"Dinner at Wiltons comes with a big fat side of old-school British charm. At the seafood spot in St James’s, oysters are on every table—including a half dozen for the solo diners who are here every week—and the staff look like they walked out of a Hawes & Curtis catalogue, from 50 years ago. Suited, booted, and serious, they’ll talk you through the difference between a native and rock oyster, scrape any crumbs off your table between courses, and roll a carving trolley around to show off their roast leg of lamb, beef wellington, or whatever other impressive piece of meat is on that day. photo credit: Alex Maguire But our favourite thing—Wiltons fish pie—can be found on the regular menu. It’s got the perfect ratio of crispy-edged mash to chunks of salmon, cod, and halibut. And the crisp soft-boiled egg on top is, like many other things in this restaurant, an unnecessary, but strongly appreciated detail that takes this spot from good to great. The velvet green booths have strong scandalous three-hour debrief potential. In fact it feels like the kind of room where you might see politicians shaking hands under the table and a lot of the diners probably voted Churchill in for a second time. But Wiltons’ charm isn’t about a buzz or a hard-to-get reservation, it’s a London classic where the old-school touches make it timeless. Food Rundown photo credit: Rianne Shlebak Selection Of Oysters Look around and you’ll see oysters on almost every table. It’s because this spot has been known for excellent oysters since the mid-1700s. Get the selection, douse in the tangy mignonette, and enjoy. photo credit: Rianne Shlebak Wiltons Fish Pie The mashed potato on this fish pie looks like it was piped on, blob by blob, before being crisped up in the oven, and topped with a breadcrumbed soft-boiled egg. All of that results in one of the best-looking fish pies we’ve had the luck of eating. It tastes even better than it looks, and after a bite of the egg with the mash and fish, we thought about coming back just for this. video credit: Rianne Shlebak Wiltons Bread And Butter Pudding A huge slab of fluffy, brioche bread and butter pudding that could very well be shared by four people. Specks of vanilla make the custard fragrant and sweet, and the pudding itself is light, but extremely filling at the same time." - Rianne Shlebak
