Wiltons Restaurant

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Over 280 Years on Jermyn Street

When George William Wilton set up his shellfish barrow near Haymarket in 1742, London's streets were still alive with hay merchants, songbird sellers and mulled wine traders. That modest oyster stall grew, generation by generation, into one of the most enduring addresses in British dining. Today, Wiltons at 55 Jermyn Street, St. James's, carries that same lineage — and the same unwavering commitment to the finest British produce, season to season.

The restaurant's history reads like a novel. By 1868, Wiltons had earned a Royal Warrant as Purveyor of Oysters to Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales. In 1942 — exactly two centuries after the founding — the restaurant changed hands in one of hospitality's more memorable transactions: the then-owner, Mrs Bessie Leal, sold it to a regular customer, Mr Olaf Hambro, who simply asked for it to be added to the end of his dinner bill. He promptly brought in Mr Jimmy Marks, the Oysterman from Bucks Club, whose influence shaped the institution's character for decades. Marks dressed his waitresses as nannies, deliberately evoking the nursery alongside the club — a touch of English eccentricity that became part of the Wiltons legend.

The Kitchen and the Room

Head Chef Daniel Kent leads the kitchen today, supported by House Manager Michael Stokes and Head Sommelier Monica Bacchiocchi — whose cellar earned Wiltons the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, a recognition that speaks to the seriousness of the drinks programme. The wine list is substantial enough to warrant its own dedicated PDF.

The menus reflect the restaurant's identity squarely: an à la carte, a seasonal menu, a dedicated Oyster Bar, and the Carving Trolley — that last detail alone signals a certain kind of British dining that has largely disappeared elsewhere. The dress code (no shorts, no open-toed shoes, no graphic tees for gentlemen) is enforced without apology, and feels entirely in keeping with a room that has served English aristocrats and foreign dignitaries for centuries.

A London Institution

Wiltons is, in its own words, known for "the finest seafood and game" — and that dual identity, shellfish and field sport, is as true now as it was when the oyster barrow first rolled through Haymarket. The Oyster Bar remains the heart of the place, a direct line back to 1742. For anyone serious about classic British cuisine in London, this is one of the few addresses that genuinely earns the word institution.