There’s something exciting about a menu you can’t read ahead of time. Clipstone changes theirs every day, built entirely around what’s best that morning, and nothing on the plate is there by accident. It’s part of the same group as Quality Wines, Portland, and Quality Chop House, which tells you most of what you need to know.
This year marks Clipstone’s tenth anniversary, and they’re celebrating in a properly charming way: a special three-course menu at £20.16 per guest, available for reservations between 5:30 and 6pm, with a different lineup each month pulled from dishes they’ve cooked over the past decade. If you’re planning an early dinner before the theatre or want a proper sit-down meal without the proper sit-down price, this is one of the loveliest deals in London right now.
We started with snacks. The deep-fried stuffed olives arrived piping hot and shatteringly crisp, with a salty hit of anchovy at the centre. The kind of thing you eat too many of before the meal has even started.
The grilled langoustines came piled high with a Marie Rose I would happily eat by the spoonful, properly punchy and rich in all the right ways, and the claws were tender enough to eat whole. Such a cool detail, and not something I usually bother with. Then the brill head arrived, a lunchtime-only dish made from the collar and head of the day’s whole fish while the fillets are held back for dinner. There are only a handful available each service, and once they’re gone, they’re gone, so order it the moment you sit down. Dressed simply in brown butter and capers, it was the kind of plate only really good, really fresh fish can deliver. I’ll be honest, the amount of sweet, delicate meat that comes out of a fish collar is genuinely humbling, and we left having quietly resolved to stop throwing those bits away at home.
The braised lamb pappardelle was lighter on its feet than I expected. Rich without being heavy, which is a hard line to walk. The Cornish pollock with béarnaise was an unexpected pairing and completely worked, the sauce cutting through in a way I didn’t see coming. A radicchio salad and purple sprouting broccoli kept everything bright alongside. To drink, a Malvazija Istarska from Istria, fresh, textured, properly mineral, was such a smart match for the richness on the table.
Book Clipstone for the kind of London lunch where you order one more thing than you meant to, then linger over the wine list because the team actually wants to talk you through it. It’s unpretentious in the best way. No theatre, no fuss, just exceptionally good British produce treated with the respect it deserves. The kind of place you leave already plotting when you can come back.
Note: Clipstone provided support for the reporting of this story.