We love a good gastropub, but sometimes it’s nice to step away from the noisy boozer into a more calm dining environment. And that’s where the upstairs dining room comes in. Here’s our pick of London’s best.
The French House
Soho - 49 Dean St, London W1D 5BG
Down in the iconic Soho pub it’s always pretty raucous but take the stairs up to the French House dining room and it’s a calm oasis overlooking Dean Street. Here chef Neil Borthwick and his team turn out signature dishes like the always-on confit garlic and goats curd on sourdough as part of a regularly changing menu.
Bouchon Racine
Farringdon - 66 Cowcross St, London EC1M 6BP
Having spent over a year on our Hot Right Now list this Farringdon pub restaurant is still one of the harder places in London to get a reservation. Downstairs, the Three Compasses pub serves up a truncated (but still great) bar food menu. But it’s the restaurant upstairs where Henry Harris presides over a menu of Gallic greats.
The Cow
Notting Hill - 89 Westbourne Park Rd, London W2 5QH
Competing with the Audley (below) for the title of pub dining room with the most elevated art offering, the first floor dining room at Notting Hill pub The Cow features works by Patrick Caulfield and David Hockney to name a few. Down in the pub you're more likely to be dining on pasta and pies. Upstairs there could be a fish stew with rouille or duck leg with cannelini beans on offer.
Lore of the Land
Fitzrovia - 4 Conway St, London W1T 6BB
Expect there to be increased interest in all things related to Ritchie with the arrival of his latest opus, The Gentlemen, on Netflix. This is currently his only London pub (he no longer owns The Punchbowl or Walmer Castle). The pub sells a very good selection of pub snacks and small plates. Upstairs in the dining room familiar dishes are given interesting twists - the beef tartare comes with togarishi mayo and a main of South Coast Brown Crab Risotto might come with a Cherry Harissa Dressing.
The Devonshire
Soho - 17 Denman Street, London W1D 7HW
Here at what’s currently London’s hottest pub you have not one but two lovely upstairs dining rooms to choose from. At both the menu is presided over by Ashley Palmer-Watts and head chef Jamie Guy. The first-floor dining room is where the kitchen and wood-fired grill is. Upstairs from that, lined by leather banquettes the colour of Heinz tomato soup, is the more chilled second-floor dining room. It doesn’t much matter, you’ll be grateful wherever you get a seat.
The Rugby Tavern
Bloomsbury - 19 Great James St, London WC1N 3ES
Named after the school (which owns it) rather than the sport, this Bloomsbury pub now has more of a gallic edge to its hospitality. Downstairs it's a straightforward pub menu with the odd French touch like moules marinieres with fries. Upstairs in Bistro Bleu Lorraine-born Head Chef Bernard Dumonteil turns out perfectly executed French classics like Provencal fish soup or tartlet of Burgunday escargots.
Drapers Arms
Islington - 44 Barnsbury St, London N1 1ER
You can dine downstairs at the Drapers, there’s a good mix of drinking and eating on the ground floor. But its the gorgeous upstairs dining room that we really love, particularly during the summer when sunshine floods in. Menus change daily; recent standouts have included Pig's head on jelly with cornichons and Coquelet with chips, salad and wild garlic butter.
The Marksman
Hackney - 254 Hackney Rd, London E2 7SB
The downstairs pub is always a busy old spot, particularly at the weekends when scoring a table upstairs in the dining room is a good idea. Here you can enjoy a seasonal cocktail to start before browsing a regularly changing menu - the pie’s particularly good. The upstairs also boasts a lovely terrace for sunnier days.
The Barley Mow
Mayfair - 82 Duke St, London W1K 6JG
Down in the bar you can enjoy platters of oysters with your pint alongside a truncated menu, but if you want the full joys of this pub head upstairs to the very comfortable dining room. Think British food with a French touch. There’s also a daily carvery board on offer and they’ve just introduced a new breakfast menu, perfect for business meetings or for gathering strength for shopping on nearby Oxford Street.
The Culpeper
Aldgate - 40 Commercial St, London E1 6LP
The first-floor restaurant at the Culpeper may have a slightly different menu to the pub, but both fit into the ethos of supporting producers with sustainable practices. It’s a gorgeous room with whitewashed brick walls and comfortable banquette seating for whiling away an evening with friends.
The Wells Tavern
Hampstead - 30 Well Walk, London NW3 1BX
One of London's prettiest pubs, The Wells Tavern is run by Beth Coventry (sister to Tatler restaurant critic Fay Maschler). And while the pub downstairs is a traditional tavern there are three separate dining rooms up on the first floor of the pub, all of which look out over the leafy Hampstead streets. Dishes are well-executed, elevated pub fair so the steak and chips might be Chateaubriand.
The Audley
Mayfair - 41-43 Mount St, London W1K 2RX
Technically this isn’t a pub with a dining room, but more of a pub with an entirely separate restaurant upstairs. But given that both The Audley and Mount St Restaurant have the same executive chef, Jamie Shears, we think it merits inclusion. In the pub Shears serves up well made bar snacks and pub favourites. Upstairs it's a royalty-pleasing dining room with an art collection that's truly boggling (yes that IS a real Warhol) to match a menu of updated London classics.
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