Maison François

Features

Hattie Lloyd 17/09/24


The Best Restaurants in St James’s

St James’s… got a lot of good restaurants.

But thankfully he’s willing to share.

Yes this little back pocket of Mayfair – surreptitiously tucked between Piccadilly and the lush expanses of Green Park and St James’s Park – has a lot of culinary clout packed into its modest size. It’s home to some classic institutions that have survived the Blitz; some surprisingly affordable slices of luxury; Michelin stars; fresh pasta and – if you want it – some of the most lavish dining to be found in London.

Behold our picks of the best restaurants in St James’s…

Maison François | £££

maison Francois restaurant st james's

Steven Joyce

Maison François – or Frank’s House, if you want get all English about it – is what happens when you let someone indulge in their wildest French fantasies; a very good thing, as it’s former Masterchef finalist Matthew Ryle’s, who’s built his dream restaurant in the style of an old-school brasserie that you might see on the backstreets of Lyon, with an all-day menu of re-worked Gallic classics like jambon persillé (ham hock terrine) and onglet with sauce bordelaise and frites, and the kicker… a dessert trolley loaded with eclairs and truffles.

Details: 34 Duke Street, St James’s, SW1Y 6DF | Book Maison François

Fallow | £££

Fallow restaurant in st james's

Fallow is a rare breed (not of deer, you got plenty of those in Richmond Park), but of restaurant, where Dinner by Heston alums Jack Croft & Will Murray live and die by their sustainable ethos. They grow their own shiitake and oyster mushrooms in a dish hanging above the kitchen (which are then used in a creamy, cloud-like mushroom parfait) and leave no part of the animals/fish to waste – even the weird bits, as in their most talked-about dish: smoked cod’s head with sriracha sauce and leek oil. The same applies to desserts, like the sourdough soft serve and the chelsea tart made from caramelised whey, which save leftovers from the dreaded rubbish bin, and which you should save room for, too.

Details: 2 St. James’s Market, SW1Y 4RP | Book Fallow

Wilton’s | ££££

wiltons st james's

When a nearby bomb strike shook the walls of this Jermyn Street restaurant back in the Blitz, then-owner Betty Leal reportedly threw down her tea-towel and announced that she just couldn’t be doing with it anymore – and Wilton’s regular Olaf Hambro had the restaurant added to his bill there and then. It’s now one of the oldest restaurants in St James’s, and, indeed London, having plied the British public with oysters for over 275 years…

Details: 55 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6LX | Book Wilton’s

The Wolseley | ££

The Wolseley - best restaurants in St James's

A café-restaurant after the grand European tradition, The Wolseley has made its home in a magnificent, monochromatic, marble-clad hall that was previously used as a Barclay’s bank, and before that, a car showroom. Nowadays, between stalwart dishes like bavette steak frites and coq au vin, it’s a reassuringly dependable spot for all-day eggs, afternoon tea and toasted chocolate sandwiches.

Details: 160 Piccadilly, W1J 9EB | Book The Wolseley

Sael | £££

new restaurant sael

Part of Jason ‘bajillions of accolades’ Atherton’s new wave of restaurant openings, Sael is a striking, double-height brasserie tucked away on St James’s Market. This is his love letter to ‘the best of British’, from the produce, to the wine (served by the pint), to the Britpop soundtrack. So if politics, Brexit, and all the rest ever get you down – come here and be reminded that, as the home of 100 layer snail & ox-cheek lasagna, ol’ Blighty can be alright.

Details: 1 St James’s Market, London SW1Y 4AH Book Sael

Scully | £££

Scully St James's Restaurants

Arguably one of the most successful things to be perfected in Ottolenghi’s kitchens, former NOPI head chef Ramael Scully decided to open his first solo restaurant in St James’s. With a strong emphasis on pickling, preserving and creating his own ingredients, the dishes take inspiration from chef Scully’s own wide-ranging heritage, stretching from Ireland to Bali…

Details: 4 St James’s Market, SW1Y 4QU | Book Scully

FOWL | £££

FOWL restaurant st james's

After the success of their sustainably-minded debut, it seems the Fallow founders didn’t want to let their talents go to waste, either. So they’ve opened another restaurant just a few doors down, this time specialising entirely in chicken. When they first cut the ribbon, there were some really wacky items on the menu, like chicken fat tarte tatin and chicken head pie (complete with the actual head). Things have been toned down a bit – probably because most punters were, ironically, too chicken – but you can still come here for some of the best fried chicken, burgers, rotisserie and roasts in the city.

Details: Norris St, St. James’s Market, SW1Y 4RJ Book FOWL

45 Jermyn Street | £££

45 Jermyn Street St James's Restaurants

Decked out with Art Deco-styled interiors in lime and deep orange, this is the quietly elegant restaurant attached to epicurean wonderland Fortnum & Mason. So it’s not surprising that the food’s excellent. Dishes follow a broadly Modern European pattern, and are served with outrageous panache, from the caviar trolley (on which eggs are scrambled for you, table-side) to their flaming Banana Foster. And in homage to the site’s history as the first spot in London to have a soda fountain, there are a couple of ludicrously indulgent boozy soda floats on the dessert menu, too…

Details: 45 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6DN | Book 45 Jermyn Street

Café Murano | £££

Cafe Murano st james's

Despite the alleged casualness of the follow up to Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Murano, Café Murano St James’s is still luxuriously dressed up with sophisticated leather banquettes, low-lighting and lashings of Art Deco-Italian style. And parmesan shavings.

Details: 33 St. James’s Street, SW1A 1HD | Book Cafe Murano

Ginza St James’s | ££££

Ginza st james's sushi restaurant

Housed in a demurely luxe, two-tiered restaurant, Ginza St James’s is the butterfly that’s emerged from the Matsuri chrysalis after 25 years. And it lives up to the fanfare, with delicate sashimi dishes, Japanese-influenced cocktails, and a signature dish comprising fish fed solely on cactus.

Details: 15 Bury Street, SW1Y 6AL | Book Ginza St James’s

Notto | ££

Notto restaurant st james's

As was the 2020-2021 restaurant trend, Notto started out as a lockdown delivery service. It was originally called ‘Otto’, but when proper restaurant plans were being finalised owner Phil Howard got the bad news that there already was a business called Otto, so Notto it was… Naming inconveniences aside, Notto turns out on-point, made-fresh-everyday pasta (from pumpkin and chestnut ravioli to a pappardelle with eight hour slow-cooked oxtail), highly addictive Italian bar snacks (homemade focaccia, mortadella with pickled vegetables, etc.) and simple twists on classic cocktails (think grapefruit negronis and caramel espresso martinis). There’s notto lot that could be improved.

Details: 198-200 Piccadilly, W1J 9EZ | Book Notto

Rowley’s | £££

Rowleys St James's Restaurants

Rowley’s do one thing, and they do it well.

Make no mis-steak.

Because their sizeable entrecôte cuts are served up on a sizzling table burner, alongside roquefort butter sauce and unlimited fries, in a gorgeous, historic dining room.

Details: 113 Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6HJ | Book Rowley’s

The Ritz Restaurant | £££££

Ritz Restaurant St James's

Yes, there will be lavish decoration in the form of marble pillars, gold-leaf statues and elaborate murals. Yes, the food is all Michelin-starred. And yes, there is live music in the restaurant every night of the week, plus professional Latin/ballroom dancers on Fridays. But no, they do not serve Ritz crackers.

You win some, you lose some.

Details: 150 Piccadilly, W1J 9BR | Book The Ritz

 


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