The Wolseley

Rivalling the Ivy as London's most adored destination for food, glamour and service in an elegant, stylish but unthreatening setting, the Wolseley must rank as one of the city's hottest hot spots full stop. Originally a 1920s car showroom, it then spent most of the last century as a bank. In 2003 the high-ceilinged interior was restored and reinvented as a café/brasserie/restaurant/bar, serving breakfast, lunch, afernoon tea and dinner to a genuinely mixed clientele, including ageing local business boys, ladies who lunch, souped-up riff-raff, luvvies, the cultured and the stylish, and the odd famous person. Food ranges from eggs benedict to burgers, from chopped liver to wiener schnitzel. The basic afternoon tea — three scones, jam and clotted cream, and a pot of tea — is a bargain treasure (£16.75 in 2022). It's nearly always busy, so book ahead. Ask to sit in the main room. Refurbished January 2014. Last orders 11pm.