Established in 1798 by Thomas Rule, Rules Restaurant holds the distinction of being London's oldest restaurant. It is renowned for its timeless charm, magnificent historical surroundings, and a commitment to serving traditional British cuisine at its best, specializing in classic game.
Customers consistently praise Rules Restaurant for its impeccable service, historical ambiance, and high-quality traditional British food. The atmosphere is often described as magnificent, classy, and intimate, with attentive and professional staff. While some find the prices for certain items (like champagne) high, many appreciate the good portions and overall value for a fine dining experience. Specific dishes like the Sunday roast beef, dressed crab, and Beef Wellington receive high recommendations, though some minor criticisms exist regarding seasoning or texture of certain desserts.
Additional Details
Rules Restaurant has been continuously operating since its founding in 1798, making it a significant historical landmark in London's culinary scene. It is located in Covent Garden.
Rules is suitable for lunch, dinner, and special occasions. Sunday lunch is particularly recommended for its roast beef. The upstairs cocktail bar offers a more informal yet intimate vibe for drinks and cold starters.
Booked a table for after a funeral with my elderly mother and adult son. It was my first visit despite having worked across the road in the 80s! Unfortunately I accidentally booked for the wrong time and when we arrived our table was no more and there would have been a two hour wait for another.
The FOH/maitre d’ could not have been more helpful and charming, and recommended we go upstairs instead for drinks and food from the ‘bar food’ menu (cold starters).
I think we actually enjoyed this more than being in the dining room (although my son had been salivating at the roast guinea fowl), as the cocktail bar feels like an orangery/conservatory with wonderful plants, chaises longue, and a very informal yet intimate vibe. The cocktails are fantastic - classy and innovative - and wine is served in 50cl carafe as well as by the bottle, which was perfect for just a glass each. We had the guinea fowl terrine and the Carmarthan ham, both of which were excellent. It was delightful hour of family catch-up, laughter and relaxation, aided by the attentive but discreet staff and the very comfortable surroundings.
Will not be my last visit!! Highly recommended. And thank you again for helping me salvage this occasion after I made such a silly mistake 😀
Had a lovely early evening dinner for a birthday celebration. It's been years since we last visited Rules and it's comforting to see that little has changed. Still warming, comforting British classics. Think the clientele are more casual and relaxed than before which I like. £25 for a glass of champagne made my eyes water but apart from that all was well.
If I could've given 6 for atmosphere, this would be it. You can't go wrong at London's oldest restaurant - impeccable service, magnificent and historical surroundings, and food at top quality. We went for the Sunday roast beef and I can't recommend it enough. Full score to the team at Rules. Friendly and professional from start to finish.
Just had a wonderful Lunch at Rules, We had one of their wonderful private rooms as there was 8 of us, good choices on the various set menus that we were offered. I had the dressed crab, beautifully fresh not over powered by mayonnaise so you could enjoy the crab, followed by Beef Wellington, perfectly cooked med rare very tasty duxelle and a Jus the star was the fresh horseradish which was amazing. Sweet, a steamed pudding with crème angles, lite fluffy and delicious. We drank their Bordeaux which was full bodied and smooth and Gavi di Gavi which complemented the guests who had the seabass with fresh mussels in a white wine sauce. Coffee, digestive to finish. We were served by a lovely very professional waitress called Ola, who was very friendly and made the occasion very pleasant for us. We then went down to the bar for some truly outstanding cocktails. Proper old school done properly, Good portions at a competitive price, Highly recommend! Looking forward to the next visit!
We went here on our first night in London. The ambiance is classy with intricate architecture and decor. The food was quite delish. We started with the terrine and it exceeded our expectations. The steak and kidney pie was a new experience but I think the filling and/gravy could have been seasoned more heavily. It lacked flavor. The oxtail was tender and deckhouse. The toffee pudding was also lacking. Half of it was extremely dry, the other half was a little moist but not the texture you would expect. Great experience, but probably wouldn’t return.
