Rules

Game from the Lartington estate and other dishes

Game is the speciality. Much of it comes from the restaurant's own estate, Lartington, in Teesdale in the north of England, and in autumn and winter it leads the menu. Steak and kidney pudding and oysters are long-standing favourites, a nod to the restaurant's start as an oyster bar. Classic British meat and fish dishes fill out the rest of the card, which changes with the seasons. Ask the staff which game is in when you sit down.

Prices are upper mid range to high for London. Service is traditional and attentive.

Writers, actors and the restaurant's long history

Henry Irving and Laurence Olivier dined here, and novelists including Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Dorothy L. Sayers and Dick Francis put Rules into their books. Its long ties to the theatre mean the room fills before and after performances, so leave plenty of time if you have a curtain to catch.

Private dining rooms and the cocktail bar

Rules has passed through four families and the reigns of ten monarchs since 1798. For a private meal, the Graham Greene Room and the John Betjeman Room take parties for dinners and meetings. Upstairs in the same building, the Cocktail Bar is a good place for a drink before the theatre, and the Winter Gardens add another space for drinks. A small shop on the website sells Rules merchandise.

Sources: Rules official site. Facts checked November 2026.