As a PA or EA having a little black book of the best restaurants in town can be an absolutely lifesaver. Need to book a last minute lunch meeting for your boss? Planning a private dinner for the board? Looking for a fun restaurant to host an team lunch at? Booking restaurants comes as part of the job, it sounds simply, but the truth is, choose the wrong venue and you've ruined the occasion, choose the right one and you've totally made it.

There are so many restaurants in London and without a good recomendation any of them will lead you to beleive that they would be the perfect place to host whatever occasion it is you're planning. Therefore, to cut through the mass of promises and reviews we've taken the matter into own hands and will be writing our own reviews of all the restaurants we visit as a team. We're a foodie bunch at Anderson Hoare so this isn't exactly a chore! But we hope that it proves helpful to you if you ever find yourself in a sticky situation with no idea where to go.

This list will be a constant work in progress and is based purely on our own experience of a certain restaurant. We'll be updating it reguarly and if you would like to contribute please let us know!

CENTRAL LONDON

Decimo – Kings Cross

Located at the top of The Standard Hotel in Kings Cross, Decimo is one of those restaurants that feels cool as soon as you walk through the door. You’ll travel up to the 10th floor in a bright red, glass fronted lift and on entering the restaurant be greeted by staff in outfits that resemble Emerates cabin crew, cacti and succulents in every corner, retro patterned carpets and lots of dim lighting. It sounds ludicrous, and it is, but it also really works; from the views to the interiors and even the staff uniforms, everything combines to exude an atmosphere of glamour and sense that something very exciting is about to happen.

And that something exciting is the food. The menu is a blend of Spanish and Mexican style tapas dishes created by 2 Michelin Starred chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias and it’s stunning, both to look at and to eat. While everything we ate was mouth-wateringly delicious a few star dishes were the marinated red peppers – you will never have tasted peppers so good, Spanish tortilla which oozed with runny yolk, cauliflower tacos and the leek, which paired with its rich, creamy sauce was, quite frankly, a thing of beauty. The downside though is the price, this isn’t a cheap eat, that beautiful leek cost us 8 quid. Was it worth it? Yes, but only if a) someone else is paying or b) it’s a special occasion and you don’t mind paying a bit more or c) you don’t drink and order mainly from the veggie options. C is what we did and we loved it! It would be great for a fun work dinner or lunch but I wouldn’t recommend it for your boss unless they are a foodie and don't mind going somewhere slightly too trendy for its own good.

Visited by: Lottie Date: 10th December 2019 Price: £££ Meal: Dinner Good for: work Christmas lunches or dinners, dinner with friends Not good for: anyone who doesn’t like heights or favours 'an oldfashioned, proper meal' Visit the website

Vardo – Chelsea

I've just been for lunch at Vardo in Duke of York Square, Chelsea and I cannot recommend it enough. The newest restaurant from the Caravan group, Vardo is housed inside a striking cylindrical pavilion on Duke of York Square. Both the inside and outside are intriguing and eating here feels strangely unique, there's something about its circular shape, being surrounded by glass and looking onto the happy bustle of the Kings Road that feels rather nice. On walking in the atmosphere is buzzy, with a low, steady stream of music and background chatter which engulfs you in a rather pleasing way. The focus on the cooking is 'low and slow', which essentially means everything on the menu is absolutely packed with flavour. Expect plenty of spice-tossed meats, tahini-smeared plates, grainy bowls and pickled accompaniments. To pin it somewhere in the world, you could say Vardo is Middle Eastern-inspired, but then again pizza and Chinese dumplings also appear on the menu. And all are delicious! The service was quick yet unintrusive and this is the kind of venue I would highly recommend for client entertaining, lunch meetings and fun team meals!

Visited by: Lottie Date: 4th December 2019 Price: ££ Meal: Lunch Good for: fun work lunch with colleagues, dinner with friends, lunch meeting for your boss Visit the website

La Goccia, Petersham Nurseries Covent Garden

We visited La Goccia for our team Christmas party and had pre-selected to eat from their festive set menu; we weren’t looking for a deal but 3 courses of sharing plates, a glass of prosecco and an oyster for £55 in a beautiful looking venue in central London sounded good by any standard! La Goccia is one of the two restaurants at the Covent Garden branch of Petersham Nursuries, it’s the more informal of the two and is described as offering Petersham’s interpretation of Italian aperitivo – small plates of Italian inspired seasonal dishes. Being a small team of 6 we wanted an informal restaurant that we could all relax in yet somewhere that felt special enough to get dressed up for and excited about.

La Goccia was perfect, and not to beat about the bush, we absolutely loved it. In true Petersham style the tables were topped with charming vases of fresh cut flowers and the chairs has been chosen for their beautiful carved backs that looked like intertwined branches, while the open bar and grill created a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Our food was delicious, each dish was simple, yet done extremely well while our cocktials were as beautiful to look at as they were to drink. Mouth-watering chicken liver pate, Tuscan creamed borlotti beans and an orange chocolate tart with mince pie ice cream really stood out and ensured that we all left feeling wonderfully full. Our waiter was charming and when we had previously explained on the phone about the allergies one of our colleagues has they hadn’t battered an eyelid and offered to adapt the menu for her.

I got the feeling that La Goccia would make a wonderful choice for a lunch meeting; the perfect place to meet a client for an informal meal that feels like a bit of treat. The staff were charming and, in the summer, the open courtyard just off the main buzz of Covent Garden is a little haven in the middle of the city.

Visited by: Our whole team Date: 12th December 2019 Price: ££ Meal: Christmas Dinner Good for: Work lunch meeting, girls lunch or dinner Visit the website

Stoney Street, Borough Market

Stoney Street opened in November 2019 and is the second restaurant by Alex Hely-Hutchinson, founder of 26 Grains, the café that revolutionised porridge and the power of comfort food, helping ignite the Scandinavian hygge movement across the capital. With this in mind, my expectations were high as I headed to Stoney Street on a cold January evening for a long overdue catch up with a friend.

In true Scandinavian fashion, everything about Stoney Street is beautifully understated; the restaurant itself is tucked away on a side street in Borough Market and decorated in a mix of blond wood, muted colours and warm lighting. It exudes low key charm and walking in it feels gentle and comforting, an atmosphere heightened by charismatic, knowledgeable staff who greet you like a welcome friend come to dine at their family table.

Food feels unfussy yet is executed with delicacy and flare, using an array of seasonal produce expertly prepared to create dishes and flavours unlike anything you would have tried before. We started with the housemade einkorn soda bread partnered with not just whipped raw butter but also confit garlic and black chilli, elevating a seemingly humble combination of ingredients to a stand out dish. The rest of the menu was just as delicious and I would be here for pages if I were to start to describe the delicate yet abundant flavours in each one – so take it from me, it’s all very very good and I highly recommend you go. Stoney Street is the perfect venue for an intimate meal with a close friend, or small group of people who will appreciate an evening of understated charm and superbly cooked food far more than the hype of a trendy, over-instagrammed restaurant.

Visited by: Lottie Date: 22nd January 2020 Price: ££ Meal: Dinner with friend Good for: Sophisticated, understated dining with clients, colleagues or friends Visit the website

Manteca, Soho

Ed Cumming from the Independent said: "Manteca has the potential to become that rarest of spots: a reliable, reasonably priced standby in central London, flexible enough to handle a work lunch and a grand bouffe. An unfussy idea, executed with aplomb, a vision for 2020." Nicole from our team also visited Manteca recently and she too was hugely impressed. She came back raving about the beautiful simplicity of it all, from the confident dark walls and sparsely decorated tables to the folds of freshly made pappardelle thickly coated in the richest, most succulent ox cheek ragu. Also not to be missed on the menu are the generously filled parcels of mushroom ravioli topped with crispy fried sage and beautiful shards of black truffle and the brown crab cacio e pepe where deep flavoured crap mingle with mouth-wateringly creamy cheese. And what's more? The price was a pleasant surprise too, making this restaurant a reasonably priced staple in Soho which we’ll be returning to time and time again.

Visited by: Nicole Date: 25th February 2020 Price: £ Meal: Dinner with friends Good for: Data night dinner, informal lunch with clients, fun supper with a group of friends that's reasonably priced and guaranteed to be delicious. Visit the website

WEST LONDON

Coming soon! Any recommendations let us know!

EAST LONDON

Coming soon! Any recommendations let us know!

NORTH LONDON

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SOUTH LONDON

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