GREAT BRITAIN - Best of Europe 2014 - page 865

Gordon's Wine Bar, with a simple, steep staircase leading into a candlelit 15th-century
wine cellar, is filled with dusty old bottles, faded British memorabilia, and nine-to-fivers. At
the “English rustic” buffet, choose a hot meal or cold meat dish with a salad (figure around
£7-8/dish);the£8.20cheeseplatecomeswithtwocheeses,bread,andapickle.Thenstepup
to the wine bar and consider the many varieties of wine and port available by the glass (this
place is passionate about port). The low, carbon-crusted vaulting deeper in the back seems
to intensify the Hogarth-painting atmosphere. Although it's crowded, you can normally cor-
ral two chairs and grab the corner of a table. On hot days, the crowd spills out onto a leafy
backpatio,whereabarbecuecooksforalonglineoftables(arrivebefore17:00togetaseat,
Mon-Sat 11:00-23:00, Sun 12:00-22:00, 2 blocks from Trafalgar Square, bottom of Villiers
Street at #47, Tube: Embankment, tel. [phone], manager Gerard Menan).
Ales: TheHarp, clearlyalocalfavorite,isacrowdedandclutteredlittlepubjustablock
above Trafalgar Square. While they serve no food, this is a good, central spot to nurse a fine
aleandmakeanewfriendwithoneoftheLondonerscrowdedaroundthecoaster-coatedbar.
This is a top choice for an après-work pint among nine-to-fivers, who stand in the dozens
out front after the workday, sipping their beers (Mon-Sat 10:30-23:30, Sun 12:00-22:30, 47
Chandos Place, tel. [phone]).
Near Piccadilly
Thefirsttwoplacesareupscaleandsnooty—butifyouwantsomethingcheaperinthissame
area, you'll find plenty of other options.
Swanky Splurges
(See “Central London Eateries” map, here . )
The Wolseley is the grand 1920s showroom of a long-defunct British car. The last Wolseley
drove out with the Great Depression, but today this old-time bistro bustles with formal
waiters serving traditional Austrian and French dishes in an elegant black-marble-and-chan-
deliers setting fit for its location next to the Ritz. Although the food can be unexceptional,
prices are reasonable, and the presentation and setting are grand. Reservations are a must
(£13-30maincourses;cheapersoup,salad,andsandwich“cafémenu”available;bothmenus
availableinallareasofrestaurant,Mon-Fri7:00-24:00,Sat8:00-24:00,Sun8:00-23:00,160
Piccadilly, tel. [phone]). They're popular for their fancy cream or afternoon tea.
The palatial Criterion offers grand-piano ambience beneath gilded tiles and chandeliers
in a dreamy Byzantine church setting from 1880. It's right on Piccadilly Circus but a world
away from the punk junk. It's a deal for the visual experience during lunch and if you order
the £19-23 fixed-price meal (except on Sun, when you must order from the expensive à la
carte menu)...and, at any hour, the service couldn't care less. Anyone can drop in for coffee