The Pantechnicon Public House & Dining Room

Belgravia is sometimes accused of being behind the times, but this cheerfully welcoming pub makeover from the clever chaps behind The Orange and The Thomas Cubitt disproves the theory. The whole place is (predictably) attractive – a fine Georgian edifice with big windows, nice views, a shabby-chic ground-floor bar and a stylishly appointed restaurant upstairs – although this was virtually empty when we visited at peak time on a Friday night. One menu covers both spaces, and it’s a compendium of Brit-accented dishes old and new: chicken and wild mushroom terrine with spiced peach chutney; roast hake with pink fir apple potatoes, leeks, fennel and broad beans; “massively sweet” strawberry Arctic roll with Champagne jelly and vanilla cream. Weekend breakfasts and serious Sunday roasts also make the place a popular rendezvous for locals, while the wine list is priced “for drinking not admiring”.