F2 - St James Piccadilly - What to See and Where to Eat and Drink (1.6 km)
- philip carey
- Jul 9, 2023
- 11 min read
Updated: Dec 22, 2024
Start at Piccadilly Circus Station
Finish at Green Park Station
THE EXPERIENCE
Discover the hidden areas of St James Piccadilly and its special eating and drinking haunts.
This route is located within the historic Court of St James, which used to serve the Kings and Queens of England and Scotland when they resided at St James Palace. It takes you on an ‘Eat, Drink and be Merry’ tour from Piccadilly Circus to Green Park via Jermyn Street, St James’s Palace. St James’s Street and Piccadilly passing some of London’s most famous restaurants and hotels.
The route is excellent for history, iconic sights, museums, gentleman’s clubs, hotels, narrow streets, art galleries, auction houses, narrow street, and places to eat, drink and be merry.
BEST TIME
Morning- This route will be reasonably quiet in the morning but busier around Green Park. The best time to explore the route is early morning when the lighting is at its best and few people are around. It is also a great way to discover places for breakfast.
Day - This route will get busier along Piccadilly, Piccadilly Circus and Green Park
Evening - This route will be busy around Piccadilly Circus
ROUTE OVERVIEW
This 1.6 km route It takes you on an ‘Eat, Drink and be Merry’ tour from Piccadilly Circus along Jermyn Street, and then explores the streets and squares of St James’s Piccadilly before emerging onto Pall Mall by St James’s Palace. It then heads up the wide thoroughfares of St James’s Street and Piccadilly to Green Park.
See the route at speed (2:10)
Use this to see what the route looks like as if you were doing it at speed and to make you more familiar with what you will see along the way.
GOOGLE AND STRAVA MAPS
Use 'My Google Maps' to explore this route's venues. If you are using a mobile device, the map can help you find the start point for the route, navigate to places of interest, and show your position on the map.
What to see and places to eat, drink and be merry.
What to See List
1 Green Park
2 Piccadilly by the Ritz
3 Dukes and the Stafford Hotels – St James’s Place
4 St James’s Palace
5 Pall Mall and its Private Member’s Clubs
6 King Street, Bury Street & Duke Street St James’s
7 Royal Academy of Arts
8 St James’s Square Chatham House and the London Library
9 Jermyn Street and Gentleman’s Shopping
10 Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street
St James's Piccadilly - Pubs and Bars
Many bars and pubs are along the route, with more nearby.
Here is a listing of nearby pubs and bars.
The Red Lion – by St James’s Palace
23 Crown Passage, St. James's, London SW1Y 6PP
The Red Lion Mayfair– near Jermyn Street
2 Duke of York St, St. James's, London SW1Y 6JP
The Clarence
4 Dover St, Greater, London W1S 4LB
Goat Tavern Mayfair
3 Stafford St, London W1S 4RP
Golden Lion
25 King St, St. James's, London SW1Y 6QY
Chequers Tavern
16 Duke St, St. James's, London SW1Y 6DB
The Lyric
37 Great Windmill St, London W1D 7LT
Three Crowns
19 Babmaes St, St. James's, London SW1Y 6HD
St James Tavern
45 Great Windmill St, London W1D 7NE
The Queen's Head
15 Denman St, London W1D 7HN
Blue Posts
6 Bennet St, St. James's, London SW1A 1RE
BARS
5th View
203-205 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9HD
The Rivoli Bar
The Ritz, 150 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9BR
Davy's at St James'
Crown Passage, Pall Mall, St. James's, London SW1Y 6QY
Berry Bros. & Rudd
63 Pall Mall, St. James's, London SW1Y 5HZ
Pukka Bar @ Chutney Mary
72-73 St James's St, St. James's, London SW1A 1PH
Dukes Bar
35 St James's Pl, St. James's, London SW1A 1NY
The American Bar
16-18 St James's Pl, St. James's, London SW1A 1NJ
Downstairs at The Dilly
21 Piccadilly, London W1J 0BH
Shenkman Bar
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
Bollinger Bar
41A Burlington Arcade, London W1J 0QF
The Donovan Bar
33 Albemarle St, London W1S 4BP
The May Fair Bar
Stratton St, London W1J 8LT
Bar Américain
20 Sherwood St, London W1F 7ED
Jack Solomons Club
41 Great Windmill St, London W1D 7NB
St James Bar Sofitel London
6 Waterloo Pl, St. James's, London SW1Y 4AN
St James's Piccadilly - Places to Eat
There is a wide selection of places to eat along the route. These links will help you find the ones that suit your taste and pocket.
Open Table London prides itself on bringing together people and the restaurants they love in the moments that matter, offering dining options, experiences, and offers.
The Fork—This is a Tripadvisor company that relies as much on its communities of users as its communities of restaurateurs. You can search by price, cuisine, rating, and special offers.
Hardens – This is probably the UK's most comprehensive independent restaurant guide, with reviews written by its members. It ranks each place by its food, services and ambience and has extensive search capabilities.
Design My Night This site is designed to help you discover and unlock secret, new and unique city experiences, from events to bars and restaurants, but it is also a site to help plan and book online. It has categories for restaurants, bars, pubs, clubs, and 'what's on'.
Afternoon tea This is an Afternoon Tea guide to help you find the 'perfect venue for afternoon tea' in London and the UK. It provides descriptions, offers, booking facilities and an extensive search option.
St James's Piccadilly - Things to Do
This area has several things to do along the route or nearby, including many theatres, cinemas, and museums. Here are some of them.
Spencer House
27 St James's Pl, St. James's, London SW1A 1NR
Royal Academy of Arts
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
Shepherd Market
Shepherd Market, London W1J 7QS
Her Majesty's Theatre
Haymarket, St. James's, London SW1Y 4QL
Theatre Royal Haymarket
18 Suffolk St, London SW1Y 4HT
The Harold Pinter Theatre
Panton St, London SW1Y 4DN
Prince of Wales Theatre
Coventry St, London W1D 6AS
www.princeofwalestheatre.co.uk
The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience
22 - 32 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 7EU
Lyric Theatre
29 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 7ES
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Mall, St. James's, London SW1Y 5AH
Mall Galleries
The Mall, St. James's, London SW1Y 5AS
Empire Cinemas - London Haymarket
63-65 Haymarket, St. James's, London SW1Y 4RL
The Criterion Theatre
218-223 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9HR
PHOTO GALLERY
This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Double-click to see the image in full size.
HISTORY & INTERESTING FACTS
Around Piccadilly Circus
Eros or Anteros
The Statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus is of his twin brother, Anteros, the god of requited love (literally "love returned"). It was the first public statue to be cast in aluminium – a very valuable and new material when it was made in 1893. It stands on top of the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, named after the great Victorian philanthropist Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury.
Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus was built as part of the Regent Street development of 1816. It’s called a circus because it was a turning circle for horse-drawn carriages on their way down Piccadilly or toward St James’s Palace. The two landmarks here are the Shaftsbury Memorial Fountain (Eros) and the ‘neon’ lights – Britain’s version of Times Square in New York. They were installed in 1908 and used to go all around Piccadilly Circus.
Around Jermyn Street
"Beau” Brummell
A statue of George “Beau” Brummell (1778-1840) stands on Jermyn Street at its junction with Piccadilly Arcade. He was a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, and is credited with introducing the modern men’s suit, worn with a necktie.
Jermyn Street is almost exclusively aimed at gentlemen’s clothing and the luxury market.
Jermyn Street and Bury Street
Bury Street, which runs north-to-south from Jermyn Street to King Street, takes its name from Bury St Edmunds, which was the country seat of the Jermyn family. The street was built in the 1670s.
Henry Jermyn (who was an Earl and Ambassador to Paris and The Hague in the 17th century) was tasked with transforming St James’ Field, then undeveloped land owned by King Charles II, into housing. He achieved this, and the area, now known as King Street, Charles Street, Duke Street, and York Street, became a popular and thriving area that helped to make the West End of London what it is today.
Notable residents have included writer Jonathan Swift, writer and politician Richard Steele, William Brummell, father of Beau Brummell, and the statesman Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool. Today, at its Jermyn Street end, Bury Street contains Turnbill & Asser for bespoke shirts, Quaglino’s and Ginza restaurants. It also contains several art galleries to its south by Kings Street.
Cavendish Hotel
Cavendish Hotel is a modern 4-star, 230-bedroom luxury hotel in St James's, rebuilt in 1966.
From the early 1800s, the hotel operated under the name "Miller's Hotel" and was renamed "The Cavendish" in 1836.
The hotel gained prominence between 1902 and 1952 under the management of the self-made hotelier and socialite Rosa Lewis, also known as the "Queen of Cooks" and "The Duchess of Jermyn Street".
Rosa was a reformer and innovator and soon turned four existing buildings into one hotel with a hundred rooms and focused on her cooking. During those times, Rosa Lewis cooked regularly for the major figures of the times, who were delighted by her recipes and her hospitality. Some of her clients included King Edward VII, Lord Northcliffe, Lord Kitchener, and the Duke of Windsor.
The hotel’s main entrance is on Jermyn Street, and a side entrance is on Duke Street, St James's
Fortnum and Mason
Fortnum and Mason is the King’s Grocer. It was formed in 1707 by William Fortnum, a footman to Queen Anne, and his landlord, Hugh Mason. Today, these two gentlemen still met every hour by the clock at the front of the building. Fortnum and Mason gave food to the soldiers during the Peninsular War (1808-1814) and sent tea to hospitals that Florence Nightingale worked in during the Crimean War (1852-56). Fortnum and Mason were the first European shop to sell Heinz canned food in 1886.
Around Green Park
The Ritz
The main entrance to The Ritz is on Arlington Street, just off Piccadilly. The hotel was opened by the hotelier César Ritz in 1906 and has always been known as a symbol of high society and luxury. It is also one of the world’s most prestigious and best-known and has 111 rooms and 25 suites. It also has a casino in the basement. The Ritz’s Palm Court hosts the famous “Tea at the Ritz.”
The Stafford
The Stafford is a five-star hotel tucked away at the end of St James's Place. St James's Place was first developed around 1694, and its houses were well-built and were inhabited by the gentry.
From the 19th century, the buildings around 16-18 St James’s Place became the Richmond Club Chambers, the Green’s Private Hotel and St. James’s Palace Hotel. The Stafford Club, originally housed in number 18, was added in 1886, and in 1912, the hotel was extended to include number 16 and became known as the Stafford Hotel.
The hotel’s American Bar belongs to the great tradition of the American cocktail bar. It became renowned in London and Paris during the 1920s and 30s and remains one of the longest-surviving American bars in London.
The Stafford wine cellars, built by Francis Godolphin in the 17th century, house over 8,000 bottles of wines and Champagnes, including many rare and precious vintages.
The cellars also host an informal museum, with artefacts left by Canadian and American servicemen and women during World War II.
Dukes Hotel
Dukes Hotel, now known as Dukes, is a luxury 90-room hotel at 35 and 36 St James's Place, London, founded in 1908. It is just off St James’s Place, in what used to be called Cleveland Court. Cleveland Court was named after Cleveland House, the London residence of the Duchess of Cleveland, a mistress of Charles II.
Previous guests have included the composer Edward Elgar and various members of the British royal family, including the Queen Mother and Princess Diana. There is a rumour that a secret tunnel went from St James’s Palace to Dukes Bar.
James Bond author Ian Fleming also frequented Dukes Bar, where he decided that Bond's favourite drink would be a vodka martini, "shaken, not stirred.” The Vesper Martini is Dukes Bar’s "signature drink" and includes five shots of gin.
St James's Palace
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, located off the Mall by Marlborough Road. The Palace was built in 1536 by Henry VIII on the site of St James’s Leper Hospital. Much of the original red-brick building, including the Chapel Royal and the gatehouse, still survives today. When a fire destroyed Whitehall Palace in 1698, St James’s Palace became the official home of the monarch until Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace in 1837. His Majesty King Charles III was proclaimed King at St James’s Palace.
Green Park
We’ve got King Charles II to thank for The Green Park. He created it in 1660, as he wanted to walk from Hyde Park to St. James’s Park without leaving royal soil. He soon fell in love with his new park, taking a daily walk – or ‘constitutional’ – right here. That’s how nearby Constitution Hill got its name.
Green Park is one of the Royal Parks, and its station is the closest to Buckingham Palace and the south side of Mayfair. In the 17th century, King Charles II’s wife demanded that all the flowers be removed from Green Park after she caught him picking flowers for one of his mistresses. The park still has no formal flowerbeds apart from daffodils in the spring.
Around St James's Square
Christie’s
James Christie conducted the first sale in London on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766.
Its main premises are here on King Street, St James's, where it has been based since 1823. Christie’s also has salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Amsterdam, Geneva, Shanghai, and Dubai, and in 2022 Christie's sold $8.4 billion in art and luxury goods, an all-time high for any auction house.
King Street was named after Charles II, and the street is first mentioned in rate books in 1673, having been known before as Charles Street.
St James’s Square
St James’s Square has Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture and was developed in 1720. It quickly became one of London’s most fashionable residential streets as it was conveniently located for the royal palaces of Whitehall and St James.
Lichfield House, at number 15, was designed by James Stuart in 1766 and later named after Thomas Anson, the 1st Earl of Lichfield.
The London Library
The London Library is an independent lending library established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. The London Library is a self-supporting, independent institution and registered charity whose sole aim is the advancement of education, learning, and knowledge. It was incorporated by Royal Charter on 13 June 1933.
Chatham House
Chatham House, known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, has a mission to provide commentary on world events and offer solutions to global challenges. It is the originator of the Chatham House Rule, where participants are free to use the information received. However, the rules state that neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. Previously, this 18th-century house had been occupied by three British Prime Ministers, including William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.
VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA
Click on the picture below to go on a 360 virtual tour of the shopping areas and look around.
Use the route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the area and going on a virtual tour.
Browse the gallery to find out what you can see along the way.
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