PICTURED: DANIEL KENT, PAOLA GIRALDO, TOMMASO SICURO, MICHAEL STOKES & JASON PHILLIPS.
Jermyn Street’s Open Door Series will be honouring the brands and businesses that make our street the home of gentleman’s style, and the pinnacle of British craftsmanship, by spotlighting your favourite brands, and the people behind them, as we invite you through our doors once more!
Wiltons is London’s oldest restaurant, and you can see why – from its exquisite oyster selection, quintessential Britishness and menu full of culinary classics, this restaurant is remarkable in its timelessness.
Wiltons started life in 1742 as a shellfish-mongers, close to Haymarket where George William Wilton sold high quality oysters. Haymarket at that time attracted a multitude of traders, and wandering through the stalls you could find everything from hay and straw, to songbirds and hot eels. George Wilton’s oysters were a great success with local traders and, after 28 years of plying his wares, he passed the business on to his son Francis, who subsequently left the stall to George Wilton’s nephew, William Nichol Wilton. Under William’s astute handling, the business grew rapidly and by his death in 1824, it was ready to move to new premises. His wife Frances firstly moved the Oyster Rooms to Little King Street, but was subsequently forced to move a few more times until finally settling at 12 Kings Street. By this time, Francis’s son Robert had taken over the business and secured a license to sell alcohol, making it a fully fledged restaurant.
Wiltons was a hugely respected establishment, and by 1868 it had received its first Royal Warrant as Purveyor of Oysters to Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales. In 1886, Frank Wilton died childless and for the first time the restaurant left the Wilton Family. In 1930, after it had passed through a number of different hands and premises, Mrs Bessie Leal acquired the restaurant, now once again located on Kings Street, one of its original homes. During the Second World War, a bomb dropped in nearby St James’s Church, scaring Mrs Leal so badly that she decided to move out of London on the spot. She asked Mr Olaf Hambro in the restaurant if he knew of anyone who might be interested in purchasing the business, to which he replied “put the restaurant at the end of the bill!” and bought it outright there and then!
Having never run a restaurant himself, Mr Hambro approached Jimmy Marks, a veteran of the industry, to join him in his new venture. Jimmy agreed and, in 1964, the restaurant moved to Bury Street. Exactly 20 years after that, in 1984, it relocated to its present day iconic Jermyn Street premises. Jimmy Marks was a huge personality and contributed massively to making Wiltons the world-famous institution it is today. Entertaining and shrewd, Jimmy could handle any customer, and had no problem keeping everyone, including English aristocrats and foreign dignitaries in line.
Wiltons celebrated its 275th anniversary in 2017, and is still known as one of London’s best seafood restaurants to this day. Though Jimmy Marks is sadly no longer restaurant manager, having passed away in 1976, the company named their elegant private dining room in his honor. Another part of his legacy is the restaurant’s service, which remains exceptional and personable. The food is a celebration of culinary classics, overseen by the expert head chef Daniel Kent. Whether you choose a fine cut of meat from their carving trolley, or indulge in some exceptional seafood, Wiltons never disappoints. Jermyn Street is incredibly lucky to count this iconic institution among its ranks, and we are overjoyed to see them able to welcome discerning customers inside their restaurant once more.