Wiltons

George William Wilton began selling oysters from a barrow near Haymarket in 1742, and the business became a full restaurant in 1840 after taking out a beer and wine licence. During the Second World War, regular customer Olaf Hambro, chairman of Hambros Bank, told departing owner Bessie Leal to add the restaurant to his bill rather than find her a buyer; the Hambro family has owned Wiltons since. The restaurant moved to its current Jermyn Street address in 1984, keeping green velvet booths and gilt mirrors that recall a gentlemen's club. Winston Churchill dined here often enough that Wiltons is said to have quietly ignored wartime rationing on his behalf. Today the kitchen serves oysters, native lobster and game from a daily carving trolley, with a dress code that rules out shorts and trainers.