Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Londoners and homesick expat Americans who appreciate this glamorous diner with
its tiled floors and banquette seating. The menu covers all tastes, from smoked
chicken and mango salad to steak tartare, from macaroni and cheese to excellent U.S.
beef including a 10-oz New York strip that weighs in at £30. If prices appear high,
remember this is Mayfair, and portions are generous, American-style sizes.
33 Dover St., W1.
&
020/7499-3033.
www.automat-london.com. Reservations recommended. Main
courses £12-£30. AE, DC, MC, V. Mon-Fri 7-11am and noon-3pm; Sat-Sun 10am-4pm; Mon-Sat 6pm-
midnight. Tube: Green Park.
Momo
MOROCCAN/NORTH AFRICAN Entering, you step into a colorful
fantasy of Moroccan life: Stucco walls, wooden screens, rugs, brass lanterns, and low
tables take you straight to Marrakech. The menu is pretty authentic as well, built
around couscous and tagines bursting with chicken or lamb, preserved lemons, and
olives. You might start with a
briouat
of cheese, mint, and potatoes served with quince
marmalade, or the chef 's specialty of
pastille
—filo pastry parcels filled with sweet-
tasting wood pigeon, almonds and cinnamon, and an orange confit. Informal, on-site
Mô Café
serves all-day meze (£4.50 per dish or meze selections £13.50-£21).
25 Heddon St., W1.
&
020/7434-4040.
www.momoresto.com. Reservations required. Main courses
£17-£36; fixed-price lunch £15-£19; set menu £49. AE, DC, MC, V. Mon-Sat noon-2:30pm and 6:30-
11:30pm; Sun 6:30-11pm. Tube: Piccadilly Circus or Oxford Circus.
ST. JAMES'S
Moderate
Green's Restaurant & Oyster Bar
SEAFOOD/TRADITIONAL BRITISH
Clubby, comfortable, and definitely part of the Establishment, Green's has been serving
its brand of traditional British cooking for over 30 years. Wood-paneled walls hung with
cartoons, a central bar, and seemingly soundproof booths with leather banquettes make
Green's a safe bet for its political and power-broking customers. This is the place for
roasted parsnip soup with apple crisps; their famous salmon fishcakes; oysters in sea-
son; very upscale fish and chips; filet of beef with horseradish; or the occasional dis-
creet foray into contemporary cooking like monkfish with butternut squash ravioli and
hazelnut sage butter. Game is a strength, as are the fish dishes and the wine list is
superb. It could all be rather stuffy but it's not.
36 Duke St., St. James's, SW1.
&
020/7930-4566.
www.greens.org.uk. Reservations required. Main
courses £15-£42.50. AE, DC, MC, V. Mon-Sat 11:30am-3pm and 5:30-11pm. Tube: Green Park. Also at 14
Cornhill, EC2 (
&
020/7220-6300
).
PICCADILLY CIRCUS & LEICESTER SQUARE
All the choices below (along with those under “Covent Garden & the Strand” and
“Soho,” elsewhere in this section) are candidates for dining before or after a show in
London's Theatreland.
Expensive
Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill
SEAFOOD/TRADITIONAL BRITISH Bent-
ley's is a London institution that opened in 1916 and went through various ups and
downs, before being rescued by the highly talented and charming Irish chef, Richard
Corrigan. Under his expert guidance, Bentley's (according to its many fans) now
serves the best fish in London. The ground-floor Oyster Bar, vaguely Arts and Crafts
in feel, is a great place for watching the guys shucking oysters behind the bar and
dining off the likes of dressed crab, smoked salmon, or smoked eel. In the more for-
mal upstairs Grill, the menu includes stalwarts like the rich Bentley's fish soup, but
4
