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.
Signature dishes: Bacon naan roll, House black daal
Must order: Bacon naan roll at breakfast and house black daal at dinner. Chai on the side.
Tip: No bookings for weekend lunch; expect a 45-minute queue on Saturday. Weekday breakfast from 08:00 walks straight in without waiting.
Address: 7 Boundary Street, London E2 7JE
Tomos Parry's Basque-fired wood-grill room above the Smoking Goat in Shoreditch London, opened 2018 and the whole-turbot benchmark for the city.
Signature: Whole grilled turbot, Smoked potatoes
Order: Whole turbot for two off the wood, with smoked potatoes and grilled lettuce.
Tip: Bookings open thirty days ahead at 10:00 and burn fast. Walk-up bar seats are released on the day from 11:00.
James Lowe's Tea Building dining room in Shoreditch London is a Michelin-starred set-menu kitchen built on British produce, opened 2014, on the World's 50 Best list.
Signature: Cured mackerel, Brown butter ice cream
Order: Whatever raw fish opens the menu and the brown butter ice cream that closes it.
Tip: The lunchtime daily-changing two-course is half the price of dinner and uses the same kitchen.
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.
Signature: Lamb chops, Karahi gosht
Order: A starter plate of lamb chops, karahi gosht and tandoori roti to mop up.
Tip: BYOB. Friday and Saturday queues run to 60 minutes; aim for a Tuesday or Wednesday at 19:00.
The wine-led dining room on Lamb's Conduit Street in Bloomsbury London, opened 2015 by Daniel Keeling and Mark Andrew of the wine magazine, runs a serious Modern European menu.
Signature: Slip sole grilled in seaweed butter, Whole roast quail
Order: Slip sole in seaweed butter, plus a glass of mature white Burgundy off their by-the-glass list.
Tip: Lunchtime three-course is a third of dinner's price. The Soho sibling on Greek Street has the same kitchen with longer hours.
The 1869 Farringdon Road working-class dining room in Clerkenwell London, restored under Will Lander since 2012, runs daily-changing British cooking in original Victorian booths.
Signature: Confit potato, Mince and potatoes
Order: The famed confit potato, then mince and potatoes off the daily menu, with a bottle from the shop next door.
Tip: The wine shop next door is corkage-free if you buy a bottle there. Lunch takes walk-ins at the counter Tue-Sat.
Fergus Henderson's St John in Clerkenwell has cooked the nose-to-tail British canon in London since 1994. Whitewashed dining room, no music, daily-changing menu on a single sheet.
Signature: Roast bone marrow and parsley salad, Eccles cake with Lancashire cheese
Order: Roast bone marrow with parsley salad and toast, then Eccles cake with Lancashire.
Tip: The bakery counter near the front sells the same Eccles cakes, doughnuts and brown loaf to take away if you can't get a booking.
Tomos Parry's Basque-fired wood-grill room above the Smoking Goat in Shoreditch London, opened 2018 and the whole-turbot benchmark for the city.
Signature: Whole grilled turbot, Smoked potatoes
Order: Whole turbot for two off the wood, with smoked potatoes and grilled lettuce.
Tip: Bookings open thirty days ahead at 10:00 and burn fast. Walk-up bar seats are released on the day from 11:00.
James Lowe's Tea Building dining room in Shoreditch London is a Michelin-starred set-menu kitchen built on British produce, opened 2014, on the World's 50 Best list.
Signature: Cured mackerel, Brown butter ice cream
Order: Whatever raw fish opens the menu and the brown butter ice cream that closes it.
Tip: The lunchtime daily-changing two-course is half the price of dinner and uses the same kitchen.
