40 editor picks in London.
40 upscale places in London, editor-picked. occasion restaurants in London: destination kitchens for celebrations and visits. All London food.
Fergus Henderson's St John in Clerkenwell has cooked the nose-to-tail British canon in London since 1994. Priced at £££. Kitchen leans modern british.
OrderRoast bone marrow with parsley salad and toast, then Eccles cake with Lancashire.
TipThe 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.
OrderWhole turbot for two off the wood, with smoked potatoes and grilled lettuce.
TipBookings open thirty days ahead at 10:00 and burn fast. Walk-up bar seats are released on the day from 11:00.
The candlelit Lexington Street bistro in Soho London, opened 1985 by print-dealer Andrew Edmunds, still runs a daily-handwritten Modern European menu.
OrderWhatever seasonal main is on the handwritten menu, and the sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
TipBookings take a six-week lead; bar seats at the front are released as walk-ins after 21:30 on weekdays.
Agostino Perrone's hotel cocktail bar inside The Connaught in Mayfair London, opened 2008, runs the trolley-poured Connaught Martini table-side.
TipThe trolley-Martini is the marquee order; £24 a glass. Book a fortnight ahead through the hotel; jacket required after 19:00.
The Lower Clapton Road natural-wine room in Hackney London that traded as P. Franco from 2014, relaunched as 107 in 2023, wine shop by day, counter by night.
TipWalk-up only. Tuesday-Thursday at 17:30 is the easy slot; Friday-Saturday queue 30 minutes for a counter seat.
Taz Sarhane's one-Michelin-starred tasting-menu room inside the Blue Mountain School in Shoreditch London, opened 2022, runs a 90% British menu cooked.
OrderWhatever Cornish day-boat fish is cooked over flame, and the foraged-herb course that anchors the tasting.
TipOne tasting menu per service; book six weeks ahead. The wine pairing leans natural and biodynamic UK growers.
Karam Sethi's Albemarle Street Indian dining room in Mayfair London, opened 2013 and Michelin two-starred since 2024, modelled on a colonial-club room.
OrderKid goat methi keema with sesame naan, plus whatever wild-game tandoori cut is being grilled that night.
TipThe basement bar serves the same kitchen as a la carte without the tasting menu lock-in. Book a fortnight out.
Jacob Kenedy's regional Italian dining room on Archer Street in Soho London, opened 2008, plates dishes from Piemonte, Friuli, Calabria and beyond.
OrderSuckling pig porchetta with crackling on a soft roll, and a Lambrusco from the carafe list.
TipCounter seats face the open kitchen and take walk-ins. Tables in the back book a fortnight ahead through their site.
Ryan Chetiyawardana (Mr Lyan)'s cocktail bar inside the Sea Containers hotel on the South Bank in London, opened 2019, runs an ingredient-driven menu.
TipWalk-up at the bar most weeknights; weekend tables book a week ahead. Six house ingredients drive the menu each season.
Mia Johansson and Bobby Hiddleston's two-floor cocktail bar on Old Compton Street in Soho London, opened 2016, runs an upstairs Irish-coffee bar.
TipUpstairs takes walk-ins from 17:30. The basement runs to 02:00 with a deeper whiskey list. The Borough sibling has the same kitchen.
Daniel Keeling and Mark Andrew's wine-magazine-meets-bistro on Lamb's Conduit Street in Bloomsbury London, opened 2015, runs serious old-world wines.
TipLunchtime three-course is £45 with a glass. The Greek Street Soho sibling has longer hours and the same list.
Nieves Barragan Mohacho's Mayfair Spanish dining room off Regent Street in London, opened 2017 and Michelin-starred, runs a tapas counter downstairs.
OrderPulpo a la gallega at the counter and the suckling pig upstairs at El Asador.
TipCounter seats downstairs take walk-ins. Upstairs has a six-week booking lead time but a fixed-price suckling pig set menu.
Chris Leach and David Carter's whole-animal Italian dining room on Curtain Road in Shoreditch London, opened 2021, charcuteries pork in-house and rolls pasta.
OrderPig's head fritti, cacio e pepe rigatoni and a glass from the all-Italian wine list.
TipBar seats and the counter overlooking the open kitchen take walk-ins. Tables book a month ahead through Resy.
Salvatore Calabrese's hotel cocktail bar inside Dukes London in St James's, trading since 1908, claims to have inspired Ian Fleming's James Bond Vesper.
TipThe trolley-Vesper is the marquee order; £28 a glass. The bar remains open during the hotel's 2026 refurbishment.
The Savoy hotel's American Bar on the Strand in central London, trading since 1893 and the world's oldest surviving cocktail bar of name, codified the modern.
TipWalk-up only between 11:30 and 19:00; book a week ahead for evenings. The Beaufort Bar across the lobby has the more modern programme.
Michael Sager and Charlotte Wilde's bar on Hackney Road in east London, opened 2013, ran the bridge between London's old wine-bar scene and the natural-wine.
TipThe grilled cheese sandwich is the marquee bar snack. Wednesday and Thursday nights run a £25 menu pairing.
Margot Henderson's daily-changing British canteen inside a converted bike shed off Arnold Circus in Shoreditch London, open since 2004 for lunch.
OrderWhatever offal opener is on the chalkboard, then the custard tart for pudding.
TipOpen Mon-Sat for lunch and Thu-Sat dinner only. No music, no menu printed; the writeup is on the wall.
Jeremy Lee's Dean Street dining room in Soho London, opened 1926 and restored under chef Lee since 2012, runs a daily-changing seasonal British menu.
OrderThe smoked eel sandwich on rye, and whatever pudding is on the chalkboard at the door.
TipLunch menu is a fraction of dinner prices and just as well-staffed; book a Soho-show theatre lunch a week ahead.
Owen Kenworthy's Modern European dining room on Columbia Road in Shoreditch London, opened 2010, runs a daily-changing menu of small plates.
OrderHouse charcuterie board, then whatever offal main is on the night.
TipBest on a Sunday after the Columbia Road flower market closes at 14:00; the kitchen runs to 17:00.
Max Rocha's solo Cafe Cecilia by Regent's Canal in Hackney London opened 2021. Modern European plates with Anglo-Irish notes, drawing on River Cafe and St.
OrderWhatever fish course is on, with the Guinness bread to start and a bottle from the natural-wine list.
TipBook Wed-Sun on Resy; lunch and dinner slots release a week ahead. Saturday brunch is the quieter door.
Daniel Bovey's east-London cocktail bar on Cambridge Heath Road in Bethnal Green London, opened 2014, runs a daily-changing menu of classic and modern.
TipWalk-up only. Tuesday-Thursday from 17:00 is the easy slot. The daily menu turns over fully; favourites change weekly.
Alastair Burgess's basement cocktail bar on Hoxton Square in Shoreditch London, opened in 2010, runs a small handwritten menu of cocktails consistently.
TipBook a fortnight ahead; the room takes 35 covers and burns through. No music, low light, conversation-first design.
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.
TipOpen Wed-Sat only. Walk-up at the counter from 12:00. Closed Sun-Tue; the Saturday market crowd from 10:00 anchors the day.
Karam Sethi's Blandford Street Indian coastal restaurant in Marylebone London, opened 2008 and Michelin-starred, focused on Konkan and Mangalorean fish.
OrderBrown crab Goan curry, hariyali bream and a glass of riesling from the all-aromatic list.
TipThe tasting menu is the best route in, but a la carte stays open at lunch and books a week ahead.
The Hart brothers' walk-up tapas counter on Adelaide Street in Covent Garden London, opened 2014 and Michelin-starred, runs a daily-changing list of Spanish.
OrderTortilla de patatas and a daily specials seafood plate from the blackboard.
TipNo bookings. Aim for 11:45 to be first in at the lunch open; sit at the counter to watch the plancha.
The Clove Club team's neighbourhood Italian on St John Street in Clerkenwell London, opened 2016, runs British-Italian seasonal cooking in a tiled dining.
OrderParmesan fries with truffle mayo, tagliolini al limone and a Negroni from the bar.
TipSit at the bar for the four-course tasting menu at half the dining-room price. Lunch books at three days, dinner at three weeks.
Max and Noel Venning's neighbourhood cocktail bar on Kingsland Road in Dalston London, opened 2016, runs a daily-mixed-on-site cocktail menu and a small wine.
TipWalk-up only Tue-Thu. Friday-Saturday books a week ahead. The brothers source ingredients to make every house spirit from scratch.
Bash Redford's wine bar atop the Peckham multistorey carpark in south London, opened 2018, runs Italian-leaning natural wines and small plates with a rooftop.
TipWalk-up only. Tuesday-Thursday from 17:30 walks in; Friday-Saturday queue runs to 90 minutes for the rooftop seats.
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.
OrderSlip sole in seaweed butter, plus a glass of mature white Burgundy off their by-the-glass list.
TipLunchtime 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.
OrderThe famed confit potato, then mince and potatoes off the daily menu, with a bottle from the shop next door.
TipThe wine shop next door is corkage-free if you buy a bottle there. Lunch takes walk-ins at the counter Tue-Sat.
Skye Gyngell's Modern European dining room inside the New Wing of Somerset House in central London, opened 2014, runs vegetable-led seasonal cooking.
OrderWhatever the spring or autumn vegetable opener is, and the brown butter custard tart for pudding.
TipThe Scratch dinner uses kitchen offcuts to fight food waste and costs £25; the regular menu runs £55 for two courses.
Chris Moore's French-influenced cocktail bar on Bethnal Green Road in east London, opened in 2018, runs a Calvados-heavy menu and ranks regularly.
TipCounter seats walk in any night. Booking a fortnight ahead through their site secures a table. The cocktail flight is the easy ask.
Salvatore Calabrese and Federico Pavan's hotel cocktail bar inside Brown's Hotel in Mayfair London, named for the photographer Terence Donovan.
TipThe Breakfast Martini was Calabrese's invention; ask for it after his Guinness-record house pour. The bar opens at 16:00 weekdays.
Will Lander's wine shop and bar next to Quality Chop House on Farringdon Road in Clerkenwell London, opened 2019, runs a focused natural-leaning Continental.
TipBuy a bottle and drink it in the bar for £15 corkage. The lunch sandwich menu from Quality Chop House is half-price.
Nicholas Balfe's small-plates room on Blenheim Grove in Peckham London, opened 2018 and Michelin-recognised, runs Modern European cooking with a long.
OrderSmoked eel with beetroot and creme fraiche, plus whatever's on the wood-fired grill.
TipThe room is small and bookings book a fortnight ahead; bar seats are released for walk-ins from 18:00.
Justyna Kosinska's basement cocktail bar in a former 1900s tailor's storeroom on Wentworth Street in Spitalfields London, opened 2013, runs a focused.
TipWalk-up only. Doors open 18:00 weekdays; weekend queues run 30 minutes. Cash and card; tiny capacity below ground.
Sunny Hodge's neighbourhood wine bar on Rodney Road in Walworth London, opened 2017, runs a serious natural-wine list and Mediterranean snacks at the counter.
TipWalk-up only Tue-Thu. Friday-Saturday books two weeks ahead. The wine focus is on growers Hodge knows personally.
The Caprice Holdings seafood institution on St Martin's Court in Covent Garden London, opened 1896, runs a pre-theatre fish-focused menu with the oyster bar.
OrderSheekey's fish pie and a half-dozen native oysters from the oyster bar list.
TipThe Oyster Bar at no. 28-32 takes walk-ins at the bar; the main dining room books two weeks ahead for evening service.
Chris Corbin and Jeremy King's grand European brasserie on Piccadilly in London, opened 2003 in a former 1921 Wolseley showroom, runs from breakfast.
OrderEggs Benedict and a flat white at breakfast, or the Wiener schnitzel and a glass of riesling at dinner.
TipBreakfast from 07:00 is the un-touristed slot. Pre-theatre dinner from 18:00 books a fortnight ahead.
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.
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