Restaurants

In 1946, George Mikes, Britain's famous Hungarian-born humorist, wrote about the cuisine of his adopted country: "The Continentals have good food. The English have good table manners."

Quite a lot has happened since.

London has emerged as one of the great food capitals of the world. Both its veteran and upstart chefs have fanned out around the globe for culinary inspiration and returned with innovative dishes, flavors, and ideas that London diners have never seen before. These chefs are pioneering "Modern British" style, which is innovative, yet familiar in many ways.

Traditional British cooking has made a comeback, too. The dishes that British mums have been forever feeding their families are fashionable again. We're talking British soul food: bangers and mash, Norfolk dumplings, cottage pie. This may be a rebellion against the minimalism of the nouvelle cuisine of the 1980s, but maybe it's just plain nostalgia. Pig's nose with parsley-and-onion sauce may not be your idea of cutting-edge cuisine, but Simpson's-in-the-Strand is serving it for breakfast.

If you want a lavish meal, London is the place: Gourmet havens such as Le Gavroche and a half-dozen others are reviewed in the following pages. We've also included many affordable restaurants where you can dine well and still pay off your mortgage. You'll find that London's food revolution has infiltrated every level of the dining scene -- even the lowly pub has entered the culinary sweepstakes. Believe the unthinkable: At certain pubs, you can now dine better than in many restaurants. In some, standard pub grub has given way to Modern British and Mediterranean-style fare; in others, oyster bars have taken hold.

Some Dining Notes

Hours -- Restaurants in London keep varied hours, but in general, lunch is offered from noon to 2pm and dinner from 7:30 to 9:30pm, although more restaurants are staying open later. Sunday is the usual closing day for restaurants, but there are exceptions. (Many also close for a few days around Christmas, so call ahead during the holidays.) We've listed serving hours in the descriptions below.

Reservations -- Nearly all places, except pubs, cafeterias, and fast-food joints, prefer or require reservations. Almost invariably, you get a better table if you book in advance. For a few of the famous places, you might need to reserve weeks in advance, even before leaving home. (Reservations should always be confirmed when you get to London.) However, if you don't have reservations, even at a "reservations required" restaurant, it's worth trying to walk in; if they have room, you won't be turned down.

Taxes & Tipping -- All restaurants and cafes are required to display the prices of their food and drink in a place visible from outside. Charges for service, as well as any minimums or cover charges, must also be made clear. The prices shown must include 17.5% VAT. Most restaurants add a 10% to 15% service charge to your bill, but check to make sure. If nothing has been added, leave a 10% to 15% tip. It is not considered rude to tip, so feel free to leave something extra if service was good.

A Note About Prices -- When restaurants are classified as Moderate or Inexpensive, most main courses are at the lower end of the price scale. That doesn't mean the chefs don't prepare some expensive dishes. Often they do, especially if they offer shellfish. But if you avoid the highest-priced dishes, you can dine moderately or inexpensively at our selections.

Neighborhoods

Covent Garden & The Strand -- The restaurants in and around Covent Garden and the Strand are the most convenient choices when you're attending theaters in the West End.

Piccadilly Circus & Leicester Square -- Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square lie at the doorstep of the West End theaters. All the choices reviewed (along with those in the Covent Garden & the Strand and Soho) are good candidates for dining before or after a show.

Soho -- The restaurants of Soho are conveniently located for those rushing to have dinner before an evening at one of the West End theaters.

Mayfair -- Born-to-shop aficionados who spend hours trawling Oxford Street, Bond Street, and South Moulton often retreat to Truc Vert, 42 North Audley St., W1 (tel. 020/7491-9988; www.trucvert.co.uk). This is a combination grocery store and dining room. In an elegantly casual atmosphere, it offers an array of some of the finest charcuterie products in Mayfair, along with cheese, wines, tasty sandwiches, salads, and daily quiches and soups. You can also order main courses from £14 to £17 ($28-$34), or secure the makings of a picnic here. Make sure to try the chocolate-orange mousse tart. Open Monday to Saturday 7:30am to 9:30pm, Sunday 9:30am to 3pm. Tube: Bond Street.

Hampstead Heath -- Unknown to most visitors, there's a charming little place in North London for breakfast, afternoon tea, and lunches at one of Hampstead Heath's most alluring attractions. It's the Brew House, in Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane, NW3 (tel. 020/8341-5384; www.companyofcooks.com), open in summer daily from 9am to 6pm (until 4pm in winter). There is always a freshly made soup of the day and at least one vegetarian dish. Main courses are likely to include free-range sausages or else fresh Scottish salmon, and even free-range chicken. You can partake of the breakfast buffet for between £4 and £9.50 ($8-$19); at lunch main courses cost £6.50 to £12 ($13-$24). Tube: Northern line to Archway Station, then bus no. 210.

Eating at Authentic Chippies

Declassé or not, Britain's national dish of fish and chips was called "the good companions" by Sir Winston Churchill. Introduced to London by Murano Jews, this dish has been Britain's fast food since the mid-19th century. Those slightly limp chips (fries to Americans) burst open with flavor with a squirt of malt vinegar, and each dish is accompanied by a "wally" in chippy vernacular (a pickled gherkin). Britons consume some 300 million fish and chips meals per year. The staunchest of devotees claim that the fish has to be cooked in beef drippings, but there is much disagreement on that in recent years.

We always head for Rock & Sole Plaice, 47 Endell St., WC2 (tel. 0871/426-3380; Tube: Covent Garden) for our fish and chips fix. The cooks here prefer to fry the fish, such as sweet, delicate lemon sole, in clean peanut oil instead of beef drippings. This is London's oldest chippy, having existed under one name or another since 1871. Fish here is cooked in a puffy, ale-colored batter. Count on spending from £10 to £15 ($20-$30) for a dinner, served Monday to Saturday 11:30am to 10:30pm and Sunday noon to 10pm.

Another authentic choice is the Golden Hind, 73 Marylebone Lane (tel. 0871/3327-803; Tube: Bond St.), tucked away on this side street since 1914. Fresh fish arrives daily from the port of Grimsby on the western coast. Locals claim that "haddock is for heroes, cod for zeroes," so haddock is the way to go here. It's concealed in a thin batter (not overpuffed like most chippies). A dinner ranges from £6.50 to £15 ($13-$30), and service is Monday to Friday noon to 3pm and Monday to Saturday 6 to 10pm.