Sotheby's

Eating in what is essentially the entrance corridor of Sotheby's auction house is more fun than it sounds. A cosy but stylish space has been carved out, and the place is always full for lunch (it's a prime people-watching spot). The menu changes regularly, but the lobster club sandwich is a fixture. It's not for the price-conscious, but then neither is the auction house.

Typical dishes on the short menu are a soup, such as cauliflower with curry oil, or a starter, such as merguez with braised puy lentils, watercress and salsa rossa. Mains might feature roast partridge with wild rice and mushroom cabbage parcel with paprika sauce, or a vegetarian option - perhaps roast red onion, butternut, courgette and chickpea chilli, with cornbread, avocado salsa and chive crème fraîche.

We enjoyed flavour-packed roast cod with cockles, and an almost textbook steak frites with watercress and béarnaise sauce, slightly marred by saltiness. Desserts are dominated by a choice of fabulous ice-creams. Three scoops (marmalade; peanut, chocolate and salted caramel; redcurrant sorbet) were all amazing, but somehow bettered by a rich, creamy rice pudding with damson compote - possibly the best we've ever tasted. Further pluses are top-notch coffee, a short but winning wine list (more places should do grüner veltliner by the glass), and charming, on-the-ball waiting staff.