Scott's

Scott’s has been serving seafood on Mount Street since 1851, and the current Mayfair address, once an oyster warehouse, has become the restaurant other seafood places in London are measured against. It is an old-money institution in the best sense, all dark wood, white tablecloths and a champagne and oyster bar that anchors the room by the entrance.

Oysters are the reason most people book, and reviewers consistently rate them among the best in London, particularly the Jersey rocks and a rotating selection of Irish varieties. Beyond the raw bar, Dover sole, lobster thermidor and daily fish specials keep the kitchen honest, and seasonal game and meat dishes give the menu somewhere to go once autumn arrives. Prices sit at the top end of Mayfair, in line with the setting.

The room suits a proper lunch or dinner rather than a quick bite, an occasion where the bill is not the first consideration, and the clientele skews older, monied and unhurried. Service is attentive without being stiff, and the al fresco tables at the front are worth requesting when the weather allows.

Scott’s does not chase trends, and that consistency is exactly why it has lasted this long. The oysters alone are worth the trip, and everything around them, the room, the service, the prices, is built to match. It is not a discovery, it is an institution, and it earns that status on the plate rather than on reputation alone.