Best Restaurants for a Business Lunch

Editor’s note: The capital's favourite power room. Two-hour lunch, eggs benedict at 11, deal done by 2.

Open since 2003 in a former car showroom on Piccadilly, the Wolseley borrows its sense of occasion from the grand Viennese cafe. The European menu runs all day, so it suits breakfast, lunch or dinner equally well. Come for the room as much as the cooking, and let the day's timing decide what you order.

Editor’s note: Mount Street institution. Order the Dover sole and let the room do the work.

Scott's on Mount Street is as much a social ritual as a restaurant, and Mayfair treats it accordingly. The draw is seafood and the oyster bar, in a room that hums with energy every night of the week. Come for the plates, stay for the company and the view of who else has turned up.

Editor’s note: For when steak is the message. Confident, masculine, predictable in the best way.

Goodman on Maddox Street takes dry-aged beef seriously, and it shows. The kitchen puts USDA prime alongside British grass-fed beef, and the wine list is strong enough to keep pace with both. A straightforward choice for carnivores who want their steak done properly, without fuss.

Editor’s note: Theatrical enough to impress a new client, accomplished enough to satisfy a seasoned one.

Richard Caring's Bacchanalia, at 1 Mount Street, goes all in on Greco-Roman splendour: vast sculptures, an art collection that would not look out of place in a museum, and a dining room built for spectacle. The cooking is modern European and sets out to match the show, though the setting is what people talk about.

Editor’s note: A grown-up grill room. Spacious booths, no music, perfect for a long lunch.

A classic Mayfair grill occupying a grand Grosvenor Square townhouse. The wood-fired grill produces exceptional steaks and seafood, while the room has the comfortable confidence of a club.