Restaurant Reviews

This tiny restaurant - just nine people up at the dining counter and six in a private dining room - becme a hit in London. But the chef has now returned to Tokyo, leaving his sushi apprentice turned head chef Marty Lau in charge.

This restaurant at the top of the Hilton on Park Lane is the jewel of the Galvin restaurants. It boasts amazing views over Hyde Park and some of the best service in London thanks to a team trained by the legendary Fred Sirieix who you might see in there from time to time.

Benares on Berkeley Square features an upscale menu featuring modern Indian cuisine with a British twist. There's also a large bar here and plenty of private dining space for Mayfair business meals.

People may complain about the sharp table-turning at this subterranean Chinese restaurant - Alan Yau's follow-up to Hakkkasan, but you'll never hear a bad word about the dim sum. If it's something sweet you're after, head for the street-level patisserie and tea shop.

Pierre Gagnaire's uber chic Mayfair restaurant is certainly for special occasions - it's one of the most expensive meals in town. There are multiple dining rooms within the building, all with very different looks and menus. There are also incredibly instagrammable loos.

This is Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant on Hospital Road. Since Clare Smyth's departure, Matt Abé is the man in the kitchen here, in charge of retaining Gordon's three stars.

Alain Ducasse is one of France's most celebrated chefs and he's done pretty well over here too. This restaurant at The Dorchester hotel, serving up fine French food, is one of only three restaurants in London to be awarded three Michelin stars.

For years Clare Smyth was seen as the guiding light of Gordon Ramsay's flagship Hospital Road restaurant. Since going it alone with her own fine-dining spot in Notting Hill she's already notched up two Michelin stars as well as the top London slot in the Good Food Guide.

Originally at Hibiscus, Claude Bosi's home is now at the classic Bibendum building. Being in the Michelin building seems a very good fit for Bosi whose fine-dining French style has already won him two stars. He's also in charge of the downstairs seafood restaurant.

The main restaurant at the Four Seasons has triple-Michelin-starred French chef Anne-Sophie Pic as the chef - and she's Michelin star for this restaurant too. It's very much a modern French fine dining affair.

Kitchen Table is the main event of the two-part restaurant from James Knappett and Sandia Chang (also including Bubbledogs). Here you can expect a new meal almost every visit as the menu evolves depending on the chef's preferences and the seasons. And all this in a setting that sees you seated around the open kitchen watching and interacting with the chefs.

One of the few London restaurants on the World's 50 Best list, Heston's only London gaff is still hugely popular. The dishes that captured everyone's attention when it opened - the Meat Fruit (chicken liver parfait shaped like a mandarin) and the Tipsy Cake are still on the menu and are must-order dishes if you haven't got round to trying them yet. Keep an eye out for A-list diners, the hotel is a well-known celebrity haunt. 

Head chef Alex Dilling succeeded Arnaud Bignon to run the kitchen at this Mayfair restaurant in 2018, promising to create "food that sparks joy and is truly elegant, complemented by one of the world’s most outstanding wine lists of over 3,400 wines."

One of the few London restaurants to make it as far as the top 10 of the World's 50 Best, this is often cited to us by fellow foodies as their favourite place in town. Fronted by Brett Graham it manages to mix high-end Michelin-starred food with a relaxed service, while still keeping the locals happy too.

Umu is billed as the "only Kyoto style restaurant in the UK", and comes with a Michelin star. To truly appreciate it, opt for the kaiseki menu and let the chef guide your experience here.

Headed up by chef Michel Roux Jr, this classic London restaurant prides itself on having some of the best service in London. It's not cheap but if you book for lunch, there's one of the best set menu deals in town.

One of the main restaurants at prestigious London hotel The Connaught, this is run by French Chef Helene Darroze. Expect high-end French dining that has won the restaurant two Michelin stars. It reopened in Autumn 2019 after a major refurbishment which also gave it an impressive new chef's table.

London's oldest restaurant (it was opened way back in 1926) covers all the classics you'd expect from an old school, rather grand Indian restaurant on Regent Street.

Adam Byatt's Clapham restaurant is a super neighbourhood restaurant that's also well worth crossing town for. They say their food is seasonal and inspirational, countless loyal customers agree.

From the same group as the New York restaurant of the same name, this Nordic spot on St James Market goes for a more informal vibe to its NYC stablemate. As you might expect from the name, there's a cracking selection of Nordic spirits on offer.

The main restaurant at the five star Lanesborough hotel on Hyde Park Corner is one of London's more beautiful dining rooms with a conservatory ceiling flooding the place with light. Expect modern European cuisine done with finesse whilst roaming the UK for the best ingredients.

This Shoreditch restaurants was conceived by James Brown & former Viajante chef Nuno Mendes and is best described as a hidden, permanent supperclub. There's one sitting each evening around a sixteen-seater table, with an inventive menu that is never the same.

This family-run restaurant may technically be in London, but its buccolic charm and setting belies the urban address. Chef Kenneth Culhane and his team are all about providing a convivial experience with super food.

The former executive sushi chef at Zuma has opened a tiny sushi restaurant in the Television Centre at White City development. With just 15 seats expect, this is already one of the hottest tickets in the area.

Two chefs, one from Argentina and the other from Brazil teamed up with Singaporean hotelier Peng Loh for this Latin American and Italian inspired restaurant by way of San Sebastian. It's the kind of international melting pot story that makes London's restaurant scene so great. Michelin clearly agree - they gave it a star in its first year. Tasting menus can be an ordeal, but here there's a great deal of humour, making a trip to Bethnal Green to try Da Terra's inspired dishes a must.

The original Barrafina moved from its Frith Street location to take up pride of place beside (and quite a chunk out of) Quo Vadis. This is the Spanish tapas brand's main location in Soho and features some of the best Spanish food in London, as well as great counter action. It's no-reservations, just like all the other Barrafinas, but there's also plenty of space around the side to grab a drink and snack.

This restaurant comes from Iré Hassan-Odukale (front of house) and Jeremy Chan (Head Chef) and features a modern take on West African Cuisine that's electified reviewers (and diners) since opening.

Small plates, sharers and snacks are on the menu here, at this venture from the team who ran Michelin-starred Hackney restaurant Ellory. Now they're Shoreditch-based with a more laid back venture that features their own Vermouth and wines.

Ollie Dabbous' Mayfair restaurant is a three storey affair consisting of a fine dining tasting menu upstairs with an all-day a la carte on the ground floor and a basement bar. It's pretty impressive looking.