- London has plenty of fabulous restaurants, but most visitors don't know about The Clink.
- The fine-dining establishment is located inside Brixton Prison and staffed by inmates.
- My three-course Sunday lunch there was delicious and reasonably priced for London.
I've lived in London for nearly two years and have been visiting the capital city for even longer.
The food scene is pretty diverse, and London has a reputation for having chain restaurants and upscale dining experiences, like the Ritz and after-the-theater restaurants around Covent Garden.
But recently, I dined at quite the hidden gem: The Clink Restaurant inside Brixton Prison.
The small chain of gourmet restaurants has three locations at prisons across the UK that serve as work-training facilities for current inmates. The Brixton location has over 1,160 reviews on TripAdvisor and a five-star rating.
After years of trying to land a reservation at The Clink, I finally snagged a Sunday lunch spot at the Brixton location. Here's what it was like.
Entering the prison reminded me of going through airport security
A unique aspect of dining at The Clink is entering the prison itself. I've never seen inside a working prison.
The experience began when I arrived outside the Brixton doors. I stopped at the portacabin on the opposite side of the road so the staff could store my bag and give me a lanyard.
The staff may also offer replacement clothing if your outfit is deemed unsuitable. Most hats, scarves, gloves, miniskirts, ripped jeans, open-toe footwear, and clothing with sports logos — among other restrictions — are not permitted, per the restaurant's dress code.
Only you and your bank card are permitted into the restaurant, meaning even your phone is left behind.
Once I arranged my belongings, all the diners queued by the wall until it was time to be escorted through security, which was almost identical to what I'm used to at airports.
It took less than five minutes for me to emerge into Brixton Prison's courtyard.
The restaurant is located in the center of the prison courtyard
The Clink is housed in a converted governor's house that dates back to 1819. It's situated right in the center of the prison's courtyard.
Inside, the atmosphere transforms from a Victorian prison to a sleek, brown-walled dining room adorned with portraits and landscape paintings.
The staff is made up of prison inmates, largely those nearing the end of their sentences who are trying to secure their National Vocational Qualification in food-service fields.
The on-the-job learning certificate, along with other services provided by the restaurant, can help inmates secure post-release employment.
The waitstaff was helpful, and the menu was reasonably priced
Once I was seated at my fancy glass table set with plastic silverware, I quickly got to talking to my server about the menu and restaurant.
There's usually an à la carte menu during lunch, but on Sundays, there's only a three-course prix-fixe menu for £42.50, or about $53.60. Compared to the vast majority of restaurant prices in London, it was actually pretty reasonable.
There were a few appetizers to choose from on the prix-fixe menu. I started with hot, smoked trout rillettes, served in creamy scoops with Granny Smith apple slices and a pot of peppered rye crackers for dipping.
For the main, there were classics like roast beef and pork belly — I even saw one server carrying a Yorkshire pudding almost the size of my head. But I went for the grilled plaice fish with clams, sautéed brown shrimp, roast potatoes, and seasonal vegetables.
The presentation was incredible, and kept wishing I had my phone to snap a quick picture. The fish was tender, breaking apart as soon as my plastic fork touched it, and the roast potatoes were served in crunchy little cubes.
The mixed sorbet scoops and cappuccino I ordered were the perfect finish to my meal.
I'm not a massive fan of sweet desserts, but the tangy sorbet packed an impressively punchy flavor. The bright-pink strawberry scoop was a definite favorite.
The Clink offered a connection-focused dining experience
Anyone dining in London knows the drill: You enter, rush through your courses, scroll through your phone before reminding yourself it's rude, and then wave goodbye to frazzled wait staff as you leave.
But The Clink has a different approach to dining.
My servers were chatty and passionate about their roles, and the general managers never seemed stressed or understaffed. Plus, not being able to use my phone made me more present throughout the delicious meal.
I highly recommend checking out the unique, upscale dining experience the next time you're in London.