20 mid-range rooms in London, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good rooms in London — no surprise on the bill, real cooking. All London food.
Kiln ★ 4.6
soho · 58 Brewer Street, London W1F 9TL
Ben Chapman's wood-fired Northern Thai counter in Soho London, opened 2016, sits in front of an open grill that turns out skewers and clay-pot noodles all day.
Tip: Counter seats are walk-in only after 17:30. Lunch tables behind the counter take bookings two weeks ahead.
Black Axe Mangal ★ 4.6
stoke-newington · 156 Canonbury Road, London N1 2UP
Lee Tiernan's ocakbasi-influenced Turkish-British flatbread room near Canonbury station in London, opened 2015, runs the city's loudest dining room and an offal-forward charcoal grill.
Tip: First-come, first-served from 18:00. Closed Sunday and Monday. Cash and card; no booking, no compromise.
Blacklock Soho ★ 4.6
soho · 24 Great Windmill Street, London W1D 7LG
Gordon Ker's basement chophouse on Great Windmill Street in Soho London, opened 2015, runs charcoal-grilled chops in a 1850s-era basement room, the cheap-and-loud Sunday roast destination.
Tip: Sunday roast is £20 and books two weeks ahead through Resy. Pre-theatre chops at 17:00 walks in for half-price.
The Camberwell Arms ★ 4.6
peckham · 65 Camberwell Church Street, London SE5 8TR
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.
Tip: Sunday lunch books a fortnight ahead and serves until they run out. The bar room takes walk-ins all evening.
Koya ★ 4.6
soho · 50 Frith Street, London W1D 4SQ
John Devitt's hand-pulled udon counter on Frith Street in Soho London, opened 2010, runs the city's most serious Japanese noodle kitchen with a daily-changing seasonal special.
Tip: Walk-up only. Doors open 12:00; arrive at 11:45 for first sittings without a wait. Closed Sundays.
Gunpowder Spitalfields ★ 4.6
shoreditch-spitalfields · 11 White's Row, London E1 7NF
Harneet Baweja's family-recipe Indian small-plates kitchen on White's Row in Spitalfields London, opened 2015, plates regional Indian home cooking, no buffet, no naan basket.
Tip: Tiny room. Bookings open six weeks ahead and burn fast. Counter seats released as walk-ins from 17:30.
Bao Soho ★ 4.5
soho · 53 Lexington Street, London W1F 9AS
Erchen Chang and Shing Tat Chung's original Bao counter on Lexington Street Soho in London, opened 2015, the bao that put Taiwanese food on every restaurant map in town.
Tip: Walk-up only. Put your name down on the chalkboard outside; the queue moves in 20 to 40 minutes from open.
Padella ★ 4.5
borough · 6 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TQ
Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda's hand-rolled pasta counter at Borough Market in London, opened 2016, runs a daily-changing list of fresh-pasta plates and a walk-in queue.
Tip: Join the virtual queue at 12:00 sharp via their app for the first lunch slots; otherwise expect a 60-minute wait on Saturday.
Jose ★ 4.5
borough-bermondsey · 104 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UB
Jose Pizarro's standing-only tapas bar on Bermondsey Street in London, opened 2011, a Spanish counter that runs Cantabrian anchovies, jamon and croquetas from morning to late.
Tip: No bookings; squeeze in standing at the bar from 18:00 onwards. Lunch from 12:00 is walk-in friendly all week.
Dishoom Shoreditch ★ 4.5
shoreditch · 7 Boundary Street, London E2 7JE
The Bombay-cafe-styled Indian dining room on Boundary Street in Shoreditch London, opened 2012 as Dishoom's second site, runs Parsi cafe cooking from breakfast to late.
Tip: No bookings for weekend lunch; expect a 45-minute queue on Saturday. Weekday breakfast from 08:00 walks straight in without waiting.
Tayyabs ★ 4.5
whitechapel · 83-89 Fieldgate Street, London E1 1JU
The Tayyab family's Punjabi grill on Fieldgate Street in Whitechapel London, opened 1972, runs charcoal-grilled lamb chops, karahi and seekh kebab in a roaring open kitchen.
Tip: BYOB. Friday and Saturday queues run to 60 minutes; aim for a Tuesday or Wednesday at 19:00.
40 Maltby Street ★ 4.5
borough-bermondsey · 40 Maltby Street, London SE1 3PA
Steve Williams's wine-bar-with-kitchen inside a Maltby Street railway arch in Bermondsey London, opened 2010, runs a daily-changing chalkboard of small plates and an unfussy natural-wine list.
Tip: Open Wed-Sat lunch and dinner; closed Sun-Tue. Walk-up only; first sitting at 12:00 always has bar seats.
The Palomar ★ 4.5
soho · 34 Rupert Street, London W1D 6DN
The Layo Paskin brothers' Jerusalem-leaning counter and dining room on Rupert Street in Soho London, opened 2014, runs a kitchen-counter front and a calmer back room.
Tip: Counter seats face the open kitchen and take walk-ins. Tables in the back take bookings two weeks ahead.
The Eagle ★ 4.4
clerkenwell · 159 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3AL
Britain's first gastropub on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 1991 by Mike Belben and David Eyre, still serves Mediterranean-leaning daily-changing food at the bar.
Tip: Walk-in only. The chalkboard menu rewrites every day at 12:00; the best dishes go by 14:00 on a busy lunch.
The French House ★ 4.4
soho · 49 Dean Street, London W1D 5BG
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 through the war.
Tip: No mobile phones, no music. Tables book one week ahead. The downstairs pub still pours a proper half-pint of bitter.
Lina Stores ★ 4.4
soho · 51 Greek Street, London W1D 4EH
The 1944 Brewer Street deli's first sit-down restaurant on Greek Street in Soho London, opened 2018, runs hand-rolled pasta and Italian-deli classics in a green-tiled room.
Tip: Walk-up only at the deli original on Brewer Street; the Greek Street site takes bookings via Resy two weeks ahead.
Elliot's ★ 4.4
borough · 12 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Brett Redman's small-plates dining room on Stoney Street next to Borough Market in London, opened 2010, runs wood-fire cooking and a market-driven daily-changing chalkboard.
Tip: Walk-up only at the bar. Tables book a fortnight ahead. Closed Monday; the Borough Market kitchen runs Wed-Sat.
Wright Brothers Borough ★ 4.4
borough · 11 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
Robin Hancock and Ben Wright's seafood counter on Stoney Street next to Borough Market in London, opened 2002, runs a daily-fresh oyster menu and a serious fish pie.
Tip: Counter seats face the bar. Lunch runs walk-in; Saturday at noon is the un-touristed slot before market crowds peak.
Popolo ★ 4.3
shoreditch · 26 Rivington Street, London EC2A 3DU
Jonathan Lawson's Italian-leaning dining room on Rivington Street in Shoreditch London, opened 2017, runs hand-rolled pasta, North African accents and a Sicilian wine list.
Tip: Counter seats wrap the open kitchen. Walk-up only at the counter; tables book a week ahead through their site.
Lemonia ★ 4.2
camden-primrose-hill · 89 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 8UY
The Evangelou family's Primrose Hill Greek taverna on Regent's Park Road in London, opened 1979, still the village's Sunday-lunch destination for lamb kleftiko in a packed dining room.
Tip: Sunday lunch books two weeks ahead through their site. Tuesday-Thursday dinner walks in any time after 19:00.