Dining

9 places to go for a power lunch in London

Here are the places that balance professional exclusivity with excellent food

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The British capital is home to some of the world’s leading chefs, whose menus veer from British classics featuring carefully sourced ingredients to exceptional international cuisine. Add to this a fine sommelier-paired wine to toast a successful deal, and power lunches have never been so enjoyable. Here are the places that balance professional exclusivity with excellent food.

Business people having lunch

For British provenance

When it comes to beautiful cuisine served with plenty of privacy, few do it better than the Kitchen Table at Gordon Ramsay’s Pétrus, where you can watch over the celebrity chef’s kitchen as the team prepares and plates your meal. Celebrate a successful deal with classic British delicacies such as turbot cooked with coastal herbs, and tender Herdwick lamb flavoured with marjoram. For something a little less formal, Pollen Street Social has just the right level of buzz. Take a relaxed table in the heart of the action and brainstorm over seasonal dishes, or book the private dining room for a more exclusive business lunch.

Meanwhile, in the heart of Piccadilly, 45 Jermyn Street is a perennially popular choice for a power lunch. The flagship restaurant of British department store Fortnum & Mason, it champions the finest British fare. Hearty plates of Suffolk pork belly, Cornish mackerel and Scottish rib-eye are served in generous booths providing plenty of privacy for a long lunch meeting.

People shaking hands

For all-time favourites

For first-class French cuisine, few London restaurants surpass the two Michelin-starred Le Gavroche. Tucked away behind an unassuming entrance, the lunch menu includes the plumpest of scallops, feather-light soufflés and steaks done to perfection for colleagues with discerning tastes. Championing London’s rich and storied past, The Cinnamon Club commandeers the Grade II-listed former Westminster Library. Its walls are lined with the library’s original gold-embossed, leather-bound tomes, which add to the learned atmosphere of this long-established executive go-to. The food is as spectacular as the surrounds, with beautifully crafted Indian classics drawing return visitors again and again. Meanwhile, laidback lunches are served in The Atrium at Grosvenor House Suites by Jumeirah Living. Infused with natural light and blessed with ample space to spread out, it’s an ideal setting in which to tease out a creative strategy. Order a platter of easy favourites from the continental menu and get down to business.

Grosvenor House Suites Atrium

For international flavours

Aquavit London’s aesthetic is light, simple and sleek, both in its décor and its dishes. The theme is Nordic, with classic ingredients such as gravlax, herring, smoked salmon and lingonberries receiving a Michelin-starred upgrade. Channelling a different sort of minimalism is Chisou Japanese Restaurant. The atmosphere is unobtrusive, the service exacting and the sashimi as fresh as would be served in Tokyo’s Toyosu Market. Settle in for a business lunch, izakaya-style, and toast a successful partnership with the restaurant’s fine sake selection. Heartier lunch options can be found at Italian favourite Cecconi’s Mayfair. Fresh ingredients, hand-rolled pastas and regional delicacies are put together with typical Mediterranean flair in this popular Art Deco dining room.

Stay at Grosvenor House Suites by Jumeirah Living or Jumeirah Lowndes to enjoy their first-class facilities, and be within easy reach of London’s finest dining establishments.