After booking your travel, reserving a hotel room, and putting together a plan of attack for the fair floor, you're all set for a successful outing to Frieze London. But wait, where will you eat?
You're in luck. The duo behind the art-world insider podcast Nota Bene has assembled a restaurant guide for fair-weather travelers. Hosts Benjamin Godsill and Nate Freeman reveal six must-visit dining spots across the city, from historic institutions to hidden East End gems, essential for art lovers and culinary enthusiasts alike.
Wiltons
55 Jermyn Street St. James’s, London SW1Y 6LX
This is the most London of London restaurants; restrained on the surface but a real louche and morally flexible filly under the hood. Founded as an oyster cart in 1742, Wilton’s has evolved into a fish-focused but well-rounded eating house equally beloved by aristocrats and art dealers. Just round the corner from Christie’s, this opulent room is a cornucopia of fine tailoring and shellfish. While famous for their oysters, the highlight for me is the daily rotating carving trolly available only at lunch. I can vouch for, and even dream about, the roast sirloin served on Wednesdays, but the roast rack of Blythburgh pork served on Tuesdays is no slouch either. Make a booking and we’ll see you there, though given the price point and the state of the market, we’ll be so polite as to let you pick up the check.
Al Hamra
31 – 33 Shepherd Market Mayfair, London W1J 7PT, UK
If it’s been a long day of slinging art and you don’t have a reservation, this lively Lebanese spot will almost always be able to squeeze in four or six or eight ravenous art dealer types intent on eating and drinking as a salve for their weary souls. In the heart of Sheppards Market in Mayfair since its founding in 1984, this is an incredible spot with a kitchen that stays open until midnight. Order all the dips, the grilled halloumi, and kabobs. The wine isn’t great so make sure you order a lot of it.
Quo Vadis
26-29 Dean Street, Soho, London, W1D 3LL
This private club with a public restaurant on the ground floor is a bastion of unfussy but uncompromising cooking in the heart of Soho. Just down the street from the now Schweizerdeutsch-ified Groucho club, Quo Vadis is an always-bangin’ showcase of British ingredients and verve. The dining room is cozy and you feel tucked away—it's the perfect spot to meet your best client or mate for a tête-à-tête. The kitchen is run by the icon Jeremy Lee, and you can expect a seasonally (and often daily) changing menu. If you are lucky enough, one of their many worldly chef pals might be in town for a highly regarded collab. A little birdie tells us that there may be a couple of seats left the Wednesday of Frieze Week, when San Francisco’s own Gilbert Pilgram and Anne Alvero of Zuni Café are taking the reins.
Tayyabs
83-89 Fieldgate St, Whitechapel, London E1 1J
Tucked on a side street in Whitechapel, Tayyabs is one of the most perfect spots for a rambunctious and meandering group dinner. While specializing in all sorts of Punjabi delicacies, the move here is ordering heaps and heaps of tender lamb chops that come paraded out into the dining room on sizzling platters. No reservations necessary; expect a short wait out on the street with scrums of exuberant members of London’s creative class. The restaurant has a BYO policy: hit the Tesco express down the road for gallons of your favorite lager. Special shout-out to Nicky and Ashe from Herald St., who turned Ben onto this spot like… 15 years ago? Fuck, we are all old.
The Wolseley
160 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB
Ensconced on Piccadilly, just steps away from the Ritz hotel, this grand, hundred-year-old building wears its history as a luxury car showroom and bank branch lightly. For the past quarter-century, it has been a bastion of understated opulence for the great and the good to meet at all hours of the day. Lucian Freud ate at the same table nearly every night until his death.
Traders from the financial markets mix with collectors meeting their Christie’s handlers and ladies who lunch, from breakfast till supper. During major auction weeks or when the Frieze circus is in town, it’s chockablock with major dealers and art-market machers. While there is no dress code listed on the website, we wouldn’t dare go here without a jacket and tie—Savile Row is just around the corner in case your wardrobe is just a bit too nouveau. Or if you’re from Los Angeles.
Rochelle Canteen
16 Playground Gardens, London E2 7FA
Proprietors Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson have transformed their long-running catering business into Rochelle Canteen—perhaps the best place to lunch in all of London. From the start, Chef Arnold has overseen the kitchen in an impossibly charming place tucked behind an old Victorian schoolhouse. Lunchtime-only vibes with locally sourced ingredients greet East Side artists and the dealers who show them. All the greens and veggies are excellent. You'll regret whatever main you get because there’s always another one that’s just as good.
