Kettner’s

29 Romilly St, London

Even after 145 years, the restaurant founded by a Napoleonic chef is still going strong in Soho…

Before there was The Ivy, or Le Gavroche – or almost any other London restaurant of note where the good and the great dine – there was Kettner’s. Opened in 1867 when Napoleon III ’s personal chef left Paris for London, it has stood in the heart of Soho ever since, welcoming the well-heeled or simply well-known of every decade (former guests include Bing Crosby and Agatha Christie). It’s had its ups and downs, like many a student it’s done a shift in the pizza business and now it’s firmly back in the slightly higher end of the people-pleasing industry. What went on at this Soho haunt back in the days is the stuff of legend, from King Edward VII being a regular with his mistress Lillie Langtry to Oscar Wilde entertaining friends in private rooms upstairs. If walls could talk, Kettner’s brickwork would have more gossip than a news stand full of women’s weeklies.

The four Georgian town houses that form the restaurant boast a Versailles-meets-1930s-brasserie decor, complete with marble tabletops, ensconced ceilings, plenty of mirrors, textured wallpapers and quirky individual details. The dining area is low-lit, with candelabras seeming to be the preferred lighting of choice.

With a clientele, location and reputation of a certain sort (we’re not talking about the pizzeria days here), it might be fair to think that Kettner’s was never really about the food. But whatever may have been on the menu in Wilde’s day, today the bill is firmly French-British brasserie – and affordable, at that. You can sip on any number of champagnes in the bar, which is fitted with buttoned couches and glittering chandeliers. Or opt for English fizz – the Gusbourne blanc de blancs happens to be a perfect match for the Brasserie’s slightly sweet, smoked salmon-topped potato cake. Coq au vin was suitably tender, falling from the bone and a lamb roast came with a king-sized Yorkshire pudding. On certain evenings someone tinkles on the keys of a white grand piano, while there’s plenty to tempt on the dessert buffet.

Kettner’s is not really about the food, it’s about the whole package: the history that resounds from within its walls, the champagne bar, the nooks and crannies that have seen so much… for these reasons alone, you have to visit.