The Traditional English Restaurants of London

Fergus Henderson's ‘offally’ clever restaurant just off Smithfield Market uses some of the more esoteric cuts of meat, not normally found on mainstream menus.

Despite the fact that it is not to everybody’s taste, it has continued to grow in deserved popularity.

Though it has won fame – and probably now fortune, as a cookbook (see below) has followed – for displaying more of the insides of an animal than the average butcher’s counter, Fergus is also an extremely adept chef, and even if some of the dishes might turn stronger stomachs than mine, there are enough ‘normal’ choices to please most diners.

The menu changes every day, but Superb Isle of Man kippers might vie with pork chops from the Gloucester Old Spot breed, and puddings could include a prune suet pudding and Dorset apple cake; all relatively normal, while the sourcing is excellent, demonstrating the care that Fergus takes to create genuine individuality. Their menu for the day can actually be found on Their Website.

Once a smokehouse, they have cleverly kept the white stone walled setting intact, which some people find a bit plain, but others praise the atmosphere.

Though obviously it is mainly a meat eater’s paradise, they serve surprisingly excellent bread from their own in-house bakery.

The Cookbook is entitled, "Nose to Tail Eating - A Kind of British Cooking" by Fegus Henderson, and costs £14.99.