16 editor picks in London.
16 splurge places in London, editor-picked. tasting menus and the full big-night-out treatment in London. All London food.
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.
Isaac McHale's tasting-menu kitchen inside Shoreditch Town Hall in London, opened 2013, kept its Michelin star and a place on the World's 50 Best list.
OrderWhatever the seasonal seafood opener is, and the buttermilk fried chicken canape that started the room.
TipCounter seats face the kitchen pass directly. Book the bar for an a la carte run if the tasting menu is full.
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.
Mourad Mazouz and Pierre Gagnaire's Conduit Street dining rooms in Mayfair London, opened 2002, hold three Michelin stars in the Lecture Room and run a famed.
OrderThe Pierre Gagnaire signature plate in the Lecture Room, or afternoon tea in the pink Gallery.
TipThe Gallery serves the bistro menu and books a fortnight ahead; the three-starred Lecture Room is the eight-week wait.
Ruth Rogers's Italian dining room on the Thames in Hammersmith London, opened 1987 by Rose Gray and Rogers, still the city's defining seasonal Italian.
OrderWhatever pasta dish is on the daily-changing menu, and the chocolate nemesis for two.
TipSit on the riverside terrace in summer. The lunch sitting from 12:30 is markedly cheaper than dinner with the same kitchen.
James Knappett's twenty-seat tasting-counter dining room on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia London opened in 2012 and holds two Michelin stars.
OrderWhatever the Cornish raw fish opener is, and the savoury cheese course that closes the run.
TipThe counter wraps the kitchen; sit at the centre seat for chef interaction. Wine pairings are exceptional and add £160.
Jeremy Chan and Ire Hassan-Odukale's West African-influenced tasting room on the Strand in London, opened 2017, Michelin two-starred and 50 Best listed.
OrderPlantain with raspberry-scotch-bonnet salt, the dish that has stayed on the menu since opening.
TipCounter seats look directly at the pass; book the corner for two and watch every plate go out.
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.
Gordon Ramsay's Royal Hospital Road three-Michelin-starred kitchen in Chelsea London, opened 1998 and held its three stars longer than any other restaurant.
OrderThe Pressed Foie Gras course and the lobster ravioli that have been on the menu since opening.
TipLunch (Tuesday to Friday) at £140 is half the dinner tasting price with the same kitchen run.
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.
Jonny Lake and Isa Bal's two-Michelin-starred dining room on Snowsfields in Bermondsey London, opened 2019, runs imaginative ingredient-driven cooking.
OrderPigeon and persimmon, or the Turkish breakfast dessert that has anchored the menu since opening.
TipLunch books inside three weeks and uses the same kitchen. Sommelier Isa Bal will steer the Georgian and Armenian bottles.
Andy Beynon's one-Michelin-starred fish counter on the edge of London Fields in Hackney London, opened October 2020, runs an 18-seat kitchen table.
OrderWhatever Cornish day-boat fish opens the menu.
TipOne sitting per service; book six weeks ahead. The relaxed wine bar at the front takes walk-ins and pours from the same list.
Aji Akokomi and Ayo Adeyemi's West African tasting-menu kitchen on Berners Street in Fitzrovia London, opened 2020 and Michelin-starred since 2022.
OrderThe Suya-spiced lamb course and whatever the smoked-jollof preparation is on the night.
TipSit at the counter to watch the open kitchen. Wine pairing leans into Lebanese, South African and English wines.
The Ritz Piccadilly dining room in Mayfair London, opened 1906 in Cesar Ritz's hotel, holds one Michelin star and runs classical French cooking.
OrderSole Veronique or the Beef Wellington carved tableside, with the cheese trolley to close.
TipAfternoon tea in the Palm Court is the easier reservation; dinner books 8 weeks ahead with strict dress code.
Tomos Parry's Soho London second restaurant on Beak Street, opened 2023 above a wood-fired open kitchen, runs Welsh-Spanish cooking and has held one Michelin.
OrderSmoked sardine flatbread, the wood-roast lamb shoulder and whatever pudding is on the chalkboard.
TipCounter seats around the pass take walk-ins from 17:30. Bookings open six weeks ahead through Resy.
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.
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