The Traditional English Restaurants of London

One of the great city institutions of London, Sweetings has been in operation on the present site since 1889, with very few apparent changes in the intervening period.

It is always packed by an incredibly loyal clientele, despite the fact that it is only open at lunchtime from Monday to Friday, from 11 o'clock until 3 p.m. in the afternoon and doesn't take any reservations.

It even goes as far as not serving coffee, to ensure that you cannot linger over the end of your meal, as there will always be someone waiting to take your place.

Many customers first went to dine there before they even started at their chosen public school, maybe their parents thought that it would teach them what to expect once they got there, food wise.

However, that is being a bit unkind, as, though there is some resemblance - particularly with their wonderfully English puddings, like steamed syrup sponge and baked jam roll - to school food, most of what they serve is of a vastly higher standard.

Their speciality is fine fresh fish, most of it not spoilt by being cooked in a over complicated manner, on a menu that has altered little over the years, though turtle soup had to come off a short while back.

Most of the waiters are long-time employees and know many of their customers personally, occasionally demonstrating a slight trait of eccentricity that seems to permeate the whole establishment.

Sweetings has recently been sold for only the fifth time in its 112 year history, but the new owners promise that little will change, apart from taking credit cards for the first time ever.

Twenty-one years ago it was purchased by the husband and wife team of Graham and Patricia Needham; sadly Graham died in 1996, and Patricia has been running it since then. However, as former Head Chef from 1986 to 1994 Patrick Molloy is one of the team of three buying Sweetings, continuity is guaranteed; the other two are Dick Barfoot, and his son Richard, fish supplier to Sweetings.