THE
GOURMET'S GUIDE
TO
LONDON
BY
LIEUT.-COL.
NEWNHAM-DAVIS
Author of
"The Gourmet's Guide to Europe"
NEW YORK
BRENTANO'S
1914
PRINTED BY THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
The pleasures of the table
are common to all ages and
ranks, to all countries and
times; they not only harmonise
with all the other
pleasures, but remain to
console us for their loss.—
Brillat Savarin.
TOALL GOOD GOURMETS
PREFACE
In describing in this book some of the restaurants andtaverns in and near London, I have selected those thatseem to me to be typical of the various classes, givingpreference to those of each kind which have somepicturesque incident in their history, or are situatedamidst beautiful surroundings, or possess amongsttheir personnel a celebrated chef or maître d'hôtel.
The English language has not enough nicely graduatedterms of praise to enable me to give to a fractionits value to each restaurant, from the unpretentiouslittle establishments in Soho to such palaces as theRitz and Savoy, but I have included no dining-placein this volume that does not give good value for themoney it charges.
Twelve years ago I wrote a somewhat similar book,"Dinners and Diners," which ran through two editions,but when I looked it through last year I foundthat there had been so many changes in the world ofrestaurants, so many old houses had vanished and somany new ones had arisen, that it was easier to write anew book than to bring the old one up to date. MrAstor very kindly gave me permission to use in thisvolume any of the series of "Dinners and Diners"articles that appeared in The Pall Mall Gazette, but itwill be found that I have availed myself very sparingly[Pg x]of his kind permission. The chapters of this bookappeared, with very few exceptions, in Town Topics,and I am indebted to the editor of that paper for hisleave to gather them into book form.
Mr Grant Richards, the publisher of this book,quite agrees with me that no advertisements ofrestaurants shall find a place within its covers.
Should "The Gourmet's Guide to London" find awelcome from an appreciative public, and should, indue time, other editions of it be called for, I shallhope to broaden its scope to include in it some of thehostelries of Brighton and other seaside towns, alsothose of the great cities and great ports, and todescribe some of those fine old country inns scatteredabout the kingdom where good old English cookeryis still to be found in good old English surroundings.
For the French of the menus I do not hold myselfresponsible. The kitchen writes the French that ittalks and who am I, a mere Briton, that I shouldattempt to alter it?
N. NEWNHAM-DAVIS.