London Mayfair's special-occasion dish: a centre-cut fillet of beef seared and wrapped in mushroom duxelles and Parma ham, encased in puff pastry and baked until medium-rare with a crisp top.

Beef Wellington's origin is disputed: most credibly it derives from late 19th-century French filet de boeuf en croute, anglicised in some accounts by celebrating Wellington's victory at Waterloo in 1815. The modern London Mayfair version codified through the 20th century at the Savoy and Connaught hotels, and became the defining dish of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay (3-star) on Royal Hospital Road, which he opened in 1998. The Ramsay version popularised the modern duxelles-and-Parma-ham wrap; the Hawksmoor steakhouses run a more casual version.

3 editor picks for Beef Wellington in London, ranked by editorial score. All London signature dishes · Beef Wellington across every city.