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Square Meals – your food reviews
This website welcomes contributions from residents, but the views expressed are entirely those of the contributors. Please tell us about your favourite local eateries and we will share your views with fellow residents.
Iris Café, 43 Warwick Way, Pimlico, London SW1
Recommended by Colin Sheaf on 09 May 2024
‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’…in Pimlico? Well, OK, not quite, but ‘Breakfast at Iris’s’ is definitely cheaper, and I suspect that the helpings are rather more generous! The friendly proprietors Denise and Joe opened Iris Café in May 2021, and the ambition remains very much to use local suppliers and provide homemade meals, or even just an indulgent coffee with home-baked cakes, at very reasonable prices for SW1. There’s an all-day menu (‘Iris’ closes at 5pm) focussed on popular Breakfast staples: a generous plate of ‘Full English’ with a local butcher’s sausages (£12.90 ), fresh porridge enhanced with an excellent homemade red-berries compote (£6.50), smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough ( £9.50). Or maybe you’d prefer a luxurious Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon (13.50), or very Canadian pancakes with scrambled eggs, bacon, and Maple syrup (£12.50)
If you don’t still hanker for more breakfast at lunchtime, the short but reliable Lunch Menu homemade includes spaghetti Bolognaise (£9.50), lasagne (beef or vegetarian) (£9.50),a large jacket potato with a variety of fillings with salad (£6/£6.50, and a grilled chicken salad for the health conscious! For the thirsty or tired shopper, enjoy a big caffeine shot of Double Expresso or a frothy Cappuccino with a choice of indulgent homemade cakes fresh from the onsite oven (under £7.00)). Better still, there’s table space not just on the ground floor and pavement at the front to watch Pimlico’s life go by, but a more secluded area downstairs which leads into a hidden patio garden, perfect for leisurely tea, or a fruit smoothie on hot days. The well-stocked bar offers you cocktails (for example, a Mimosa, or Gin/Vodka and Tonic, all at £6.50), an agreeable bottle of Merlot or Sauvignon Blanc at £26.00 (or by the glass at £4.60), but you can only buy alcohol with a meal. ‘Iris’ deserves your support…
Morinoya, 1 Gillingham St, Pimlico, London SW1
Recommended by Peter Hill on 07 May 2024
020 3302 7944 – morinoya.co.uk
Morinoya, is a small but excellent sushi restaurant on the corner of Gillingham Street and Vauxhall Bridge Road. The bento boxes are delicious, especially the fresh water eel, accompanied by scrumptious sticky rice and spicy greens, washed down with cloudy matcha tea.
Chez Antoinette, 22 Palmer Street SW1
Recommended by Julia de Waal on 04 August 2023
020 3990 5377 – www.chezantoinette.co.uk/stjames-victoria
A ten minute walk from the Square is Chez Antoinette in Palmer Street, tucked away between Victoria and Caxton Street. Excellent traditional French Bistro food served with efficiency in an informal atmosphere. A taste of old France, especially the coffee. You must book.
Cyprus Mangal, 45 Warwick Way
Recommended by Colin Sheaf on 12 July 2023
020 7828 5940 – cyprusmangal.co.uk
Simple grilled meats and Turkish staple dishes with lots of salad. Always busy, always generous freshly cooked servings.
Ganymede, 139 Ebury Street
reviewed by Tim Mason and Terence Wat on 04 July 2022
020 3971 0761 – www.ganymedelondon.co.uk
This restaurant is located at the corner of Ebury and Elizabeth Street and used to be the Ebury Street Wine Bar for many years. There is ample seating inside with a few seats at the front on the pavement. The menu could be described as modern English with quality British ingredients served with a sophisticated twist. Wine list is broad with many wines served by the glass.
We had starters of:
- Sashimi of sea bream, mojo sauce, fresh jalapeño with spring peas and yuzu (£15.00)
- Heritage tomato tarte fine, baby gem, ranch dressing, crispy shallots and chives (£13.50)
- Crab stuffed courgette flower with sauce vierge and aubergine pickle (£15.00)
All of which were fresh and very tasty. For our main courses we had:
- Fillet of stone bass, ginger, chilli and coconut bisque, sesame prawn toast with basil (£31.00)
- Saddle of lamb, miso glazed lamb belly with pomme gratin, turnip lyonnaise and asparagus (£36.00)
- Rib of beef, stuffed field mushrooms, provençale tomato, triple cooked chips and bearnaise (for two) (£75.00)
The beef was massive portion and probably could have served three. The triple cooked chips were huge slices of crispy potato with a plentiful supply of bearnaise to dip them into. The lamb was perfectly cooked and the belly portion particularly tasty.
We all shared a single White chocolate crème brûlée with blueberry compote (£11.00) which was perfect as a sweet treat at the end of a delicious meal.
We had a couple of bottles of Australian Grenache and two glasses of Pinot Grigio and the bill was just over £300 so not cheap, but well worth it for a special meal.
Grumbles Bistro, Churton Street
reviewed by Ruth Andrews on 29 June 2021
020 7834 0149 – www.grumblesrestaurant.co.uk
Grumbles is an Anglo-French bistro in the heart of Pimlico that opened over 57 years ago serving the local residents and those from further afield.
The restaurant, with its very friendly and long serving staff, has a lovely, fun atmosphere whether you are seated upstairs, downstairs, or outside with heaters and has a tradition of good, honest classic English and French cooking at reasonable prices.
Grumbles is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week and offers an a la carte menu with specials, an early bird menu and set menus with 2 or 3 courses. There is also a Sunday lunch set menu with a traditional English roast (2 or 3 courses).
Whilst offering a range of different dishes, the signature dish for me is the Grumbles filet steak with English mustard and brown sugar crust. That said, last night I chose beef stroganoff from the specials on the daily menu and it was the best I have had for years!
The restaurant is well worth a visit, but before you go read the News section of Grumbles’ website to get a real appreciation of the restaurant’s history and fun. The press cuttings show that from the swinging 1960s onwards it has attracted a diverse range of visitors including Julie Christie, Christine Keeler, the Beatles, Clint Eastwood, the then Lady Diana Spencer, Princess Margaret and politicians both past and present, who live locally.
A Wong, Wilton Road
reviewed by Maria Ensabella on 1 April 2021
020 7828 8931 – www.awong.co.uk
This special local Chinese restaurant has just been awarded its second Michelin Star. Andrew Wong and his team opened their doors as A Wong in Pimlico in 2013 when he took over the restaurant from his father. During this time its continues to go from strength to strength.
At lunchtimes they serve a delightful dim sum and in the evening they serve the serious dishes in the most relaxed space. The food as well as the service is always exceptional.
I highly recommend A Wong whether it be for a casual or business lunch and then for a special meal during the evening.
Lorne, 76 Wilton Road
reviewed by Peter Hill on 18 April 2017
020 3327 0210 – www.lornerestaurant.co.uk
Had a great meal at the new Lorne restaurant in Wilton Road. The roast cod in an intriguing piquant sauce was the best I’ve ever tasted and my wife’s choice of the hogget was superb. See the review in the Sunday Times magazine of June 16.
Katie Exton, who opened the restaurant with head chef Peter Hall, is keen to welcome locals and offers residents of Warwick Square a 10 per cent discount. Just take along some document that shows you live here.
Cacio & Pepe, 46 Churton Street
reviewed by Peter Hill on 05 February 2016
020 7630 7588 – www.cacioepepe.co.uk
Replacing the old Vietnamese restaurant at the Belgrave Road end of Churton Street, this is the new squid on the block. The restaurant is kind of upside down with the bar on the ground floor and the tables downstairs. It’s pleasant to stroll in and sit on a high stool at the bar where, unlike most places, it’s comfortable to eat alone.
The tangy risotto with crunchy little morsels of pancetta is especially gorgeous – it bursts on the palate like a shaft of southern Italian sunshine. The chef-made tiramisu is a cloud-light treat for the tonsils.
Cambridge Street Café, 52 Cambridge Street
reviewed by Peter Hill on 05 February 2016
020 3262 0501 – www.cambridgestreet.co.uk
After a tricky start in its previous incarnation, this restaurant next door to the bijou Artist In Residence hotel is enjoying a lively renaissance.
The weekday snacks are innovative and delicious: scrumptious wild boar and quail Scotch eggs (£7), really crispy squid served with chilli, lime and mayo (£7), and bocconcini (egg-size blobs of mozzarella) with tomato and basil (£6). A few of these washed down by a carafe of wine make a tasty but not too calorific or expensive lunch for two. Of course, if you are tempted by the plum and apple crumble or the sticky toffee sandwich (and who can resist?) say goodbye to the diet. In addition, the basement licensed bar and terrace are now open, serving interesting cocktails and snacks. Love the soft shell crab mini burgers.
Tozi, 8 Gillingham Street
reviewed by Tim Mason on 14 January 2016
020 7769 9771 – www.tozirestaurant.co.uk
Tozi is on the ground floor of the Park Plaza hotel and although part of the hotel it operates independently. They specialise in a large selection of small freshly prepared plates and half a dozen larger dishes. The staff are always friendly and willing to help. I would recommend the porchetta (seasoned sliced pork) and the mini pizzas. From the larger dishes the beef is always perfectly cooked and melts in your mouth. Great wine selection as well. We have been many times and have never been disappointed.
Rippon Cheese Stores, 26 Upper Tachbrook Street
reviewed by Colin Sheaf on 20 November 2015
020 7931 0628 – www.ripponcheeselondon.com
Tucked away at 26 Upper Tachbrook Street, Rippon Cheese is a magnet for Londoners who enjoy the best British and foreign produce. Philip and Karen Rippon, an immensely knowledgeable husband and wife team (Philip trained at legendary Paxton and Whitfield) and their expert staff will show you impeccable examples of more than 250 varieties. Since 80 per cent of their business is wholesale stocks are constantly replaced, and the impressive restaurant-client list is testament to quality.
In the cool, dark interior slatted shelves are packed to the ceiling with whole and partially-sliced blocks, some with a richly patinated natural or waxy skin, some sliced, the runny ones young enough that the outside remains firm for a day or two as you let it ripen at home, large triangles, solid wedges mottled with natural seams of blue, red, yellow and green.
Tiers of whole (baby) Colston Bassett Stiltons anticipate the Christmas rush. Need the ultimate party gift? Take your hosts a whole Vacherin with its uniquely scoopable soft interior – arguably the world’s most delicious cheese. Something simpler, for a picnic with a bottle of white Burgundy? Try a wedge of Caerphilly, moist, solid, strong-flavoured, a gulf apart from the crumbly white mass-produced stuff; or slice into a small barrel-shaped truckle of Cheddar, in its dense waxy skin far bolder than the yellow rectangles on a supermarket shelf.
Pimlico welcomes top specialists like Rippon, and they need our support too. Anyone for Tasley Mountain goat cheese from Carmarthen?