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THE GOURMET'S GUIDE TO LONDON


BY

LIEUT.-COL. NEWNHAM-DAVIS

_Author of
"The Gourmet's Guide to Europe"_


NEW YORK
BRENTANO'S
1914

PRINTED BY THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

[Illustration: THE CHESHIRE CHEESE
_From a drawing by Harry Morley_]



_The pleasures of the table are common to all ages and ranks, to
all countries and times; they not only harmonise with all the other
pleasures, but remain to console us for their loss.--_

BRILLAT SAVARIN.





TO ALL GOOD GOURMETS






PREFACE


In describing in this book some of the restaurants and taverns in and
near London, I have selected those that seem to me to be typical of the
various classes, giving preference to those of each kind which have
some picturesque incident in their history, or are situated amidst
beautiful surroundings, or possess amongst their personnel a celebrated
chef or _maître d'hôtel_.

The English language has not enough nicely graduated terms of praise to
enable me to give to a fraction its value to each restaurant, from the
unpretentious little establishments in Soho to such palaces as the Ritz
and Savoy, but I have included no dining-place in this volume that does
not give good value for the money it charges.

Twelve years ago I wrote a somewhat similar book, "Dinners and Diners,"
which ran through two editions, but when I looked it through last
year I found that there had been so many changes in the world of
restaurants, so many old houses had vanished and so many new ones had
arisen, that it was easier to write a new book than to bring the old
one up to date. Mr Astor very kindly gave me permission to use in this
volume any of the series of "Dinners and Diners" articles that appeared
in _The Pall Mall Gazette_, but it will be found that I have availed
myself very sparingly of his kind permission. The chapters of this
book appeared, with very few exceptions, in _Town Topics_, and I am
indebted to the editor of that paper for his leave to gather them into
book form.

Mr Grant Richards, the publisher of this book, quite agrees with me
that no advertisements of restaurants shall find a place within its
covers.

Should "The Gourmet's Guide to London" find a welcome from an
appreciative public, and should, in due time, other editions of it be
called for, I shall hope to broaden its scope to include in it some of
the hostelries of Brighton and other seaside towns, also those of the
great cities and great ports, and to describe some of those fine old
country inns scattered about the kingdom where good old English cookery
is still to be found in good old English surroundings.

For the French of the menus I do not hold myself responsible. The
kitchen writes the French that it talks and who am I, a mere Briton,
that I should attempt to alter it?

                        N. NEWNHAM-DAVIS.




CONTENTS


                                             PAGE

I       OLD ENGLISH FARE                     1

II      SIMPSON'S IN THE STRAND              6

III     A WALK DOWN FLEET STREET             12

IV      THE CARLTON                          19

V       TWO LITTLE SOHO RESTAURANTS          26

VI      A RAG-TIME DINNER                    32

VII     THE CAFÉ ROYAL                       38

VIII    OYSTER-HOUSES                        46

IX      WHITEBAIT AT GREENWICH               53

X       THE CECIL                            59

XI      CLARIDGE'S                           67

XII     THE EUSTACE MILES RESTAURANT         73

XIII    THE PRINCES' RESTAURANT              81

XIV     THE CRITERION                        86

XV      SOME CHOP-HOUSES                     92

XVI     SOME GRILL-ROOMS                     99

XVII    ROMANO'S                             105

XVIII   IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS              115

XIX     A REGIMENTAL DINNER                  122

XX      "JOLLY GOOD"                         128

XXI     IN THE SHADOW OF THE PALACE THEATRE  134

XXII    THE WELCOME CLUB                     141

XXIII   GOLDSTEIN'S                          147

XXIV    THE MITRE                            152

XXV     IN THE HANDS OF PI(E)RATES           158

XXVI    APPENRODT'S                          166

XXVII   THE BURFORD BRIDGE HOTEL             174

XXVIII  THE RITZ                             180

XXIX    SOME OUTLYING RESTAURANTS            190

XXX     THE KING'S GUARD                     195

XXXI    THE OLD BULL AND BUSH                201

XXXII   THE BERKELEY                         206

XXXIII  THE JOYS OF FOREIGN TRAVEL           214

XXXIV   A SUPPER TRAIN                       220

XXXV    THE ADELAIDE GALLERY                 226

XXXVI   THE COMPLEAT ANGLER                  235

XXXVII  ARTISTS' ROOMS                       241

XXXVIII THE PICCADILLY RESTAURANT           