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Scott's reclaims fashionable restaurant crown
Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Affairs Editor1 Nov 2007
It was one of London's most fashionable nightspots in the Forties and Fifties.
Now Scott's has reclaimed its crown less than a year after reopening.
The Mayfair venue - described as "pure foodie theatre" - comes top of a list of the capital's coolest restaurants in the Harper's Bazaar & Moet Going Out Guide 2008.
Now owned by Caprice Holdings, which also owns The Ivy and J Sheekey, the restaurant first opened in 1851.
A century later, it was known as a hangout for James Bond author Ian Fleming, who, like his spy character, asked for martinis, "shaken, not stirred".
However, Scott's fell out of favour and closed in 2004.
It reopened in December last year after a £5 million refurbishment and the seafood bar now vies with The Ivy as the place to spot famous diners.
The success of Scott's seals the revival of Mayfair as the hot quarter of London.
Guide editor Sophie Denning said: "It's where power, glamour and pleasure come together. You've got the auction houses and book dealers giving gravitas to the hedge fund zillionaires, who in turn love a bit of Bond Street frivolity."
Of Scott's, she said: "It looks gorgeous, it exudes confidence, and the simple pleasures of oysters and Dover sole are very London. Also, like the Wolseley, it's not such a performance that you can't make it a regular."
Other "cool" restaurants in the guide include The Ivy, The Wolseley in Piccadilly, Tom's Kitchen in South Kensington, Locanda Locatelli in Mayfair and E&O in Notting Hill.
The best places for afternoon tea include 300-year-old Fortnum & Mason, where a £24 million refurbishment has been completed, Artesian at the Langham Hotel near Oxford Circus and Yauatcha in Soho. For breakfast, top tables include Cecconi's in Mayfair and Clarke's in Notting Hill.
