Langan's Brasserie

As a London institution, Langan's offers some unchanging virtues. There's the grand dining room itself, with its raffish art collection and the Dorian Gray-picture of the founders still on the menu: a 1970s Michael Caine at the centre. Being attended to by the ultra-professional, slightly eccentric waiters (the senior ones resembling characters in a Graham Greene novel) is always a pleasure. Langan's has long been a favourite of gents-who-lunch. Maybe it's the economic crisis, but these were thin on the ground on the afternoon we visited, leaving staff with little to do: purring along like a Ferrari being used for the school run. London institutions often like to sit on their laurels, but thankfully there wasn't much evidence of this here. A signature seafood salad featured flavoursome prawns, octopus, cockles and more, assembled with generosity and seasoned with vibrantly fresh herbs. The day's special, succulent pan-fried beef with red wine sauce, was cooked absolutely right. It went perfectly with the punchy but suave, suitably traditional house red. Prices aren't low - especially as all vegetables cost extra, and there's a cheeky 'cover charge' - but at least you get some panache for your pounds.