These are the best restaurants in London right now
Whether old-school or experimental, affordable or just for a special occasion, these restaurants won’t let you down.
You only need to spend ten minutes looking for last-minute tables on a Thursday night to know the best restaurants in London come with high demand. But with a little patience comes big rewards.
After a pandemic that saw many restaurants shutter and others forced to transform into takeaways and delis alike, new restaurant openings in the capital are back in full flow. We’ve narrowed things down to the very best of the best. Life’s hard enough without spending the tube journey home thinking, ‘Did I really just spend £55 on that?’ Never again with these restaurants which, whether old-school or experimental, affordable or just for a special occasion, won’t let you down.
(C)2014 Elliot Sheppard, all rights reserved1/21St. John
The original “nose-to-tail” joint, Fergus Henderson’s St John is an institution of the London dining scene that retains its crown no matter what eateries come and go around it. There are now newer siblings to the original Smithfield location in Spitalfields and Marylebone, but the core principle of excellent food served simply remains. Lovers of the food return for their signatures like oxtail, ox liver, pigeon, potted pork, braised mutton and brill, and for a slice of old-school dining that still feels cool. The custard doughnuts, which thankfully can be picked up in their bakery outposts, are a near-religious experience in their own right.
26 St. John. Street, EC1
LANGLEY2/21Sune
An idyllic location off Broadway Market and a cosy room decorated like a chic Nordic wine bar are but two elements that make Sune memorable. Equal billing goes to its eclectic wine list (courtesy of co-founder and renowned sommelier Honey Spencer) and a perfectly drilled staff. It’s a fixture for lunches and wine-fuelled dinners: expect casual bistro-ish fare like dairy beef tartare, croque monsieur, oysters and grilled calcots. For casual drinkers and serious oenophiles alike, you’re spoiled for choice here.
129A Pritchard's Road, E2 9AP
3/21La Maison Ani
One of the great contradictions of London is that the closer you get to the super rich end of the city, the harder it gets to find genuinely good food. Mayfair and Chelsea may be a home for high fashion, but have you tried getting an honest plate of anything there lately? One establishment that joyfully bucks that trend is French brasserie La Maison Ani. Perched right outside the beautiful Cadogan Gardens in Belgravia, it has the cosy, conspiratorial vibe of a late night spot in Le Marais, coupled with a French-Mediterranean menu full of rustic but decadently executed dishes, like spaghetti with creamy Wagyu meatballs and a whole baby chicken with Périgueux sauce and truffle. Top it off with one of the best drink menus around, and you’ve finally got a reason to head West for dinner.
Jumeirah Carlton Tower, 1 Cadogan Place, Knightsbridge
4/21Singburi
Very little on the menu heads far north of £10 at family-run Southeast Asian restaurant Singburi, in an unassuming spot on Leytonstone High Street. There is a blackboard hand-written with daily specials and, despite its popularity, no website. The restaurant's social media presence consists of grainy menu snapshots and that aforementioned blackboard, but what does it matter? The food is the focus, and the food is sensational. From monkfish pad cha to classic, delectable Tom Kha soup and fiery So Tam papaya salad, this east London eatery shows why some of the finest restaurants can fly without social media spin, hefty PR clout, or, even a website.
593 Leytonstone High Street, E11
5/21Camille
Borough Market continues to be a centre of gravity for new openings, but this chic bistro from the founders of Ducksoup needs only to whisper its good taste. Chef Elliot Hashtroudi (ex-St John) puts his spin on French bistro classics, with plates like a langoustine cassoulet or shallot tatin pairing well with an accessible list of low-intervention wines. Long lunches gazing into the market are a pleasure, but the room also comes alive in the evening.
2-3 Stoney Street, SE1 9AA
6/21Rochelle Canteen
The concepts of sustainability and seasonality are flung about loosely these days. But Margot Henderson was focused on such food back in the early 1990s and then Rochelle Canteen in 2004, with best friend and partner, Melanie Arnold. The menu changes daily, a huge amount of the produce is grown in the restaurant’s adjacent walled garden, and anything not grown on-site is sourced from within the British Isles. Welsh pork belly, lamb torchon and stuffed pumpkin are just some of the dishes that can be found on this ever-changing menu. Rochelle Canteen may have started its life as one large sharing table for local artists in the converted Rochelle school, but has since grown both in size and reputational stature, with kitchen alumni that includes James Ferguson, Ben Coombs and Alethea Palmer.
16 Playground Gardens, E2
7/21Morchella
This hotspot from the owners of Perilla hit the ground running, with a sharp, accomplished menu that traverses the Mediterranean, paired to achingly beautiful interiors and a soaring dining room off Exmouth Market (which previously housed a bank). Small plates are exceptional — don’t miss the salt cod churros and hake with sobrasada — and brim with creativity; meanwhile, a slinky wine bar at the back makes an excellent retreat for a drink or two. Evenings are a scene, but the dining room looks particularly impressive during the day.
84-86 Rosebery Ave, EC1R 4QY
8/21BRAT
Tomos Parry, the head chef and co-owner of Shoreditch’s BRAT, is from North Wales, but he feels a distinct connection to the Basque Country. Hence why his menu combines shellfish (à la his seaside upbringing) and, as they say, the best of British with the methodology of the European region. The restaurant even takes its name from an old slang word for its star dish, whole turbot cooked over an open fire – a Basque staple – which you can order as your centrepiece for a cool £185. Parry honed his cooking over fire skills at Mayfair’s renowned Kitty Fisher’s before opening BRAT in 2018 to much acclaim. Six years on, and the restaurant is as hyped as it’s always been – and not without reason. Just make sure to go with enough friends to finish the turbot.
4 Redchurch Street, E1
9/21Jolene
This is the third restaurant on the impressive roster of chef David Gingell and restauranter Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim, following in the footsteps of Primeur and Westerns Laundry. Stoke Newington’s Jolene is a romantic, if lavish, date spot for any time of the day. Named after the Dolly Parton song of the same name, the restaurant-bakery combo boasts an ever-changing menu, comprising breakfast, lunch, (small plates) dinner, and, of course, natural wines. It even has its own mill, where it makes all its bread, pasta, and perfectly flakey pastries – the latter of which it’s essential you make room for, even if you’ve already stuffed yourself full with pasta.
21 Newington Green, N16
10/21The Towpath Café
Perched on the waters’ edge of Regents Canal, The Towpath is a shabby chic respite from the world. Service runs almost around the clock from breakfast through to dinner (with brunch wedged happily in-between the two). Fair warning: weekends can be a scrummage for seating, especially for coveted outside tables in the summertime. It's like a New England brunch haven on the edge of Haggerston: think Spanish sausage sandwiches, fried eggs with mojo verde and brown potted shrimp on sourdough toast. And, with fans that include Keira Knightley and veteran food writer Ruth Reichl, Towpath Cafe proves why simple is almost always best.
42 De Beauvoir Crescent, N1
11/21Ikoyi
Ikoyi is entirely unto itself when it comes to food. You’re looking at around £350 for the tasting menu but, if you want to invest in highly memorable, utterly unique dining, this is it. Founder and chef Jeremy Chan delivers nothing but the very best biodynamic vegetables and 100% organic beef and even insists on all his British fish being caught using the Japanese Ike Jimi method (don't look it up before eating). Chan has a passion for West African spices, which feature heavily, and the results have garnered him and his partner Ire Hassan-Odukale two Michelin stars. The resulting cuisine is almost impossible to define, but the smoked jollof rice is a mainstay on the menu in many forms, alongside an astonishing husk cherry and rum cake, Cornish beef plated up in various guises, and a turbot and caramelised chicken wing. The service is intentionally kept at arm's length, the idea being that the food speaks for itself, and it really does.
St. James’s Market, SW1
12/21Donia
Taking over the top floor at Kingly Court, Donia is an excellent Filipino restaurant that reimagines traditional street food hits: think prawn and pork dumplings topped with white crab in brown butter, or crispy roast pork with liver peppercorn sauce. The restaurant is part of a group of Filipino restaurants that includes Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream, and you can find the same winning flavours – from ube to guyabano – on offer as a final sweet treat at Donia.
Kingly Court, W1B 5PW
13/21Bouchon Josephine
Lyon has always been the heartland of serious eaters in France, and there are few better places to experience the city’s gutsy fare than at this Fulham Road restaurant. Josephine Bouchon comes courtesy of Claude and Lucy Bosi, but despite the former’s multiple Michelin stars, the food remains down to earth – yes, there’s Lyonnaise salad and pike quenelles, but also great charcuterie, a blinding rabbit with mustard sauce, and wine sold by the literal measure. Settle into one of the red booths and cancel the rest of the day’s appointments – it’s that kind of place.
315A Fulham Road, SW10 9QH
14/21Kudu
SE15 is much more than just “the new Dalston”, and Kudu has only given us further reason to head south of the river. Owners Amy Corbin and Patrick Williams have created a tightly curated South African wine list, while the tapas-style menu fuses European ingredients and South African flavours. Really, you're playing yourself if you don't kick things off with the seafood butter served with brioche-style bread. Thankfully there are now three Kudu eateries, all of which pay homage to the tradition of South African Braii but still feel at home deep in South London.
119 Queen’s Road, SE15
15/21Rita's
Rita's is perhaps the best example of the so-called special relationship between America and the UK, with the former bodega serving up riffs on American classics using seasonal British produce. Getting in is a competitive sport these days, but there's giddy pleasure to be found in sinking into the red booths of this Soho classic for a night of sensory overload. The Jalapeño popper gildas, which come stuffed with olive, anchovy and a slice of fresh red chilli, have spawned a foodie trend across the capital, and the key lime pie, if you can squeeze in the room for it, is the perfect epilogue to a night of sharing steaks and hibiscus-laced margaritas.
49 Lexington St, W1
16/21Brutto
The Italian restaurant scene in London may feel saturated but there was still room for Brutto to muscle in and go straight to the top of everyone's must-visit list. The creation of the late Russell Norman (the restaurateur behind the Polpo group and Spuntino), Brutto is the essence of Florentine dining in a space recreated as a traditional trattoria. The all-day bar with a £5 Brutto Negronis wears its coolness lightly, with unfussy primi pasta plates, chicken liver crostini and an “ugly but good meringue" to finish. The only way you can get away with naming your restaurant “ugly” is when the results are this delicious.
35-37 Greenhill Rents, EC1M
17/21KOL
Headhunted by Noma's Rene Redzepi himself, KOL founder and head chef Santiago Lastra has created something entirely unique with Mexican dishes that use only local, British produce. The heart of this buzzing space is the downstairs Mezcaleria, which makes KOL well worth a visit in its own right. It has an Antojitos (street food) menu, featuring a truffle quesadilla and a mezcal and pork crackling. If you’re lucky enough to get a table upstairs, the menu boasts sensational langoustine tacos and confit pork cheek carnitas, all served in the kind of inviting dining room that keeps you ordering that aforementioned mezcal.
9 Seymour St, W1
18/21The French House
The food at French House is so much better than you might first assume. This iconic, Grade II-listed watering hole has been around since 1891 and has a storied history with writers, artists and other alcohol-loving creatives. Everyone from Francis Bacon to Dylan Thomas has knocked a few back here. Old boozers aren't known for their cuisine, and so it often comes as a shock that the food in the upstairs dining room here is actually really, really good. Margot and Fergus Henderson used to head up operations before leaving to start their respective restaurants. Now, head chef Neil Borthwick continues the legacy with a constantly changing menu of traditional French classics. Reservations are very hard to come by here.
49 Dean St, W1D 5BG
19/21Endo at the Rotunda
The number of upscale Japanese restaurants in London has recently exploded, with seemingly as many omakase options as small plate eateries. Endo is truly the best of the best. The space alone is worthy of a Michelin star (which the restaurant has). Overlooking the city from the top of the old BBC TV Centre, guests dine around a 200-year-old hinoki wood counter. Omakase devotees come here to worship at the altar of Endo Kazutoshi, the charismatic third-gen sushi master. The menu is seasonally inspired and ever-changing, so no Endo dinner is alike. Top-shelf ingredients are flown in from Japan, like buttery wagyu beef and rice that has been sourced for its perfect pH.
8th Floor, The Helios, Television Centre, 101 Wood Ln, W12 7FR
20/21Elliot's
Elliot's is an easygoing Borough Market gem, worlds away from the hoards fighting their way to the front of the Padella and Monmouth Coffee lines. The restaurant, which now has a second location on Mare Street in Hackney, takes the best Borough suppliers and turns out lovely small plates alongside natural wine. Yes, it sounds like a well-worn concept, but Elliot's is the real deal, so much so that their Isle of Mull cheese puffs have a cult following. The menu changes frequently, but largely highlights British ingredients through an Italian-inspired lens, with the action centred on meats and pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven.
12 Stoney St, Borough Market, SE1 9AD
21/21Trishna
You smell Trishna before you see it – the incredible aromas of coriander and curry leaf perfume the stretch of Blandford Street around the restaurant. Trishna is part of the JKS Restaurants empire, but the space is intimate and unassuming, with a neighborhood feel. The menu here is a mix of traditional and contemporary coastal Indian cuisine, with some creative guest appearances from British ingredients. Don't miss the paneer tikka anardana or the cashew and pepper chicken. During Diwali, Trishna runs a special menu to celebrate the festival of lights.
15-17 Blandford Street, W1U 3DG