The Traditional English Restaurants of London

It is now well over ten years since Charles Fontaine – formerly the chef at Le Caprice - set up the Quality Chop House.

His selection of a rather uninteresting part of Farringdon Road to open up in seemed strangely out of the way and adventurous at the time, but, since then, Clerkenwell has become one of the ‘in’ areas of London for dining out, vindicating his choice of venue.

It is very difficult to estimate exactly what a meal should cost, as the menu runs the gamut from fish soup to grilled lobster, sausages to rice pudding, beluga caviar to potted shrimps. It is up to you, you can eat cheaply or you can spend a fortune.

The key to his success is that the keeps it all very simple and straightforward, no frills, just excellent ingredients resulting in quality results.

Originally it was a Victorian diner, which he revitalised but kept to some of the founder’s ideals, retaining bench seating and the sharing of tables – not to everybody’s liking, especially bad back sufferers, but the critics find themselves solidly outvoted by the myriad of returning customers.

Wines begin at £11 on a compact but serviceable wine list. They have also opened a seafood bar next door – without bench seating!