Randall & Aubin - Soho

Randall and Aubin has bags of character. Originally it was a Victorian butcher's shop and the best of the original shop features like the tiled walls have been retained whilst the newer touches give it a modern twist. Many visitors opt for the champagne and oysters but this place offers so much more besides. The menu varies from seafood delights such as whole dressed crab and roast lobster to sirloin steak with excellent Béarnaise sauce and desserts to die for; their 'plateau de fruits de mer' is justly famed, at £26 per head (minimum 2), with whole crab, selection of rock oysters, giant prawns, Atlantic shrimps, diver picked scallops, whelks, cherry stone clams, langoustine and green lip mussels. Service is fast but friendly with an emphasis on quick turnover but this only adds to the buzz of the place. There is another, but very different, branch in the Fulham Road.