After 113 years, the revamped Richoux on Piccadilly is suddenly a genuinely nice place to eat
Richoux, 172 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EJ (020 3375 1000). Starters £6.95-£12.95, mains £8.95-£19.95, desserts £6.75-£7.95, wines from £24
The day after I had dinner at Richoux, I went on Google Street View in an attempt to answer a simple question: what was it specifically about the place that had made me stride past for so many years, my nose in the air, convinced it was unworthy of my attention? I found it in an image from August 2014. There was a sandwich board outside on the pavement of London’s Piccadilly offering “Any breakfast with a hot drink and juice for £9.95”. It was illustrated by a grimly anaemic, grossly unappetising photo of eggs Benedict. Under its dollop of pale, industrial-looking hollandaise, it presented as something you might wish to treat with a broad-spectrum antibiotic, rather than eat. It all looked rather desperate and needy.
