Chiltern Firehouse
Book the garden for lunch. A converted Victorian fire station in Marylebone — the garden terrace is the best outdoor lunch space in London, and the food earns the setting.
Chiltern Firehouse is André Balazs doing what André Balazs does in London — taking an unlikely building and turning it into the room everyone wants to be in. A Victorian fire station on Chiltern Street became, in 2014, the restaurant with the longest wait list in the city. A decade on, it has settled into itself and is more genuinely enjoyable for it.
The garden is the point for lunch. A terrace that gets the afternoon light and a menu designed for the pace of a long lunch that ends when it ends. Come on a Tuesday in good weather and plan to stay for three hours.
At dinner, the crowd is international and the room is louder than it looks in photographs. That is fine. It is a room that has been designed to absorb noise without feeling oppressive.
The cooking is American-influenced European — the kind of menu that sounds like it might not have a clear identity but in practice has a very clear identity. The eggs at brunch are among the best in London. The garden lunch menu rewards a slow read.
The main dining room is in the old fire station — high ceilings, open kitchen, the bones of the original building visible throughout. The garden terrace is the better room for lunch and the reason to come specifically at midday.
The garden lunch menu, whatever is running that day. The eggs at brunch. The daily fish if you are at dinner.
Book the garden for lunch. This is not a suggestion. Reserve at least two weeks ahead in good weather. Bring someone you want to spend three hours with.
Book ahead — reservations are essential on weekends and for prime dinner times.
Aim for an earlier seating if you want a calmer room; later tables run louder and longer.