L'Escargot Restaurant

"Get ready, because we’re about to use the words ‘dog’ and ‘crystal chandelier’ in the same sentence. How exciting. Legendary French restaurant, L’Escargot not only has velvet drapes, a crystal chandelier, and snails flambéed in pastis but it’s also dog-friendly. A quintessential Soho spot, this place is more beloved institution than restaurant. If you’re wondering what that means, it involves being around since 1896, Mick Jagger visits, and daily cartoons of snails. Sounds exactly like the kind of place you and your dog should be spending a Saturday night, non?" - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna

"Soho is London’s undisputed, heavyweight champion of the knockout lunch. L’Escargot—its oldest French restaurant—is one of the best places to do it. While dinner feels formal, it makes for a classy but still casual lunch that encourages you to get comfortable. If your idea of casual is ordering 12 snails alongside a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. And following that with some chateaubriand or confit duck should finish the job." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak

"A restaurant where snails are flambéed in pastis is our kind restaurant. Especially when there’s a crystal chandelier involved as well. L’Escargot is Soho’s oldest French institution and has the well-heeled regulars to match. A lunch or dinner here involves velvet drapes and plenty of butter, and always has the potential to start (or more likely finish) in the bar upstairs with a couple of well-made martinis. The food is just fine, but a reasonably priced prix fixe means that L’Escargot still consistently pulls in a crowd looking for a taste of old Soho. The French onion soup isn’t the most deeply flavoured but is passable, and the duck confit does the trick. Still, an order of its garlic and optionally booze-drenched snails feels essential and for a lazy lunch where nostalgia is more important than perfection, L’Escargot hits the mark." - Jake Missing

"A restaurant where snails are flambéed in pastis is our kind restaurant, especially when there’s a crystal chandelier involved as well. L’Escargot is Soho’s oldest French institution and it’s the closest quick and easy gets in this part of town, while still being 100% Soho. It’s a classic place with lots of velvet drapes and lots of butter. It makes for a classy but still casual lunch, especially when there are prix fixe options available. The pastis is optional. But, at the same time, it isn’t, if you know what we mean." - Oliver Feldman, Heidi Lauth Beasley, Jake Oliver, Rianne Shlebak

"The website looks steam-powered, and the decor is best described as Hogarth reimagined by Christian Grey, but L’Escargot’s still got it. It was given a sprucing up in 2014, but the menu is still much as it was when it first opened in 1927 — lobster bisque, snails flambéed with Ricard, tournedos Rossini. The three course prix fixe, available from midday right through to 7pm, is one of the most civilised ways to dispose of a £20 note in Soho." - Emma Hughes, James Hansen