Giovanni’s, 10 Goodwin’s Court, London WC2N 4LL (giovannislondon.co.uk). Starters £13-£22.50; pasta £19–£27; mains £24–£36; dessert £8.50–£11.50; wine from £38 a bottle
Restaurants rarely make old bones. It’s too precarious a business for that, too hand-to-kitchen-to-diner’s-mouth. The issue is usually generational. Survival for 40 years may be manageable because it’s within the lifespan of the founders. After that it all gets a bit tricky. The offspring don’t always want to take on the hours. Rules on Maiden Lane in London’s Covent Garden has been trading since 1798 and has somehow managed to pass through only four sympathetic families or owners. There’s Wiltons on Jermyn Street and Mon Plaisir on Monmouth Street, claiming the title of London’s oldest French restaurant. That opened in the 1940s.
