London’s Top 10 Winter Warming Restaurants
From the Times ten recommendations to ‘banish the winter blues’ - a top 10 guide to the best comfort food in London and the South East.
Maggie Jone’s 6 Old Court Place, W8 [details]
“This charmingly cluttered Kensington stalwart, set across three rambling floors, is the antitheses of minimalism, with cooking paraphernalia suspended from the ceiling and crockery lining the walls. Like a culinary bloodline, if a dish can be traced back to England, it’s probably here”
Le Café du Marché, 22 Charterhouse Square, EC1 [details]
“If you’re in the mood for beef, book a table in Le Grenier, as the crispy fires that make up part of the restaurant;s amazing signature dish are available only in the buzzy upstairs dining room”
The City House, 86 Bishopgate, EC2 [details]
“As cosy as the station buffet from Brief Encounter, but a good deal more cheerful, this snug basement Brit hides its relative modernity under a light mantle of Victoriana”
The Fat Badger, 310 Portobello Road, W10 [website]
“this appealing new gastropub has proved an instant hit with local thirty-somethings.”
Firevault, 36 Great Titchfield Street, W1 [details]
“If having dinner in a fireplace showroom sounds unappealing, think again - eating and drinking amid walls of flickering flames is a memorable experience”
The Green Oak, Oakley Green, Windsor [website]
“The wood and slate floors, warm country fabrics, antique light fittings and mirrors at the gastropub create a rustic contemporary looks that makes The Greene Oak a great place for a laid-back evening or a cracking lunch at the weekend”
Medea 561 King’s Road, SW6 [details]
“this atmospheric North African restaurant is perhaps best known for its cosy ambiance but it also serves reliable food.”
Menier Chocolate Factory 53 Southwark Street, SE1 [website]
“This former chocolate factory is now a popular fringe theatre with a cosy restaurant attached”
Patio Restaurant 5 Goldhawk Road, W12 [details]
“A bit of a home-from-home for local Poles, this cosy place offers great value for money for the rest of us too”
Le Poule Au Pot 231 Ebury Street, SW1 [details]
“Far removed from current French restaurant trends, the menu is littered with dishes nostalgic of old France”
I would add to that list The Charles Lamb pub in Elia Street, Islington.
Anywhere you can sit and scoff down a huge piece of roast pork belly (with gorgeous crackling!) with a nice big glass of red hits the spot for me - and they have a pub dog too!
http://eatingleeds.co.uk/2007/01/charles-lamb.html