buns is still alive and well), a coffee shop (light, airy, one large table for sharing), and a restaurant in the back which makes up for a lack of a street view with lots of natural light through skylights. The atmosphere is clutter free, cool, if a bit austere, but the restaurant is open to the kitchen which generates some welcome warmth and bustle, even on the (rare) occasions when it is not fully occupied.

Fitzbillies is open for lunch and dinner, lunch every day and dinner (from 6pm) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The menu focuses extensively on British cooking and seasonal ingredients, changing weekly. As you would expect from a bakery, it includes a regular selection of savoury tarts and pies, along with soup , salads and terrines for lunch. The selection is not enormous - expect 2 or 3 starters, around 10 mains, and a couple of pudding options - but feels perfect for a tasty break from shopping or sightseeing.

For dinner, the kitchen moves up a gear. The emphasis of the menu varies from week to week, and includes a couple of tasty looking non fish vegetarian options. The carnivores are well served: in particular by the wonderfully Victorian steak and oyster pie with carrot and parsnip mash for a dish which should, by law, be served by a manservant with muttonchop whiskers).

Puddings are a shortish list and reflects the season (although Poor Knights of Windsor is a pudding that deserves a permanent place on the strength of the name alone).

Two practical points worth noting: first, Fitzbillies does not accept bookings for lunch (a tactic which has generated mixed reviews on the internet), and secondly it is fully licensed for the evening, with a short but quality wine list.