The best of London’s historic restaurants

The Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell
Despite existing in a city where food and interior fashions are in constant flux, the Quality Chop House has remained the same since 1869. The building is listed, so nothing can be changed: inside, you’ll sit on the same high-backed oak benches as its first customers, though cushions have thankfully been added. The menu respectfully includes steaks and chops of the kind the restaurant would originally have served at lunch, but there is now more in the way of smoked cod roe doughnuts, olive oil ice cream and Roscoff agnolotti.
thequalitychophouse.com

Wiltons, St James’s
Wiltons started life as an oyster barrow in 1742. After a century selling seafood, the family received an alcohol licence in 1840 and became proper restaurateurs. Today, the restaurant is renowned for one of the finest seafood and game menus in London. “We see our role as custodians,” says Jason Phillips, director of Wiltons Holdings. “It is a privilege to honour the traditions that have stood the test of time, every service, every day.”
wiltons.co.uk

Julie’s, Holland Park
On its opening in 1969, and for the next 40 years, Julie’s was the kind of place where you might see Mick Jagger or Kate Moss at the next banquette, or Tina Turner dancing on a table – her heel made a dent that was reverently never repaired. After a brief spell out of fashion, the French-style bistro is back in the limelight after a relaunch in 2024 by Tara MacBain, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef. “Taking on Julie’s has been deeply emotional,” she says. “You feel the weight of its history the moment you step inside – not in a daunting way, but in a protective one.”
juliesrestaurant.com

The Savoy Grill, Strand
Currently run by Gordon Ramsay, the Savoy Grill started life more than 135 years ago as one of two restaurants attached to the Savoy Theatre. It was popular with stars including Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor, who entered via a special side door. “Since opening in 1889, the Savoy Grill has hosted some of the most legendary dinner celebrations and been visited by thousands of notable guests from theatre, film and politics, from every corner of the world,” says Thierry Tomasin, restaurant director. “When guests join us now, they experience that incredible history while taking their seat at one of the city’s most iconic dining institutions.” You can still order a version of its famous omelette Arnold Bennett, too.
thesavoylondon.com

Sweetings, City of London
The current Sweetings venue has been open for more than 100 years (the original fish restaurant started up in 1830), and the menu – still the Bill of Fare – remains reassuringly similar. Order potted shrimps and Dover sole with peas or samphire, then finish with the restaurant’s fabled spotted dick dessert.
sweetingsrestaurant.co.uk

Quo Vadis, Soho
Sam and Eddie Hart re-opened Quo Vadis in 2008, having bought this 1920s Soho institution from Marco Pierre White. The much-loved chef Jeremy Lee joined them in 2012 and has been serving his famous smoked eel sandwiches and fantastic pies ever since. “It is easy to find the energy and enthusiasm to run an excellent restaurant for a month or two, or even a year,” says Sam Hart. “What is much harder is maintaining that commitment over five, 10 or 15 years. Somehow you have to find the desire to still care about the details – that is what all the great long-term restaurateurs and chefs have.”
quovadissoho.co.uk

Scott’s, Mayfair
Established as an oyster bar in 1851, Scott’s moved to elegant Mount Street in the 1960s and is now a veritable temple of seafood, with gleaming wood panels, a mosaic floor and a central marble bar that showcases the crustacean catch of the day. Accompany your oysters, sumptuous shellfish platters, Dover sole or lobster thermidor with a bottle of “Exclusif à Scott’s” Chablis – and book well in advance if you want a coveted terrace table.
scotts-mayfair.com

Oslo Court, St John’s Wood
Visiting Oslo Court, which opened in 1982, is like travelling back in time, even if it’s not entirely clear which era you end up in. The tablecloths are pink, napkins are fanned, the waiters are tuxedoed and the menu is French and very, very traditional: expect côte de veau, escargots, sole meunière and charcoal-grilled lamb cutlets.
oslocourtrestaurant.co.uk