For an utterance closing in on 200-years-old, “you are what you eat” has held up remarkably well. But today, perhaps more illuminative is this — you are where you eat. The person trekking to east London to buy miscellaneous fish in a car park is likely not the same sort who settles in for Dover sole at Scott’s. Not always but often, your choice of restaurant can be revealing.
Politicians know this, and restaurants are easily politicised. They always have been. That Churchill took his cabinet for lunches are the Savoy feels fitting; likewise, not such a shock to learn that Margaret Thatcher’s favourite restaurant was Wilton’s, somewhere that has stuck to its guns since 1742. In the mid-Ninties, modern, forward-thinking Granita in Islington was where Tony Blair and Gordon Brown plotted their future; by 2003 the place had been reborn as somewhere called Desperados. You can make your own jokes. That Boris Johnson would regularly eat in family-run Italian in Sheen, Mamma Mia, seemed odd — until it came out he was in at least four photos on the wall. Besides the ragu and tiramisu, the place was feeding his ego.
But what of the current crop of political runners and riders? Ahead of Thursday’s election, here’s what the politicians’ favourite restaurants say about them...
Keir Starmer
Did you know Keir Starmer loves the Pineapple in Kentish Town (51 Leverton Street, NW5, thepineapplepubnw5.com)? No? Don’t you read? I should probably also tell you his dad was a toolmaker, given he barely mentions that either. The Labour leader — and, unless every pollster in the country is off their nut, the next Prime Minister — has long praised this backstreet, Daphne-blue boozer. He tweets from it, he’s dubbed it his Church, I half suspect he’s moonlighting on the side as its PR. Still, while MPs do from time-to-time namecheck places they’ve walked past once as a salt-of-the-earth play, at least Starmer actually drinks here, coming in often. “He’s part of the furniture now,” a barman told the Standard last month. And, to his credit, the Pineapple is a solid choice, and not just because it’s within stumbling distance of where he lives. It’s a proper dark-wood, etched-mirror pub, one for the community — there are pub quizzes, happy hours, a decent beer garden (plus conservatory, for when the rain breaks), and fairly-priced pints (under £6). There’s indistinct Thai on offer, at about a tenner a curry. It is, then, a perfect local, one without bells and whistles. What is this telling us about Starmer? That he’s a middle-of-the-road, decent sort, reliable but absent of any fireworks? No, of course not. You just happen to know that already. All this says is that he knows what makes a decent boozer. See also: his other favourites, the Grafton in Kentish Town (20 Prince of Wales Road, NW5 3LG, thegraftonnw5.co.uk) and the Landseer Arms in Holloway (37 Landseer Road, N19 4JU, landseerarms.com), where he pops in after watching Arsenal.
Worth going? Absolutely.
Even with Starmer? Why not. He’s said to be a good laugh when away from the campaign trail.
Rishi Sunak
You remember how Winchester-and-Oxford-educated Rishi Sunak, worth £651m with his wife, is, like, a total man of the people? He grew up without Sky and everything. Still not convinced? Rishi — get this — loves Nando’s (across London, nandos.co.uk). Nando’s! He’s just like one of us. Earlier this month Sunak showed just what a bloody lad he is by revealing his go-to order is half a chicken, medium spiced (cor), with chips and — get this again — broccoli. “It’s good broccoli,” he said, the stud.
If Sunak is looking to “mix it up”, sometimes he’ll do boneless chicken thighs. What does this tell us about Sunak? The man’s a maverick, no other word for it. Also, he’s totally down to earth and understands his people. The only sticking point here is that his other reported favourite is Chutney Mary (73 St James's Street, SW1A 1PH, chutneymary.com), the fine-dining Indian on St James’s, where a fish curry is just shy of £40. This feels more probable for an Oxbridge sort with millions in the bank: it is an elegant, well-tailored room, with hushed, attentive service and extremely good cooking. Does this mean Sunak has a keen sense of high/low? Or has his publicity bod forced him to memorise the Nando’s line? I wouldn’t bet on it either way (although one of his team probably would).
Worth going? Yes, to both.
Even with Sunak? Nando’s would be comical, so duh.
Ed Davey
Poor, sweet Boy Scout Ed Davey. Here’s a man so certain of his upcoming defeat — at best he’s coming second — that he appears to be using his election campaign as a live audition for the next reboot of Total Wipeout (which, to be fair, would probably help boost his public profile; YouGov say one in three Lib Dem voters don't recognise him). The general take on Davey — from the few people who actually know who he is — seems to be that he’s a decent sort, a good local MP for Kingston and Surbiton who does the rounds. His choice of pub, the Prince of Wales (117 Ewell Road, KT6 6AL, princeofwalessurbiton.co.uk), plays into that perception, given it’s right in his heartland (it was here he was filmed at in 2022, after what looked like a bit of a sesh). The Prince is a mullet of a pub: all business in the front, party in the back, with an unassuming frontage, but a whopping great beer garden hidden away. Lately it’s been spruced up, and it serves a good range of pub classics: fish n’ chips, burgers, that sort of thing, all about £13. So, in short: the place has had an image overhaul, is solid and reliable, and has hidden depths. What does this say about Ed Davey? Wait — who?
Worth going? If you’re in the area.
Even with Davey? Go on then — but better pack your swimming kit, in case of impromptu campaigning.
Nigel Farage
Fair enough, Nigel Farage knows how to play to type. Where some aspiring statesman run on single-issue politics — keep it simple, so people know what to vote for — Farage seems to run on single-personality politics. Everything with him leans into the same thing: the cigars and cigarettes; the hefty gin n’ tonics, pints and port; the red-speckled cheeks; the honking laugh. It is brand-building of the highest order. Here are some things I would swear blind to be true about Nigel Farage, even though really I have no idea: he fishes, he watches cricket, he reads military histories. He owns at least one item of clothing from Cordings. His choice of restaurants does not deviate from the path. One favourite is Boisdale of Belgravia (15 Eccleston Street, SW1W 9LX, boisdale.co.uk). Well, it wasn’t going to be Boisdale of Peckham, was it? Boisdale is a man’s den – very much Boysdale, as it were – somewhere of single malt whisky and fine wine. On the “best of British” menu are things like a £35 fish pie, calves liver in sage and claret gravy, plenty of steaks, lobster. There is a cigar terrace. Customers here tend to know their vintages and come for a bloody good time. Mostly, they have one; so too at its sister in Canary Wharf, where Farage held his 60th (baffling guest list this one: Jim Davidson and Lizzie Cundy, with Trump sending a video message). Farage also favours Simpson’s Tavern (38 1/2 Cornhill, EC3V 9DR, simpsonstavern.co.uk), London’s oldest chophouse, sadly closed at present. It serves pork chops, lamb chops, steak and kidney pudding, so on and so forth, for around £15. Like Boisdale, there’s some cracking wine on offer. What do these choices let slip about Farage? Nothing, absolutely nothing. It’s all just part of his schtick.
Worth going? Yes, with the big boy credit card.
With Farage? Look, if you do, pack a lighter and your drinking boots.
