Where do you like to lunch?

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey has lost the coveted number one spot in Harden's London restaurants guide after Petrus was named the best place to eat in the capital.

Some of the adland's favourite haunts featured heavily in the Most Overpriced and Most Disappointing Cooking top ten lists. The Ivy was named the 7th most overpriced and second in the disappointing cooking stakes, while The Wolseley came 4th in the latter.

Where do you like to dine with business partners and clients? And which of adland's favourite restaurants do you think is the most overrated for breaking bread in? Or are business lunches becoming something of a distant memory in these frugal times? And what have been your most memorable lunch experiences - for better or worse?
 

 

 

I've often felt the food in Ramsey's restaurants and The Ivy is very very overrated. I think big name restaurants such as these trade on their name, reputation for having famous clientale and a place to be seen. The Wolseley is also nothing special. Just a great interior and place to be seen. But then that's more half the point of these places. I love Roka though - great food.

Nabbing the number one spot is well deserved for Petrus. Ramsay has been overstretching himself for a long time. It's more about the brand than the cooking with him. Well done Marcus Wareing. 

Agree with all the comments. A lot of these so-called top restaurants are not what they are cracked up to be and the service can be shockingly bad in some. Personally, I am a big fan of Spiga in Wardour Street. Nice family run Italian with excellent service.

 

You can't beat a liquid lunch in a decent boozer if you ask me. Bricklayers Arms in Fitzrovia gets my vote.

I agree with Roger. The Guinea in Mayfair or the Grenadier in Knightsbridge - proper honest boozers with decent food.

The worst place I ever got taken was some place in Covent Garden that was shutting down that day. We were the only people in there and it really was the rubbish that was left at the bottom of the freezer cabinet. It was with OMD to thank us for giving them agency of the year.

Campaign magazine has just published its top 10 restaurants for adland executives to seal business deals:

Top 10 restaurants in adland

Nice - thanks Colin. Where do you like to lunch? 

Sadly as a poor student I've yet to experience any of these fine establishments. Sounds like some, however, are a bit of an anti-climax. 

Err. Have we all slipped back to the '80's?

Some of us never left. I'm sure I saw Lady Di in San Lorenzo last week. She was with Omar Sharif and Tim Bell

 

Interesting that Petrus seems to have no votes at all through this Brand Republic poll so it can't be the adland fraternity that are frequenting it.  I'm lucky enough to have been to a couple of the restaurants listed fairly recently and thought both were absolutely delicious . . . I know what I'd prefer given the choice, particularly as it's a sandwich at my desk at home most days . . . .

Steph

Mark Smith, I hope that was a tongue in cheek post? - "I think big name restaurants as these trade on their name" and then you go on to say "I love ROKA though - great food". Good job Roka is not part of an overtly expensive dining chain then,serving miniscule portions to over eager media punters. FWIW, The Ivy is over rated if you are going for food alone, same as Langans. Langans offers a unique dining experience, combining average food, with amazing atmosphere and old world charm. proper. Ramsay restaurants are generally fantastic, Angela Hartnets new place will prove to amazing. Waering is a very good chef, i'll give you that.

sue turner:

Err. Have we all slipped back to the '80's?

 

 

Darned straight !

They'll all be walking around wearing braces next barking mantras like "you wanna friend? get yourself a dog"

There's no such thing as a lunch in this day and age, you should all be going to the gym, not stuffing your porky little faces

; o )