It's that time of the year when we look back at all the meals (and drinks) of the year and pick our favourites. Here's our full rundown of the places, dishes and drinks we thought were really remarkable in 2024.
Best new restaurant(s) - Oma + Agora
Borough Market - 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
There were pretty high hopes for this duo of restaurants well before they opened given that the last two openings from the man behind them, David Carter (Manteca and Smokestak), were such big hits. We'd say this surpasses both of those openings with an incredibly confident offering, easily delivering some of the best food (and best overall experience) of the year.
Agora, the downstairs no-booking space, has been hugely busy all year round. There it's a more casual menu featuring some wonderful skewers and flatbreads, bringing a little East London vibe to Borough. Upstairs, Oma is a little more laid back with one of the best Greek-inspired menus in London. The oxtail giouvetsi is a deeply-flavoured wonder and if the borek is on, you have to get that. They also serve very good cocktails, have a top wine list and are just lovely people all round. We left immediately thinking that together they were a contender for the best of the year, and it's remained our favourite all year long.
Runners up: Sesta (Hackney) - Our lunch at Sesta in Hackney proved to be one of those meals where everything - food, service, vibe - combined to make for a memorable dining experience. Wildflowers (Belgravia) - We joined a long list of chefs in our appreciation of Wildflowers this year - Aaron and Laura’s restaurant has been an immediate hit (and they have a very appealing wine bar too).
Best reboot - Arlington
St James - 20 Arlington St, St. James's, London SW1A 1RJ
He’s prevented from calling it Le Caprice because Richard Caring owns the rights to that now, but restaurateur supremo Jeremy King knows, as do all his customers, that Arlington is Le Caprice in all but name. It may have a new chef and front-of-house team, but this St James restaurant is still a draw for the A-listers and its loyal clientele as well a new generation only now discovering its charm. Rekindling the spark of Le Caprice in its heyday was always going to be a tricky thing to pull off, but King brought it back and made it the toast of St James once again.
Runner up: Julie's (Holland Park) - A previous attempt at reviving Julie's popularity didn't quite hit the mark - but this version made the restaurant hugely popular (and a celeb-magnet) once more. The success of the resurrection of this Holland Park establishment was down to a new owner with a local’s understanding of the area (and deep pockets) and the arrival of a new chef in Owen Kenworthy. It’s deservedly found its groove with a new beautiful crowd.
Best fancy sandwich - Ibai's Croque Ibai
City of London - 92 Bartholomew Cl, London EC1A 7BN
We described this at the time as a god-tier toastie and we stand by that. Basque-inspired restaurant Ibai served up a winner of a dish with this toasted sandwich filled with carabinero, boudin noir and Tomme de Brebis cheese and then drizzled with the most heavenly Miel Rayon d’Or raw honey from the Eastern Pyrenees.
Runner up: Café Francois (Borough Yards) - The arrival of Cafe Francois gave the area a fabulous new all-day spot with a menu that included a memorably good soft-shell crab Bánh mì. We also very much rated the Iberico pork and morcilla "pringa" sandwich at Wildflowers.
Best dish - Ormer, Iberico ham jelly
Mayfair - Flemings Mayfair, 7-12 Half Moon St, London W1J 7BH
The trend for London restaurants is definitely lurching firmly towards more luxe/casual dining, but Ormer, the proud possessor of a new Michelin star, is resolutely sticking to its fine dining guns. This dish stood out in a year of dining out for both its cleverness and taste. It’s a jelly, but it’s warm, and it somehow tastes exactly like Iberico ham. We loved it.
Runner up: Lita (Marylebone) - Morels, wild garlic and lardo di Colonnata. Jay Rayner called this "a delicious outrage of a dish" for the piggy drape of lardo over a spring bounty of morels and wild garlic. We’re still thinking of how much we enjoyed it.
Best Snack - Sael's Marmite Custard Tart
St James - 1 St James's Market, London SW1Y 4QQ
If there was a prize for the busiest restaurateur in town, Jason Atherton would win hands down. Opening four new restaurants in four months is an unenviable task but so far, they've all delivered the goods. Probably the most popular has been this St James restaurant (where Aquavit was) and the very best dish there is this bite-sized Marmite custard tart, topped with caviar. Expertly made and one of London's newest must-have dishes. Even for someone who doesn't much like Marmite, this was one of the best things we ate all year.
Runner up: Whiskey & Seaweed (Notting Hill) - The creativity of the teeny roast chicken taco at this new bar at Core by Clare Smyth, is unmatched. We were also partial to the battered cod cheeks at The Hero (Maida Vale), particularly because of the garam masala mayonnaise that came with it.
Best Dessert - Roe's caramelised banana parfait
Canary Wharf - Five Park Drive, Wood Wharf, London E14 9GG
The team behind Fallow went very big for their newest restaurant in Canary Wharf and, like Fallow, the menu at Roe is full of originality, as well as focusing on low-waste. That approach is exemplified in this dessert which is actually a banana-flavoured parfait, shaped to look uncannily like an actual banana, even on close inspection. The caramelised banana skins add a great touch and we've had nothing else like this all year.
Runner up: Cornus (Belgravia) - Patisserie chef Kelly Cullen was responsible for the most perfectly executed brown sugar custard tart at Cornus. Elsewhere, the choux piped with dulce de leche at the Waterman's Arms came with a perfect river view.
Best Cocktails - Kioku Bar
Whitehall - The OWO, 7 Horse Guards Ave, London SW1A 2EX
One of the most beautiful new bars in London, Kioku at The OWO also had, for us, the most innovative cocktail offering this year. They boast the largest sake selection in Europe, much of which is employed in the clever drinks. Their Kinoko (pictured on the left here) is made with Japanese whisky, Daruma Masamune 3-year-old koshu sake, roasted hazelnut, mocha vinegar, cacao nibs and sake lees caramel.
Runner up: Baudry Greene (Covent Garden) - Getting the classics right is always important skill and their Sidecar - which is easy to mess up - was a perfect serve.
Best new wine bar - Farm Shop
Mayfair - 64 South Audley Street, London W1K 2QT
In an area unblessed with budget options for a nice drink, the arrival of the wine bar underneath Farm Shop in Mayfair was a real boon. Obviously, you can push the boat out here (the owners also run the nearby Mount St Restaurant) but there’s plenty of decent, interesting wines by the glass here along with a really very good cheese toastie that you need to try.
Runner up: Bruno (Victoia Park) - Set in an old stables in Victoria Park, this is the latest opening from the always-reliable Michael Sager. Pick a wine from the shelves to enjoy with food from a rotating offering of interesting resident chefs.
Best vegetable dish - AngloThai's wok-fired long aubergine, sweet basil & soy cured yolk
Marylebone - 22-24 Seymour Place, London W1H 7NL
It took a while to get here, but AngloThai's first permanent restaurant has proven to be well worth the wait. While there are plenty of non-vegetarian dishes on the menu (not least the excellent hogget curry), the vegetable focused dishes here are notably excellent. We love an aubergine dish at the best of times, but this was several levels up from anything we've had recently. It was both beautifully presented and a showcase of just how great an aubergine can be when seasoned to perfection.
Runner up: Holy Carrot (Notting Hill) - This plant-based restaurant with an ex-Acme Fire Cult chef in charge showcased an amazingly inventive vegan menu. Easily the highlight was the koji flatbread, with chilli ragu & smoked mushroom.
Best scene - The Dover
Mayfair - 33 Dover St, London W1S 4NF
It was over the Christmas holidays last year when news started to filter through about a very buzzy new opening in the heart of Mayfair, that had somehow materialised from nowhere. By January, everyone who was anyone had already popped in to take a gander at Martin Kuczmarski’s love letter to the Italian American restaurant scene. The food is great, the martinis are impeccable (we've certainly had our share here) and the place looks as though it’s been here forever. Add to that the fact there’s pretty much always someone very famous dining there (celebs love it because they know it’s so discreet) and you have the perma-hot hit that is The Dover.
Runner up: Goodbye Horses (Islington) - Perched on the Islington/De Beauvoir borders this wine bar/restaurant hybrid really broke the mould, serving up an eclectic small plates menu to an East London fashionista crowd.
Best looking restaurant - The Cocochine
Mayfair - 27 Bruton Place, London W1J 6NQ
At the end of the year, it feels like Tim Jefferies and chef Larry Jayasekara's Mayfair restaurant is still flying under the radar for some. However, for us, it remains the most impeccably designed space we've seen all year. From the pitch-perfect layout of the main dining room downstairs, decked out with art from Jeffries' collection, to the absolutely jaw-dropping attic private dining room, it's easy to see the attention to detail that's gone into this. The design is backed up by great food from Jayasekara and if you haven't had the chance to try it out yet, the lunchtime menu is now a pretty food deal for Mayfair.
Our Test Drive of The Cocochine
Runner up: The Georgian (Knightsbridge) - The Grade II listed dining room in Harrods always looked impressive but the revamp, which seems to have been done under the instruction of "this, but with a LOT more chandeliers" is quite spectacular. The pies by Calum Franklin are pretty special too.
Most hype-sustaining - The Devonshire
Soho - 17 Denman Street, London W1D 7HW
Opening around this time last year, it quickly became clear that The Devonshire was a smash hit like no other, with crowds quickly building outside in a quest to try "London's best Guinness". But the fame only grew from there and throughout 2024, this Soho pub and grill room has been a very big deal indeed. From those outside crowds that have remained a permanent fixture all year, to the parade of celebrities going to either the hidden back room of the pub or the restaurant upstairs, nothing in 2024 (or in any recent year) has come even close to what The Devonshire has managed. All that and it's still a great pub (with a bar that serves drink remarkably quickly given how many pints they pour) alongside one of London's best grill rooms (those langoustines and the lamb chops are amazing). It's the place we've most revisited in 2024 (along with The Dover above), and we can see that being the same in 2025.
Our Test Drive of The Devonshire
Runner up: The Yellow Bittern (King's Cross) - The hype/controversy might have come rather unexpectedly for this cash/lunchtime-only restaurant, but it turns out that berating your customers/the press turns out to be good business, as The Yellow Bittern is now booked up until the new year. At this point, it does feel like chef/owner Hugh Corcoran is having his cake and eating it - eking out the hype while simultaneously saying how tedious it all is. But if it gets punters in the door, fair play to him.
Best use of a fryer - Tollington's
Finsbury Park - 172 Tollington Park, London N4 3AJ
A former chippy turned tapas spot, Tollington’s from the Four Legs crew had the advantage of a deep-frier system already in place when they took it over. But as proof that it’s not about the equipment you have but what you do with it, their chippy/tapas crossover dish of chips bravas quickly became the dish we most desired. Served up with a spicy bravas sauce and punchy aioli it went perfectly with a glass of Estrella on tap.
Runner up: Cloth (City of London) - It seems like there are always croquettes on the menu at Smithfield’s Cloth. Right now it’s a Fried Pigʼs Head Croquette but on our visit we enjoyed their Lincolnshire Poacher croquettes, pickled walnut. They're perfectly-sized fried wonders. Here’s hoping they enter the 2025 Croquetas Challenge.
Most improved area for eating out - London Bridge and Borough Market/Yards
Borough Market and the surrounding area has always been a pretty decent place to eat, but this year saw it transformed with some of London's best new openings in 2024 all within walking distance of one another. There's the double-team of Greek-inspired Oma and Agora, Som Saa's excellent second restaurant Kolae and the critically-acclaimed Camille. On top of those, we had the late 2023 opening of Akara and around the corner the excellent Maison Francois follow-up, Café Francois as well as a great new wine bar in the shape of Quill. All this is in addition to an already impressive scene which includes Rambutan, Barrafina, Sollip and Trivet. It's now a concentrated area of truly great places to dine out.
Best reason to head out of town - The Greyhound Inn
Suffolk - The St, Pettistree, Woodbridge IP13 0HP
A full schedule of eating and drinking on a recent two-day trip to East Anglia meant we only had room for a quickish lunch at The Greyhound, a decision that we now profoundly regret. Chef Adam Spicer is a Masterchef: The Professionals finalist and his menu is a thing of beauty. Partridge was served with all the trad trimmings, crudo was local Suffolk-caught bass and the toasted hay and brown sugar custard tart was memorably good. If you're in that area soon, put this on your itinerary.
Our Test Drive of The Greyhound
Runner up: The Unruly Pig (Suffolk) - The "best gastropub" in the UK was one we've been meaning to visit for a long time and it proved to be worth the wait. Great food, wonderful setting, lovely staff - we can see why it came top.
Best international restaurant - The Morrison Room
Ireland - Carton House, Carton Demesne, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, W23 TD98
We must admit to having a family member working at this restaurant just outside Dublin when we visited, but even if we hadn’t this would still have been one of 2024’s standout meals for us. Former Grill at the Dorchester chef Adam Nevin’s restaurant is hotly tipped for Michelin recognition and our dinner there was a good example of why everyone in Ireland is talking it up. Think classically-influenced food presented with modern innovation from some of the best producers in the country. And that gloriously OTT dining room doesn’t hurt any.
Our Test Drive of The Morrison Room
Runner up: Coqadaq (New York) - This was one of the hottest places in NYC when we visited back in March and it was easy to see why - who doesn’t love crazy good Korean food paired with a top Champagne list? But, honestly, we are still thinking about their insanely good soy-marinated celery pickles. Given the frequency of New York imports, we would not be surprised if they decide to open a restaurant in the UK in the future (probably in Notting Hill).
Most obvious trend - Smash burgers
London’s burger scene has been through many iterations, but right now it’s ALL about the smash burger. If your patty hasn’t been squished to within an inch of its life on the griddle, until it’s all crispy around the edges, can you really even call yourself a foodie? Supernova started the trend with queues down the street for its ultra-pared-down menu. Its success unleashed a veritable tsunami of smash burger openings around town, including one vying for Supernova's Soho burger crown, Junk (pictured).
Runner up: Listening rooms - In 2024 it wasn’t enough to be serving an eclectic mix of natural wines and on-tap cocktails, you had to be giving drinkers what they wanted aurally too. From Peckham's Haisu to Godet in Islington, it’s all about an expertly curated vinyl collection with the sound system to match.
One we really should have gone to - Miga
Hackney - 1 Mare St, London E8 4RP
There’s always going to be one really interesting restaurant we just haven’t got around to trying and this year that glaring omission was Miga. By all accounts, this London Fields opening is the Korean version of Mangal II. That's because it’s a project in which a new generation has come in to celebrate and modernise the amazing food they’ve been taught to appreciate and cook by their grandmother and parents (their dad also works here).
Biggest on social - Juno
Notting Hill - 2-4 Farmer St, London W8 7SN
Londoners love a bit of omakase and this teeny spot inside Mexican/Japanese restaurant Los Mochis in Notting Hill did big numbers for us on Instagram with over half a million views by folk wanting to see head chef Leo in action.
And if you’ll allow us to blow our own trumpet, this year we also tipped over the 100k mark on Instagram which was pretty nice.
Runner up: Farm Shop (Mayfair) - Coming in just behind Juno with 506k views, the arrival of this tucked-away wine bar in the heart of Mayfair proved another big hit on social.
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