When you’re going out to dinner to celebrate your 21st birthday for the umpteenth time or your mate breaking up from that guy you all hated, it’s not all about what’s on the plate – you need a restaurant that does fun with a capital F. From Shanghai cabaret nights to fire-breathing grill restaurants via the Italian trattoria of your lucid dreams, here’s where to find London restaurants that always bring the vibes.
Bob Bob Ricard
Soho - 1 Upper James Street, London W1F 9DF
A gilded arcadia of caviar, cuvée and chicken Kyiv, it’s impossible not to fall in love with the OG Bob Bob Ricard’s expert balance of frivolity and considered luxury. Equipped in each Prussian blue booth, the famed ‘Press For Champagne’ button says it all – ask for fun and you shall receive it (in a crystal flute, of course).
Speedboat Bar
Soho - 30 Rupert Street, London W1D 6DL
Looking to relive your gap year nights without leaving W1? Speedboat Bar is a clattering portal to Bangkok’s Chinatown, with a buzz that transcends both its utilitarian surrounds and the chilli-enriched menu. Upstairs, there’s a pool table (that turns into a dining table), sports on the TV and a Happy Hour that starts at 11pm – guess you’re not leaving just yet then.
Otto’s
Clerkenwell - 182 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8EW
If you like your elegance with more than a hint of eccentricity, Otto and his duck press more than fit the bill. A beloved curiosity of the London restaurant scene, this shrine to French cooking at its most classic is a vivid experience – partly thanks to the decor, but largely due to Otto Tepasse’s undeniable flare for tableside theatre.
Acme Fire Cult
Dalston - Abbot Street, London E8 3DP
When you’re sat at a terrace table alongside Acme Fire Cult’s outdoor grill as it radiates heat and billows its smoky aromas, indoctrination into Andrew Clarke and Daniel Watkins’s creed of flame-licked food isn’t a hard sell. Throw in pints from neighbouring 40FT Brewery and veg-forward dishes like coal roast leeks with pistachio romesco, and we’re fully signed up.
Park Chinois
Mayfair - 17 Berkeley Street, W1J 8EA
A transportative Mayfair den dripping with the glamour of 1920s Shanghai, Park Chinois is arguably London’s most decadent night out. For the true hedonist, a table in the velvet underground of Club Chinois pairs the restaurant’s luxurious Chinese menu with live cabaret performances, eye-popping acrobatic shows and live DJs late into the night.
Papi
Hackney - 1F, 373 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3DQ
Matthew Scott’s food may have grown up a little from Hot 4 U’s lockdown days of ‘F*** Boris’ char sui buns, but Papi carries through just enough irreverence to keep the party popping. Disco tunes float over dishes of smoked eel chicken wings, brown butter waffles with cheese ice cream for dessert, and plentiful natty wines to make you feel at your most Hackney.
Brigadiers
City of London - 1-5 Bloomberg Arcade, London EC4N 8AR
The curry-and-beers mainstay of a proper British night out gets a serious upgrade at Brigadiers. The food and drink are a draw on their own here, while its lacquered maze of tables conjures an authentic sense of Friday night conviviality. Sport on the TVs with a plate of BBQ butter chicken wings in reach – now that’s a weekend.
El Pastor Soho
Soho - 66-70 Brewer Street, London W1F 9UP
When a restaurant is inspired by the founders’ stint running a cult-favourite nightclub in Mexico City, you can expect some high spirits with your tacos. El Pastor’s Soho restaurant is a pleasingly clattering hall of Mezcalito-fuelled revelry and sharing plates of carnitas, while the Mezcaleria Colmillo bar below awaits the after-party.
F.K.A.B.A.M.
Islington - 156 Canonbury Road, London N1 2UP
The restaurant may be formerly known as Black Axe Mangal, but its reputation for slinging superlatively singed flatbreads out of its fire-breathing Turkish oven hasn’t changed a bit. With a general whiff of dive bar, a soundtrack to match, and an ever-inventive, offal-loving menu, the B.A.M. gang are experts in turning it up to 11.
Jacuzzi
Kensington - 94 Kensington High Street, London W8 4SJ
A sprinkling of parmesan atop your meatballs is one thing, but what you really want from an Italian ristorante is a hefty dose of camp. Big Mamma’s brand of big, Italian fun now takes centre stage on High Street Ken at Jacuzzi, a White Lotus-befit palazzo of lobster risotto, Murano chandeliers and more burrata than a Puglian wedding.
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