1798 was a funny old year. The rampaging French occupied Geneva, Malta and Rome; the first American novel was published; the Irish held a six-month uprising against British rule; and a gentleman named Thomas Rule opened a restaurant in Covent Garden and named it, according to the custom of the time, Rule's.

Three centuries later, it's still there, with nothing but an apostrophe lost over time. The restuarant owns its own country estate in the Peak District, ridiculously enough, meaning its best dishes are classic English game dishes like rabbit with black pudding, roast pigeon, and venison loin. The availability of dishes changes according to season, so if you have a particular dish in mind it's worth giving them a call to check availability. Desserts are ultra-English classics like sticky toffee & date pudding, treacle sponge pudding, and Gooseberry & Elderflower fool. Rules has been written about by the likes of Kingsley Amis and Sir John Betjeman.

Rules isn't cheap - main courses come in around the £24 mark - and vegetarians might not find much to enjoy. But it's a classic London experience in the Tower of London vein. Call 020 7836 5314 to book, but note that the maximum size of group is six.