Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO

Who Should Book Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO

This is the right restaurant for a long, considered weekend lunch with someone you want to impress — a client, a partner on an anniversary, or a friend who takes food seriously. The Raffles London at The OWO opened in 2023 inside the former Old War Office on Whitehall, and this dining room sits at its centre as the flagship table. If you've eaten here once for dinner and wondered whether lunch delivers the same weight, the answer is yes: Thursday through Saturday lunch service runs noon to 2 PM and offers the same kitchen, the same room, and — depending on what's available, a more relaxed pace than the evening crowd. For anyone who finds dinner at this price tier too formal or rushed, lunch here is the smarter visit.

The Room and the Setting

The dining room is immediately legible as a serious room. The Old War Office building carries Edwardian grandeur, high ceilings, stone detailing, the kind of architecture that makes a lunch feel like an occasion before you've looked at the menu. The room itself is described consistently as elegant, comfortable, and discreet: not theatrical in the way of Sketch or overtly dramatic like some Mayfair hotel dining rooms. The light is controlled, the tables are well-spaced, and the visual register is one of quiet authority rather than spectacle. For a weekend lunch, that restraint works in your favour: the room doesn't compete with the food.

What the Kitchen Does

The cooking here is technically elaborate and builds its identity around British plant produce, over 70 varieties of British fruit and vegetables inform the menu, and the kitchen lists plant ingredients first. That's an editorial decision that signals the kitchen's priorities clearly: this is not a restaurant where vegetables are a concession to dietary preference. The approach produces intriguing flavour and texture combinations, and the technical sophistication is consistent with what you'd expect from a restaurant operating at this level. The wine list is comprehensive, pairings are well-considered, and service manages the difficult balance between structured and relaxed, formal enough to match the room, unhurried enough to avoid feeling transactional.

If you came for dinner on a previous visit and found the pace quick or the evening energy slightly charged, the Thursday-to-Saturday lunch window is worth trying next. It's the same kitchen running at a different tempo, and for long conversations over multiple courses, the midday format tends to give you more room.

How It Sits in London's Fine Dining Field

At ££££ pricing, this restaurant sits in London's top tier alongside CORE by Clare Smyth, The Ledbury, and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. What distinguishes the OWO address is the hotel context: you're dining inside one of London's most significant recent hotel openings, which adds a layer of occasion that a standalone restaurant can't replicate. If the building and the history of the site matter to you as part of the experience, that's a genuine differentiator. If you purely want cooking-led substance with less setting weight, Story or Dysart Petersham offer serious kitchens at formats that feel less ceremonial.

For the plant-forward emphasis specifically, there's no direct London equivalent operating at this technical level. The closest comparisons for ingredient-led, vegetable-first cooking in a fine dining register would take you further afield: L'Enclume in Cartmel or Moor Hall in Aughton share that philosophy but require a different kind of trip. Within London, this kitchen is operating in largely uncontested territory on that particular axis.

Booking Difficulty and Timing

Booking here is hard. The restaurant opened as part of a high-profile hotel launch in 2023 and has maintained strong demand since. Lunch slots on Thursday through Saturday are slightly more available than weekend dinner, and if your priority is getting a table in the next two to three weeks, lunch is the more realistic target. Plan four to six weeks ahead for dinner. The Monday and Sunday closure means your window is Tuesday through Saturday, with lunch only available Thursday to Friday and Saturday.

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how the OWO kitchen sits against its closest London peers.

Further Reading

Explore more options with our full London restaurants guide, our full London hotels guide, our full London bars guide, and our full London experiences guide. For comparable fine dining outside London, consider Waterside Inn in Bray, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, or hide and fox in Saltwood. For plant-forward cooking at a similar technical level internationally, Frantzén in Stockholm and Maison Lameloise in Chagny occupy related territory. Closer to London, Cafe Cecilia, Row on 5, and 104 are worth considering if the format here feels too ceremonial. For UK destination dining with a similar ingredient philosophy, Hand and Flowers in Marlow is a useful counterpoint. Browse our full London wineries guide if you want to extend the day.