Looking for the best restaurants for a business lunch in London? Read on for my guide to the best London has to offer for an important business lunch or meeting.
L'Anima, Liverpool Street
L'Anima offers contemporary Italian cuisine in elegant surroundings close to The City. With floor to ceiling glass windows and the white décor, the restaurant is dazzlingly bright and the food is equally good.
Corrigan's Mayfair
Corrigan's Mayfair has a well-made dining room built to last and a menu as timeless as they come, in stylish and glamorous surroundings. With a number of private dining rooms, Corrigan's is an excellent spot in Mayfair for a business lunch, whether in the main dining room or in greater privacy in one of the separate rooms.
Coq d'Argent, The City
Situated in the heart of the Square Mile, Coq d'Argent's restaurant serves modern French cuisine while the brasserie and terrace serve a lighter menu with more of a modern European hint. Coq d'Argent has an outdoor terrace and a large and rather beautiful garden terrace, with great views of some of London's most well known landmarks, including St Paul's Cathedral.
Tempo, Mayfair
Tempo offers contemporary Italian cuisine at decent prices in the heart of Mayfair with a cosy, relaxed and intimate feel. The menu is influenced by the chef's time in Sorrento and features cicchetti and many sharing dishes.
One of Tempo's most striking areas is the stylish first floor bar, with its large floor to ceiling windows overlooking Curzon Street, perfect for a business meeting if you don't have time for lunch downstairs.
Hawksmoor - Spitalfields, Covent Garden and The City
With three locations across London and a fourth one in the West End imminent, Hawksmoor is one of London's best steakhouses. The menus read like a meat eater's dream and they also have great bar areas should your lunch meeting continue into the evening.
Avenue Restaurant, St James's
Like many of the D&D Group's restaurants, Avenue is a big, table-clothed, classic, fine dining style of restaurant. In that lovely part of St James's towards Pall Mall, The décor is suited to the area, with food erring slightly on the masculine corporate side, with gutsy and strong flavours.
The Wolseley, Mayfair
The Wolseley has maintained its place as one of London's chicest destination, which remains popular with businessmen and fashionistas alike. The grand dining room is an impressive space and the location is ideal for those wanting something buzzier in the Mayfair area.
Galvin La Chapelle, Shoreditch
Galvin La Chapelle is the Galvin brothers' venture in St Botolph's Hall, a beautiful 19 century building close to Spitalfield Market. The fine dining restaurant is dark and romantic, but during the day makes a good spot for lunch in beautiful surroundings. The Galvin brothers also have a more casual all-day cafe with outdoor seating.
Lutyens, Fleet Street
Located in the former Reuters building on Fleet Street, Lutyens is unmistakably Conran and a good addition to an area without many good dining options for a business lunch or dinner. The restaurant includes a large bar with a charcuterie counter, a 130 seat restaurant and 4 private dining and meeting rooms.
Portal, Clerkenwell
Portal is a modern Portuguese restaurant and bar in the foodie haven of St John Street. Architecturally, the dining room is stunning: a glass conservatory set in amongst a listed brick courtyard with atmospheric and beautiful up-lighting creating a dramatic backdrop. Food is mainly Iberian-inspired and although not inexpensive, the quality of ingredients remains high throughout the menu and worth the price.
Green's Restaurants, The City
Green's Restaurant is quiet and suits the crowd - think bankers, but an older crowd. This is a sophisticated restaurant, and the menu doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, and all your most comforting British favourites are there.
This is a well-polished restaurant and perfect for the crowd it continues to attract every day. Not one for a youngster, but it's a relief to book into a restaurant with no surprises, no queues and simple, excellent quality produce and service.
The Grill at The Dorchester, Mayfair
The Grill at the Dorchester at the glamorous Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane has an illustrious culinary history and the menu places an emphasis on procuring high quality British ingredients, with classic British dishes such as grilled Dover sole holding court.
The Grill at The Dorchester manages to retain its sense of duty to its past whilst adapting to compete with an ever-changing and increasingly demanding London palate.
The Delaunay, Aldwych
The Delaunay sits on the corner of Drury Lane and Aldwych, and the restaurant is open seven days a week serving breakfast, afternoon tea, and à la carte lunch and dinner menus 'inspired by the grand cafés of Europe'. While dinner is a glamorous affair, it's a great spot for an unstuffy lunch that has the threat of lingering long into the afternoon.
Dean Street Townhouse, Soho
The Dean Street Townhouse is a boutique hotel and dining room from the Soho House Group. The restaurant service classic British cuisine from first thing in the morning until the early hours and it's a great place for a business breakfast or lunch in Soho, but make sure you clear your calendar for the rest of the afternoon, as lunch often merges into dinner here.
Benares Restaurant, Mayfair
London has many excellent Indian restaurants, and one of the best is Benares on Berkeley Square in Mayfair. Benares is famous for matching wines with Indian food to bring out the flavours and spices. If you have a group of people, book the Chef's Table where you can watch the chefs cook in the kitchen in front of you. Wash it all down with one of their signature passion fruit martinis - you'll never want to leave.