Tuesday 10 November 2026 4:05 pm
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Tuesday 10 November 2026 4:33 pm
The dining room at Liverpool Street Chop House & Tavern, named Best Restaurant at City AM’s Toast the City Awards
As autumn draws in and the capital gets darker, the season of comfort food takes hold at London restaurants: glorious pies, a melting ribeye or a bubbling lasagne summon you. It’s the type of food that tests your patience as you salivate, waiting to take a first bite, knowingly in danger of burning your mouth if you jump in too soon. These are meals that demand a great red wine to accompany them…
Liverpool Street Chop House & Tavern: Award-winning pies and steaks
At The Evolv Collection, we were delighted that our Chop House & Tavern on New Street won the top accolade, Best Restaurant, in City AM’s Toast the City Awards. Deservedly so: Chop House is a venue, where every detail has an authentic place of origin, whether it’s the design (Brand historian Ron Cregan was drafted in from Mulberry and Maybourne hotel group to re-imagine the Conran classic) or the food menu, which has been a lifelong passion-project for chef Mike Reid (last seen on James Martin’s Saturday Kitchen, cooking a sticky toffee beef short rib). Thank you to all the readers who voted in appreciation.
When dining in Chop House, you will find dramatic trolleys boasting regeneratively farmed, best of British beef alongside the finest pork, lamb and chops in the world. Specialist knives, forged in Peckham, are presented for your choosing. The wine list is beyond extensive. Few London restaurants offer such comfort and theatre this autumn, underpinned by quality and true hospitality.
I recently dined there with England world cup winning legends Simon Shaw and Andy Gomarsall, watching as they worked their way through the largest T-bone I’ve seen in 20 years serving steaks. Despite the appeal of the meat offering, my preference was for the pies: mutton shoulder shepherd’s, oxtail and beef, beef shin and oyster, roast chicken and pancetta… They are a masterclass in pastry. If served with a magnum of Joseph Drouhin 2022 Gevrey-Chambertin (£380) or a barrel of Barbaresco Bordnin (£305), the cancellation of late afternoon appointments is inevitable. This is what long lunches in the City are all about.
Cloth Cornhill: A new City favourite in a historic tavern
When I was in charge at Gaucho and M, I used to saunter from M Threadneedle Street over to Gaucho Gracechurch Street on a daily basis. My favourite route was through the medieval St Michael’s Alley, past the Jamaica Wine House and Ball Court, which is now home to Cloth Cornhill. Formerly known as Simpsons Tavern since 1757, it was saved in part by a public crowdfund campaign led by City AM. This wonderfully atmospheric hideaway is not to be confused with Jeremy King’s offering on the Strand, although the original signage remains.
Cloth has a small kitchen and thus a sensibly modest menu boasting comforting elements of both St John’s and Liverpool Street Chop House & Tavern. We began with an austere sausage and mustard, purposefully plain, served like prison food (or so I am told). Scallop sashimi missed the spot, drowned in an almond custard of sorts. But things got much better from here: an excellent plate of pickles and cured trout with horseradish. And the star of the snacks and starters: devils on horseback, which I will return for time and time again.
The venison pie at Cloth has already become the talk of the town. My steak was also sublime, head and shoulders above the City’s steak chains. A smoked pork chop was almost as outstanding as the devils on horseback, and all was devoured with a Domaine de Bellene Nuits-Saint-Georges (£160).
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The story of how Simpsons Tavern became Cloth Cornhill
This is destined to become a new City favourite and one of the best London restaurants to visit this autumn: a similar draw as Soho’s The Devonshire, but with double the substance. The trio of Shoreditch entrepreneurs Sam, Joe and Ben deserve our patronage and our stomachs certainly deserve their food.
Rosina: The neighbourhood London restaurant worth the booking battle
And so to SW12, where another admirable entrepreneur, chef Adam Byatt, has opened a new high profile neighbourhood restaurant named Rosina on the former Pomino and Brinkley’s site.
I have been a fan of Adam (a Phil Howard protege) and his venues since he opened Thyme in a shitty bit of Clapham in 2001. It won critical acclaim but didn’t work out. His greatest success, one Michelin starred Trinity, has been a favourite of my wife and me for some 20 years.
So it is a delight that Byatt’s Rosina has joined the outstanding (and Michelin recognised) Chez Bruce on Bellevue Road to add value to the lives of those living in the Nightingale Triangle.
I have visited a few times since opening. The bar has a great buzz, the wine list is superb and the bar food is even better (go straight to the crispy and gooey fried taleggio). Despite being ridiculously difficult to book a table, Rosina is as fine a London neighbourhood restaurant as could aspire to be. Pure hospitality is on display here and the management is first class (which is rare more than a mile out of Mayfair).
What to order at Rosina
I began with the tuna crudo, which is as good as you will find at any Japanese omakase counter. The vitello tonnato was also a standout dish, rich with shallots and capers. We loved the fava bean dip and decided to go ‘full Hannibal’ and enjoy it with a fine Chianti (Isole e Olena 2023, about £85. Alternatively there’s a very approachable Barolo Moscino from superstar winemaker Ciara Boschis for £198). For secondi, the ’nduja strozzapreti, lasagne or ‘pasta splendido’ are all excellent options. For mains, the beef cheek or turbot are both standout dishes. All in all, it was an exceptional experience – unless your dining partner ‘Posh’ Henry Hobhouse accompanies you and inhales all of the sharing plates…
Book these London restaurants early this autumn
All three London restaurants are certain hits for autumn entertaining and beyond. Book in advance or roll up early doors to avoid disappointment during these darker days.
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Cloth Cornhill review: A London icon returns – and it’s fabulous
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