Despite what the Monopoly board might have you believe, not everyone riding through Mayfair in a mini Kurtis Kraft is made of money. Neither are they silly little top hats made of pewter, but that’s another story…
…Anyway, for the vast majority of folk who find themselves in this most luxurious of London locales, dropping several hundred notes on supper is going to feel pretty frivolous. Fortunately, for those keen for a Mayfair-standard meal at, say, Pall Mall prices, there are plenty of set lunch options ready to satisfy the brief.
With that in mind, here’s our rundown of the best value set lunches in Mayfair. We think we’ll (free) park the Monopoly references now…
Noble Rot Mayfair
Ideal for a demure, delicious meal that’s the best lunch deal in Mayfair…
Noble Rot Mayfair has only been open for a few months, but it’s already settled into a rhythm in the agreeably lowkey Shepherd’s Market. That should come as no surprise if you’ve been to the first two iterations of this impeccable restaurant; this is clearly a restaurant group (can we call them a group yet?) who have mastered a kind of discreet, demure hospitality and straightforward but intense cooking style. It’s an aesthetic that’s just so welcome in this gaudy side of town.
The Mayfair branch is spearheaded by head chef Adam Wood along with the usual overseeing from executive chef Stephen Harris of the Sportsman, with the two promising a seasonally reflective menu with an indulgent focus, retaining the trademark warmth and fine cooking of its predecessors in Soho and Bloomsbury.
On a recent visit, the set lunch menu (the best value in the neighbourhood at £28 for 3 courses) featured a pearlescent, flaking poached cod with fennel and orange salad that was so refreshing on a particularly balmy August day.
The confit duck leg and braised lentils that followed felt a little more autumnal, admittedly, but no less delicious. A hazelnut and brown butter cake rounded things off in some style, a textural delight.
Of course, Noble Rot is as much about the wine as it is the excellent food, with a ‘shrine to vine’ mantra that we don’t quite understand but an approachable, inclusive wine list that we very much do. To have several wines by the glass for under a fiver, in Mayfair, in this economy, is a lovely touch, even if they are only 75ml ‘tasters’. That said, the ubiquitous, totally drinkable ‘Chin Chin’ Vinho Verde is just £5 for a proper glass. A Don Tinto Tempranillo 2022 is the same price.
Not only do the guys at Noble Rot want to feed and water you without bankrupting you, there’s always an agreeable inclusivity to proceedings, which certainly isn’t always the case in Mayfair. Yep, this is the best set lunch in Mayfair, we think.
When: The set lunch menu is available from 12pm to 2:30pm everyday, with two courses for £24 and 3 for £28.
Website: noblerot.co.uk
Address: 5 Trebeck St, Shepherd Market, London W1J 7LT
Theo Randall at the Intercontinental
Ideal for deceptively simple, satisfying plates of Italian seasonality…
No. 1 Park Lane. Could there be a more prestigious sounding address in the city? Originally the site of 145 Piccadilly, it was once the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth II. Since 1975, it’s been the Intercontinental Hotel, its enviable vantage point offering stunning views of Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, making it a favourite among royalty and celebrities on their jaunts in the Big Smoke.
One of those celebrities has been plying his trade in the bowels of the Intercontinental for close to two decades. Chef Theo Randall, famous for earning the iconic Hammersmith restaurant the River Café its first Michelin star and for his patient vibes in the face of Matt Tebbutt on Saturday Kitchen, equally.
In a soothing but clinical basement dining room (it’s used for the hotel’s buffet breakfast, too) of faded greens and dusty pinks, there’s a worry Randall’s robust, faithful Italian cooking will be buried under the weight of the hotel.
Not so. Service is gentle and breezy down here, allowing light, precise plates of premium produce that’s been refreshingly un-faffed with to shine. To kick things off, a towering, salty chunk of focaccia arrives alongside a pleasant slice of bruschetta with semi-dried tomato, everything tasting as it should. My wife thinks it was deliberately presented to look like a boot, representing Italy. I’m not so sure.
Starters are light, bright and wholly appropriate for the heatwave outside, with beautiful bar-marked vegetables, a satisfying stress ball of good mozzarella, and aged balsamic all coming together into a cohesive whole.
Another starter saw thinly sliced fennel salami served, pleasingly, at the correct temperature – a rare thing in the UK. As in, warm enough so its pearls of fat are beginning to melt ever so slightly. It’s the kind of attention to detail that you expect from a chef of Randall’s quality.
Unsurprisingly, Randall’s signature beef, Chianti and San Marzano ragu is a highlight. It’s a wonderfully light affair, the tomatoes shining through just as much as the slow-cooked beef. A ragu at lunchtime is often a dangerous game to play, with the hotel rooms upstairs looking tempting for an afternoon nap to recover, but here, it’s expertly judged. Do we even need to add that the fresh egg pappardelle is perfect?
It all ends with a delicate slice of Amalfi lemon tart, the one that’s so iconic at The River Café, and, having eaten both, is just as good here. On our visit, the big man was present, working his mantecare to glossy perfection. We’re told he does so most services.
Do be warned; though the set lunch is great value, it can quickly add up if you intend to have a drink; a pinot nero bianco Saint Valier for £14 a glass and a Moscato d’Asi for £12 quickly sent things skyward. If you’re planning to stick to the water to keep prices below £100 for two all-in, then be careful not to get stung on the sparkling water. Regardless of the fact you’re in Mayfair, £7 for a San Pellegrino is a lot.
Take care with your drinks ordering, though, and Theo Randall at the Intercontinental is one of Mayfair’s best set lunches, no doubt about it.
When: Available 12pm to 2pm, Tuesday to Friday. 2 courses are currently £28, 3 are £33.
Website: theorandall.com
Address: One Hamilton Place, Park Ln, London W1J 7QY
The Grill by Tom Booton
Ideal for pitch-perfect plates of studied precision…
Though the prestigious Dorchester plays host to a 3 Michelin-starred, Alain Ducasse-led (in name at least) restaurant, it’s not here that we’re enjoying one of Mayfair’s best set lunch deals.
Instead, we’re getting stuck into the cooking of one of our favourite young chefs in all of London; Tom Booton. Since becoming head chef at the reliably, resolutely stuffy Dorchester, the cherubic Booton has revitalised the hotel’s grill restaurant with his modern and creative culinary techniques, earning the honour of having his name above the door in the process – a first in the restaurant’s 92-year history.
30 year old Booton began his culinary career at the age of 15 at Talbooth, a renowned three-AA-rosette restaurant in Essex. In 2013, after spending almost five years there, he moved to London to work under Michelin-starred chef Alyn Williams at The Westbury hotel, all before his weird, now-vindicated disgrace.
Following this, he continued to hone his skills at L’Autre Pied in Marylebone, and later spent time gaining international experience in cities like New York, Copenhagen, and Reykjavik before becoming the head chef at The Grill at The Dorchester in 2019, making history as ‘the Grand Dame’s’ youngest ever head chef. That’s some serious pedigree right there.
The set lunch, keenly priced at £35 for three courses, is an elegant celebration of British produce, treated simply and with respect, sure, but also with a studied touch and a little innovation.
Prosaically titled dishes like ‘pork fillet, jowl, pineapple, fennel’ bely the technique that’s gone into the finished plate, this one arriving as pretty-as-a-porky-picture (sorry), the fillet a generous, thick three slices (generosity not always a word you’d associate with set lunches) and pleasingly pink, a full side of bar-marked pineapple sitting alongside. Shaved and lighty dressed fennel, which sits atop a puck of slow cooked then pressed pork jowl for no reason other than a bit of Dorchester decadence, brought crunch. An expertly made pork jus sealed the deal. You’ll chase the last drops across the plate with your finger.
The fish option – a chalk steam trout number with watercress and cucumber – didn’t read quite so enticingly, which is certainly the danger of these brusque, ingredient-only menu descriptors. We’re sure in the capable hands of this team, though, it’s excellent.
Seeing ‘summer soft serve’ as the dessert option on The Grill’s set lunch had us worrying that the pastry chef had phoned things in (or simply phoned Mr. Whippy), but this wasn’t any ordinary single-scoop-with-no-adornment situation.
Instead, it was a gravity defying spectacle, an architectural marvel featuring peach soft serve at its base, with fresh slices of peach and shards of almond brittle, twisted, tangled and vying for attention atop it. Peppery marigold leaves, increasingly ubiquitous on London restaurant desserts, looked fabulous cascading down this structure. A knockout dessert that left us wanting to come back that same evening to see what else Booton and the team had up their pressed, brilliantly white sleeves. The sign of a successful set lunch, no doubt.
Though the £35 a head set lunch is without doubt a steal, be careful with your drinks – a pattern emerging here, we know – as prices can head north fast. The most affordable wine by-the-glass at The Grill, a 2023 Vila Nova Alvarinho, is £12 for a small 125ml glass. On the high street, you’ll get a bottle for that. A markup to retail price of 5 times is enormous, even for these illustrious surrounds. Still, if you have the means, the 69 page tome will see you right.
Alternatively, the menu actually suggests pairing that pork main with a pint of Fabal lager. At £10 a pint, it’s not much more than you’d pay for a Madri at the Chesterfield Arms just around the corner.
When: Available Monday to Saturday, 12pm to 2:15pm. 3 courses are £35.
Website: dorchestercollection.com
Address: 53 Park Ln, London W1K 1QA
Tendril
Ideal for a fun and frivolous, mostly vegan tasting menu…
Of course, you needn’t endure a bout of imposter syndrome in a luxury London hotel to get your hands on a set lunch deal that’s worth your hard earned cash. At Tendril, just a few moments into Mayfair from Oxford Circus, the vibe feels decidedly more bespoke.
Sitting pretty on the ground floor of an elegant looking Georgian townhouse on Princes Street, Tendril offers an elegant contemporary twist on ‘mostly vegan’ dining (their words, not ours).
Founded by Rishim Sachdeva, who boasts experience at The Fat Duck and Chiltern Firehouse, the concept evolved from a pop-up to a permanent fixture through a successful crowdfunding campaign, and we’re so glad they did, as Sachdeva’s skill in using bold Asian and Middle Eastern flavours to shine the best light on prime vegetables is undeniable.
£35 is a lot of fun for a meal deal that’s more often a simple three course affair; this one is a sometimes elegant, sometimes in-your-face succession of seven or so dishes, with the grilled oyster mushroom skewers a real highlight from a recent visit. Blistered and burnished from licking flames, and topped with rounds of green chilli for a little extra fun, these guys were properly punchy. More mellow but no less enjoyable, the cauliflower massaman was ace too, its slices of gently pickled plum a lovely balancing act against all that coconut sweetness and heady spicing.
Glorious stuff indeed, though without wishing to repeat ourselves, the bill here can add up fast if you’re not cautious with your drink selection. Though the descriptor of ‘Drinking Vinegar’ might make readers wince, the Utopia vinegar, wild cherry & elderflower cordial (£7) is a gorgeous drink, and a fine pairing against the fattier, smokier notes on the plate.
When: Served from Tuesday to Friday, between 12pm and 3:30pm. The set ‘discovery lunch’ tasting menu is £35 for around 7 courses.
Website: tendrilkitchen.co.uk
Address: 5 Princes St, London W1B 2LQ
Pavyllon
Ideal for enjoying a Michelin-starred, four course menu in under an hour…
Meanwhile, over in Hanover Square and back into the cold, clammy arms of a 5-star hotel (this time, the Four Seasons) for our lunch, Pavyllon at has quickly risen to prominence in London, earning a Michelin star within its first year of tweezering, sous-vide-ing and cryoconcentrating.
The work of – in name, at least (we see a theme developing here) – decorated chef Yannick Alléno, whose innovative, technical take on French cuisine has earned him 16 Michelin stars across the globe, Pavyllon’s set lunch will be catnip to the ‘here for a good time, not for a long time’ crowd, promised to be done and dusted in just 55 minutes (is. that. good?).
For when it’s wham, bam thank you ma’am but the hotel room isn’t booked for a fumble, this set lunch menu will do the business for you, with the four course affair clocking in at £55.50. That’s got us wondering how it would play out in other restaurants across London if the price matched the time it takes to eat a meal – if I can dispense with a whole Ikoyi 15-courser in 10 minutes, can I pay just a tenner?
Not one for the loose, languid and leisurely, this one feels like it’s aimed at an incredibly specific niche, But for those wanting to eat a multi-course Michelin-starred meal in under an hour, it’s here to serve. Still, there’s no denying the quality of the food on that menu. Dainty but with real depth, dishes like poached obsiblue prawns served with watercress and yuzu ponzu jelly, are sufficiently light not to give you indigestion as you wolf them down with one eye on the ticking stopwatch.
Weirdly for a place that wants you to smash your meal real fast and then fuck off, the dining chairs here are absurdly comfortable, their undulating padding ironing out just about every kink our back has ever endured, even those kinks yet to come. The soothing mauve colour scheme further advances that sense of sedation. Perhaps they don’t want us to leave after all.
When: Lunch is served from 12:00 to 14:30 daily. The four course menu is £55.
Website: 1hotels.com
Address: Hamilton Pl, Park Ln, London W1J 7DR
Dovetale
Ideal for a sustainable sip and savour…
Next up, the set lunch at Dovetale actively encourages you to take your time, at least in its billing as a ‘Sip & Savour’ kind of vibe. Don’t mind if we do…
Dovetale, led by two-Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers of Restaurant Story fame, alongside the supremely talented Chase Lovecky (formerly of one of favourite restaurants in town, Two Lights…RIP) and former Laughing Heart chef Tom Anglesea – yep, that is one absurd line up of cooking talent right there – offers reimagined European classics in a produce-led à la carte menu. On a recent visit, a cuttlefish bolognese, moody and rich from its ink and tossed through fresh pappardelle, was a highlight.
Located within the eco-conscious 1 Hotel Mayfair, there’s a sustainable theme running through the dishes too, with foraged herbs, British MSC-certified seafood, and a keen focus on seasonality dictating the menu. In amongst the live green walls, hanging shrubs and Yorkshire stone walls, it all feels very apt.
When: This one is served from Monday to Friday, between 12pm and 2:30pm. 2 courses are £39, and 3 are £45.
Website: 1hotels.com
Address: 1 Dover Yard, London W1J 8NE
Socca
Ideal for a taste of 2024’s most prolific chef, all via the French Riviera…
Claude Bosi is proliferating all over London (‘matron’) at a frankly terrifying rate, and it was only a matter of time before he moved into Mayfair. Soon, he will own everything here. Even that sparkling water you treated yourself to at the Tesco Express on Curzon Street on route to the restaurant will one day be lining Bosi’s pockets…
Anyway, if you don’t have the £215 for seven courses at Bosi’s Bibendum or the good taste or companion for his gold-standard lapin à la moutarde for two at Josephine Bouchon (both in Chelsea), then for a suckle on the Bosi teat, Mayfair’s Socca might see you right.
No idea what’s happened here. Socca, the chef’s tribute to French Riviera cuisine, takes inspiration from the coastal towns of Cannes, Marseille and Nice. Owned by Samyukta Nair and Bosi, Socca is known for the Provençal charm and St Tropez prices of its food and wine, with some mains off the a la carte clocking in at £50 or £60, and the cheapest bottle £35 (a 2023 Marterey Chardonnay, which retails at £9.39).
The set lunch menu, then, with its 3 courses for £35, is relative daylight robbery. On our visit, we enjoyed a summery salad of green beans, peach and almonds, followed by a slab of crisp sea bream and a tomato and olive oil dressing, both chased down with a £7 glass of 2020 Les Grimaudes, all smooth tannins and a lingering finish. We ended with a creme brûlée heavy on the vanilla, and luxuriated in an experience that was both light on the stomach and the wallet.
When: Socca’s set lunch runs from Monday through Saturday, between midday and 2:15pm. 2 courses are £28, 3 are £35.
Website: soccabistro.com
Address: 41A S Audley St, London W1K 2PS
Brooklands by Claude Bosi
Ideal for 2 Michelin-starred dining on high…
Oh, him again? Quite a different proposition to Socca, Brooklands, situated in the swanky Peninsula Hotel, arrived unceremoniously – subtly even – onto the London dining scene less than a year ago, without much fanfare or flourish, seemingly just appearing out of nowhere and largely ignored by the hype machine at street level.
Perched on a stunning eighth-floor rooftop, the restaurant already boasts two Michelin stars which it barely seemed to covet, allowing instead for its precisely executed food to do the talking. Chef Director Bosi, alongside Chef de Cuisine Francesco Dibenedetto, has crafted a menu here that harmoniously blends modernity with a smattering of traditional fine dining tropes, celebrating premium British ingredients through a classical French lens.
Named after the historic Surrey racetrack, the restaurant pays tribute to the birthplace of British racing and flight innovation, featuring a curated collection of artefacts that celebrate Brooklands’ rich heritage. Among these treasures are the vintage Napier Railton, a 1933 race car that still holds the speed record at Brooklands, and a striking scale model of the iconic Concorde aircraft, which hangs majestically from the ceiling of the main dining room. Floor-to-ceiling windows and an expansive dining terrace offer breathtaking views of London’s skyline, hammering home that sense that you’re soaring.
All these lofty claims don’t exactly scream good value, but the set lunch, priced at £58 for three courses, is one of the best deals in the city for a two-starred venue.
When: The Brooklands set lunch is served from midday to 1:30pm, Tuesday to Saturday. It costs £58 for three courses.
Website: peninsula.com
Address: The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Pl, London SW1X 7HJ
Claridge’s Restaurant
Ideal for a refreshingly old school set lunch experience…
With a legacy dating back to 1856, Claridge’s has long been the epitome of a certain kind of British elegance, graced by royalty, politicians, and Hollywood stars. Its historical charm is undeniable, with an Art Deco grandeur that has seen the likes of European crowned heads making use of its sanctuary during World War II.
This celebrated establishment has undergone multiple transformations, each era introducing its own sense of flair but always maintaining that special Claridge’s magic. The previous two decades saw three of the culinary world’s most esteemed talents running the restaurant here (in succession, not simultaneously – that would be hell on earth), with Gordon Ramsay, Simon Rogan and, most recently, Daniel Humm taking turns at the pass. The latter ended in something approaching acrimony, with Humm wanting to take the restaurant in a new, plant-based direction and the bigwigs behind the hotel roundly rejecting the idea.
Battered and bruised by the procession of chefs with big egos (surely they can cope) perhaps, in September 2023 Claridge’s Restaurant re-emerged, transcending its historical persona with modern twists while harking back to its Art Deco roots. This latest iteration, all British racing green leather booths, starburst skylights, and elegant wood parquet flooring, aims to throw things back to the roaring twenties heyday.
Though prices aren’t also throwing things back, sadly, the set lunch deal at Claridge’s is one of the better ones in Mayfair, priced at £55 for three courses. Expect simple, classical cooking a world away from Davies and Brooks’ iconic dry-aged duck, pear and daikon, or Fera’s raw veal and kohlrabi. Instead, enjoy capable, satisfying smoked salmon with creme fraiche, cucumber and soda bread, followed by Norfolk black chicken with potato fondant and peas. End with an elegant chocolate souffle tart, and consider that sometimes, from your lunch, this is all you really want.
We’re off for a lie down upstairs now. Oh, a room’s £1320? Hyde Park’s just round the corner…
When: The set lunch is served from Monday to Friday. Two courses are £45, three are £55.
Website: claridges.co.uk
Address: Claridge’s, Brook St, London W1K 4HR
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