Mr. Chow

The eponymous Mr Chow, painter-turned-restaurateur-turned-painter-again Michael Chow, created this sexy, silkily seductive Chinese restaurant in the swinging sixties, when a glittering crowd of artists, models, fashion designers and Beatles would roll up for hand-pulled noodles. Five and a half decades later, the appetite for its luxurious brand of Chinese comfort food has not diminished; chicken satay, ma mignon, Beijing duck are evergreens. The late Sir Terence Conran described Mr Chow as “the first ‘designed’ restaurant in London.” The chrome lights, Deco furniture and contemporary art have been much imitated.