Restaurants

Few London restaurants can match the city's last remaining pie and mash shops for simple authenticity. Their menu has altered little since the mid 19th century: a wedge of glutinous mashed potatoes, pies (minced beef and gravy in a watertight crust), liquor (loosely based on parsley sauce) and eels (jellied and cold, or warm and stewed). But it's often their remarkably beautiful design that gives punters an exceptional dining experience: in the lettering of their facades, usually pitched somewhere between clean-cut art deco and twirly art nouveau; the austere hygiene of their tiled interiors, complete with moulded ceramic dadoes, backless wooden benches and marble-topped tables; and the spare functionality of their steel counters and cash registers.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009