Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: The best summer restaurants in London
It has been a busy fortnight for the Bluebird brand I oversee as CEO of the Evolv Collection. In our Liverpool Street South Place Hotel, we launched the Bluebird Club, while at Silverstone we entertained drivers, celebrities and musicians with our trackside Bluebird Backstage lounge.
And over in Chelsea, we have been the unofficial Wimbledon tournament after-party for coaching teams, players and royal box attendees for the past two weeks! The great news is that between Damon Hill, rapper Big Zuu, Sam Ryder and Women’s finalist Amanda Anisimova, there is a shared love of our Bluebird burgers and lobster rolls.
At events like these, I’m often asked about my favourite restaurants of the moment. This summer I have been loving the Madison rooftop restaurant, particularly the Ibiza Orchestra nights as the sun sets on St Paul’s. I’ve also returned for repeat visits (a good sign) to Gordon Ramsay at 22 Bishopsgate, La Mome and Row on Five for three outstanding meals.
At La Mome, a slice of Saint-Tropez comes to the Berkley Hotel: I recommend the outstanding ceviche and tartars with a bottle of white Domains Ott. Be sure to finish your experience by heading to the Emory rooftop bar for cocktails created by the legendary Tato Giovannoni – perfect for balmy London days.
I also caught up with fellow restaurateur and entrepreneur Jason Atherton alongside our respective Roux Scholarship winners; Row on Five exec chef Spencer Metzger and my Michelin starred Angler head chef Craig Johnston. Atherton and I exchanged war stories and he absolutely deserves his huge success: the sector is tough for many right now and his fortitude, combined with a passion for delivering elevated culinary experiences is beyond admirable. Which brings me to my list of the best summer restaurants.
PETRUS by Gordon Ramsay
Like both Bluebird and Atherton, some icons last the test of time. Petrus is one of them, a hospitality time travel back to the early noughties, when staff were international, elegant and oozed charm. The food is contemporary and wonderfully refined, filled with dishes that can only be created when decades of best-practice and classic training are instilled in the kitchen brigade.
Petrus is offering a ludicrously good value four course set lunch for £45, but as my wife and I’s lunch was off the back of a London to Paris bike ride together, we indulgently opted for the prestige menu (£150). The Isle of Skye Scallop with herbs and lemon was one of the finest I’ve ever consumed and the Herdwick lamb was a true taste sensation, particularly when paired with a glass of Echezeaux Grand Cru, Maison Roche de Bellene 2012 (£95 per glass). As we left, the waitstaff were ironing the tablecloths ready for dinner service: perfection comes with preparation.
COYA City
Another great value meal can be found at Coya City on a ‘bottomless’ Friday night. The brilliant brand seems to be going through a resurgence, with both the opening of a Saint-Tropez beach club and appointment of global marketing director Loren Craig, who I have been friends with since I catered for her Bond Street events at Asprey in the noughties.
Back in the shadow of the Bank of England, each Friday a Latin party starts at 7pm; a cacophony of saxophones, DJs and free-flowing Veuve Cliquot, enjoyed with classic dishes including yellow tail ceviche, king bream tiradito and Chilean miso cod – all excellent. If you choose to avoid the en masse dining experience and go a la carte, I’d pair an excellent steak with a bottle of Château Troplong Mondot 2011 (£400), a wine rarely found in London.
CAFE ROYAL GRILL
Having eaten an average of four steaks a week for the past two decades, I claim expertise in matters of the global bovine. From Salsbury to Melbourne and back via Buenos Aires, I’m pretty clued up on the best beef. As it happens, I’m currently working with my old M restaurants business partner (now also a super-successful TV presenter), Mike Reid on a meaty new opening – the Liverpool Street Chop House and Tavern. It’s inspired by our founder Sir Terence Conran’s visionary Chop House brand, combined with a modern interpretation of the original London taverns and chop houses. Come September, we will be offering the finest fare from the markets and liveries of Canada in our New Street Tavern!
In the name of research for Chop House, I visited the new Grill restaurant at Hotel Café Royal last week with fellow hotelier Joel Williams, former CEO of Shoreditch Arts Club, Conduit Club and Home House (a fellow human who’s paunch mirrors his passion for rearing and feasting on fine meats). The Café Royal dining room dates back to 1865 and if you like a bit of bling, the golden gilded restaurant, formerly the Oscar Wilde Bar, is vulgarly spectacular.
The food, thankfully, is simply spectacular – try the Scottish girolles, the roasted beets and the sea bass crudo followed by an outstanding veal chop with a modestly priced bottle of Connetable Talbot 2017 (£160) and you will leave feeling like a most happy prince.