Yahoo News Quick lunch menus in London: The best express meals and set menus for your lunch break
We all dream of being a Londoner who lunches, but pesky inconveniences like work tend to get in the way.
With many of us taking ever-shortening lunch breaks, eating al desko tends to be the overwhelming reality.
But why should it be this way? It’s time to reclaim your lunch hour – or at the very least turn that meeting into a business lunch.
Many restaurants in London offer speedy service and set menus at lunchtime that’ll have you fed multiple courses and returned to the office within an hour, or 90 minutes maximum.
From light sushi spreads to full-on steak and chips, these are the express lunches worth getting out of the office for.
Luca
While Italians usually like to take their time over food, Clerkenwell restaurant Luca serves up the Riviera within the confines of your lunch break. At this casual spot from The Clove Club star Isaac McHale, the express menu offers two courses for £19 and three for £23. Start lunch with the likes of gnocchi cacio e pepe or burrata with winter tomatoes and black olive, before moving onto flame grilled mackerel with jerusalem artichokes or braised duck leg with castelluccio lentils. Finish up with tiramisu or rhubarb and ginger rice pudding, and you should be well fed and ready to go within an hour, though you're welcome to linger.
88 St John Street, EC1M 4EH, luca.restaurant
El Pirata
The Spanish know how to do a quick bite to eat, and Mayfair tapas bar El Pirata will feed you plenty in an hour or less. The set lunch offers two tapas dishes per person from an extensive list, including chorizo in red wine sauce, pan fried chicken with garlic and olive oil, traditional Spanish tortilla and an avocado, tomato and mozzarella salad. On top of this, diners can choose a wine, beer, or soft drink – for just £11.95 all in.
5-6 Down Street, W1J 7AQ, elpirata.co.uk
Sexy Fish
While the high-octane glamour of Sexy Fish may lend itself more readily to a bottle-popping Saturday night, its glistening interior makes for a cool and quirky working lunch, albeit it a pricey one. The Kuikku menu – or “quick” in Japanese – offers diners a choice of four small plates from a selection of 18 options, followed by a dessert, all to be enjoyed within an hour for £36 a head. Dishes include rice bowls such as a donburi made with unagi (Japanese eel) and avocado, crispy prawn gyoza, yellowtail maki and salmon teriyaki served with tenderstem broccoli and yuzu hollandaise.
Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, W1J 6BR, sexyfish.com
Hawksmoor
While it’s easy to while away many hours in Hawksmoor’s mahogany clutches, those looking to reap its rewards quickly and cheaply should head straight to the Express Lunch menu. Available at most of its London locations, diners can get two courses for £26 or three for £29, with a turnaround time of around an hour. Dishes on the menu include potted beef and bacon with Yorkshire puddings, sticky toffee pudding and even the chance to sample a Hawksmoor steak dish at an absolute steal – ordering the rump with chips makes this a ridiculously good deal.
Various locations, thehawksmoor.com
Quaglino’s
Quaglino’s serves a lunch fit for a queen – and a particularly busy one at that. At one of Her Majesty’s favourite restaurants (we’re not joking), lunchtime visitors can make a flying royal visit by opting for the Jump The Q menu. By serving both starter and main course at the same time, diners can enjoy three courses the Mayfair restaurant in less than 40 minutes and for just £20. Dishes on the menu include truffled goat’s cheese with gingerbread and beetroot, roasted corn-fed Cotswold chicken breast and treacle tart with clotted cream and fresh raspberries.
16 Bury Street, SW1Y 6AJ, quaglinos-restaurant.co.uk
Big Easy Canary Wharf
During the week, Canary Wharf is pretty non-stop. At the heart of London’s financial industry, it’s nigh-on impossible to find an hour to stop and relax – if that. Barbecue restaurant Big Easy is helping to max out the downtime of its working neighbours with its super fast lunch. The “Hit & Run” menu may be pretty dubiously named, but it guarantees one or two courses of food on the table with a drink within 15 minutes, or you get it free. What’s more, £10 will get you a drink (including booze) and a main with chips or a side.
Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf, E14 5AR, bigeasy.co.uk
The OXO Tower Bar
If seeing as much of London as possible is a priority on your lunchbreak, South Bank locals should head to the Oxo Tower Bar for a quick and easy meal with a view. Looking out on St Paul’s Cathedral across the river, £18 gets diners a beer, glass of wine or a soft drink along with their main of choice: options include a wagyu slaw burger with sweet potato fries, a battered fish sandwich with brioche and chips, or trofie pasta with mushrooms and Spenwood cheese. A turnaround time of between an hour and an hour and a half means enough time to enjoy the view without too long spent away from your desk.
Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street, South Bank, SE1 9PH, harveynichols.com
Sushisamba
If you’re a diner who can spend a good twenty minutes deciding what to eat, a quick lunch is a tricky undertaking. The City location of Sushisamba takes away the indecision with its Express Omakase menu – a selection of Brazilian-Japanese sharing plates are served to the table, all decided for you in advance. Though it's built to be speedy, it's priced for something special, at £58 per head, for between two and six guests. The menu offers something for all tastes: wagyu gyoza, yellowtail taquitos, sea bass tempura and chocolate banana cake are all on offer. Alternatively, West End frequenters can enjoy the Samba Fixe menu at the restaurant’s new Covent Garden location for a more reasonable £28 a head – you’ll be in and out in around an hour at both locations.
EC2, WC2, sushisamba.com
Roka
Roka’s elegant surroundings are a sophisticated spot for a lunch meeting – with food to impress your guest to boot. At its Aldwych and Canary Wharf locations, express lunch menus mean you can eat within 45 minutes if you wish. For £33 at Aldwych (£44 for the premium option) and for £35 at Canary Wharf (£42 for the premium option), diners are brought a selection of five dishes for the table to share followed by a dish of their choice from the robata grill. Dishes across the two sites include sashimi selections, tuna maki rolls, beef and ginger gyozas and cedar roasted baby chicken with chilli and lemon.
E14, WC2, rokarestaurant.com
Galvin La Chapelle
A swift lunch at Galvin La Chapelle means getting a Michelin-starred meal for less than £40. Two courses on the Menu du Chef at the Galvin Brothers’ flagship restaurant will cost £34, while three come in at £38, which is terrific value for such a lovely spot. Pick from the likes of cod and lobster brandade, rouille and bisque, a terrine of Highland game with burnt orange, a pavé of hake with grenobloise and a buttermilk pannacotta with champagne-poached rhubarb. It'll take an hour-and-a-half; getting away from your desk rarely tasted better.
35 Spital Square, E1 6DY, galvinrestaurants.com
Coya Angel Court
Coya’s Mayfair restaurant gathered such a following for its fresh Peruvian flavours, that is soon warranted an offshoot in the City. For £28, guests at Coya Angel Court can choose two starters – including an Atun chifa dish of yellowfin tuna with a shrimp cracker – and one main from the likes of Papa Fresca con calabaza (a dish of butternut squash, purple potatoes and aged vegan cheese) and arroz nikkei (Chilean sea bass with rice, lime and chilli).
31-33 Throgmorton Street, EC2N 2AT, coyarestaurant.com
Kahani
Spice up your lunchtime at Kahani, Peter Joseph’s Indian restaurant in Belgravia, where a super speedy meal comes packed with fragrant flavours. Tuck into two courses for £20, or three for £25, and enjoy the likes of tandoori broccoli marinated with honey and nigella seeds, chicken simmered with onions, coriander, peppercorn and coconut, and roasted butternut squash with asparagus and quinoa. Diners will be served in well under an hour, and can even order ahead to make the trip even quicker.
1 Wilbraham Place, SW1X 9AE, kahanilondon.com
