
Established in 1927, L’Escargot is Soho’s oldest and most celebrated French restaurant. Housed in a charming Georgian townhouse, featuring classic French cuisine in an elegant yet relaxed setting. Signature dishes include garlic snails, lobster bisque, Dover sole, Tournedos “Rossini” and soufflés. There is an excellent prix fixe menu perfect for pre-theatre dining and an extensive wine list of French wines, with many reasonably priced bargains. L’Escargot has a large eclectic art collection including works by Matisse, Dali, Blake, Vivienne Westwood, and Lubaina Himid. There are four private dining rooms and a cocktail bar.
London’s oldest French restaurant offering fine-dining classics in a grand Georgian townhouse.
Hours
| Sunday | 12–4 PM |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 12–10:30 PM |
| Wednesday | 12–10:30 PM |
| Thursday | 12–10:30 PM |
| Friday | 12–10:30 PM |
| Saturday | 12–10:30 PM |
Address and Contact Information
Address: 48 Greek St, London W1D 4EF, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7439 7474
Website: http://www.lescargot.co.uk/
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Reservations: opentable.co.uk
Photo Gallery
Related Web Results
L’Escargot | Best French Restaurant in Soho, London
L’Escargot – London Restaurant Reviews – Hardens
L’Escargot Menu | French Restaurant
Reviews
➡️ This is the oldest French restaurant in London – last pic showcases the venue in all its glory.
This place whisks you directly to Paris but with incredible attentive, warm and welcoming service. The food was insanely good, high quality ingredients used to execute the most delicious French dishes. Their onion soup was perfect, their L’escargot (snails to you and I) were scrumptious (don’t knock them till you tried them!), and as for their duck, it was soft, succulent and full of flavour. Perfection!
@lescargotsoho
#lescargot #frenchfood #londonfood #londonrestaurant #londonfoodguide
The escargots are a must-order — rich garlic butter but perfectly balanced. The French onion soup is deeply comforting and full of flavour. We visited on a Sunday and had the Sunday roast, which was cooked beautifully with great flavour and texture. Desserts were also excellent, especially the crème brûlée and chocolate soufflé.
A great place for a proper French meal, whether for a special occasion or a relaxed, refined evening.
It was a cold, rainy London winter day and walking into a warm dining room with classic French décor and a real fireplace was honestly perfect. The atmosphere feels very old-school French — cosy, elegant, and a bit grand without being stuffy.
Food was excellent across the board. We had the classic escargots (a must), foie gras terrine with Muscat jelly, beef fillet with foie gras and truffle, and half a lobster — all very well executed and satisfying. The crème brûlée was also spot on: crisp top, super creamy inside.
A special thank you to Rachel, who looked after us so well. She was incredibly warm and welcoming, explained the menu beautifully, and made the whole experience feel relaxed and enjoyable rather than formal. Service really made a difference to the night.
What also surprised me is how much space the restaurant has — multiple floors, private rooms, even a bar upstairs. It feels almost like a private members’ club hidden inside a historic house.
Not a trendy or flashy place, just a timeless French restaurant that knows exactly what it’s doing. Would happily come back, especially in winter.
The evening started poorly when staff initially told us our chosen dish “wasn’t included” before checking. There was no sommelier experience – after being given a glass of champagne we were simply asked to choose from the by-the-glass section ourselves. While the wines were very good, this wasn’t what was advertised.
The snails and foie gras starters were genuinely excellent, raising our hopes. However, both mains (fillet mignon with foie gras, dauphinoise potatoes and spinach) were severely underseasoned. The foie gras lacked the flavour of my starter, and the potatoes and spinach tasted bland. When we asked for salt, we were brought two empty salt pots in succession before finally getting one that worked.
Service was inattentive throughout. We requested tap water but struggled to get refills as they’d removed the bottle. The desserts (chocolate soufflé and pear tart) were similarly disappointing, lacking depth of flavour. We were never offered the included tea or coffee and, frankly, we were ready to leave by then.
It was hard not to notice that smaller tables like ours received noticeably less attention and care than larger parties during the evening.
For £250, this should have felt special. Instead, it felt like going through the motions. Such a shame.