Newly listed on All Set: London set menus from £17.50
From a £17.50 tapas lunch on Down Street to a Sunday roast 31 floors above London Bridge
Seven London set menus joined All Set between 10 and 18 September. The first thing to read on each of them is the clock. At Paro Indian, in the Lyceum Theatre building on Wellington Street, the pre-theatre menu starts before noon and runs to 6.30pm.
Some of these menus are built to fit around a show or a working afternoon. Others take the whole afternoon. At il Pampero in Belgravia, the pasta is turned through a pecorino wheel at the table.
01 | Paro Indian
Covent Garden
two or three courses £21 to £24, Mon to Sun, 11.45am to 6.30pm
Paro Indian shares its building with the Lyceum, and the Novello is across the street. The bar looks out on the theatre district through 3m-tall windows. A house blend of 48 spices runs through West Bengal home cooking and the Anglo-Indian curries; Hot Dinners called it "an ode to all things Calcutta". Mains are built from seven bases, korma through to jalfrezi, with rice or naan included.
02 | Gaucho Covent Garden
Covent Garden
two or three courses £18.95 to £20.95, Mon to Sat, 12pm to 6.30pm
On James Street, a few steps from the piazza, Gaucho Covent Garden cooks over the parrilla beneath red velvet curtains and brass. The set runs from squid chicharrón and a three-cheese empanada to rump and chips, and ends on a dulce de leche pancake.
03 | El Pirata
Mayfair
two or three courses £17.50 to £23.50, Tue to Fri, 12pm to 4pm
Down Street has had El Pirata since 1994. Its Express Lunch is tapas, chosen from a list of thirteen and served with bread and alioli. Padrón peppers from Galicia and gambas al pil-pil share the list with chorizo cooked in cider. The Jamón Ibérico is carved by hand, and the wine list has been built over three decades.
04 | Ixchel
Chelsea
two or three courses £25 to £30, Mon to Fri, 12pm to 3pm
Bamboo ceilings, painted shapes and cacti give Ixchel what The Infatuation calls a "Tulum-esque" dining room on the King's Road. The weekday lunch opens on a yellowfin tuna tostada with macha sauce. Every large plate arrives with crispy potatoes, from achiote chicken to short rib quesadillas.
05 | il Pampero
Belgravia
two or three courses £25 to £30, Mon to Sun, 12pm to 10pm
At il Pampero, inside The Hari London, the pici cacio e pepe is turned through a wheel of pecorino in front of the table. Tiramisu is built tableside too, from espresso, ladyfingers and mascarpone cream. The kitchen holds an AA Rosette and changes its menus with the seasons.
06 | 108 Brasserie
Marylebone
two or three courses £38 to £46, Sun, 12pm to 5pm
On the cobbles of Marylebone Lane, behind The Marylebone hotel, 108 Brasserie serves roasted rib of beef, corn-fed chicken and minted lamb rump. Each comes with Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes that keep coming. A spiced plum and apple gingerbread crumble with English custard is among the desserts.
07 | Aqua Shard
London Bridge
two courses £49, Sun, 5pm to 9pm
The Sunday roast at Aqua Shard is served in the evening, on level 31 of The Shard. London is spread out below the windows. Leg of Cornish lamb comes with a mint salsa verde, and roasted sea bream with cockles sits alongside the meat.
The clock runs through every one of them. It starts at 11.45am on Wellington Street and ends with a Sunday roast at 5pm, 31 floors above London Bridge. They now sit alongside every London lunch set menu on All Set.