Whenever he opens a new place, as he did twice last year, the restaurateur Jeremy King reminds his staff that no restaurant worth its salt leaves its customers feeling swindled. The choice to spend a lot or a little, he says, is theirs; bills can be £40 or £400, depending on the mood and the means.
There are others operators who do a similar thing. At the Ivy chain (various locations, the-ivy.co.uk), it’s easy to rack up an enormous tab, but likewise a lunch might be spent sat at the bar, with a shepherd’s pie — incidentally their most famous and perhaps best dish — and a crème Brûlée, for £19.95. The surroundings make it feel an occasion; there is a sense of grandeur. With places like these, it’s all in the ordering: cannily navigating a menu means some of the capital’s best restaurants can be enjoyed without a sense of dread arriving at the same time the little leather book does.
