This plush bolthole unapologetically serves up classic British dishes without froth or fuss – and long may it continue
The Game Bird, The Stafford, 16-18 St James’s Place, London SW1A 1NJ (020 7518 1234). Meal for two, including drinks and service: £140
It takes guts to write a menu full of original dishes nobody has ever heard of before. But just how much more courage does it take to write a menu full of the blindingly familiar; of dishes most people have tried and have opinions on? This is a peculiarly British thing. In Lyon or Milan, Barcelona or Munich, new restaurants offering endless iterations of the old open all the time. It’s what happens when you have a robust culinary culture: there is a menu, and you are expected to treat it with the respect accorded to the scriptures by the devout. The eater’s game is to find the place that does the best pot au feu or the best risotto Milanese.
The suet pudding is all soft-steamed, doughy loveliness, giving way to a dense filling of cow
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