Celebrating the joy of a whole year's dining out without any restrictions - we look back at the highs of 2022 for our London restaurant round-up of the past 12 months.
Best new restaurant - Caravel
Hoxton - 172 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7JL
If knowing that it’s a restaurant on a boat isn’t enough to get you excited, then the amazing food at Caravel should do the job. The arrival of this restaurant on the Regent’s Canal in Angel this spring was met with unbridled happiness across the board. As for us, we loved everything about our dinner here, from the space itself to Fin Spiteri’s amazing cocktails and his brother Lorcan’s inventive and delicious menu full of elevated comfort food (the potato rosti with sour cream and caviar above are exceptionally good). It's recently added a new bar next door, so that's another good reason to go back...
Also see:
Lisboeta - We couldn’t have been happier to see chef Nuno Mendes back in a London kitchen again. Easily meeting our high expectations, Lisboeta’s been a deservedly huge hit.
Best snack - Lor Bak, Mambow
Peckham - 133a Rye Lane, London SE15 4BQ
For quite some time now we’ve been contemplating bringing some sort of tupperware with us when we go out, so that we can bring home particularly gorgeous condiments we come across (of course we wouldn’t actually do it, but are still very tempted…). The dark chilli jam that came with chef Abby Lee’s Lor Bak at Mambow in Peckham was one such delight. A glass of ice-cold beer and a plate of these would gladden the heart of any London foodie.
Also see:
The rib eye skewers at Dai Chi - The breaded aged rib eye skewers at Dai Chi were, we declared at the time, the best drinking food to be had in Soho. The menu changes all the time, but you’re bound to find some superior snackage on there whenever you go.
Best pub food - The Tamil Prince
Islington - 115 Hemingford Rd, London, N1 1BZ
The Tamil Prince was a pub reinvention like no other in 2022. Taking over a small corner pub in Islington, Prince Durairaj and Glen Leeson transformed it overnight into one of the best gastropubs in London, one both popular as much with locals as with travelling foodies. The South Asian menu has many highlights but the one must-order is the Channa Bhatura - a glorious pillow of puffed-up fried bread served with raita.
Also see:
The Baring (Hoxton) - We weren’t alone in loving The Baring - Giles Coren declared it to be “the best thing to happen to London pubs in years.” A pitch-perfect menu delivered with style made this Islington gastropub easy to love.
Best-looking restaurant - Mount St. Restaurant
Mayfair - 41-43 Mount St, London W1K 2RX
You’ll hear a lot of talk about the art on the walls at the Mount St. Restaurant and sure, when there’s Warhol, Freud and Matisse to enjoy, that’s obviously going to draw the eye. But we were very much taken with this new Mayfair opening’s design as a whole - from the glorious terrazzo floor (that’s also an artwork) to the beautiful leather table tops. It’s a gorgeous place to be even before the tables are filled with London's bright and beautiful set.
More about Mount St Restaurant
Our Mount St. Restaurant Test Drive
Also see:
Cycene (Shoreditch) - Perhaps the polar opposite to Mount St, the pared-back interiors of this old Shoreditch townhouse make this a particularly serene place to dine.
Best scene - Cadet
Stoke Newington - 57 Newington Green, London N16 9PX
If Cadet could bottle the secret of its success they’d make a fortune. Within days of its opening, it was already a white-hot hit with folks lining the pavements outside this Newington Green wine bar waiting for a seat. Even now, you have to time your arrival very carefully to be sure of securing a space to perch and enjoy their eclectic wine list and god-tier pate en croute.
Also see:
Caia - We visited during the heatwave when 99% of Notting Hill must have been off at their country house or on their yachts. The place was still packed and even now is still doing a roaring trade.
Best side - the chips at Toklas
Temple - 1 Surrey Street, London WC2R 2ND
“Crunchy gold” is how we described the combination of chips and shards of chips that were served with heavenly aioli at Toklas. The Irish Independent concurred when their critic visited and dubbed them the “Very. Best. Chips. Ever”. Jay Rayner dubbed them the “Platonic ideal of the chip”. We’re all agreed, then and if you haven’t tried them, then you need to fix that rookie mistake now.
Bring your passport - Terre
Cork - Castlemartyr Resort, Grange, Castlemartyr, Co. Cork, P25 X300, Ireland
You’ll need either your passport (or photo ID) to travel to Ireland to this barnstormingly great new restaurant, but in terms of time it’d probably take you less time to get here than driving up the motorway to Manchester. Either way, it’s worth the effort to see at first hand just how on fire the Irish food scene is. Only open a matter of weeks, it’s clear that this ultra-modern mix of French fine dining with Irish and South East Asian inspiration is going to be the most massive hit.
Also see:
Lignum - This was another Irish gem we enjoyed this year - a Nordic by way of West Ireland restaurant with an emphasis on wood-fired cooking, just outside Galway.
Most transformed area - Notting Hill
For a long, long time anyone looking for interesting new restaurant openings in London would be heading east. But this year, the fight back began with Notting Hill leading West London’s revival as a genuinely exciting place to eat out. The roll call of new openings reads very well - Miznon, Hachi, Straker’s, Dorian, Caia, The Pelican and The Princess Royal, not to mention the return of The Ledbury, have combined to turn this part of town into a place well worth heading to for some of London's best food.
The best restaurants in Notting Hill
On our To Do list for 2023 - Mangal 2
Shoreditch - 4 Stoke Newington Rd, London N16 7XN
Standing behind the Mangal 2 team at the National Restaurant Awards this summer when it was announced that they’d roared in at number 35 on the list on their first outing, it was clear to see just how popular they were. Since then we’ve been faffing about trying to find a time to go and try Ferhat and Sertaç Dirik's Dalston restaurant but have reached the end of the year clearly have failed in our mission. Must try harder.
Best Dish - Lahpet's coconut noodles with chicken
Covent Garden - 21 Slingsby Pl, London WC2E 9AB
There was a lot to like at the slick new West End branch of Burmese restaurant Lahpet, like their skewers and the shan tofu fritters - but it was this classic bowl of coconut chicken noodles that won our undying devotion. This is the kind of dish that no matter what terrible things are going on in the world, everything is somehow OK - at least for the time you’re eating it. And given how challenging 2022 has been, this comforting dish went to the top of our personal pile.
Also see:
Turbot Veronique at 1890 - Gordon Ramsay’s new Savoy restaurant took the work of Auguste Escoffier as its jumping-off point - and this modern take on the chef’s classic sole Veronique was perfectly executed.
Best dessert - Abade de priscos at Lisboeta
Fitzrovia - 30 Charlotte St., London W1T 2N
Nuno Mendes’ new restaurant re-introduced us to maybe the most challenging dessert of the year - a real marmite dish. We say challenging, but when we first tried it back at his Spitalfields spot Taberna do Mercado we fell instantly in love and it's the same here. It’s an egg yolk and pork fat custard served with a port wine caramel - a dessert that’s sweet, piquant, even a bit salty. It sounds crazy, but it was the year’s winner for us.
Also see:
Parrillan’s Pina Catalana - Was it devised to go down a storm on Insta and TikTok? Probably. But knowing that doesn’t make this jaw-dropping blow-torched crema Catalana served inside a whole pineapple any less delicious.
Best plant-led dish - Black pearl & oyster mushrooms at Apricity
Mayfair - 68 Duke Street, Mayfair, London W1K 6JU
Chantelle Nicholson's Mayfair restaurant has a focus on sustainability at the heart of it, and although it's not completely vegetarian, the plant-based dishes here are some of the best in London. This dish of summer oyster & black pearl mushrooms, with ‘XO’ sauce, Flanders wheat, and wild garlic mixed flavours and textures with considerable aplomb. As we said at the time, it's " a real showcase of how a plant-based dish can be an absolute showstopper."
Best cocktail - Bottle + Rye’s When Life Gives You Lemons
Brixton - Ground Floor, 404-406 Market Row, Brixton, London SW9 8LD
For a wine bar, it was the cocktails at Bottle & Rye that got us all shaken and stirred up. Their take on a martini - When Life Gives You Lemons - featured Konik's Tail vodka, Citadelle gin, lemon and - the piece de resistance - olive oil. It was a masterfully well-balanced drink that we’re still thinking of, months later.
Also see:
Kol Mezcaleria - The bar underneath Santiago Lastro’s Kol wowed us with a seasonal menu of truly inventive drinks and one of the best bar snacks menus in town.
Best sushi - Roji
Mayfair - 56b South Molton Street, London W1K 5SH
We’ve enjoyed a lot of good sushi over the past 12 months from the more affordable delights of Issho Ni in Shoreditch to the high-end dishes at Mayfair’s Koyn. But it was Roji, tucked in an alley of South Moulton Street, which really won us over with the whole omakase experience. Husband and wife team Tamas Naszai and Tomoko Hasegawa work in perfect harmony to deliver a thrillingly good dinner.
Best Restaurant out of town - Woven
Ascot - Coworth Park, Blacknest Rd, Sunningdale, Ascot SL5 7SE
We haven’t flat-out enjoyed a meal for ages as much as we did at chef Adam Smith’s new restaurant at Coworth Park. From a series of sublime snacks through to some superbly executed mains, our dinner here was memorably good. Even the bread course was truly stunning and the confident, yet relaxed, service was a great match for this modern hotel offering.
Also see:
The Rose (Deal) - When your menu is written by a dream team that includes Nuno Mendes and chefs formerly of The Sportsman and Quo Vadis, is it any surprise that the food at this Kent coaching inn is so good?
Best tasting menus - Cycene and Amethyst
Shoreditch and Mayfair
2022 was surely the year that saw an avowed return to the tasting menu. After years of small plates being served as they - not you - were ready, we were back on a more orchestrated type of meal. Think of this as the food world’s return to the concept album. But which was the best? We honestly couldn’t decide between our dinners at Amethyst in Mayfair with its crazy dining space or Cycene’s promenade experience in Shoreditch. They’re both excellent choices for a special occasion.
More about Amethyst, More about Cycene
Our Amethyst Test Drive, our Cycene Test Drive
Also see:
Restaurant St Barts - Another exemplary promenade-style dining experience in Smithfield.
Biggest on TikTok - Cedric Grolet at The Berkeley
Knightsbridge - The Berkeley, Wilton Pl, London SW1X 7RL
@hotdinners Top pastry chef Cedric Grolet is opening a patisserie & cafe in London, at The Berkeley. We got a preview… #londonlife #luxelondon #knightbridge #luxe ♬ Howl's Moving Castle - Merry Go Round of Life - Vitamin String Quartet
There are two things that the TikTok audience seem very keen on - a bit of luxury and lovely cakes. These are two things that the new Knightsbridge patisserie of top chef Cedric Grolet has in spades. So it’s not perhaps the biggest surprise that this was our most viewed Tiktok of the year, working its way up to a whopping 383k views.
Most missed - The Laughing Heart
So many key London chefs have cooked in this Hackney wine cave that it seemed inconceivable that it would be one of the post-lockdown victims. “Almost saving it almost killed me,” said owner Charlie Mellor of the attempts to keep the business afloat. But in the end, it was a losing battle and The Laughing Heart had its final service at the end of July.
Also see:
Barletta - A fraudster’s work put paid to this popular Margate spot where we had the most amazing seaside dinner in the middle of the heatwave. Thankfully owners Jackson Berg and Natalia Ribbe have their new wine bar Sete to regroup in.
Look out for part two of the Hot Dinners awards this Thursday - sign up to our newsletter to see it first
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