Return to Office, Part ∞. Plus Critics Wrap & a Champagne Dinner at Claridge's.

How do we replace the meetings we’re already having with better meetings? Tom Parker Bowles at Oma. Andy Hayler on Akoko. Hit: Spring. Miss: The Swan.

May 27, 2024

Everyone ready for the General Election? For an American in the UK, the 4th of July election date is funny for reasons that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I’m looking forward to casting my vote.

I hope you all had a fantastic bank holiday weekend, and got a chance to eat something interesting. Drop me a line with your favourite new spot.

Office Attendance: Mandates Aren’t Working

As of March 2024, daily trips on the Tube on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were still down nearly 20% from pre-pandemic levels, according to an FT analysis. Compared to other cities, London is in the middle. New York has been the slowest to return. Mexico City has been the most robust.

Employers have been ordering staff to return to the office. Boots recently said they want staff in the office five days each week. Employers and landlords are both tracking attendance more carefully, using data from security gates and implementing some pretty weird policies.

And it certainly feels to me that the middle of the week is busier in town. But unsurprisingly, employer mandates don’t seem to be working very well.

Why?

Because ordering people to do things is never very effective and because more than ever, we are over-scheduled. From the moment our day starts, until the moment we log off, our diaries are filled with one “meeting” after another. Breaks are few, and the opportunities for constructive in-office chit-chat are limited. The brilliant Julia Hobsbawm has more on this, and some smart suggestions for addressing it.

But if we’re just going to be talking to people in scheduled meetings, most of which involve at least a few colleagues on Teams (or whatever), why bother coming in? Why invest the time to commute? What’s the value? It’s hard to justify.

This week, I was talking about Professional Lunch with some new friends. Their response to my suggestion that we should spend more quality time together over lunch was, “Sounds very French,” and a knowing smile that suggested I had lost my marbles.

Reflecting later, I realised that I hadn’t pitched the idea very well. My suggestion that we should get together for breakfast, coffee, lunch, tea, chips’n’dip (Thanks, Holly!), drinks, or dinner is not about embracing the French concept of the inviolate lunch hour.

We should replace meetings we’re already having with better meetings.

Ditch the soulless conference room or the contrived “team space,” complete with cardboard couches, and go somewhere else. Somewhere more interesting. Somewhere with food. Somewhere with a view.

Whereas Julia’s suggestions for reordering your life through better diary management require fairly substantial professional behaviour change, my suggestion requires almost none:

The next time a meeting goes in your diary for 1230p or 1p, just reply back and say: Can we do this over lunch instead?

And if there are UK-based colleagues or clients on the scheduler, include them in the ask. Your invitation might give them an excuse to come to the office / town / whatever.

You can be absolutely sure that the time you spend together will be more fun, productive, and worthwhile than the alternative meeting in the conference room with a nasty Pret sandwich hastily consumed afterwards.

What do you think about this? Are return-to-work mandates making work better? Are there are other things we can do to improve the quality of our time together? Please let me know!

Hits & Misses

Mini-reviews of places that were either (a) good, but not quite good enough to do a full review and add to the Guide or (b) Had a flaw or two.

Hit: Spring

I am ashamed to be so late getting to Spring for the first time. I had the chance to try it this week while attending a private dinner, and was blown away by the quality of the food and the space. Chef Sky Gingell offers a stunning menu of the freshest produce at dinner and uses any leftovers to develop a bespoke set lunch menu for the next day. The food and service were both fantastic, and I really can’t wait to get back and try the lunch menu. The space, in Somerset House, was a stunning beauty, and felt like a modernised take on a room that an ancient Duke of Somerset would have recognised and appreciated. Its Michelin star is very well earned. If you do get to Spring for lunch I would love to hear more about their set-lunch option.

Miss: The Swan

The Swan is a gastro pub attached to the Globe Theatre in Bankside. As a pre-show option, it is obviously convenient. Sadly, for a Professional Lunch, I’m sorry to report that it doesn't quite work. Let’s start with the good news: The food is excellent. I went for the Dorset Crab starter followed by the Roasted Cod. The heaped serving of crab was well-paired with citrus and fennel was delicious. The bad news: The Swan is just too full of tourists. When we arrived (on a Monday — not traditionally a top tourist day), we were asked whether we were booked for lunch or afternoon tea. It was 1:00 pm. Not exactly tea time. And when a neighbouring table did go for tea — exchanging for a voucher purchased through a tour company — the service included a plate of fish and chips. And that, as they say, was that.

Critics Wrap-Up

Giles Coren (Times) hits Jincheng Alley in Holborn for some very authentic Sichuan cuisine, including a bowl of delicious Kung Pao Chicken.
Andy Hayler (independent critic) is back on form with a review of Akoko, the West African place in SoHo. (It’s from the same team as Akara in Borough Market, which I reviewed a couple weeks ago.) “We were so impressed with the jollof rice that we asked for more of it again, this time coming with the next dish of beef tongue that was slow-cooked for 18 hours and then grilled with suya marinade.” … “I was very impressed by Akoko, where the standard of food throughout was high and contained real highlights.”
Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) is the latest to visit Oma in Borough market. “A five star menu fit for the gods.”
Marina O’Loughlin (independent critic) checks out Cloth in Farringdon. “Wine importer owners, smart chef and an aesthetic that just hums with welcome: lovely.” Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) also visits Cloth and glows: “Barely open a week, Cloth was already on the way to becoming something of a scene, and it's easy to see why. The food is fantastic.”
Amanda David (Chatting Food) tries No. 50 Cheyenne in Chelsea. “It's a very chic and pretty dining room on a quiet road, which makes the meal feel even more of a special treat. Service was impeccable; attentive but not at all intrusive; all in all, a relaxed and delightful lunch which is an absolute steal.”
William Sitwell (Telegraph) picks up the Kent Coast theme, visiting Deal and declaring “the Blue Pelican, simply presented, swirls with thoughtful rigour. A rather fabulous achievement. In Deal.” Wish we had tried it.
Charlotte Ivers (Sunday Times) follows Tanya Gold to a new branch of Ottelenghi, though this one is at Bicester Village in Oxfordshire. Charlotte finds the experience… disappointing.
Grace Dent (Guardian) was in Glasgow. Nick Lander (jancisrobinson.com) was in New York. Jay Rayner (Observer) was in Cheltenham. Jimi Famurewa (Standard) and Tim Hayward (FT) were both either away or got bumped due to election news.

Champagne at Claridge’s

Sometimes you just wind up on the right list. In my case, it’s usually by accident. Last week, I was lucky to be invited along to Claridge’s first ever wine dinner, with special guest Eric Rodez, winemaker at his eponymous estate in Champagne. Eric is part poet, farmer, and artist, but mostly, 100% genius, and it was a tremendous experience tasting his wonderful wines and listening to his story.

The new-ish Claridge’s Restaurant has risen from the ashes of Davies & Brook, the two-star place which collapsed when New York-based head chef Daniel Humm (also of 11 Madison Park fame) declared his intention to make the restaurant 100% vegan. Claridge’s was delighted for Humm to pursue his culinary vision, but preferred he do so elsewhere.

As a result, the new spot just wasn’t really on my radar. But to be fair, the food was excellent, and I’d be happy to go for a proper meal. There is something quintessentially London about Claridge’s, so this new restaurant may belong in the Guide, perhaps in the “Visiting Americans” section. I’m going to contemplate that a little more. For now, it’s certainly worth a try. And if you see any of Eric’s champagne, it’s just the best. Grab some if you can. And a massive thanks to the amazing Claire for the invitation.

That’s it for this week’s update. Wednesday’s review will focus on a low-profile Michelin-starred place that deserves greater acclaim. See you then. In the meantime, if you’re enjoying professional lunch, please subscribe if you haven’t already and share with friends.