Traditional British Restaurants in London

You couldn't get much more British than Boisdale of Belgravia, housed in an elegant Regency building near Buckingham Palace. The menu is primarily Scottish, featuring mini roast haggis with neeps (parsnips), potatoes and whisky. Boisdale is also an acclaimed jazz venue, and home to one of Europe's largest selections of cigars.

This Covent Garden favourite is extremely popular with tourists, serving hearty, satisfying classics such as pies, fish and chips, and roast beef. Try Porters' famous steak and kidney pudding, or choose from creamy fish pie, beer battered cod or braised beef faggots. Indulgent desserts include steamed syrup pudding, Eton mess and treacle tart.

If you like amazing views with your food, head to Rhodes Twenty Four, located on the 24th floor of the City of London's tallest building, Tower 42. Admire the cityscape and dig into sea trout with English asparagus and Jersey Royals or steamed mutton with onion suet pudding. Don't leave without trying the signature pudding plate!

Roast is dedicated to the best of British cooking, using seasonal produce to create traditional dishes such as potted shrimps and roast beef. You'll also find English wines and local cheeses on the menu. The feature window (formally part of a flower market) offers views over bustling Borough Market, where much of the food is sourced.

London's oldest restaurant is in the heart of Covent Garden. Serving up traditional British cuisine since 1798, Rules places an emphasis on game, oysters, pies and puddings. The restaurant even has its own estate – the Lartington Estate in the High Pennines – where the chefs source quality game birds, roe deer and belted Galloway beef.

Simpson's is a place for meat and fish lovers, although everyone will appreciate the ornate interior and air of times gone by. The place has been serving traditional food since 1828. The speciality is Scottish beef on the bone, which is carved at your table from an antique silver-domed trolley – a tradition that's lasted more than 150 years.

A traditional English eatery housed in a former smokehouse, St John specialises in what chef Fergus Henderson has termed "nose-to-tail eating", meaning that no part of meat is inedible. Recent dishes have included smoked Gloucester Old Spot, and pigeon with radishes and barley. It's perfect for meat lovers.

British royalty and politicians have frequented the opulent Goring Dining Room over the years. The restaurant's interior was redesigned in 2005 by famous British furnisher Linley, based on a Cecil Beaton photo of a group of debutantes in the restaurant. Expect superbly cooked British dishes such as beef Wellington and custard tart.

Oozing with British refinement, The Rib Room restaurant opened on the ground floor of the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel in 1961. The signature dish is roast rib of Aberdeen Angus beef from the Scottish estate of the Duke of Buccleuch, while the oysters and seafood come fresh from Lock Fyne in Scotland.

Wiltons has been serving the finest British food since 1742. The menu includes wild fish, shellfish, game (when it's in season) and meat dishes sourced from the best farms. Treat yourself to roast grouse or wild Scottish turbot with champagne sauce. For the ultimate in English luxury, there's also a champagne and oyster bar.