saturday lunch in london centre

[Triumph Coupe]

I'm having a problem booking a nice lunch for the gf and I for a saturday in mid sept.

Tried Luciano - Marco Pierre White's italian place in St James St as they have a private function on the day I want to go.

Tried Passione - Gannaro Contaldo's pad in Charlotte St as they don't open for lunch on Saturdays.

I'm running out of ideas... Any suggestions? Want somewhere relatively nice to break up the day of shopping where I can have some decent grub. She is a fan of Italian food when it comes to lunch time but it need not be italian.

[Roger645]

Try This

http://www.london-eating.co.uk/4093.htm

[Wadeski]

If you are on Charlotte St, Pescatori is nice...italian seafoody stuff. If you are feeling especially loaded that day, isnt Hakkasan just behind the lower end of charlotte st?

[Zod]

Hush or Cecconi's.

[grumbledoak]

I always say it, but try for "Maze". It really is rather good: http://www.gordonramsay.com/maze/

Skylon is good, too, and not far from 'central': http://www.skylonrestaurant.co.uk/

HTH

[markomah]

Zod said:

Hush or Cecconi's.

I've only eaten in Cecconi's once but I was disappointed. If I wanted a decent Italian meal in that neck of the woods, I'd probably go for a table in Franco's on Jermyn St, outside if the weather looked like being half decent. The Wolseley is also fun for the people watching- my wife loves it for that alone, although the food and service aren't always up to scratch.

[Romanymagic]

Not sure on West End but two good restauarants I regularly use for my clients are:

City - Threadneedle Street try http://www.theetoncollection.com/restaurants/bonds... - Bonds Restaurant, is french rather than Italian but fantastic food and open on Saturday.

or

Docklands - stones throw from Canary Wharf try http://www.amerigovespucci.co.uk/ - Amerigo Vespucci, fantastic Italian restaurant.

[Wadeski]

Cecconi's was possibly the most overpriced meal i have ever had in my life. The food was worth (in quality) about 1/3rd of what the bill came too. One of the only "good" meals I have left the restaurant fuming and feeling ripped off.

[Zod]

markomah said:

Zod said:

Hush or Cecconi's.

I've only eaten in Cecconi's once but I was disappointed. If I wanted a decent Italian meal in that neck of the woods, I'd probably go for a table in Franco's on Jermyn St, outside if the weather looked like being half decent. The Wolseley is also fun for the people watching- my wife loves it for that alone, although the food and service aren't always up to scratch.

Cecconi's doesn't have the greatest food. It's an atmosphere place.

Nicole's would be a good bet, come to think of it.

[markomah]

Zod said:

markomah said:

Zod said:

Hush or Cecconi's.

I've only eaten in Cecconi's once but I was disappointed. If I wanted a decent Italian meal in that neck of the woods, I'd probably go for a table in Franco's on Jermyn St, outside if the weather looked like being half decent. The Wolseley is also fun for the people watching- my wife loves it for that alone, although the food and service aren't always up to scratch.

Cecconi's doesn't have the greatest food. It's an atmosphere place.

Nicole's would be a good bet, come to think of it.

To be fair, it was busy and buzzing but I'm a fussy bugger - I want good atmosphere AND good food

[Triumph Coupe]

Well, I tried booking a table at Petrus but was told that as of the 6th (I want to dine on the 13th) Petrus would no longer be at the Berkeley and would be finding new premisis. So that one was out of the question along with the other ideas. I really thought we were destined for a Burger King at this point!

Anyway, I have managed to get us booked in at Maze instead. Thanks for all the ideas guys, there will be many more lunches to be had in london so I will try out a few more of your ideas!

[markomah]

Let us know how you get on in Maze; I haven't been there yet but it's on my "to try" list.

[Triumph Coupe]

Just thought I'd give you guys my feedback. We ended up in Maze Grill which is in the same building at Maze and shared a bar but it's emphasis is on steaks. They do a number of different steaks (grass fed, grain fed, waygu etc) and three of us had different steaks, one of us had lobster and we had a waygu steak between us to try it (massaged and fed sake throughout it's life).

The waygu beef was incredible. They bring you the different cuts on a board wrapped in white linen to explain the difference between the meats which is a really nice touch and you could see the waygu had a totally different fat marbleing throughout the meat grain. It was without a doubt the finest bit of meat I had ever eaten, but it should be at £110 a steak!! I'm really glad we all tried it as it will probably be the only time I ever get to try it.

The service was as expected top notch and the atmosphere in the grill was relaxed and very pleasant. We were invited into the kitchen to see the chefs at work and we also had a visit to the maze kitchen also.

In the grill you can book a table for up to 10 people (I think) which looks into the kitchen and overlooks the rest of the restaurant which would be a really special experience I am sure. In the kitchen of maze is a table right in the middle all air conditioned so you don't get the smells of the kitchen but get to experience the kitchen first hand while eating your lunch/dinner. It is a really great idea and well worth remembering if you want a really special time.

We had a really great time and it set the day off to a nice start.

I thoroughly recommend the place. Save up though!

[dcw@pr]

Wagyu is very good (I assume it was from Oz?), but that stuff about massaging and sake is rubbish - try and actually find a farm that does it...

[Whoozit]

Triumph Coupe said:

In the kitchen of maze is a table right in the middle all air conditioned so you don't get the smells of the kitchen but get to experience the kitchen first hand while eating your lunch/dinner. It is a really great idea and well worth remembering if you want a really special time.

I had that table last year for our wedding anniversary. We invited four friends and had one of the most fantastic experiences any of us has ever had. Dinner lasted 4 1/2 hours, 12 courses, and was worth every penny

[Not Ideal]

I was at Cecconi's on Saturday and I think its fantastic. Works much better as a lunch place than a dinner one.