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Noble Rot Lamb's Conduit

British, French, Wine Bars·
££££
·
Silver Award
·

SquareMeal Review of Noble Rot Lamb's Conduit

Silver Award

There’s something soothing about a visit to Noble Rot. As London restaurants become spendier and more glamorous by the month, Noble Rot feels more and more like a restaurant from a time gone by - there’s something about the dark wood, scrawled blackboard specials and flickering candles that feels like a comforting embrace, ushering you down into the depths of the welcoming bistro.

Noble Rot was a smash hit when it opened in 2015 - fast forward to 2022 and it has secured itself as a vital part of London’s restaurant fabric. The menu, like the surroundings, could be interpreted as a little austere, but the cooking is anything but. The signature slipsole, for example, arrives resplendent with no garnish - it’s just a slipsole, on a white plate, with a dribble of smoked butter puddling around the edges. It is sensational.

Forgive us for sounding like Gregg Wallace, but there really is nowhere to hide when you’re cooking food like this. There’s a plate of smoked eel with celeriac remoulade and a soft boiled egg, which is just the right side of runny. Palourde clams with chorizo and Manzanilla were equally delicious, though perhaps a little stingy on clam count, but a generous slab of chicken terrine is predictably excellent, rightly delivered with a pile of cornichons and crusty bread.

No restaurant has escaped the rising tide of overheads, but Noble Rot still feels like decent value for such good cookery. A bounteous plate of roast mallard comes with cime di rapa, a delicate slice of layered pommes Anna and a good spoon of quince puree, for £30. The set menus are still brilliant value as well. That’s important because this is a restaurant where you want to reserve some pocket money for wines; the wine list is a beast, and there are loads of top quality bins available by the glass. On all our visits, service has been perfectly-pitched - friendly, informative and refreshingly honest about wines. Noble Rot strips away all the smoke-and-mirrors and just delivers great food and drink - what more could you want?

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £30 - £49
Cuisines
British, French, Wine Bars
Ambience
Cool, Fun, Lively
Awards
SquareMeal London Top 100
Food Occasions
Dinner, Lunch
Alfresco And Views
Outside seating
Special Features
Counter dining, Vegetarian options
Perfect for
Dates, Special occasions
Food Hygiene Rating

About

Noble Rot is an award-winning restaurant and wine bar housed inside a townhouse on Bloomsbury’s Lamb’s Conduit Street. Opening its doors in 2015 and becoming a hit with Londoners pretty much instantaneously, this Parisienne-inspired spot is both comforting and timeless.  

At the front is the wine bar which offers relaxed seating where guests can drink as cheaply or expensively as they please. The wine list boasts a wealth of good-value and rare gems from leading producers all over the world and we don’t blame you if you need a helping hand to decide (simply ask a member of the team). There is also a bar menu available for guests who are really only visiting for the wine but want something tasty to nibble on while they drink. There are dessert and fortified wines too, for those who like bottles at the sweeter end of the scale. 

The a la carte menu is made up of a selection of French-British dishes. An excellent value set lunch menu comprises two or three courses and changes with the seasons, while the main menu features nibbles, starters, mains and desserts. Start with rock oysters or comte beignets with pickled walnut ketchup while you mull over what to order, followed by things like smoked duck and confit salad, burrata, peas and mint, roast hake with caper and brown butter or roast Landes guinea fowl with white beans and wild garlic pesto. Desserts are a similar mish-mash of Franglaise-inspired creations, from creme caramel with golden raisins and sauternes to rhubarb and custard. 

The restaurant and wine bar is from the duo behind Noble Rot wine magazine - Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew - which features an ever-rotating portfolio of edgy, fresh and exciting wine writing.


FAQs

Do you need to book a table?

Yes, we recommend you book a table online.

Helpful? 0

Can you order food at the bar?

Yes, there is a bar menu available with small sharing plates.

Helpful? 0

Is there another site?

Yes, there are other sites in Soho and Mayfair too.

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Location

51 Lamb's Conduit Street, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 3NB

020 7242 8963 020 7242 8963

Website

Opening Times

Lunch
Mon 12:00-14:30
Tue 12:00-14:30
Wed 12:00-14:30
Thu 12:00-14:30
Fri 12:00-14:30
Sat 12:00-14:30
Sun Closed
Dinner
Mon 18:00-21:30
Tue 18:00-21:30
Wed 18:00-21:30
Thu 18:00-21:30
Fri 18:00-21:30
Sat 18:00-21:30
Sun Closed

Reviews

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7 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Qian F

28 June 2024  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 5

Great value lunch set. The food and service are both very nice.

Lesley A

28 June 2019  
The best most eclectic wine list in London, superb knowledgable & friendly staff & a short menu of excellently produced seasonal food.

Lesley T

28 June 2018  
Great use of a venerable old wine bar, now turned into an excellent restaurant. Top class ingredients, knowledgeable staff, great service.

Jan D

27 June 2018  
A surprise find but couldn't fault anything. Lively atmosphere, relaxed ambience with knowledgeable and attentive service serving up delicious food but with an innovative twist. The lamb sweetbreads with pease and green peppercorn were delectable while roast lamb with a green olive tapenade was simply melt in the mouth gorgeous. But the real pull here is the wine list..OMG! Majoring in France, it has one of the best selections in town, in terms of both choice and price (a rare combo in London) but still manages to find room for a few oddities, including a few beauties from the Dalamara winery in Macedonia! Make sure this place is on your hit list.

Tim A

28 May 2017  
The wine bar environment makes for a relaxed atmosphere. Inevitably, a well chosen wine list at reasonable prices improves the mood. Excellently cooked food makes for a perfect evening. Their sticky toffee pudding had a friend purring - the first time in very many meals together.

John H

04 May 2017  
Great food and an excellent wine list. A little dark and dingy.

Lynn W

24 January 2017  
Food & Drink 5
Service 4
Atmosphere 4
Value 5
Excellent wine bar
I'm still a fan of wine bars even though I can remember when they were fashionable last time. This one does not disappoint, with an excellent choice of wines and great food. We chose the wine first, a delicious Chablis 1er Cru, then decided what to eat. Bread and butter is terrific, rich spongy focaccia, crusty sourdough and dense grainy soda bread all so good we wanted to eat them all. Starters of creamy burrata with tangy nutty romesco sauce, and duck liver parfait with crunchy toasted sourdough were very good. The Cornish turbot braised in oxidised Chassagne-Montrachet sounded odd, we're not normally fans of oxidised wine but we took the risk and this was terrific, delicate fish with potatoes and leeks, with the creamy white wine sauce. This was all so good we had to try the desserts, the sticky toffee pudding & cream cheese ice cream was suitably sticky but not too heavy, and Noble Rot bakewell-type tart & roast pear was also very good. Sigh. Lots of people around were having a good time, and we're already thinking about when we can go back.
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020 7242 8963 020 7242 8963

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