This restaurant deserves to be listed as a historic monument. Located in London near Covent Garden since 1798, it describes itself as the oldest restaurant in London. Traditional British cuisine and oysters form the basis of the menu. The restaurant is decorated from top to bottom with oil paintings, sketches and posters, and there is no single empty space on the walls. The Rules restaurant appears in books by Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh, in the James Bond film Spectre and in several episodes of Downton Abbey. It’s my favourite restaurant, and I hadn’t been there since 2019. A lovely evening.
“After a short and intimate conversation, they proceeded on foot to a quiet and secluded restaurant known to its customers as Rules and choosing a couch rather than a table, they ordered two pork chops.” (The End of the Affair. Graham Greene. 1951)
Menu
Oysters
Steak and kidney pudding
Sticky toffee pudding
Rules – 34-35 Maiden Lane – London WC2E 7LB