CleverRoot

5 4 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t Michelin-starred restaurant: The service is friendly, the cheese cart is superb, and the wine list is impeccable. chezbruce.co.uk River Café It's hard to believe that this wonderful, rustic Italian restaurant was opened by Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray 30 years ago. Located in Hammersmith right on the banks of the Thames, River Café is as modern as can be with an open kitchen, a wood-burning oven, and a youthful staff. On warm, sunny days, dining in the garden is a memorable experi- ence. The food here is outstanding all year 'round, and the ever-changing menu will tempt you to return several times. One Michelin star. rivercafe.co.uk St. John Bread & Wine No visit to London would be complete without a visit to one of Fergus Henderson's restau- rants. He is the champion of "nose-to-tail eating," a thoroughly British cuisine in which no part of the animal goes to waste. On the night we visited, the menu included back fat and wet walnuts, devilled sprats, deep-fried calf's brains, dried salted pig's liver with radish and boiled egg, ox tongue, pigeon and trotter pie, and roast old spot (full disclosure: that's a heritage breed of pig, not somebody's dog). The Eccles cake is the signature dessert, and St. John also has a splendid and appropriate French wine list. Located in Spitalfields, the restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. stjohngroup.uk.com Wright Brothers If you have braved the maelstrom that is the Borough Market, pop across the street to this relatively orderly spot where you can dive into a huge platter of oysters or other fresh sea- food. Try a bowl of whelks, Cornish sardines on toast, or an Atlantic hake fillet with horserad- ish and dill crème frâiche. There are four other locations of this seafood merchant, which has friendly service and an amiable wine list. thewrightbrothers.co.uk The Goring Around the corner from Buckingham Palace, the small, elegant Goring Hotel was built by the Goring family in 1910. They still own it, and the hotel's dining room offers one of the most graceful and refined culinary experiences in London. Thoroughly English but not at all stuffy, the menu often features salt marsh lamb, roast cod with oysters, and, in season, perfectly cooked grouse (watch out for the buckshot). The service is sublime and the wine list is full of treasures. One Michelin star. thegoring.com Afternoon tea at Claridge's is a London institution. Claridge's The consummate London hotel is a lavish art deco fantasy favored by the royal family for generations. The Foyer and Reading Room is a grand and sophisti- cated salon crowned by a glittering Dale Chihuly glass sculpture. The legend- ary service is on full display at lunch, as liveried servers swarm your table and attend to your every whim. The food is appropriately impressive, as is the check, and there is remarkable tea service in the same room. You may ask, is Claridge's still popular with celebrities? On my way out, I bumped into Sting. claridges.co.uk PHOTO COURTESY OF CLARIDGE'S

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