Five cosy set menus for a rainy London afternoon
Lamplit interiors and a fixed price, from a £24 lunch in Soho to a crimson basement under Broadwick Street
The rain is back, and with it the particular pleasure of a long lunch indoors. These five are chosen for how they feel when the weather turns: terracotta plaster and low fringed lighting in Soho, a brick vaulted cellar beneath a Mayfair townhouse, Moorish tilework on Charlotte Street, green velvet five floors above the Piazza, and a crimson basement lit entirely by table lamps.
Prices run from £24 to £35, each one fixed for two or three courses, and every price, day and window below came off the venue’s own menu this week. Three run Monday to Friday, two carry through to Saturday.
01 · Bocconcino Soho
Soho
Two courses £24 or three £28, Monday to Friday, 12pm to 4.45pm.
Great Marlborough Street, a few steps off Carnaby, with terracotta plaster, fringed glass pendants hung low over the tables and a wall of lit wine cabinets down one side. The set lunch offers four choices at each course: buffalo mozzarella with tomatoes and pesto, fried courgette parmigiana, a green spring salad, or a chilled tomato soup with stracciatella to open. Then tagliatelle with wild mushrooms and stracciatella, salmon fillet with broccoli and salmoriglio, slow-cooked chicken supreme with creamed potatoes, or a pizza Diavola from the wood oven. Tiramisu, passion fruit cheesecake or soft vanilla gelato to finish. The window runs to 4.45pm, which leaves the whole afternoon open.
02 · The MAINE Mayfair
Mayfair
Two courses £24 or three £28, weekdays, 12pm to 4pm.
A Grade II listed townhouse in Medici Courtyard, off Hanover Square, with a brick vaulted cellar bar below and beaded chandeliers above the tables. The prix fixe is served at Café MAINE on the ground floor and runs the full afternoon. Tuna tartare with avocado and a soy ginger dressing, a Caesar à la M with crunchy chicken and garlic butter croutons, or beef carpaccio with tonnato dressing and crispy capers. Mains cover moules frites in a white wine marinière, sea bream with lemon caper butter, spicy rigatoni in a pink sauce with vodka, and veal scaloppine al limone. Crème brûlée with tonka vanilla, sticky toffee pudding or a Basque cheesecake to close.
03 · Norma
Fitzrovia
Two courses £25, with a dessert for £5 more, Monday to Saturday.
Three storeys of a Charlotte Street townhouse, two minutes from Tottenham Court Road, with Moorish tilework, an arched wine alcove and lamplight at every table. The lunch card is short and Sicilian. Chickpea panelle with salsa verde, pasta fritters in a parmesan sauce, or truffle arancini with stracciatella and porcini mayo, then rigatoni with beef ragù and grana padano, spaghetti cacio e pepe, or sea bream with pilacca, garlic aioli and sumac. Dessert is £5 on top, and the cannoli comes with ricotta, chocolate, pistachio and candied orange. A first glass of house wine is £5, a glass of fizz £7.50.
04 · Cicoria
Covent Garden
Two courses £29 or three £35, Monday to Friday, 12pm to 3pm.
Five floors above the Piazza, inside the Royal Opera House, with green velvet banquettes, marble tables and a view over Covent Garden. The set lunch moves with the season. It currently opens with buffalo mozzarella, braised flat beans and mint, a cannellini bean dip with summer vegetables, or soused mackerel with rocket, new potatoes and basil mayonnaise. Then Neapolitan ragù with paccheri and Parmigiano Reggiano, a carnaroli risotto with fennel and lemon, or roasted plaice with capers, lemon and a parsley pangrattato. Apricot frangipane tart with mascarpone to finish, or Stichelton with golden raisin purée and carta di musica. Sides are £6.
05 · Dear Jackie
Soho
Two courses £30 or three £35, Monday to Saturday, until 6.15pm and after 10pm.
Down in the basement of Broadwick Soho: crimson walls quilted to the ceiling, antique plates hung in rows, a Murano chandelier overhead and a pleated silk lamp glowing on every table. The Theatre Set Menu is timed for the Shaftesbury Avenue houses, then runs again once they empty. Petit violet artichoke with cannellini beans, courgette scapece and mint, or tuna crudo with cured roe, citrus and samphire to start. Fresh ricotta agnolotti with Amalfi lemon, roast cod with mussels and sea vegetables, or Blythburgh pork neck with poached quince and salsa verde. Amaretto tiramisu, or a selection of ice creams and sorbets.
All five are on All Set with the full menu, the serving window and a direct booking link on each.