Rules is a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

restaurant on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden. Rules was founded in 1798 by Thomas Rule, and describes itself as London's oldest restaurant.

History

Rules was opened by Thomas Rule in 1798, primarily as an

oyster bar An oyster bar, also known as an oyster saloon, oyster house or a raw bar service, is a restaurant specializing in serving oysters, or a section of a restaurant which serves oysters buffet-style. Oysters have been consumed since ancient times and w ...

but served, and continues to serve, traditional British cuisine. Rules specialises in game and has its own estate, the Lartington Estate, in

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven. Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls b ...

. Thomas Rule was later committed to a psychiatric hospital for murder of his wife Isabella and daughter Elsie Rule The restaurant stayed in the Rule family until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when Charles Rule swapped businesses with Thomas Bell. Bell's daughter subsequently sold the restaurant to the current owner John Mayhew in 1984. Efforts have been made to carefully preserve the original features in the main restaurant and in the cocktail bar. The walls are decorated with a series of sketches, oil paintings and cartoons which have been collected throughout its history. A number of its artworks depict theatrical history. Rules has been frequented by

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

and Laurence Olivier amongst others. The restaurant has featured in novels by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

, Dick Francis, Dorothy L. Sayers and

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

. John Betjeman complained to the Greater London Council in 1971 when the restaurant was under threat from demolition. The then-head chef of Rules, Rory Kennedy was featured in the cooking series, Iron Chef, where he challenged Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai. The two would finish in a draw for the theme of European Rabbit. A tiebreaker was then held with the theme of Pigeon, where Sakai prevailed. Later in the year, however, Kennedy fell from a flight of stairs and subsequently died from his injuries. Rules made an appearance in the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film '' Spectre'' and several appearances in the historical drama ''

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

''.Downton Abbey Tours and Locations
freetoursbyfoot.com. Retrieved 17/7-2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rules (Restaurant) Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Restaurants established in 1798 European restaurants in London Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster British companies established in 1798 British cuisine