The story
On a quiet lane in the City of London, Cloth brings a calm, confident approach to modern British dining. The restaurant occupies a charming space on Cloth Fair, a street that hints at the area’s mercantile history. The interior is rustic and lively, with art-lined walls and a dining room that feels both intimate and welcoming. It is a place where the focus is squarely on the craft of wine and food.
The team behind Cloth states their purpose plainly: “To Inspire and Nurture the Craft of Exceptional Wine and Food.” They describe their cooking as “a modern take of the old, trusted classics,” selecting the best produce to create memorable meals. This philosophy extends to their team, whom they are dedicated to nurturing and empowering. It is a restaurant built on substance, not show.
The kitchen turns out elegant, ingredient-driven dishes that reviewers have called “really quite lovely cooking” and “comfort food made with the finest ingredients and cooked with largesse.” The menu changes regularly, with a focus on seasonality. A set lunch, bar snacks, and a feasting menu for larger groups are available. The wine list is a standout—described by one critic as “lovely”—and the restaurant offers a dedicated wine bible. Cloth aims to be a destination for those who value both great food and exceptional wine.
Cloth’s commitment to quality has earned it a place in the Michelin Guide, receiving a Recommended rating for 2026. This recognition aligns with the praise from leading critics, including Giles Coren of The Times, who called it “what all those old hipster joints were trying to be,” and Grace Dent of The Guardian, who found it “really quite special.”
Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, Cloth is a welcome addition to the City’s dining scene. The kitchen closes between 14:45 and 18:00, but wine and bar snacks are available during that gap. Whether for a long lunch or an evening meal, Cloth delivers a refined yet relaxed experience—one that honors the classics while feeling entirely of the moment.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
A wine-led operation near the old Smithfield meat market, founded by wine importers Joe Haynes and Ben Butterworth, Cloth occupies the ground floor of a Grade II-listed Georgian house – once home to the poet John Betjeman. The narrow street’s fabric-trading history supplies the name, while the snug dining rooms and bar area, with flickering candles, stripped wooden floors and an intimate bistro vibe, deliver some classy food courtesy of chef Tom Hurst (most recently at Lasdun). Sourcing is peerless and scrupulous. Cloth has become renowned for its chunky chips, which are faultless, but don’t let that distract you. The single-sheet menu of four small plates and four larger ones, topped and tailed by snacks and sides works equally well as a three-course format or a more exploratory mix and match. After an elegant beetroot, goat’s curd and fig tart you might opt for a plump fillet of roasted Cornish cod in an inky, shimmering pool of briny braised cuttlefish studded with creamy coco beans. Hurst keeps pace with the seasons – expect game when the time’s right and a handmade pasta dish featuring whatever is at its best; there's always a sharing plate too – on our visit, a slab of Longhorn sirloin with green peppercorns and truffle. The brief dessert list is perfect: if there isn’t a tart on offer (excellent pastrywork is a given), go for the rum baba. The sub-£30 lunch prix-fixe is a steal and they serve bar snacks throughout the day – just bear in mind that Cloth closes at weekends. With a cellar boasting 400-600 bottles at any one time, the wine list packs a punch. The hefty 'wine bible' is dominated by European producers, and there’s a very respectable, ever-changing by-the-glass selection. Expect plenty of mature offerings, a plethora of German classics (Haynes is a Riesling specialist), off-piste bottles and new-wave discoveries, alongside some very covetable vintages: deep-pocketed oenophiles do exceptionally well here.
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