The Traditional English Restaurants of London

Once The Brackenbury was considered one of the greatest bargains in town. This was a place created by individuals for individuals, though this is not the case any more, as it has been taken over twice recently; however, the quality and the simplicity of some of the dishes has not been diminished.

First it was bought by the incredibly successful Kensington Place/Launceston Place team, but now they in turn have sold out to the owners of Circus and Avenue.

Its fare is skilfully prepared and different, and at least they have - at long last - replaced the desperately uncomfortable wooden benches with positively luxurious, upholstered simple seats.

The décor used to look more like it has been thrown together rather than created, with lots of ornaments and pictures on a green and yellow background, but more recently this has been tamed somewhat with strong primary colours featuring instead, and the whole effect is a pleasant and slightly less bohemian one.

Dishes can vary from the straightforward, like crab and herb salad (£8.50), to the slightly more complicated pan-fried pigeon breast with bacon and puy lentils (£5.50), to start, whilst their mains are mostly around £13 to £15, for instance roast rib of beef with dauphinoise potatoes and red wine sauce (£15) or roast turbot at £14; though usually there a couple of simpler ones like an omelette or a salad at under £10.

Lunchtime is when you get the bargains, with a set two-course meal at £10.50 or three for an extra two pounds, stunning value for London, but recognising the fact that they are rather out of the way to attract trade at that time of day.

Staff members are friendly, but they certainly do pack the customers in, so don’t expect a great amount of elbowroom, though the place benefits from 20 seats outside during appropriate weather.