Layered glass bowl of sherry-soaked sponge, raspberry jam, vanilla custard, and whipped cream, topped with flaked almonds and glace cherries. The British Christmas-table classic.
Trifle dates to the 16th century in England as a simple cream-and-rosewater dessert; the layered modern form with sherry-soaked sponge and custard emerged in the 18th century in Hannah Glasse's 1747 The Art of Cookery. By Victorian London, trifle was the show-off centrepiece of any Christmas or formal dinner, served in a cut-glass footed bowl. The dish remains a Christmas Day or Boxing Day institution in British households; London restaurants from The Wolseley to Quality Chop House feature seasonal trifle (rhubarb in spring, raspberry in summer, sloe-gin and blackberry in autumn).
6 editor picks for Trifle in London, ranked by editorial score. All London signature dishes · Trifle across every city.
St John ★ 4.8
clerkenwell · 26 St John Street, London EC1M 4AY
Fergus Henderson's St John in Clerkenwell has cooked the nose-to-tail British canon in London since 1994. Priced at £££. Kitchen leans modern british.
Sketch ★ 4.7
mayfair · 9 Conduit Street, London W1S 2XG
Mourad Mazouz and Pierre Gagnaire's Conduit Street dining rooms in Mayfair London, opened 2002, hold three Michelin stars in the Lecture Room and run a famed.
Quo Vadis ★ 4.5
soho · 26-29 Dean Street, London W1D 3LL
Jeremy Lee's Dean Street dining room in Soho London, opened 1926 and restored under chef Lee since 2012, runs a daily-changing seasonal British menu.
Quality Chop House ★ 4.3
clerkenwell · 92-94 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3EA
The 1869 Farringdon Road working-class dining room in Clerkenwell London, restored under Will Lander since 2012, runs daily-changing British cooking.
The Wolseley ★ 4.1
mayfair · 160 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King's grand European brasserie on Piccadilly in London, opened 2003 in a former 1921 Wolseley showroom, runs from breakfast.
Rules ★ 4.0
covent-garden · 34-35 Maiden Lane, London WC2E 7LB
Britain's oldest restaurant on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden London, opened 1798 by Thomas Rule, runs an estate-game-led menu through grouse.