From Cardinals to Wolseley

I walk past it all the time, but had never visited until last night – and this morning I’ve got a naughty midweek hangover to show for it. The Wolseley is a truly great restaurant, though – deliberately retro, it recreates dishes of the 30s and 40s like dover sole and tartine foie gras.
The best thing about this place is its sense of class. You can almost imagine yourself in some utopian Europe of the last century, flappers and debutantes doing the Charleston, tuxedoed men with moustaches talking seriously about empires and colonies between lengthy draws on elegant cigarettes. Airships gliding past above, the tinkling of ivories on their entertainment decks just audible. Retired colonels regaling the room with tales of tigers under billiard tables. Even the glasses and cutlery are winderfully retro, heavy crystal goblets and splines on the forks far longer than they need to be.
All in all, the Wolseley has a sense of confidence and pride that doesn’t exist in many places today. Sigh….