Our capital city is home to some of the most established eateries and exciting new chefs around, so finding the best restaurants in London is no easy task. Regardless of the neighbourhood you find yourself in, you won’t struggle for an array of wonderful dining opportunities.
You’ve got the classic options, which are always worth a visit, from the curry houses of Brick Lane to the Wolseley Group brasseries of Soho and China Town for peaking duck and dim sum. Italian neighbourhood restaurants are often wonderful in London; in this category we particularly favour Ida in Queen’s Park, Panella in Notting Hill and Ciao Bella in Bloomsbury. Then there are the Hackney small plate spots, and food markets and arcades (Borough, Spitalfields, Portobello, Kingly Court). If you’re anything like us, you may wind up feeling spoilt for choice and a little overwhelmed. So, to help narrow down the choices, we’ve whittled them down to a list of the 50 best restaurants in London, compiled by House & Garden’s food editor Blanche Vaughan and the digital team. All the restaurants have been tried and tested by our most discerning food fans.
When choosing who should make the list, good food was paramount, but so too were atmosphere, service, wine list and overall experience. Of course, we’re also thinking about decor (when are we not!), and the new Café Petiole in Somerset House is a great example of great food and great design coming together.
This list, like the restaurant scene in London, is ever-changing and updated to reflect new openings that immediately grab us, so it’s one to check back on every time you’re wondering where to go. There are lots of buzzing spots in London for August 2024. We (like most of London?) still haven’t managed to get a reservation for Tollington’s, the Spanish seafood bar in Finsbury park by the great minds behind Four Legs. Arlington’s (the new iteration of the esteemed Le Caprice) is still wildly popular, and for those keen to experience Jeremy King’s full oeuvre, The Park, a ‘new world grand cafe,’ has opened in London’s Bayswater.
As a team, we’ve been noticing (and appreciating) the burgeoning Mexican food scene in London. For a glam night with an amazing aesthetic and guaranteed good food we recommend Decimo. Kol is certainly worth the hype too (hence its place in this Top 50). For a quick and delicious option, we’ve been heading to CDMX in Soho, which opened in June of this year. Proper Tacos is – despite an unprepossessing spot in Nag’s Head Market, Islington – a truly spiritual flavour experience.
So, whether you’re looking for an extended tasting menu, a quick bite or sharing plates, these are the restaurants not to miss in the capital, in no particular order. Scroll on for the 50 best restaurants in London right now.
Oma, Borough Market
After launching two successful Shoreditch restaurants Manteca and Smokestak, Barbadian restaurateur David Carter is back with a double whammy in Borough Market. Overlooking the market itself, the two-story space that was once Hotel Chocolat’s restaurant Rabot is now two different restaurants – and both are quickly proving to be hot ticket tables. Downstairs is the more casual Agora, inspired by the streets and markets of Athens. Things are buzzing down here. Tables are walk-in only and the heart of the restaurant is the wood-fired oven and charcoal rotisserie firing out flatbreads, ‘souvla’ and skewers.
Follow your nose upstairs, and you’ll reach the tranquil Oma (the Greek word for “raw”). Inspired by the Greek isles and general flavours of the levant, things are a little more upscale but with a huge dollop of heart and vibe. We started the evening with all three options in the ‘bread etc’ section and would highly recommend doing the same on your visit. The grilled, warm and soft Laffa bread and bagel-like Açma Verde went beautifully with the silky hummus with zhoug and the salt cod xo labneh. A punchy Yellowfin tuna ceviche swimming in clementine ponzu gave us energy for the next course after the carbs we just imbibed: a gloriously indulgent spanakopita gratin malawach – a must must order. And then came the clay pot with oxtail giouvetsi, bone marrow and beef fat pangrattato – a classic risotto-like Greek dish served in a rustic clay pot and topped with bread crumbs. Dessert was shared after the savoury indulgence, a soft olive oil gelato topped with fennel pollen and more olive oil for good measure.
Neighbourhood: Borough Market
Cuisine: Greek with a modern twist
What to order: spanakopita gratin malawach
Address: 3 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
GAIA
A scene-y new Mayfair restaurant isn’t always worth the hype. That’s not the case with the opulent new Greek restaurant GAIA, where the atmosphere is lively, the food is fresh and delicious, and the service is wonderfully personal. It’s a vast place – light, bright and very atmospheric.
If you’re looking for a rustic Greek taverna, this won’t be your bag, but somehow, despite the sparkling interiors and global reputation (with sister restaurants in Dubai, Qatar and Monte Carlo), it still feels really special and individual. The prices are high – standard for the Piccadilly strip – but it really does feel like you’re on holiday.
It felt like we almost couldn’t go wrong with our orders, everything was delicious. The food is very photogenic, but it tastes as good as it looks – from the super fresh fish counter, to the spectacular sea bream carpaccio.
– Eve Delaney
Neighbourhood: Mayfair
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Greek
What to order: The prawns saganaki are unmissable, but make sure you leave room for the frozen yoghurt, spiked with honey and walnuts.
Address: Gaia Mayfair, 50 Dover St, London, United Kingdom W1S 4NY
The Dover
Like a combination of a super-exclusive members club in New York, a carriage on the Orient Express and a very glam 1950s cruise ship, The Dover isn’t lacking in decorative interest and atmosphere. It’s no wonder that the Dover Street hotspot has become a regular haunt for intimate celebrity dinners.
It’s the new brainchild Martin Kuczmarski, one of the minds behind Soho House, and has some recognisable tropes and creature comforts from the franchise. But it also feels like an instant classic, a place for old Londoners or visitors looking for a great night out. Though I enjoyed a fantastic negroni sbagliato, you get the sense that you’re in the right place for a whopping dirty martini.
Many of the highlights from my visit are from the ‘snacks’ section of the menu, from perfectly crisp potato cakes topped with caviar, to lobster rolls and even mini hot dogs: all a perfect combination of kitsch and classic. You also can’t go wrong with their spaghetti with meatballs.
While it was enveloping and transportive in the summer, I get the sense that The Dover will be even more charming and cosy as the days get shorter and colder in London. – Eve Delaney
Neighbourhood: Mayfair
Address: 33 Dover St, London W1S 4NF
What to order: You can’t go wrong with a burger, but the lobster rolls and crispy potato cakes with caviar are very popular.
Lita, Marylebone
‘Produce driven’, ‘fire grill’, ‘open kitchen’ ‘sharing concept’, you might be mistaken for thinking Lita, short for ‘abuelita’ is just another trendy London restaurant but this Mediterranean modern bistro is anything but. Chef Luke Ahearne (previously Corrigan’s and Luca) and the team behind The Wild Tavern in Chelsea have created an incredible special-occasion space that’s also managed to retain a charming and warm neighbourhood restaurant feel. The rustic dining room with wooden ceiling beams and reclaimed terracotta tile herringbone floor is split into various cosy zones. On the mid-week evening that we visited, we opted for the bar stools in front of the open kitchen where we saw chefs making possibly hundreds of one of the star dishes of the evening: a tiny but mighty pan con tomate drizzled with oil and topped with two chunky Cantabrian anchovies and chives. The starters on the menu are a pescatarian’s dream: hand-dived Orkney scallops, Smoked Basque sardines, caviar and a delightful Fuentes Bluefin tuna carpaccio.
Lita restaurant prides itself on local produce and that can be seen on its meat dishes too: a comforting Aylesbury duck ragu strozzapreti, Peak District T-Bone, Norfolk quail and Yorkshire pork chop. It’s also one of the few places that serves Cull Yaw mutton which comes served with carrots, turnips and Swiss chard. A fennel-crumbed lemon meringue and blood-orange sorbet later, my diner and I knew we had to plan our return here immediately.
Neighbourhood: Marylebone
Cuisine: Mediterranean
What to order: the Pan con Tomate with Cantabrian Anchovies and the Amalfi Lemon Meringue Pie
Address: 7-9 Paddington St, W1U 5QH
Bistro Freddie, Shoreditch
Hand-scrawled menus, white tablecloths, extra drippy white candles; Bistro Freddie very much feels like a classic French bistro – but don’t be fooled. The new restaurant from the folks behind Crispin is currently one of London’s most sought-after tables in town. With interiors designed by Jermaine Gallacher, the space half feels like stepping back into another decade in mittel Europe, and half too cool for school. The menu, devised by chef Anna Søgaard who grew up between the US and Denmark, uses British produce to create a unique take on classic bistro dishes, paired with French wines and digestifs.
On our Saturday lunch visit, we started with the house sausage with brown BF sauce which comes deceivingly plain-looking on a small plate, though was my fellow diner’s highlight of the entire meal. My highlight – and one not to be missed – is the flatbread. The handwritten menu changes often and you’ll find different toppings for the flatbread (like Dorset snails or Boullaibaise). On this occasion, it was mussels, lovage, garlic and Comté and it was a beautifully buttery, flavourful, colourful and comforting dish. For mains, a perfectly medium rare Bavette came plated on a sea of peppercorn sauce which gave you enough for dunking the house-cut chips into while my fellow diner tucked into the pork tenderloin with sweet Soubise sauce. The chicken pie is what the restaurant is also famous for and comes big enough for two to share. Dessert was a large and airy sticky toffee pudding and my only regret is not toasting the afternoon’s line-up with a calvados digestif. All the more reason to return. – Tal Dekel-Daks
Neighbourhood: Shoreditch
Address: 4 Luke St, Greater, London EC2A 4PY
What to order: Do not skip the flatbread
Mountain, Soho
If there’s a name you know you can trust when it comes to devising restaurants that people will simply love for all the right seasons, it’s Welsh-born Tomos Parry. The British chef is the mastermind behind beloved Brat and in 2023, he brought the taste of the mountainous Basque region to Soho with his new venture: Mountain. It’s a simple formula for success: a great, open interior where you can watch every chef at work and feel a little like you’re at a very large dinner party; a menu of dishes to share – or not, should you choose – that are so tempting, you know you’ll be back for any that you missed; and a top-notch wine list. It’s been almost impossible to get a booking since it opened and once you manage to get a table, you’ll know why. – Charlotte McCaughan-Hawes
Neighbourhood: Soho
Address: 16-18 Beak St, London W1F 9RD
What to order: red mullet, mutton chops and smoked potatoes
St Barts, Smithfield
Pulling open the curtains and entering the calm candle-lit bar at St Barts is an instant delight. Taking inspiration from the natural materials used to create the more historic buildings nearby (the restaurant backs onto London’s oldest church, the cloisters of St. Bartholomew The Great), culinary trio Johnnie Crowe, Luke Wasserman and Toby Neill have created a sanctuary of a space using raw materials like stone, wood and soft, fluffy fabrics throughout. It’s a dinner of two halves, with the first half of the tasting menu starting at the lounge bar with drinks and snacks before guests are guided to the dining room for the second half of the tasting menu journey where London’s oldest church comes into full view with floor to ceiling windows. A wax-sealed brown envelope is placed on the table at the start of the night featuring that evening’s menu; you can either open it or keep the next few hours a surprise. It’s as impressive an experience as they come. – Tal Dekel-Daks
Neighbourhood: Smithfield
Address: 63 Bartholomew Cl, London, EC1A 7BG
What to order: the tasting menu
