Brasserie Zedel has a rival in new London restaurant offering three (amazing) courses for £30
Both offer three courses for under £30. But could Art Deco haven Brasserie Zedel finally be facing its toughest competition yet in new opening Romano’s?
If you’ve ever eaten at Brasserie Zedel and especially if you’ve had the three course set menu for under twenty quid, we’ve got news for you. Jeremy King, the man who set up Zedel, that louche wonderland beneath Piccadilly Circus with live music and cheap food in the capital’s largest-remaining Art Deco ballroom, is back with another restaurant opening offering affordability and the same level of luxury just down the road. It’s time to (briefly) put Zedel on the back burner and see whether you prefer exciting new competition, Romano’s, a ten minute walk away on the Strand.
The restaurateur Jeremy King knows that the incredibly wealthy aren’t always the most fun, so he believes restaurants must be fairly affordable – or at least have affordable options – to attract a diverse crowd. That’s why he’s launched a three-course menu for £24.95 at his new opening despite all the challenges with the costs of running a restaurant right now.
If you haven’t heard of Romano’s, you might have heard of Simpson’s in the Strand, the name for the building that houses Romano’s. Inside there is also the Grand Divan, the posher, higher-end restaurant that’s commanded the headlines recently. It opened just over a month ago in a Grade II listed building, but the news is that Romano’s has just thrown open its doors in the equally glamorous upstairs dining room.
Meet Brasserie Zedel rival Romano’s
The building hosting Simpson’s in the Strand opened in 1904 and King has spent 25 years working on this refurbishment to reinstate the building’s former glamour. It looks as fabulous today as it did then: think heavy-set dark wooden pannelling, statement staircases, elaborate pannelling and ceiling latticework as well as thick white starched table cloths, all with a view of the Strand from the window. There’s a roaming dessert trolley and the waiters are all wearing suits.
It’s the sort of thing you’d expect would cost hundreds, but somehow King has found a way to make it a bargain. I’ve always loved Brasserie Zedel and ever since I was in my early twenties have enjoyed going in for the three-course set menu. Back then it made me feel grown up and I was delighted to introduce my parents to the place. They lived out of town but when they discovered Zedel, with all the glamour of a Parisian cabaret club from the 1920s, they must have felt, as I did, as if they were experiencing the side of the capital that was never meant for us. It was thrilling to go somewhere that felt expensive but be able to afford it. And we loved the food.
So how does Romano’s fare? What’s on the plate is way better than at Zedels, which has recently been criticised for losing its quality. King’s mantra is the classics done well, and here he achieves that with immense effect.
Read more: The Park: A look inside Wolseley and Le Caprice restaurateur Jeremy King’s latest venture
I had the Formule three-course menu for £29.75. It starts with a heritage courgette and tomato tart, the vegetables zingy-fresh and lively with flavour. The tart base is done properly, and by that I mean there’s as much butter as there are breadcrumbs. Could this be the most indulgent tomato tart in London? Going veggie certainly didn’t feel like missing out.
The main of pork and herb faggots came with a rich, moreish jus and – again – wonderfully indulgent mash. The faggots were nicely seasoned and arrived as a decent portion that wasn’t huge but certainly plenty to live up to their promise of offering “the lighter side of English dining.” We ordered the scotch egg and pork pie on the side because Romano’s is about British food and those are about as British as King’s collection of 70 hand-tailored London-made suits (spotting him in a different one as he works the pass is one of the joys of visiting: King is the legend who, back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, opened restaurants like The Ivy, Le Caprice and The Delaunay. Aged 70, he tells CityAM that the secret to his success is holding his nerve: ignoring the trends and sticking to his sense of what works. In an age of the perpetually new, that’s refreshing).
Onto the dessert: a delicate lemon posset in a beautifully ornate glass not dissimilar to the wine glasses. It was silky-smooth and the citrus had the perfect amount of tang. The dish was beautifully presented with segments of grapefruit on top. King might hate the idea, as he has said plenty of times when he’s criticised influencer culture, but that dish in particular warrants an Instagram snap.
As for the vibe, it needs work. There is no music (live like at Brasserie Zedel or canned) and so the atmosphere in the room, replete with austere portraits of Victorians, feels a little heavy if it isn’t full. We dined at 9pm on a Tuesday night and because word hasn’t spread yet the restaurant was empty and totally silent by around 10pm. Mains took 45 minutes to come out although we were assured there was no issue with the chef, so we weren’t quite sure why. And service was slow: we had to ask staff to clear away our plates a couple of times, and ask for drinks refills when we were the only customers in the dining room.
Still, these are teething issues in an incredibly new restaurant. Is this better than Brasserie Zedel? The live music means the atmosphere there pips this, but the food at Romano’s is way stronger. Book now before you can’t: this is an incredibly good value meal in a beautifully historic old room, and surely one of the best value experiences in central London.