Perfect for solo diners but also great for getting up close to the kitchen action, we always love a bit of counter dining. Here are some of our favourite places in the city to pull up a stool.
Legado
Shoreditch - 1 Montacute Yards, 185-186 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6HU
An undulating natural wood chef’s counter is at the heart of Nieves Barragán’s Shoreditch restaurant. There are 16 seats that span the length of the open kitchen here, so you can see precisely how the delicious dishes are made. Plus, your orders are etched with chalk on the counter in front of you, so you don’t forget what’s coming next.
Hon's BBQ
Hackney Wick - The White Building, Unit 7 Queen's Yard, London E9 5EN
Hoje's BBQ took over what was once Silo in Hackney Wick. That was a restaurant that already had great counter seating wrapped around the open kitchen and now Hon's benefits from it. When we visited, we sat at the counter here and if there are two of you, this is absolutely the place to be as you watch the chefs preparing some of the very best barbecued meats you will have witnesses in London.
Singburi
Shoreditch - 7 Montacute Yards, Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6HU
Right next door to Legado is cult Thai favourite Singburi, which made the move from Leytonstone to this new development off Shoreditch High Street. Sure, there are tables along the window front, but we’d always want to be on a stool up at the counter here watching chefs Sirichai and Nick at work.
Dover Street Counter
Mayfair - 31 Dover Street, London W1S 4ND
This might be the hottest counter restaurant on the list if the difficulty in getting a reservation is anything to go by. Martin Kuczmarski knows how to create restaurants that are fun, and sitting up at the counter here is always that. Order a Cosmo and one of their great sandwiches and know that the lighting here makes everyone look fabulous.
Impala
Soho - 14 Dean St, London W1D 3RS
In this bustling Soho dining room, some of our favourite places to sit are up at the various counters. There’s one up at the bar, and one by the wood-fired oven as well as (the best in our opinion) the four seats next to where chef Meedu Saad presides over the kitchen. If you want to hear from the horse’s mouth what gave him the inspiration for what’s on the menu that night, this is the place to be.
Wagyu Yakinuku
Fitzrovia - 12 Charlotte Street, London W1T 2LU
There is a back room at this Japanese restaurant, but the geometric wooden counter is where all the action is, with grills set into the wood itself. That’s where the chefs cook the various cuts of wagyu in front of you, as well as explaining the differences between them to diners. Right now there’s really nothing else like this in London.
Igni
Mayfair - 12 St. George Street, London W1S 2FB
Chef Theo Clench and his team serve up excellent food at this live-fire restaurant where the best seats are definitely up at the counter. It’s the perfect spot to marvel at the Heath Robinson-like contraption they have over the grill and to see the last-minute finishing-off of dishes at the pass.
Tempo
Bethnal Green - 252 Paradise Row, London E2 9LE
Calm industry is the name of the game in the kitchen here at Tempo, where chef Eric Wan is serving up some of the most thrilling food in town. The wrap-around counter offers plenty of seats for a view of what the sommeliers are picking or the chefs creating. We could watch Eric ladling hot honey butter over those madeleines all night.
Café Kowloon
London Fields - 392-393 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PH
The booths in Cafe Kowloon are lovely, but we think the place to be is definitely up on the counter where you're right beside the chefs in action. Once there, the prawn toast is an absolute must. Also see: At the front of Cafe Kowloon is Wonton Charlie's, another great counter spot (for wonton soup) that's very easy to pop into.
Tavern
Shoreditch - 374-378 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT- 374-378 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT
Fully half the restaurant as you enter Tavern is devoted to kitchen counter dining. So if you want to see precisely how those foot-long pork scratchings are made, a seat here offers the best chance. It’s also a very useful solo dining spot for Shoreditch workers.
Wild Izakaya
City - 33 Old Jewry, London EC2V 8EY
Two huge counters make up the bulk of the dining space at the Goodman group’s City-based sushi restaurant. If you like being ultra close to the action, you can sit on both sides of the counters here, putting you on the same side as the chefs.
Arlington
St James - 20 Arlington St, St. James's, London SW1A 1RJ
Although there are clearly some prime seats that the top celebs want to secure at Jeremy King's St James restaurant, arguably one of the most fun places to sit here is up at the bar. There you can watch them make you an ice-cold martini to go with your bang-bang chicken (and the seats at the bar are slightly easier to book too).
Goodbye Horses
Islington - 21 Halliford St, London, N1 3HB
A bona fide A-lister hangout in Islington, Goodbye Horses is blessed with a beautifully-designed room, with the bespoke high chairs by the counter being particularly stunning creations. There's a vibe like no other here, particularly in the evening. with a menu that features a combination of natural wines and changing dishes by the chef. If it's on, the eggs mayonnaise is a must and even if you can't get a seat here, head across to their wine bar/ice cream shop across the street, The Dreamery, where there's another counter to perch at.
Roe
Canary Wharf - Five Park Drive, Wood Wharf, London E14 9GG
The sibling restaurant to Fallow (which itself boasts a good counter space in St James), Roe offers the best counter dining experience in Canary Wharf on an extensive counter in front of the very long kitchen. Must-have dishes here are the mushroom parfait, the skewers, the mixed venison grill and their caramelised banana parfait. Also worth noting is the hugely impressive counter around the basement kitchen, but that's only open for special occasions.
Oma
Borough Market - 2-4 Bedale St, London SE1 9AL
Quite possibly our favourite restaurant in Borough Market, David Carter's Greek-focused Oma features a counter that wraps around the open kitchen, with part of it right in front of the raw bar, so you can see just what they're creating some of the dishes from. Everything from the spanakopita to the flatbreads are worth ordering here and there's a notable vibe from those lucky enough to get the counter seats. If you can't get a seat up in Oma, there may be some in front of the wood-fired grill downstairs at Agora, which is walk-ins only.
Akara
Borough Yards - Arch 208, 18 Stoney Street, London SE1 9AD
This Borough Market restaurant brings together elements of West African and Brazilian cuisine, led by the titular deep-fried akaras themselves, served with fillings like BBQ prawn or beef shortrib (the Lagos chicken is also excellent). If you fancy watching the chefs at work, there are just six seats just in front of the kitchen and those are the ones to go for.
Kolae
Borough Yards - 6 Park Street, London SE1 9AB
Coming from the same team behind Som Saa, there are three floors to Kolae, but if you're after some counter dining you'll want to be on the ground floor in front of the main kitchen. At this Thai grill restaurant, which specialises in Southern Thailand recipes, don't leave without having the huge Kolae chicken bamboo skewer, our favourite dish on the menu (although the southern gati curry comes close).
Kiln
Soho - 58 Brewer Street, London W1F 9TL
You could always grab a table downstairs at Thai grill restaurant Kiln, but it's really all about the (recently refurbished) ground floor counter here, stretching the length of the restaurant. We think you'll want a seat towards the back, where watching dishes come out of the oven becomes rather hypnotic. From the same people as The Smoking Goat and Mountain, it's one of Soho's great dining experiences if you're lucky enough to get a spot.
Pavyllon
Mayfair - Hamilton Pl, London W1J 7DR
Yannick Alleno's high-end restaurant at The Four Seasons offers a very different and extremely elevated form of counter dining. The huge counter completely surrounds the kitchen where you'll be able to watch them pulling together intricate - and very rich-tasting - creations. They're also constantly evolving (their new croissant menu has had a lot of buzz) and look out for big name chef collaborations.
Bibi
Mayfair - 42 North Audley Street, London W1K 6ZR
Bibi is the ideal spot for weary shoppers to make a beeline for when Oxford Street drains their will to live. The intricate dishes and drinks at this contemporary Indian restaurant from chef Chet Sharma make counter dining a treat, particularly if you're sat in front of the shaved ice contraption.
Bocca Di Lupo
Soho - 12 Archer St, London W1D 7BB
Jacob Kenedy's Bocca di Lupo offers regional Italian cooking with a regularly changing menu. One of London's older counter dining scenes, the seats up at the pass at Bocca di Lupo have always been the best in the house. If you're bringing your pooch with you, they'll reserve you a counter spot by the window.
Humble Chicken
Soho - 54 Frith St, London W1D 4SL
Angelo Sato reinvented his counter dining Soho restaurant, making the move from yakitori to omakase-style dining and within two years had won two Michelin stars. It's one of the more pricier counter dining options on the list, but it's also easily one of Soho's best restaurants.
45 Jermyn St.
Mayfair - 45 Jermyn St, St. James's, London SW1Y 6JD
Sure the glamorous tomato red booths are fun here, but there's a lot of buzz up at the extensive counter in this modern take on a traditional St James spot. Nestle in between art dealers and folk up from the country while you sip a perfect martini before summoning the caviar trolley. It's a particularly good spot for eavesdropping on gossipy conversations, so solo diners will do well here.
Barrafina
Soho, Covent Garden, Strand, and King's Cross
Serving up some of the best Spanish tapas in town, all the Barrafinas are centred around counter dining. There's nothing better than scoring a seat here and ordering one of their amazing barely-set tortillas.
Behind
Hackney - 20 Sidworth St, London E8 3SD
There's no place to hide at Behind which brings the chefs out of the kitchen and into the centre of this all-counter restaurant, to plate up dishes a few centimetres from diners. If you love a bit of theatre when dining, then this Michelin-starred Hackney spot is the perfect place and the seafood-forward menu offers a veritable procession of gastro highlights.
Cedric Grolet
Knightsbridge - The Berkeley, Wilton Pl, London SW1X 7RL
For an up close and personal encounter with the hugely talented pastry chefs at Grolet's Knightsbridge bakery and cafe, you'll want one of the eight counter seats. Here you'll get to see exactly how the Insta-hit pastries are made and try them direct out of the oven.
The Cheese Bar and Pick & Cheese
Covent Garden and Camden
Both of The Cheese Bar restaurants are focused around counter dining and if you want the ultimate in a cheese-laden dinner they come highly recommended. But it's the conveyor belt action of Pick & Cheese at Seven Dials Market that wins out for us. The very idea of a conveyor belt filled with cheese is a dream come true.
Kebab Queen
Covent Garden - 4 Mercer Walk, London WC2H 9FA
Taking the concept of a kebab restaurant to the next level is this Covent Garden spot where the counter is so much part of the action that it's actually heated in places allowing the chef to cook your food, quite literally, in front of you. It's a tasting menu-only place but quite unlike any other restaurant in London.
Kitchen Table
Fitzrovia - 70 Charlotte St., London W1T 4QG
London's best fine counter dining experience, bar none, the restaurant here got one hell of a makeover relatively recently. Good luck securing one of the seats up at the counter here - if you do, you'll not only enjoy some of London's best food, but hear (and see) how it's sourced and cooked too.
Padella
Borough Market, Shoreditch & Soho
Getting any seat at all at this much-loved pasta restaurant is generally rather tough, but the counter seats are particularly sought after because it's where you can watch the chefs in action. Both restaurants have counter dining but we're particularly fond of the Shoreditch one which is slightly less frenetic than Borough. Don't leave without ordering cacio e pepe or their amazing beef shin ragu.
The Palomar
Soho - 34 Rupert St, London W1D 6DN
This middle-eastern-inspired restaurant offers one of the best counter experiences in town. Yes, you can sit in the back room, but really there's no way you'd want to be anywhere other than the counter. Fizzing with energy - it's impossible not to have a good time here.
J Sheekey
Soho - 28-32 St Martin's Ct, London WC2N 4AL
Our preferred option when dining at this classic theatreland restaurant has always been to slide onto a stool at the smaller counter in the main restaurant section. But wherever you are you can be assured of expertly shucked oysters and a warm welcome.
Wiltons
St James - 55 Jermyn St, London SW1Y 6LX
As one of London's oldest restaurants - it first opened for business over 280 years ago - Wiltons is the restaurant equivalent of slipping into a freshly drawn hot bath. The booths here are mainly reserved for the restaurant's many regulars, but those in the know are just as happy to perch up at the oyster bar where half a dozen natives and a glass of Champagne go down very nicely.
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