The best restaurants in Borough Market, London Bridge and Bermondsey

Cafe Francois is a spin-off of Maison Francois in which they've brought an extremely fancy French cafe to Borough Yards. it's a combo brasserie, bakery and deli offering everything from sandwiches and pastries to take away to a dine-in menu that roams from escargots and gougeres to rotisserie steaks and chicken.

Barrafina comes from the Harts Group (also behind El Pastor) and the restaurants serve up some of the very best Spanish tapas in London. It's also predominantly about counter dining and if you manage to get a seat at that counter, the tapas (particularly the tortilla) will be worth it. There's also a bar, Bar Daskal, attached if you want to have a drink before or after.

This Spanish Grill restaurant is a spin-off from Barrafina (indeed there's a Borough Barrafina just next door). Here, there's a big focus on grilled meat and fish and a big alfresco space. Plus, if you're outside, you'll get the chance to grill your own dinner on their tabletop grills.

These are actually two separate but linked restaurants, coming from David Carter, the man behind Smokestak and Manteca. Both Greek-inspired, the downstairs Agora is more of a taverna-style walk-in-only affair with flatbreads, skewers and cocktails. Upstairs is Oma, a slightly more upmarket place with a live fire grill at the heart of it and some hugely impressive mezza, breads, and larger Greek-inspired dishes (as well as an extensive semi-alfresco area). Both come with a strong vibey feel that adds a bit of buzz to the market.

Aji Akokomi, the man behind Fitzrovia's Akoko, is behind Akara in Borough Yards—a West African restaurant where the menu centres around crispy akara fritters with diverse fillings. The drinks list also showcases West African-inspired cocktails (as well as an impressive scotch bonnet cordial) and it's all set within repurposed railway arches, with an impressive mezzanine private dining space too. Definitely order the akaras, but make sure to take in some of the excellent larger plates too.

Kolae comes from Som Saa's Mark Dobbie and Andy Oliver in Borough Market and showcases a modern Thai grill concept. The three-story restaurant has a menu which features Southern Thailand-inspired dishes, like their Kolae chicken bamboo skewers, and it's well worth checking out the cocktail section and the well-thought-out wine list.

Sollip is from husband and wife team Woongchul Park (formerly at The Ledbury and Koffman's) and Bomee Ki (former pastry chef at The Arts Club). They're marrying the team's European cooking style with Korean influences in a fine-dining, paired back approach.

Trivet is a joint collaboration between chef Jonny Lake and master sommelier Isa Bal, both alumni of Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck. Here you can expect an informal take on fine dining with a truly epic wine list that covers the globe. The attached wine bar also serves the restaurant menu and it's open on Mondays (when the restaurant is closed) as Labombe serving special wines by the glass.

The people behind Bar Douro have used their Portuguese ancestry to bring the authentic tasted of Portugal to London. But it's not just about the food, there's an extensive selection of Portuguese wine too, all in a counter dining setting.

Probably the London restaurant that's done more for this city's passion for pasta than any other opening, Padella comes from the Trullo stable and serves up freshly-made-each-day pasta. The only downside is the queue or waiting time for a table. Prepare to be patient.

José Pizarro has a small but select group of restaurants in London - this is his diminutive sherry and tapas joint. The menu changes daily and consists of simple sharing plates such as Razor Clams 'a la plancha' and the best Jamon Iberico. The decor mirrors the style and feel of Barcelona's Boqueria market.

Further along the same street as his popular tapas bar José, this is Jose Pizarro's more formal Spanish restaurant (in that you can book a table here). Expect bigger dishes with an emphasis on sharing and it's notably good forlarger groups.

Elliot's has become a staple of Borough Market, sourcing its produce from the market for an ever-changing small-plates menu, with plenty of use of their wood-fired grill. A wine bar as much as a restaurant, it's one of the best places in the area to try natural wine, which the team has a real passion for.

Rambutan is a Sri Lankan restaurant from chef, restaurateur and author Cynthia Shanmugalingam. The restaurant takes influence from both her family's cooking as well as her travels across Sri Lanka.

After success in Soho, this is the second Berenjak in London, once again focused on Persian-style cuisine. As before, the charcoal-grilled kababs are a big draw and this location adds bigger family-style dishes to the menu.

This is a small two storey restaurant with a modern take on traditional Mexican from food husband and wife team Edson and Natalie Diaz-Fuentes. Here you'll find a menu which mixes what you know about Mexican cooking with more unfamiliar dishes.

Borough Market Kitchen is a collection of stalls, mini restaurant spaces and more at the back of Borough Market. With top places like Mei Mei, Tacos Padre, Juma and Shuk - you're spoiled for choice here with excellent food on offer.

The Borough Market Wright Brothers is where the seafood restaurant company first started and it's still a big draw in the area. They serve up some of the best seafood in town all around an open kitchen. If you love oysters, a visit here is a must.

A trio of siblings took over their dad's restaurant by London Bridge station and gave the space and menu a more modern makeover. The Thai restaurant is now one of the most celebrated in the area with a regularly changing menu which Is paired with Thai cocktails and tonics.

Successfully luring Londoners away from Nando's, this Algarvian restaurant is cooking its chicken on a wood fired grill. Oh, and there's also a secret bar worth checking out.

This Bermondsey restaurant comes from Hervé Durochat, the man behind another restaurant in Bermondsey, the ever popular Casse Croute. Here alongside a small selection of French dishes, the star attraction is the chicken - or the Poulet de Bresse to be precise.

There are just eight pastas on the menu at Flour & Grape, who aim to create a beautifully pared back selection of Italian antipasti, pasta and gelato. They promise very reasonable prices, pasta to go and a very healthy (and affordable) wine list.

El Pastor is from the people behind Barrafina, on a mission to do the same for Mexican food as they did for Spanish. There's a big focus around tacos, particularly on the signature Al Pastor and they have a super selection of Mezcal too.

Keen to break the traditional British restaurant mould, Lupins aims to serve up all the usual hearty British ingredients but with a global twist - think sumac on your lamb, roast pigeon with chipotle or spiced beef short rib.

London's steak and cocktail masters chose this as their first restaurant south of the river and - like all the others - it's rather beautiful, taking over an old warehouse. As ever be quick if you want a certain cut of steak - when they're gone, they're gone.

This Spanish restaurant has a big focus on meat - specifically Iberico pork - as well as tapas, Spanish wines, sherry and cavas as well as a short cocktail list.

Arabica started out at Borough Market, armed with little more than a cool box and began selling a small range of mezze from an 8ft trestle table. The vibe they're going for at their Borough restaurant is 1960s Beirut meets 21st century London.

Casse-Croûte is a 20 seater French bistro and is the brainchild of Herve Durochat and Alexandre Bonnefoy. Expect tete de veau, rillettes, boudin noir, macarons, tarte aux fraises and clafoutis on the menu here.

The Aqua group picked The Shard for their first European branch of Hutong - known for serving up fiery Northern Chinese food. The duck is always wonderful and the red lantern crispy soft shell crab with chilli is always on the menu and worth ordering. Oh the views aren't bad either.

A classic London Bridge restaurant, Roast has a very British feel to the menu and - as you may guess from the name - does a mean roast dinner. It's one of the longest-serving restaurants in Borough Market with a super view over the market.