)845 300 1707
Paxton & Whitfield
93 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6JE
paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)20 7930 0259
Prestat
14 Princes Arcade, SW1Y 6DS
prestat.co.uk
Tel. +44 (0)20 7494 3372
Drinking Spots
The American Bar
16 –18 St James’s Place,
SW1A 1NJ
kempinski.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7493 0111
Dukes Bar
35 St James’s Place, SW1A 1NY
dukeshotel.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7491 4840
Ni Ju San
23 St James’s Street, SW1A 1HA
sakenohana.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7925 8988
The Red Lion
23 Crown Passage, SW1Y 6PP
Tel. +44 (0)20 7930 4141
The Rivoli Bar
150 Piccadilly, W1J 9BR
theritzlondon.com
Tel. +44 (0)20 7300 2340
stjameslondon.co.uk
editor@stjameslondon.co.uk
@_stjameslondon
Issue 01
Travelling to St James’s
Tube
The nearest tube stations to
St James’s are Piccadilly Circus
and Green Park, served by
Bakerloo, Jubilee, Piccadilly
and Victoria lines.
Bus
There are many bus routes that
serve St James’s. Routes 3, 6,
12, 13, 23, 88, 94, 139, 159, 453
all run along Regent Street and
routes 9, 14, 19, 22, 38 along
Piccadilly.
Car
There are several areas with
parking metres, including
Jermyn Street, St James’s Square,
Charles II Street, Waterloo Place
and Haymarket. Nearby car parks
can be found on Whitcomb Street
and Spring Gardens, off Cockspur
Street. Full travel details can be
found on the St James’s website.
Design: dn&co. Illustration: Katie Scott