James Innes-Smith
London’s most romantic restaurants
Get your credit cards out lads, it's that time of year again when we demonstrate our love via the medium of grub. Because this year the big day falls on a Monday many restaurants have extended their Valentine menus to cover the whole weekend. With any luck, this should free up tables for those naughty boys who forgot… (to book I mean). With so many London restaurants vying for your romantic dollar, here is a selection that manages to combine an amorous aura with adventurous cocktails and food fit for wooing.
L'Oscar
For those who like their romantic restaurants oozing with velvet and gold trim, L'Oscar, a boutique hotel on the fringes of Covent Garden will have you drooling before you've even sat down. Once the London headquarters of the Baptist Church, this remarkable 'Edwardian Free Baroque' edifice built at the turn of the 20th century is now a decadent art deco lovers' paradise filled with elegant period oddities. Flamboyant French designer Jaques Garcia has really gone to town with the peacock motifs and deco figurines and the whole place has that unmistakable whiff of camp sophistication. That other whiff you might detect is Roja perfume available for purchase and pumped into the common parts. Chef Allan Pickett's £120 Valentine special includes five courses ranging from seared scallops, a slow roast loin of beef and a platter of puddings to share. After dinner head upstairs to the impressively domed Baptist Bar for a signature cocktail - anything with whiskey is good. A live jazz band plays here once a week.
The London Edition
Hotel restaurants have come a long way since they were little more than bleak appendages catering to a captive clientele too lazy to step outside. Indeed, there appears to be something of an arms race happening across London's more upmarket establishments with owners vying to see who can come up with the most indulgent dining rooms with menus to match. Head over to the wrong side of Oxford Street and you'll find one of the grandest hotel lobbies in Soho. Once home to a bank, the Edition's cavernous yet surprisingly intimate dining room is a riot of baroque mouldings and exotic prints - mercifully for such a capacious room the noise level isn’t too deafening even when filled with excitable Soho hipsters. Tables are the perfect size for gazing into your lover's eyes across while generous booths allow for some serious smooching. Post pandemic staff shortages means a much paired down menu of surf and turf staples. Start with a glass of ice-cold pink champagne (obviously) followed by salty lamb rump and a smoky pistachio baked Alaska.
Fenchurch at Sky Garden
Architect Rafael Viñoly's Walkie Talkie, a grey featureless slab of modernist meh, has been glowering over Fenchurch Street now for over ten years. The exterior may be a just another blot on London's already degraded skyline but zoom up to the 35fh floor (it takes a mere thirty seconds) and you can almost forgive Rafael his folly. The Sky Garden, designed by award-winning landscape architecture practice Gillespies is London's highest public garden with breathtaking 360-degree views of the city. The romantic Eden-like expanse is filled with flowering plants such as African Lily (Agapanthus), Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia) and Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) alongside fragrant herbs such as French Lavender. You and your beloved can wander freely amongst the flora for up to an hour before a booking so make sure your reservation coincides with sunset (times are on their website). Once you've waved goodbye to the golden orb head up a floor to the Fenchurch rooftop restaurant where head chef Michael Carr is waiting to showcase the finest new culinary talent. His menu focuses on seasonal ingredients, unusual flavour combinations (the pan braised halibut with confit chicken wings, bacon crumb and cauliflower isn’t as mad as it sounds). Grab a table looking west over St Paul's and the Post Office Tower and wet your palate with a refreshing Fenchurch 37 champagne cocktail (mixed with gin and rhubarb liqueur). Try the light melty pork belly to start followed by Aynhoe Park venison, quince and chewy black pudding.
https://skygarden.london/restaurants/fenchurch/
Fishworks
Fish may not be the most romantic of foodstuffs (what with the lingering pong and all those choking hazards) but when cooked with panache these slimy creatures can really get the juices flowing. Oysters are an aphrodisiac, after all. Fish won’t leave you feeling too bloated and regretful either – never a good look on a date. FishWorks (they need to come up with a sexier name – how about WishForks?) has three sites in central London all with their own traditional wet fish counter where you can buy the freshest fish to take home and cook yourself if the mood takes you. Alternatively the resident fishmonger will help you select any catch of the day you fancy and have it cooked there and then just to your liking. The £55 three course Valentine special comes with the usual fishy faves including performance-enhancing oysters and lascivious lobster.
St Pancras Searcys
Gilbert-Scott's St Pancras hotel and station is pure gothic romance complete with fairytale towers and sweeping staircases perfect for gliding down. Dour Victoriana-hating post-war councillors campaigned to have the place demolished until John Betjeman stepped in to halt the vandalism. After a long and extensive restoration, the old lady has never looked lovelier. With old station clocks on the walls, comfortable leather booths and a sparkly 1920s vibe, St Pancras Brasserie by Searcys recalls steam age elegance at its finest. A reasonably priced menu serves classics such as Celtic sea prawn cocktail with Bloody Mary sauce and 45 days house-aged Rhug Estate sirloin with field mushrooms, watercress and peppercorn sauce. Sadly there's no Black Forest Gateau to speak of but the apple and cinnamon crumble with vanilla custard is the next best thing.
Bob Bob Ricard
All the cosy booths at Bob Bob Ricard have a 'press for champagne' button set into the wall. Each time you buzz, a waiter appears bottle of bubbly at the ready. It's a neat idea perfect for this time of year when gallons of giggle-juice gets glugged by enthusiastic diners. Newish head chef Tom Peters continues to serve up the modern European and classic Russian dishes (reflecting owner Leonid Shutov's heritage) that have made this Soho stalwart such an enduring destination. This is one of London's few all-booth restaurants making it the perfect spot for intimate encounters. The ornate interior has the feel of an Edwardian dining car complete with leather banquettes, brass rails and lamplights. Come elegantly dressed and enjoy a crisp and juicy chicken kiev - a Bob Bob Ricard classic - served on a bed of creamed corn with a side of anchovies. Regulars come for the turbot coulibiac, a chunk of meaty turbot, served wellington-style in puff pastry, with umami-laden mushrooms, scallop mouse and a champagne beurre blanc. Finish with rice pudding and plum compote followed by a double shot of Russian Standard Gold vodka. Nostrovia!
Hakkasan
Alan Yau's mission when he opened the first branch of Hakkasan in Fitzrovia, was to make Chinese dining more of an occasion. Known for serving modern classics with a Western tinge, you won't find any sticky carpets or limp chow mein here. Since that first opening in 2001, the operation has expanded to twelve locations worldwide. On your way to the Mayfair branch stop off at the cosy Amaranto bar in the Four Seasons hotel London at Park Lane. Grab a table by the open fire and ask Ivan the resident mixologist to make you one of his signature negronis; he'll even bring a portable bar to your table and work his magic in front of you. It's then only a short stroll across romantic Berkeley Square where nightingales are said to sing to Hakkasan Mayfair. Hang out at the bar where you and your love can soak up the sultry vibe with a sweet lychee vodka martini from their 'romantic' range. The Yu Garden made with gin, lily flower and rose and lavender honey has a striking floral aroma. Try to secure a table downstairs and start with their Peking duck made with tender Irish birds followed by Phoenix Eye lobster and Wagyu beef with black garlic dim sum. 2022 is the year of the tiger so to celebrate the chain has launched a signature three-course menu that includes a tender wok fried sea bass; all great for sharing of course but only if your lover allows. You will need to book ahead as the place gets crowded most nights of the week.
Oblix
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When you arrive at the 32nd floor of the Shard you have a choice; turn left or right depending on whether you prefer east or west facing views. For a romantic sundowner west is obviously best but make sure you book far enough ahead to guarantee a window table. Oblix is mostly about the views of course which are as far reaching as you'd imagine from London's tallest building but the menu offers some decent grub to add to the spectacle. The strikingly attractive waiting staff will take your order but remember you are on a date so try not to stare. Like the location, prices are sky high but the 'refined urban dining' includes plenty of sharing options. The crispy squid with chilli and lime makes a tasty starter followed by BBQ black cod or whole rotisserie chicken with rosemary, garlic and lemon. If you're feeling flush treat your lover to a wagyu tomahawk steak or go for the chef's tasting menu which includes a selection of ten dishes. The cocktails are surprisingly reasonable.
SushiSamba
Located on the 38th and 39th floors of the Heron Tower at 110 Bishopsgate, Sushisamba has the highest outdoor dining terrace in Europe with views to match. The glass elevators aren’t for vertigo sufferers but they do offer a moving panorama of the ever expanding City. The main dining room has impressive floor-to-ceiling windows for uninterrupted views along with a grid of twinkling lights hung through the open bamboo ceiling that creates a magical atmosphere. This being February you'll probably want to cosy up inside but don’t miss the striking orange tree sculpture on the terrace. The eclectic menu includes everything from Japanese tempura and sushi, to Brazilian churrasco and moqueca and Peruvian anticuchos and seviches. There's an extensive cocktail list (try the nashi martini with Grey Goose La Poire vodka, St. Germain and plum sake) as well as plenty of small plates to share as you watch the sun dip below the west London skyline.
Langan's Brasserie
Once Mayfair's most notorious celebrity hangout, Langan's famous neon sign is still a beacon for those with a taste for British comfort food served in extravagant surroundings. New owners and old school chums Graziano Arricale, formerly of Birley Clubs and James Hitchen, who made his name as the CEO of Manchester’s popular restaurant group, East Coast Concepts have given the famously sumptuous dining room a well-earned facelift. These days you're unlikely to spot ex part owner Michael Caine cavorting with his old pal Joan Collins but the place still has that old school romantic charm - if only the walls could talk. The clientele are a little less starry these days but for couples hoping to reunite old passions the menu has kept many of the Langan's classics such as the legendary soufflés, fish pie for two and bangers and mash.
