Midnight Feasts
| THE AVENUE 7-9 St James’s Street, SW1 (020-7321 2111). Mon-Thurs noon-midnight, Fri & Sat noon-12.45am, Sun noon-10pm. Approx Ј35 per person. The large and busy dining room is dominated by a long bar, which serves decent cocktails. The food ranges from modernist dishes like a Vietnamese prawn and papaya salad, to comfort-food specials like salt beef with bubble and squeak or salmon fishcakes with a dill butter sauce. Service is slick and the atmosphere lively. |
BOISDALE 13 Ecclestone Street, SW1 (020-7730 6922). Mon-Sat noon-11pm. Bar open until 1.30am Fri-Sat. Approx Ј45 per person. Think single malts, cigars, jazz and pretty decent, resolutely Scottish cookery. This is a very clubby sort of place and has a loyal following. The back bar is home to an amazing range of Scottish whiskies. The Aberdeen Angus steaks are very good indeed. There’s a ‘fresh fish of the day’ and for nostalgic ex-pat Jocks, MacSween’s haggis is on offer. Highland hospitality makes its way to Victoria. |
| CAFé BOHEME 13-18 Old Compton Street, W1 (020-77334 0623). Mon-Sat 8am-3.30am, Sun 8am-10.30pm. Approx Ј20 per person. This place is more brasserie than café and always seems packed with music loud enough to set the tone. The menu centres on familiar French favourites – moules, bourguignon, omelettes – and service has a Continental efficiency to it. The clientele is eclectic, ranging from Soho chefs who have finished their evening to clubbers just starting out. |
EAGLE BAR DINER 3-5 Rathbone Place, W1 (020-7637 1418) Mon-Wed noon-11pm, Thurs-Fri non-1am, Sat 10am-1pm, Sun 11am-6pm. Approx Ј18 per person. As you walk in there’s a large bar area to the left and the diner seating lies to the right with raised booths. The food is ‘superior-diner’ – good burgers (including ones made from emu), Caesar salads, hash browns, shakes and malts. Service is slick and this is a comfortable place – beware the Martinis which can prove dangerous. |
| HAKKASAN 8 Hanway Place, W1 (020-7907 1888) Mon-Sat noon-12.30am, Sun noon-11pm. Approx Ј60 per person. It is encouraging that Hakkasan – which may well be London’s finest Chinese restaurant – stays open so late. The food is very good indeed, delivering a sophisticated balance of different flavours and textures. Hakkasan is expensive. It looks impeccably smart and it’s always busy. The bar is full of fashionable people and stays open until 1.30am Thurs-Sat. Booking ahead is a wise move. |
HARD ROCK CAFé 150 Old Park Lane, W1 (020-7629 0382) Mon-Sat 8am-1am, Sun 8am-11.30pm. Approx Ј25 per person. Since the Seventies, the original Hard Rock Café has been belting out loud music and hustling burgers to successive generations of tourists. The burgers have always been sound, the service snappy and the atmosphere lively. By the end of the evening the camera-toting pilgrims have given way to people fuelling up for a night out. |
| HARLEM 79 Westbourne Grove, W2 (020-7985 0900). Mon-Sat 10.30am-2am, Sun 10.30am-midnight. Approx Ј30 per person. 78 Westbourne Grove has plenty of history as a late-night venue, before being reborn as Harlem it was called Angelo’s and had a louche reputation as a drinking club. The food is now soul food, the atmosphere is likely and the bar stays open until 2am except on Sunday. This may be the place of reacquaint yourself with shrimp hushpuppies and gumbo. |
JOE ALLEN 13 Exeter Street, WC2 (020-7836 0651). Mon-Fri noon-12.45am, Sat 11.30am-11.30pm, Sun 11.30am-11.30pm. Approx Ј30 per person. Joe Allen is hidden away in a basement where the dark brown décor only adds to the rather old-fashioned vibe. For a long while it has been a haunt of actors and agents and the menu has no surprises – there’s chopped liver, steaks, salads, and even a burger (although as it is never mentioned on the menu, you must know about it before asking for it). |
| PJ’S GRILL 30 Wellington Street, WC2 (020-7240 7529). Mon-Sat noon-midnight, Sun 11am-4.30pm. Approx Ј25 per person. PJ’s is not only a near neighbour to Joe Allen, it also shares many of the same values. Named after an American polo player or some such, it has a straightforward menu that runs from French classic dishes to American stalwarts. Expect good steaks, good chips, sweet puds and slick service, all in the sort of dining room you would expect to see in a low-budget American film. |
QUAGLINO’S 16 Bury Street, SW1 (020-7930 6767). Mon-Thurs noon-midnight, Fri & Sat noon-1am. Bar open until 2am, Sun noon-11pm. Approx Ј45 per person. Quag’s is all about glamour and the cavernous dining room is theatrical in the extreme. This is the place for giant, multi-tiered, platters of fruits de mer; for staples like fish and chips; and for aged Scottish steaks. There’s a pacey wine list and the service just about keeps up with the incredibly high volume of customers. |
| RANOUSH 43 Edgware Road, W2 (020-7723 5929). Mon-Sun 9am-3am. Approx Ј12 per person. At the back there’s a juice bar and at the front there is a long counter offering various mezze and kebabs. There’s a tricky system here that may have developed due to the unreliability of late-night diners – you start by paying and then take your receipt to the men behind the various stations who will swap it for the item concerned. No alcohol, but lots of fun, and impressively busy, however late. |
SHISH 2-6 Station Road, NW2 (020-8208 9290). Mon-Sun noon-11.30pm, bar open 5pm-midnight. Approx Ј20 per person. Shish is pretty sharp. A glass frontage shows the counter curving its way around the room. The deal here is kebabs, but kebabs that have been civilised. To start with there are various mezze, and then the kebabs range from king prawn shish to chicken with apricot and ginger. Service is friendly and the breads are good. |
| YAS 7 Hammersmith Road, W14 (020-7603 9148). Mon-Sun noon-4.30am daily. Approx Ј25 per person. Yas is a busy Iranian restaurant so you can take it as read that thee will be good juices and teas (plus it has a drinks licence) fabulous hot breads, those baskets of very fresh green herbs, well-cooked kebabs and delicious stews – check out the excellent specials at the weekend. |
ZERODEGREES 29-31 Montpelier Vale, SE3 (020-8852 5619) Mon-Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-11.30pm. Approx Ј15 per person. Zerodegrees is a cheerful amalgamation of several different styles of establishment. The food is pizzas, pastas, moules and snacks. The bar is thriving, loud and leery. There is a micro-brewery on site, offering five or six beers from US style bitters to a very popular fruit beer. |
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