40 mid-range rooms in London, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good rooms in London, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All London food.
Blacklock Soho ★ 4.8
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.
Tip: Sunday roast is £20 and books two weeks ahead through Resy. Pre-theatre chops at 17:00 walks in for half-price.
The Kernel Brewery ★ 4.8
borough-bermondsey · Arch 7 Dockley Road, London SE16 3SF
Evin O'Riordain's railway-arch brewery in Bermondsey London, founded 2009, the city's most-influential modern craft brewery, runs a Saturday-only retail.
Tip: Saturday market hours only (09:00-14:00). The bottle shop runs at the arch alongside Mons cheese and Maltby Street market.
Andrew Edmunds ★ 4.8
soho · 46 Lexington Street, London W1F 0LP
Andrew Edmunds's candlelit Lexington Street bistro in Soho London, opened 1985 by the print-dealer Edmunds, still the city's preferred Soho dining-room.
Tip: Bar seats at the front are released as walk-ins after 21:30. The handwritten daily menu does not appear online.
The Camberwell Arms ★ 4.7
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 ★ 4.7
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. Priced at ££.
Tip: Walk-up only. Doors open 12:00; arrive at 11:45 for first sittings without a wait. Closed Sundays.
Square Mile Coffee Roasters ★ 4.7
hackney · Unit 5, Wenlock Studios, 50-52 Wharf Road, London N1 7EU
Anette Moldvaer and James Hoffmann's Square Mile coffee roastery near Wenlock Basin in north London, founded 2008, the city's most-cited specialty roaster.
Tip: No public cafe; the beans go to subscribers and the city's top espresso bars (Workshop, Prufrock, Kaffeine).
Monmouth Coffee Company ★ 4.7
borough · 2 Park Street, London SE1 9AB
Anita Le Roy's pioneer London coffee roaster, founded in 1978 on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden, runs two retail-and-cafe sites and is one.
Tip: The Covent Garden original on 27 Monmouth Street has the standing counter; Borough has more outdoor seats.
Beigel Bake ★ 4.7
shoreditch-spitalfields · 159 Brick Lane, London E1 6SB
The Brick Lane Beigel Bake bakery in east London, trading since 1974, runs 24-hour hand-rolled bagels and salt beef sandwiches, the city's defining.
Tip: After midnight queue runs 15 minutes. Salt beef bagel £6, cream cheese bagel £2.50. Cash or card.
Smoking Goat ★ 4.7
shoreditch · 64 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ
The Smoking Goat charcoal Thai BBQ kitchen on Shoreditch High Street in east London, opened 2014 in Soho then moved to a larger Shoreditch site in 2017.
Tip: Walk-up at the bar; tables book a week ahead through their site. The fish-sauce wings and lardo-curry are the canonical orders.
40 Maltby Street ★ 4.6
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.
Tip: Open Wed-Sat lunch and dinner; closed Sun-Tue. Walk-up only; first sitting at 12:00 always has bar seats.
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.
Tip: Tiny room. Bookings open six weeks ahead and burn fast. Counter seats released as walk-ins from 17:30.
Howling Hops Tank Bar ★ 4.6
hackney · Unit 9A, Queens Yard, White Post Lane, London E9 5EN
Howling Hops's Hackney Wick tank bar in east London, founded 2014, is the UK's first dedicated tank bar with ten stainless-steel tanks pouring unfiltered.
Tip: Open daily from midday. Live music Fridays from 20:30 and vinyl DJs Saturdays from 20:00. Latin-fusion kitchen runs through the day.
Rochelle Canteen ★ 4.6
shoreditch · 16 Playground Gardens, Arnold Circus, London E2 7ES
Margot Henderson's daily-changing British canteen inside a converted bike shed off Arnold Circus in Shoreditch London, open since 2004 for lunch.
Tip: Open Mon-Sat for lunch and Thu-Sat dinner only. No music, no printed menu; the day's run is on the wall.
The Wolseley ★ 4.6
mayfair · 160 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King's grand European brasserie on Piccadilly in London, opened 2003, runs the city's most-traditional power-breakfast crowd.
Tip: Weekday breakfast at 07:30 is the easy slot. The weekend full English at £24 is the marquee brunch order.
Dishoom Shoreditch (brunch) ★ 4.6
shoreditch · 7 Boundary Street, London E2 7JE
Dishoom's Boundary Street Shoreditch dining room in London, opened 2012, serves the brand-defining bacon naan roll, sausage naan and Bombay omelette.
Tip: Walk-in until 11:45 Mon-Fri. Weekend breakfast queues run 30 minutes; weekday at 09:00 walks in. Chai is unlimited refill.
Kiln ★ 4.5
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.
Tip: Counter seats are walk-in only after 17:30. Lunch tables behind the counter take bookings two weeks ahead.
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.
Tip: Counter seats face the open kitchen and take walk-ins. Tables in the back take bookings two weeks ahead.
Assembly Coffee ★ 4.5
brixton-tooting · 244 Ferndale Road, London SW9 8FR
Assembly Coffee's specialty roastery inside a 19th-century Brixton fire station in south London, founded 2015, runs a Loring roaster, sensory lab.
Tip: The Door Coffee Bar runs weekdays only. Cuppings at the roastery book through their site; subscription ships UK addresses weekly.
Climpson and Sons ★ 4.5
hackney · 67 Broadway Market, London E8 4PH
Daniel Climpson's roaster on Broadway Market in Hackney London, founded 2002, runs a Saturday-market cafe at 67 Broadway and a roastery on Helmsley Place.
Tip: The Saturday market is the canonical visit. Climpson's Arch on Helmsley Place is a Friday-Saturday-only railway-arch bar.
Allpress Espresso ★ 4.5
shoreditch · 58 Redchurch Street, London E2 7DP
Michael Allpress's New Zealand-founded specialty roaster, opened in London on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch in 2010, runs cafes across east London.
Tip: The Redchurch Street original sits next to Brat. Their Dalston site has the bigger laptop seating area.
Origin Coffee Roasters ★ 4.5
shoreditch · 65 Charlotte Road, London EC2A 3RL
Tom Sobey's Cornwall-founded Origin Coffee, roasting in Helston since 2004, opened the Charlotte Road London cafe in 2015 and runs a third-wave filter bar.
Tip: The retail wholesale relationship runs to many of Soho and Clerkenwell's morning coffee bars.
Four Seasons Chinatown ★ 4.5
soho · 12 Gerrard Street, London W1D 5PR
Four Seasons on Gerrard Street in Chinatown London, trading since 1996, runs the city's most-cited Cantonese roast duck, served whole or half with plum sauce.
Tip: Walk-in any night. Take-away roast duck is half the dining-room price. The Queensway Bayswater sibling runs the same kitchen.
Bao Soho ★ 4.5
soho · 53 Lexington Street, London W1F 9AS
Bao Soho counter on Lexington Street in central London, opened 2015 by Erchen Chang and Shing Tat Chung, runs late Taiwanese steamed buns and grilled skewers.
Tip: Walk-up only. After 21:30 is the easy slot; weekday last orders at 22:30. The Borough sibling runs to midnight on weekends.
40 Maltby Street ★ 4.5
borough-bermondsey · 40 Maltby Street, London SE1 3PA
Gergovie Wines's importer-run wine bar and kitchen inside a Maltby Street railway arch in Bermondsey London, opened 2010, the home address of London chef.
Tip: Wed-Sat only; closed Sun-Tue. Walk-up at the counter from 12:00. The kitchen rewrites the chalkboard every service.
Akub ★ 4.4
notting-hill-bayswater · 27 Uxbridge Street, London W8 7TQ
Fadi Kattan's Palestinian dining room on Uxbridge Street in Notting Hill London, opened 2022, spreads across four floors and runs traditional Palestinian.
Tip: Ground-floor counter takes walk-ins for mezze. Tables upstairs book a fortnight ahead. Brunch service runs Saturday and Sunday.
Has Bean Coffee ★ 4.4
various · Unit 5, Triumph Industrial Park, Stafford ST16 3AB
Stephen Leighton's Has Bean Coffee, founded 2002 in Staffordshire and a foundational supplier to the early London specialty scene, runs a subscription.
Tip: Has Bean's beans feature at Tap, Prufrock and other London cafes. Subscribe through their site for weekly single-origin filter beans.
Cloudwater Tap Room ★ 4.4
borough-bermondsey · 73 Enid Street, London SE16 3RA
Manchester's Cloudwater Brew Co opened this Bermondsey railway-arch tap on Enid Street in 2019; 20 keg lines plus one cask handpump on the Beer Mile.
Tip: Closed Monday. Friday afternoon and Saturday are the busiest crawl windows; arrive before 15:00 Saturday for a seat. Cloudwater can-art banners mark it.
Joy King Lau ★ 4.4
soho · 3 Leicester Street, London WC2H 7BL
Joy King Lau on Leicester Street in Chinatown London, trading since 1985 as a four-floor Cantonese family restaurant, runs roast meats, congee and dim sum.
Tip: Walk-in any night for the takeaway counter at the front. The roast goose with rice is the marquee plate at £18.
Granger and Co Notting Hill ★ 4.4
notting-hill-bayswater · 175 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2SB
Bill Granger's Australian brunch room on Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill London, opened 2011, runs ricotta hotcakes and brown rice porridge from breakfast.
Tip: Walk-in only. Sunday queue runs 60 minutes; weekday breakfast walks in. Closed half an hour 16:00-16:30 for staff service change.
Toklas ★ 4.4
covent-garden · 1 Surrey Street, London WC2R 2ND
Toklas just off Aldwych in central London, opened 2021 beside Somerset House, runs a Mediterranean kitchen by Martyn Lyons (ex-Spring, ex-Moro) with its own.
Tip: The bakery shop next door sells the same pastries from 08:00. Sunday weekend brunch runs to 16:00; weekdays serve through dinner.
Caravan King's Cross ★ 4.4
kings-cross · 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA
Caravan's flagship dining room at Granary Square in King's Cross London, opened 2012, runs an Antipodean all-day brunch and in-house coffee roastery.
Tip: Outdoor terrace seats fill the canalside in summer. Closed half an hour 16:00-16:30 between brunch and dinner sittings.
Bao Soho ★ 4.3
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.
Tip: Walk-up only. Put your name down on the chalkboard outside; the queue moves in 20 to 40 minutes from open.
The Eagle ★ 4.3
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.
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 ★ 4.3
soho · 49 Dean Street, Soho, 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.
Tip: No mobile phones, no music. Tables book one week ahead. The downstairs pub still pours a proper half-pint of bitter.
Volcano Coffee Works ★ 4.3
brixton-tooting · 5-7 Stockwell Lane, London SW9 9XR
Kurt Stewart's Stockwell-based London coffee roaster, founded 2010, runs a serious B-corp-certified specialty roastery in south London and supplies cafes.
Tip: No public cafe; subscribe online or buy beans through stockists. The Mons Sandwiches deli on Stockwell Road is the nearest cafe pouring their beans.
Bone Daddies Soho ★ 4.3
soho · 31 Peter Street, London W1F 0AR
Ross Shonhan's Soho ramen bar on Peter Street in central London, opened 2012, runs late-night tonkotsu ramen, fried chicken bao and a Japanese-American menu.
Tip: Walk-up only after 21:30. Counter seats face the open kitchen. The Soho original closes at 23:00; the Bond Street sibling runs to 00:00 on weekends.
Duck and Rice ★ 4.3
soho · 90 Berwick Street, London W1F 0QB
Alan Yau's Cantonese gastropub on Berwick Street in Soho London, opened 2015 in the former Endurance pub, runs Cantonese dim sum and a late kitchen serving.
Tip: The upstairs dining room takes bookings; the downstairs pub-and-bar walks in any night. Closed half an hour 16:00-16:30 daily.
Cay Tre Soho ★ 4.3
soho · 42-43 Dean Street, London W1D 4PZ
Cay Tre Vietnamese kitchen on Dean Street in Soho London, opened 2009 by Hieu Trung Bui, runs late pho, bun cha and banh mi until 22:30 every night.
Tip: Walk-in or book a fortnight ahead. The pre-theatre menu at £20 for two courses runs until 18:30.
VQ Chelsea ★ 4.3
south-kensington-chelsea · 325 Fulham Road, London SW10 9QL
VQ (Vingt-Quatre)'s 24-hour cafe and diner on Fulham Road in Chelsea London, trading since 1995, runs eggs Benedict, burgers and a full alcohol licence.
Tip: 24-hour alcohol licence. Post-club crowd peaks 02:00-04:00; weekday late nights are quieter and walk in without waiting.
Towpath ★ 4.3
hackney · 42 De Beauvoir Crescent, London N1 5SB
Lori De Mori and Laura Jackson's Regent's Canal cafe on the towpath in east London, opened 2010, an outdoor-only seasonal cafe closed November to March.
Tip: Open March to October only. No bookings, outdoor seats only, cash and card. Daytime kitchen runs to 17:00.