Autumn’s colder climes have arrived and with the arrival of big coat season, it’s time to hunker down and indulge in comforting classics — cottage pie, lamb stew, lots of red wine.
In this cosy autumnal chill, there are restaurants that offer quiet corners, replete with candles and corners for hiding in. Where? Smoking Goat (64 Shoreditch High Street, E1, smokinggoatbar.com) is an idea, not least because it is always so busy and with a roaring open kitchen where flames lick meat, that the dining room is endlessly warm. The Thai grill harbours an enchanting menu, one that brings langoustines treated with sambal luat (chilli salsa), spectacular hot fried chicken, and a kra pow of smoked mutton as warming as wearing mittens.
Also in east London is My Neighbours the Dumplings (165 Lower Clapton Road, E5, myneighboursthedumplings.com). It is a parlour of a restaurant, with wooden screens and low-hanging lampshades and with steaming baskets of inviting dim sum. Importantly, long thin candles are eased into old wine bottles, while the service is atmosphere-building, a half-frenetic, mostly casual style that feels nourishing. Order the har gau to begin and then move onto pot stickers, whether pork and lime or lamb and mushroom or both, and the ham sui gok: crispy vegan dumplings bursting with truffle and potato.
Another joint just about on the east side of town in Bistro Freddie (74 Luke Street, EC2A, bistrofreddie.com) where once again the romance of candles-in-bottles and generally perfect lighting and ambience suit the cooler climbs. Anna Søgaard may have left, but newly installed head chef Alexandre Laforce Reynolds (formerly of the now-closed Eline) has continued her tradition of pies, bavette steaks and mackerel rillettes on toast.
There is call for laksa — such spicy bowls suit chilly days. Sambal Shiok (171 Holloway Road, N7, sambalshiok.co.uk) owner Mandy Yinn has long offered one of London’s best examples of Malaysian cooking, with bold flavours and generous, personal hospitality. Where else? Try Soho’s aptly named Laxsa (37 Old Compton Street, W1, @laxsa_soho); the laksa is first rate, but so too is the beef rendang. In west London, Normah’s (25 Queensway, W2, normahs.co.uk), a diminutive space in Queensway Market, is another home to find assured Malaysian food. In charge is owner Normah Abd Habid and her beef rendang with flaky roti is soothing. Like wearing a bobble hat, this time.
It wouldn’t be cosy season without a visit to the pub. Venture south to Vauxhall, home of the Canton Arms (77 South Lambeth Road, SW8, cantonarms.com). Any past visitor will attest to its sheltering abilities: old wooden tables, burgundy walls, dusty wines and bottles of pickled vegetables. It’s a haven to crab rarebit, grilled ox hearts and Italian sausages. Elsewhere on the menu might be fish cooked simply with butter beans or leeks, and arguably the most comforting dish in London for autumn; a slow-cooked oxtail stew made with miso and Guinness.
Elsewhere in the south London pub map is the Camberwell Arms (65 Camberwell Church Street, SE5, thecamberwellarms.co.uk) a deeply pleasing pub from Mike Davies, who is celebrating ten years on Camberwell Church Street. Plump and sweet mussels with fresh pickled kohlrabi and tumbles of tarragon might arrive before deeply succulent roasted pork and some of the best roast potatoes in town.
Restaurants that offer quiet corners, replete with candles and deep red wines, must be the first port of call
Next a return to Soho, which as autumn rears its head, is a homely part of London. Those who suppose otherwise do not drink there frequently enough. Perhaps you’ve heard of a little place called The Devonshire (17 Denman Street, W1D, devonshiresoho.co.uk)? The behemoth of an opening has transcended what a pub is and become a token of cultural capital in town. The invite-only green room at the back of the ground floor is just about the best place to eat steak sarnies, sausages with mustard and sink a few Guinness, but the cosy dining rooms upstairs make for an excellent autumn sanctuary.
On the other side of Soho, the French House (49 Dean Street, W1D, frenchhousesoho.com) is a longer-standing favourite; a fixed and fuzzy institution. After half pints of lager and house white wine, there are few dining rooms warmer than at The French. On the ever-changing menu, from Scottish chef Neil Borthwick, will be such delights as rich aligot, crispy calves brains with sauce gribiche, and, sometimes, baked scallops from Orkney, bringing a sauce that requires a side of wonderful frites.
More French-forward options include the impossible to ignore Bouchon Racine (66 Cowcross Street, EC1M, bouchonracine.com) where Henry Harris’ gorgeous rabbit with mustard sauce and green beans has ascended to legendary status, and the charming Bar Levan (12-16 Blenheim Grove, SE15, barlevan.co.uk) which deploys not only one of London’s best value by-the-glass wine lists but comforting saucisse en brioche and steak tartare.
So, yes, London is rammed full of curative locations, ones that save us from bitter winds. And, quickly, a note for those hoping to find solace but who still crave glamour should seek out Carlotta (77, 78 Marylebone High Street, W1U, bigmammagroup.com), the Big Mamma Group’s least preposterous (and therefore best) restaurant, where the food is as central as the aesthetic. Here is a place for good bowls of pasta and cocktails and Lambrusco. In fact, if there is anywhere designed to cheer Londoners mottled by brown leaf blues, it is there. The cold has come. We must adapt.
