14 editor picks in London.
14 british gastropub places in London we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in London | British Gastropub across every city.
Modern British cooking and the gastropub grew up together in London, pairing nose-to-tail seriousness with the ease of a pub dining room. Clerkenwell is the historic heart of the movement: St John on St John Street made offal and simplicity a national style, while The Eagle on Farringdon Road is widely credited as the first gastropub. The range now runs from The French House and Quality Chop House to fine-dining rooms like The Ledbury and Core by Clare Smyth.
Britain's oldest restaurant on Maiden Lane in Covent Garden London, opened 1798 by Thomas Rule, runs an estate-game-led menu through grouse.
OrderGame pie in season, then steamed steak and kidney pudding with mash.
TipLunch is a third of dinner's price and just as well-staffed. The upstairs cocktail bar runs to 23:00 most nights.
Britain's first gastropub on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 1991 by Mike Belben and David Eyre, still serves Mediterranean-leaning.
OrderThe Bife Ana steak sandwich, on the menu since 1991, and a pint of bitter.
TipWalk-in only. The chalkboard menu rewrites every day at 12:00; the best dishes go by 14:00 on a busy lunch.
Mike Davies's gastropub on Camberwell Church Street in south London, opened 2014, runs a daily-changing seasonal menu and a famous family-style Sunday roast.
OrderSunday roast for four (booked in advance), or whatever whole-animal cut is on weeknight dinner.
TipSunday lunch books a fortnight ahead and serves until they run out. The bar room takes walk-ins all evening.
Neil Borthwick's upstairs dining room above the historic French House pub on Dean Street in Soho London, opened 2017 in the room Free French resistance used.
OrderWhatever the seasonal main is on the chalkboard, with a glass from the focused wine list.
TipNo mobile phones, no music. Tables book one week ahead. The downstairs pub still pours a proper half-pint of bitter.
The Jugged Hare on Chiswell Street in the City of London, opened 2012 by ETM Group, runs a game-led gastropub menu with hung-game cabinets in the dining room.
OrderWhole roast partridge or grouse in season, or the family-style Sunday roast in winter.
TipLunch and pre-theatre runs walk-in friendly. Sunday roast books a fortnight ahead through their site.
Clare Smyth's Notting Hill London dining room, opened 2017, was the first three-Michelin-starred restaurant run by a British female chef. Tasting menu £275.
OrderThe Core potato dish, kept on the menu since opening night, plus the seasonal lamb course.
TipBook the kitchen counter for the Chef's Table service; same kitchen, fewer covers, eight weeks instead of twelve.
Brett Graham's Notting Hill London tasting-menu kitchen, re-opened 2022 after a refurbishment, holds three Michelin stars and runs ingredient-first British.
OrderWhatever wild-game course is on the autumn menu, and the Sika deer if it appears.
TipTuesday lunch is the easiest slot to book and the kitchen runs the same menu. Wine pairings start at £180.
Ollie Dabbous's Piccadilly dining room overlooking Green Park in Mayfair London, opened 2018 and Michelin-starred, runs a Modern British menu across three.
OrderWhatever sea-buckthorn course is on, and the warm cheese tart that has stayed on the menu since opening.
TipThe ground-floor Below cocktail bar takes walk-ins and serves the same kitchen as a la carte plates.
Heston Blumenthal's historical-British research kitchen inside the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London, opened 2011 and Michelin two-starred.
OrderThe Meat Fruit (chicken liver mousse in a mandarin-orange shell), unchanged from 2011.
TipLunch a la carte at £55 for two courses is half dinner. Sit at the open kitchen counter to watch the mousse-shaping.
Helene Darroze's three-Michelin-starred dining room inside The Connaught hotel in Mayfair London, opened 2008, runs ingredient-led French-British cooking.
OrderCep risotto in autumn, or the langoustine course at any time of year.
TipLunch (Tue-Sat) at £75 for three courses is the most accessible route. The Connaught Bar next door is one of the world's great cocktail rooms.
Neil Borthwick's upstairs dining room above the historic French House pub on Dean Street in Soho London, opened 2017, the city's most-defended phone-free.
TipNo mobile phones, no music. Tables book one week ahead. The downstairs pub still pours a proper half-pint of bitter for £2.50.
Margot Henderson's daily-changing British canteen inside a converted bike shed off Arnold Circus in Shoreditch London, open since 2004 for lunch.
TipOpen Mon-Sat for lunch and Thu-Sat dinner only. No music, no printed menu; the day's run is on the wall.
Ning Ma's Beijing street-food cafe inside Brixton Village in south London, opened 2011, runs hand-rolled dumplings, hand-pulled noodles and the family.
OrderHand-rolled Beijing dumplings
TipWalk-up only. Five dumplings around a fiver; the chilli oil noodles cost £8. Weekday lunch walks in without queueing.
Blacklock's pre-theatre chops menu in their Soho London basement, opened 2015, runs the all-chops platter at half price between 17:00 and 18:30 most.
OrderSkinny chops at half price
TipWalk-up only for pre-theatre. Last orders 18:30 sharp; the chops platter at the early sitting is the same kitchen as 19:30 service.
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