If you're fed up of queueing in food halls, barbecuing your own meat or having every single small dish you've ordered served up at the same time, then we have the answer. You need a taste of Guéridon service - that's where the waiter brings your chosen dish to the table and finishes it off in a flurry of theatrical activity. We've rounded up London's best restaurants for trolleys, where the service is the star. Sit back and enjoy the show.
ALL the trolleys (#1)
The Ritz
150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR
You'd expect somewhere like the Ritz to go big on trolley service - after all if you can't get something flambeed here (alongside a bit of coordinated dome lifting), then where can you? Every menu offered at the restaurant features a Les Arts de la Table section, denoting the dishes which will be finished tableside. Right now there's grouse and beef wellington among the seasonal dishes on offer, and you'll always find Crêpes Suzette on the dessert menu.
How much? Dishes vary, but the crêpes are £36 for two.
ALL the trolleys (#2)
Wiltons
150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR
Every weekday lunch, the carving trolley at Wiltons on Jermyn Street offers new delights. There might be a leg of Romney Marsh lamb on a Monday or Isle of Mull Salmon coulibiac on a Friday. On a Saturday evening, the beef wellington is now so popular, that regulars make sure to pre-order it ahead of arriving to be sure of getting a slice. Later in the game season, you should also look out for chef Daniel Kent's three-bird roast.
How much? Two courses for £35 at lunchtime.
The duck trolley
Otto's
182 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8EW
Shortlisted for Trolley of the Year at the 2019 World Restaurant Awards, this fine dining restaurant is famous for two dishes - canard and homard a la press - or pressed duck and lobster to you. The duck is now one of London's best-known dishes: a flurry of theatrics accompanies it as you're served first the roast breast, then brioche topped with the liver, finally the legs with a salad.
How much? It's £160 for the pressed duck - as they put it "One duck, two guests, three courses".
The caviar trolley
45 Jermyn St
45 Jermyn St., London SW1 6DN
They go big on tableside at this St James restaurant. They'll flambé lobster spaghetti and beef wellington for you if you prefer - but surely the best thing to do is call for the caviar trolley. This serves up Siberian Sturgeon (£2 per 1g), Golden Oscietra, (£3.20 per 1g) and Iranian Beluga 000 (£6.70 per 1g) which will be weighed in front of you and then served with blinis, baked new potatoes and scrambled eggs, which are prepared on a small stove at the table. You can order as little as 10g as a taster.
Find out more about 45 Jermyn St
The smoked fish trolley
The Game Bird
The Stafford Hotel, 16-18 St James’s Place, London SW1A 1NJ
Kick off your meal at The Game Bird with a request to see the smoked fish trolley. This is wheeled round to you, fairly groaning with everything from beetroot cured Loch Duart salmon to Lincolnshire smoked eel. It's carved tableside for you and served with free-range egg, cucumber and dill pickle and soda bread.
How much: £18.50 - £20 depending on what you order.
Find out more about The Game Bird
See also:
- Order smoked salmon to start at The English Grill and they'll bring a trolley round with two of H Forman & Son's best - one Irish and one English for you to compare.
The baked Alaska trolley
Berners Tavern
10 Berners St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 3NP
It takes a lot to compete with the general opulence of the restaurant at the London Edition, but the arrival of baked Alaska at your table will do that. The ice-cream and meringue dessert is set on fire at your table after being doused in gin and tonic. And if all that isn't enough to set your pulses racing, they also have - wait for it - a pork pie trolley too.
How much: £18 for two
Find out more about Berners Tavern
The roast beef trolley
Simpson's in the Strand
100 Strand, London WC2R 0EW
Since Victorian times, there has been a carving trolley doing the rounds at this institution on the Strand. Every day you have a choice of two roast meats - a Cornish saddle of lamb or the 30-day dry-aged roast rib of Scottish beef, both of which come with dripping roast potatoes, butter Savoy cabbage and gravy.
How much: £39 for the lamb, £41 for beef.
Find out more about Simpson's in the Strand
See also:
- Lutyens Grill at The Ned does a beef wellington trolley special every weekday lunchtime.
- The Roast sirloin of Ross County beef Sunday lunch special at The Goring's Dining Room is pretty special.
The ice cream trolley
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
100 Strand, London WC2R 0EW
Any trolley that cost £25k to build has to be seen to be believed and Heston's creation for his London restaurant is pretty impressive. Right now, they're serving up vanilla ice cream or a lemon yoghurt ice cream that's created in front of you using liquid nitrogen. You can then pick from a range of toppings which are caramelised white chocolate and coconut, chocolate and sanity praline or raspberry meringue.
Find out more about Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Book Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
See also:
- Claude Bosi's custom-made ice-cream trolley at Bibendum is also a thing of beauty and is currently serving up cherry almond and vanilla ice-cream with warm honey madeleines for £15.
The cheese trolley
Le Gavroche
100 Strand, London WC2R 0EW
There are a lot of excellent cheese trollies doing the round every day in London, but perhaps the most famous is the one at Michel Roux Jr's Le Gavroche. The cheese option is usually extra on most set menus, but if you manage to secure a booking for the famous set lunch deal here, it comes as standard and it's a standout delight of mostly French cheeses.
How much: the set lunch is £74.
Find out more about Le Gavroche
See also:
- The Orrery's trolley features more than 30 British and French artisan cheeses curated by the their "frommelier" and was described by Marina O'Loughlin as a "honking, oozing splendour".
- Launceston Place nearly killed us with their double cheese trollies - one British and Irish, one European. Take a long lunch here and do both.
Plus - coming soon...
- The new Lina Stores in King's Cross will have a traditional Italian dessert trolley will feature crowd-pleasing classics: Rum baba, Torta Genoese, Monte Bianco, Crostata di frutta, Tiramisù, Cannoli, Torta Caprese as well as home-made gelato.
- Adam Byatt's newly-opened Charlie's at Browns Hotel in Mayfair features daily specials served on a trolley such as whole poached salmon and glazed Essex gammon.
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