The Lockhart

Un resto américain assez classique de très bonne facture. Accueil sympa. Pain au mais juste mortel. Les vins sont classiques mais très bons.

The food here is calorifically good. Typical southern US fare coming out of an upmarket kitchen into a lovely space. The restaurant itself is very comfortable, they’ve not squeezed in too many tables and the décor relaxing.
The beef short rib was splendid, beautifully cooked, juicy. The muffaletta sandwich really tasty and all the sides that came with a decent size and price. Finally the fried chicken looked and tasted amazing, if a little expensive at £12.50 for a two piece. Then the finale, cornbread, a little sweeter than I’d had before but still very very good.
The service was polite, not overbearing and came with a smile.
Overall I was impressed, very full as well!

We came here last night for Thanksgiving dinner and I swear it felt like I was back home with my family’s good old Southern cooking. The food was fantastic and the service was amazing.
They started off by walking us through the menu verbally and made sure we were ready for our drinks before bringing them out — sparkling wine for my husband and an absolutely delicious peach iced tea for me.
For the starter they brought out a delicious spinach dip in a sourdough bread bowl and deviled eggs. The spinach dip was UNREAL. I wanted to eat more of it but I knew I had to save room for what was to come! Next they rolled out the main event which was, to put it lightly, an absolute feast — smoked bbq turkey breast, stuffing, dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, collared greans, sweet potato casserole, sweetcorn, sweet cornbread with honey drizzled over it and a delicious turkey gravy. Oh my word, what a spread — we were delighted and overwhelmed with the amount of food. Everything was delicious. Highlights include the turkey, mashed potatoes (can’t figure out what they put in them!), and the cornbread.
Afterward, we of course had saved just enough room for the two delicious deserts they brought out — pumpkin and pecan pie with chantilly cream — both cooked to perfection.
We had an incredible experience here, and The Lockhart really made it feel like Thanksgiving. I was concerned about how authentic the dinner would be, but it far exceeded my expectations. The service was so so friendly and helpful (a rarity in London), and there was a great buzz of Americans chatting away over their meal. The best Thanksgiving I’ve had since being in London. We will definitely be back next year (with friends).

Excellent place. I am really surprised this place is not more popular or hyped. Firstly the service is wonderful — friendly, knowledgeable but not overbearing. But the best thing is the fried chicken. Oh My Gawd — such tender, moist, crunchy and flavoursome chicken and when you eat it, it doesn’t feel dirty like a KFC chicken (for the record, I am a huge fan of KFC). The juleps are also lethal (I’ve been to Lockhart 3 times now and only have memory from 1 occasion, I blame the juleps).
The only reason I didn’t give this place a 5 star is because a lot of the dishes are quite rich and I’m not a fan of that — but that is purely a personal opinion and not a reflection on the quality of the dishes or how it’s cooked, my friends who do love creamy dishes rave and rave about all of them. Otherwise, I love this place and would go everyday for the fried chicken.

I get too many emails with daily deals — and for once this place caught my eye in the subject of the e-​mail from Travelzoo. Of course I had to check the Unilocal reviews to see if it was worth getting and all the great reviews on the fried chicken — it had to be done. It was a really good deal — 2 course meal for two, with a glass of prosecco for 29 pounds!
We came on a really nice Friday evening and took a table outside. The menu was quite limited but we were there for the fried chicken anyway so decided to go for the wedge salad and the tomato salad as starters. The wedge salad reminded me of the ones you get in the US — with a nice gallop of ranch dressing! The tomato salad was lovely.
We were craving fries and unfortunately they don’t have it on the menu — our waitor suggested it and said there will be no need for potatoes after having their corn bread. Our fried chicken arrives and… 3 pieces of perfectly fried chicken — really some of the best fried chicken I’ve had in London. The corn bread was amazing — don’t get it if you’re too health conscious because it comes out sizzling with lots of butter!
We also ordered cocktails earlier but never actually made it — the place started getting quite busy and noticed it was getting quite busy. We really didn’t mind but our waitor noticed and ended up comping the drinks because we waited for so long. I don’t come across service this quite good in London — def have to say this is as good as it gets!

It’s funny that I’m from the U.S.A. but have never dined at a soul food/​southern restaurant… I found this restaurant just around the corner from the hotel we are staying at. The eel is delicious and tender, the cornbread is super moist, and the fried chicken is as authentic as it could possibly be.

To sum it up, the Lockhart is capable of moments of brilliant but also came up with some very questionable dishes, apart from the shortribs, I noticed the fried chicken didn’t go down well with all the tables around us left half eaten plates and looking disappointed. Price wise was also very expensive for this type of cooking, with each main costing around the £20 mark, there are better restaurants elsewhere charging cheaper prices and Smokehouse is a prime example. I was lucky to book with Toptable so I had 25% off, even with that, I wasn’t sure if it was value for money.

I’m quite torn about this place. Not about whether or not to return — I’m sure I will — but about the rating. I almost want to give it 3 stars because my meal was only alright, but I’ll give it 4 stars because everyone else’s meal was so good.
The service, first of all, was great. The staff were lovely, gave great recommendations, and were all around working to provide a really pleasant experience.
The cocktails were a big selling point — I don’t usually go for pre-​dinner cocktails, but it was a semi-​special occasion (yay for out of town visitors!). The mint julep was delicious; the lady lockhart was smooth and refreshing.
As for food, as I mentioned before, it was mostly fantastic. In place of a starter we ordered a main to share — the dirty rice with brown crab and oysters. Highly recommend, though it did have slightly more of a kick than I expected. Still, it was wonderfully flavoured and they didn’t skimp on the crab (only 3 oysters, but that’s to be expected I suppose).
I got the shrimp and grits, which were basically cheesy grits with shrimp and mushrooms (as I asked for no bacon on mine — word of warning, the menu doesn’t say it has bacon; I only knew to ask because of other reviewers!). The shrimp was nicely cooked, but the grits were too cheesy (I didn’t expect them to be cheesy grits, I expected plain grits) and there was way too much gravy. It almost felt like stew, and was pretty disappointing.
The fried chicken is spot on — a little pink for me, but cooked very well. And two of the party got the short ribs and thought they were incredible. If I go back, I would get the fried chicken or the dirty rice.
One thing that is can’t miss, is the bread. The fresh bread and butter is delicious (another word of warning: the bread is made with pork fat, if that sort of thing bothers you), and the cornbread is an absolute must have.
My family is planning to come in for Thanksgiving and this place is a definite contender, if they offer it.

visited the Lockhart for brunch. I ordered the Mufalleta and my friend ordered the pork hash. The Mufalleta was extremely salty but other than that it was tasty. The pork hash was very good and very tasty! However, considering the prices for these dishes I expected larger portions but was extremely disappointed. I was still hungry after my meal. We also order the sticky bun which was disappointingly banal. It wasn’t as sweet as I expected. The taste of toffee, pecans and cinnamon were definitely not obvious. It seemed like it was something I could make myself. We also ordered mimosas which were highly priced considering the amount we were served.
The service was extremely slow. It took a while to order our food. The full order wasn’t brought to us. It took a while to pay as well. Even though the staff wasn’t efficient, they were extremely friendly.

Super sized American sandwiches! I had a 3-​layer pork and cheese bun. They create ginormous bread buns to share too. Yum yum

Really enjoyed The Lockhart. Firstly their décor really sets the stage. In addition to that the menu that changes daily left us feeling sad we couldn’t eat the whole thing. New Orleans flair with an excellent hand in balanced flavours. By evidence of Instagram photos we knew it would be a mistake to skip on the made-​to-​order cornbread which is no doubt a huge selling point to most guests.
Love that it’s a husband/​wife team. She is in charge of front of house and has had an obvious love for cocktails as they are seriously cool. I admire this establishment greatly and applaud their success. It’s also not seriously overpriced so you can go and enjoy. So go and experience some food you won’t find anywhere else in London.

Place is nice and the stuff very warm and friendly, which is rare in London.
The food is good, but not so great to convince me to come back, especially for the bill: it’s one of those places where you definitely feel like paying the rent!
To attract more is suggest much larger portions and a bit more stuff on the menu (what about a southern American huge burger??).

Lunch/​brunch at Lockhart today proved a real winner! They hold true to their southern American roots, with rustic, clean spaces, an eclectic mix of floral crockery and the waitstaff decked out in double denim ensembles!
Menu included classics like biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles and shrimp and grits. Cocktails are slightly expensive, averaging around £9 each, and my lady Lockhart was disappointing.
But the food… oh my. I couldn’t have predicted that humble chicken could be so flavoursome and moist, with a crisp salty coating. They are apparently quite specific about the chickens they select, and the proof is in the pudding as they say (but in his case… golden, crispy chicken). The accompanying waffle was tasty, but average, and felt they were eager stingy with the maple syrup, which is essential to pull the dish together.
Staff were friendly, but a a bit aloof once we’d had our meals.
A must try for true southern comfort dishes!

This understated restaurant is tucked just off London’s busy Marble Arch. It serves up stylish Southern Soul Food. The atmosphere is laid back and the food is excellent. Expect modern takes on Southern classics, such as cornbread (drenched in butter and honey), buttermilk fried chicken, Muffaletta (an astonishing layered sandwich), shrimp and grits and a surprisingly reasonable wine list, with some really interesting options on there. We had the Washington Chardonnay, and even though it was at the cheaper end of the wine list, it was lovely, light and really drinkable.
I would recommend ordering a few different things, and trying as much of the menu as possible (it’s not huge, so it’s worth ordering a few bits)
For the location, I think the prices are reasonable and the food is amongst the best you will find in London.

My posh and snobby friend Sachin took us here a few months ago. Sach, if you’re reading this, you aren’t actually posh. I am just saying that to sound like I know someone cool. Instead it’s just you.
Truth is, I’m an American and I know nothing about what it takes to be posh. But I do know what it takes to make American food and I am pretty sure that this place tries to do this.
They do it pretty well, but like most regional restaurants in London, they somewhat miss in little ways that I can’t really describe and it turns out an experience that is really good but also slightly off, mostly because you know they’re trying a little too hard.
It was a while ago so I can’t really remember what I had, but I do remember liking it and having a good time. Probably mostly because I am great company and Sachin was laughing at all of my jokes.

Friendly staff, amazing cocktails and great food! Got the fried chicken twice since I’ve been in London. Crispy skin with juicy chicken. Absolutely amazing!

Went here for brunch last weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised by the laid-​back, hate-​to-​say-​it-​but «Brooklyn» vibe. Judging from the pictures, I thought it’d be a bit more stuffy, and I wore a tweed jacket accordingly.
For my meal I ordered the shrimp and grits and a mimosa, as did both of my friends unfortunately (I like sampling other options). One was considering the chicken and waffles, but apparently their waffle-​maker had broken earlier in the day.
As for the meal, it was pretty good. As an American (ugh sorry I know how this sounds), I appreciated the attempt at this classic Southern/​soul food dish. The consistency of the grits was different from back home, more porridgy I’d say, but still tasty. I posted a picture on social media, and one of my friends from Atlanta, Georgia wrote «Are those MUSHROOMS in your shrimp and grits?!». But The Lockhart made it work, so I wasn’t put off by this diversion from tradition.
Will be back!

It’s all about the chicken for me. If you read my profile, you’ll see that my Unilocal secret is that I love KFC
I’ve discovered that one of my favourite types of chicken is American buttermilk fried chicken, the best example of which so far is at Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc restaurant fried chicken nights on alternative Mondays
So, my eyebrows raised when I read Giles Coren’s recent review of The Lockhart, raving about their southern style tried chicken and also mentioning his love of the chicken at Ad Hoc
Getting right down to business, the chicken was indeed the best example of buttermilk fried chicken I’ve had in London. Tender from brining, the meat was hot having just come out of the fryer. The skin was super crispy and had lots of seasoning, just the way I like it. It came with sweet green chilli peppers and some nicely dressed salad
I did have some issues. Despite its relaxed southern style décor, prices are definitely more in keeping with Marylebone than Mobile. For example, I wanted a soft drink but wasn’t prepared to pay £4.50 — £5. Tap water was offered happily though
In the same vein, the grilled chicken oysters starter were tender and nicely set off by a mild mustard sauce. However, pricey at £4.50 for 5 small pieces
I finished with one of their specialities — a salted caramel doughnut. Be aware it’s American sized with a generous portion of salted caramel filling. Maybe not the lightest dough but enjoyable nonetheless
I would return just for the chicken. Though the cornbread looked good too…

Food: The Lockhart was hosting a 4^th of July lunch prefix menu which had a choice to chargrilled chicken, fried catfish and smoked baby ribs. It also came with sides you could choose from — tomato and cucumber salad, watermelon salad, braised yellow beans and collard greens. The meal also came with delicious cornbread and dessert to end. All of the dishes were ok.
Drinks: The prefix came with a tall glass of bourbon peach ice tea which was not only refreshing, but omg delicious! I could’ve drank a whole pitcher of it.
Price: 24.00 GBP per person for lunch.
Ambiance: The restaurant was very festive with 4^th of July décor.
Service: The service was very good, attentive and friendly.
Would I go back? Yes. I would go back to try their morning donuts and fried chicken for lunch.

I was really excited to visit The Lockhart as it has been getting some rave reviews in the food press. But I was sadly bummed:(And me likey some Southern home cookin’.
A few of the drawbacks.
–Service. It took us forever to get the waiter to come over to give us water, a drink, a menu. Once I hailed him down he was charming. Although he did forget to bring us our cornbread and I felt ignored for most of the meal.
–Ambiance. I was hoping for a little more soul from the restaurant. It is soul food after all. It is a pretty restaurant but it feels a bit sterile. Nothing to say you are in a Southern cooking restaurant. It doesn’t need to be kitsch – but throw a bone here! It was also really noisy.
–No vegetarian options! Luckily our veggie companion ate fish. If not she was going to eat plain grits and collard greens. There should be a veggie main in this day and age.
The food was good although the portions were a bit weird. I am not sure that Gumbo should be an appetizer. And the salad I had as an appetizer was huge – I think it had 3 or 4 hard boiled eggs and it was an entire head of lettuce, not just a wedge. But the cornbread side is so large it is suited for a table of 6. The food was good but not amazing. I put a fair amount of tabasco on my gumbo to spice it up. The menu was very sparse and it was hard to find a good mix of appetizers, mains and sides that worked together in any way. We were sooo stuffed from the cornbread (and they serve bread too) that we didn’t have room for the icebox lemon pie that I wanted to try.
I think this restaurant has potential but needs some serious improvements. I hope they make them!

I’m always a little unsure how to feel about upscale versions of one £ sign cooking. Like fine dining versions of Mexican food or dim sum, stuff I’m used to having in tiny shacks that make your clothes smell like the food for weeks to come for cheap. These type of food for sit down meals in elegant spots? Hmmm.
Deep south American eats are the same thing. I’m used to my fried chicken coming out on a hot summer’s day, served on a picnic table with a beer and a side of mashed poatotes. Mmm.
That being said, if you want to do it proper in a proper setting, The Lockhart is where to be,
It’s a simple looking restaurateur with that southern charm — wooden tables, white walls, great windows with lots of light. It’s well designed to feel very comfortable from the moment you walk in.
I had a lunch with a food blogger and we decided to split a whole bunch of things on the menu. And I’ll tell you, it was fantastic. Everything was hot and full of flavour. The shrimp and grits were excellent with a unique texture to the grits I’d never had before (it was a little courser than normal soft grits, but not in a bad way). The creamed butter beans were a great black bean salad like side, as was the collared greens, which were deliciously vinegary. And the cornbread with honey butter was amazing, a giant pan of cornbread hot and sweet and so damn good. I’d come back for just that if I was in the mood for cornbread.
The wedge salad was good, with lots of bacon and sauce, but not as nice as the other parts of the meal. It’s hard to make a wedge salad shine though.
But the stand out item was absolutely the fried chicken. You get two big pieces, a drumstick and a breast, and they are as crispy on the outside as they are soft on the inside. They use a really specific free range chicken, which makes the meat look pinker than normal chicken. Don’t mind it, it’s not undercooked, it’s perfect.
They even bring sound homemade chilli sauce and Tabasco sauce, which means I didn’t have to ask for it like I always do. Points for that. (The chicken comes sauceless but I was told if you want something classic like American Ranch Dressing, they’ll totally do it for you. Ah-​mazing).
Really, the only thing that made me think twice about giving this place five stars is the price, as everything is expensive (shrimp and grits runs at £14, fried chicken and two sides run at £12, sides are 3,5 a piece). Those prices, for southern cooking, make my eyes bulge a little. But you know what? It’s worth it. It was that good.
I can’t say about dinner but for lunch? Mmm. Hell yes.