london
Scott's
• Seafood• Mayfair
About the restaurant
Not many restaurants can claim to be one of the handful of the capital’s oldest. Scott’s was originally set up in 1851, first as an oyster warehouse and then as a restaurant specialising in seafood. It remains a must-visit for those looking for classic Mayfair dining, and these days is operated by Richard Caring’s ultra-successful Caprice Holdings group.
With a decadent, old-school feel, Scott’s definitely has the atmosphere you’d expect from a restaurant that’s in this part of town and which has this much history behind it. With its white tablecloths and a sense of hospitality that harks back to a bygone era of classic London dining, it remains a huge favourite for long lunches, business meetings and date nights alike.
The food menu here reads largely as you’d expect – fruits de mer that showcase some of the best of Britain’s coastlines and old-school dishes like shrimp cocktail and shellfish bisque. Some newer touches include seared scallops with yuzu kosho butter, and monkfish and tiger prawn masala. There’s also a cracking champagne list.
Reviews from the Web
Critic reviews
The Infatuation
When it comes to old-school restaurants, you always have to ask the question: has this place still got ‘it’. In the case of Scott’s, one of London’s oldest seafood restaurants, the answer is: sometimes. Scott’s is at its best on a summer’s day, out on the terrace, downing wine and oysters at someone else’s expense.
The Guardian
If restaurants were people, Scott's in Mayfair would be an old duchess, one who has just taken a bloody expensive trip to Harley Street for some serious cosmetic surgery.
Standard
Scott’s is chic, welcoming yet ever-so-slightly bland, similar to an upmarket cruise liner’s most formal dining room.
The Telegraph
An exceptionally pretty plate of sashimi is presented as slices of salmon and yellowtail interleaved with lotus crackers, edible flowers and wheels of green chilli like a sea nymph’s necklace.
The Independent
Even the menu at the new Scott's is more Ivy than The Ivy and as capricious as Le Caprice, with a something-for-everyone, seafood-driven list that goes from five different types of oysters to Dover sole meunière, and cod tongues with ceps (yes, of course, cod have tongues).
Time Out
For over 150 years, fabulous fish and shellfish in a grand, club-like, and appropriately pricey Mayfair setting; and good for celeb-spotting.
The Nudge
Despite the prices it attracts a fairly mixed crowd, from the couple flirting over oysters at the bar, to the family enjoying brunch and the businessmen sticking to a schoolboy tradition of fish and chips for their Friday lunch
- 20 Mount St
- W1K 2HE
- London
- +44 20 7495 7309
- Visit website
