London Restaurants - Soho, Fitzrovia, Covent Garden

15 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8QG

Ave Mario is from the people behind Gloria and Circolo Poplare, and once again it's another hit for them. Expect no holds barred on the design and BIG food, like the enormous ice cream cake that they wheel about the room. Specialities here include a caviar section, massive cocktails and a veal milanese that's twice as big as your head. 

The Ivy, 1-5 West Street, London WC2H 9NQ

One of London's great, classic restaurants, the Ivy had a major revamp not too long ago. The changes brought in a new central bar area with plenty of counter dining spaces. The menu has a mix of classic Ivy dishes like the Shepherd's Pie and more contemporary fare.

58 Brewer Street, London W1F 9TL

This restaurant is from the founder of the Smoking Goat, still focusing on Thai food but going for simplicity. Expect a short grill menu and a daily noodle dish and a regularly changing wine list. It's primarily counter dining too and the very devil to get a seat at key times due to its popularity.

10 Greek Street, London W1D 4DH

This restaurant in Soho has become a perennial Soho favourite. Expect a daily-changing menu that will concentrate on seasonality and fresh ingredients. And on top of that, a particularly good wine list too, called their "Little Black Book".

54 Frith St, Soho, London W1D 4SL

This is top chef Angelo Sato's solo Soho restaurant and while it started life as a restaurant that was all about chicken, it's now changed into a much broader omakase affair that's described as serving a "Japanese-inspired 8-course tasting menu with a European accent."

First floor, Kingly Ct, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW

Previously popping up in residencies, Liu Xiaomian's popular noodle restaurant is now a permanent fixture in Carnaby. Run by Chongqing expats Liu Qian and Charlene Liu, it features their spicy signature dishes like Xiaomian wheat noodles and hot and sour glass noodles with various toppings. Numbing Pork Wontons are also available.

53 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6LB

Once a pop-up, Singaporean restaurateur Ellen Chew is relaunching Singapulah, this time teaming up with the Singapore tourism board. Behind a "secret" door, you'll find the restaurant which features classics like Bak Chor Mee, Singapore Laksa, and Mao Shan Wang Durian.

16 St Anne's Ct, London W1F 0BF

Hidden away in Soho is Simon Rogan's only London restaurant, a chef's table experience that fits in only 12 people per sitting. Everything is centred around the kitchen, so you're right in the thick of things. Here you can expect an ever-changing "farm to fork" tasting menu with a large amount of the produce sourced from Rogan's own Lake District farm.

6 Walker's Ct, Soho, London W1F 0BT

Café Kitty, comes to Soho's Underbelly Boulevard from the team behind Kitty Fisher's and Cora Pearl. The chefs of those two restaurants teamed up for the Café Kitty menu with signature dishes like their crispt potatoes making the leap to this space too. Another example of a great theatre restaurant, this boasts great cocktails too and is a very handy restaurant and bar in Soho, whether you're going to the cabaret or not.

2.5, Top Floor, Kingly Ct, Carnaby St, London W1B 5PW

The team behind Panadera and Mamasons has brought Donia to Carnaby's Kingly Court. Co-founder Florence Mae Maglanoc promises a menu that blends the warmth of Filipino cuisine with modern British cooking, featuring dishes like prawn and pork dumplings with white crab.

37 Golden Square, Soho, London W1F 9LB

Bébé Bob is a spin-off from Bob Bob Ricard (which happens to be right next door). It keeps the same glam look of the original but centres the menu around rotisserie chicken with a good helping ov caviar thrown in for good measure. A good, and somewhat more affordable, alternatively to the original Bob Bob.

25 Peter St, London W1F 0AH

Supernova came out of almost nowhere to become one of London's hottest burgers. Coming from the team behind Creme cookies and NAC in Mayfair, this focuses on a pared back menu of smashed burgers and ice cream sundaes.

30 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8NA

Following on the success of their Shepherd Market restaurant the team behind Kitty Fisher's opened their second restaurant on Covent Garden's Henrietta Street. They set out their stall as 'complex comfort food' and the always-on toastie is a good example of that.

21 Stephen Street, London W1T 1LN

Studio Gauthier comes from chef Alexis Gauthier, the man behind the much more high-end restaurant Gauthier Soho. Like that, this Fitzrovia outpost is a fully-vegan affair and brings some of the chef's best plant-based dishes to a bigger audience in a more casual setting (and a little more affordably too).

86 Brewer Street, London W1F 9UB

This Soho restaurant comes from the people behind Mortimer House in Fitzrovia who brought in chef Tom Cenci to run the kitchen. Billed as a neighbourhood bistro, you'll find European bistro food with a few very specific British influences peppered throughout the menu. So there's a black pudding brioche as well as a jam rolly poly on the menu here. Make sure to try the cocktails and there's a really good non-alcoholic range too.

1 Bateman's Buildings, Soho, London W1D 3EN

Manzi's is the first brand-new restaurant from the Wolseley Restaurant Group (it was first conceived by Jeremy King). Easily one of the biggest new restaurants to open in Soho in recent years, it's a big two-floored affair that has the occasional out-there design moments (there are mermaids). There's an almost entirely seafood menu ranging from shellfish to monkfish wellingtons.

45 Berwick St, London W1F 8SF

Set on a prime corner site on the junction of Berwick and Noel Street in the heart of Soho, this tapas restaurant sees North London restaurateur Stephen Lironi hitting up the West End for his first central London opening. The food might be Spanish but there’s a strong Scottish influence here too, with super fresh razor clams and hake arriving down from the Scottish coast daily.

30 Rupert Street, London W1D 6DL

After success at Arcade food hall with Plaza Khao Gaeng, this is Luke Farrell's first standalone restaurant. It's all about bringing a taste of the late-night canteens of Bangkok’s Chinatown to Soho offering curries, stir fries, drunken noodles and more.

Ilona Rose House, Manette Street, London W1D 4AL

The original Milk Beach opened in Queen's Park before opening this second more central restaurant in Soho. It's part of a redevelopment of the area brought about by the launch of the Elizabeth line. As with the original, this features a mix of South-East Asian and Mediterranean cuisine with an occasional Australian flourish.

15 Poland Street, London W1F 8PR

Bubala first started out in Spitalfields (with pop-ups before that) before opening this second Soho restaurant, featuring food that takes its inspiration from across the Middle East. It's also an entirely vegetarian experience.

8-12 Broadwick St, London W1F 8HN

Miznon, launched by Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani, is a hit the world over and this Soho restaurant is no different. The restaurant is mainly all about its filled pitas (the pitas themselves are also amazing) and wherever they open they aim to "take the flavour of each city and translate it into pita".

103-105 New Oxford Street, London WC2H 8LH

This is from JKS, the people behind Gymkhana, Hoppers, Lyles and more. It sees a collection of top food vendors under one roof with probably the hottest table being Plaza Khao Gaeng from chef Luke Farrell. Besides that, there's Shawarma, sandwiches from Margot and Hector Henderson, burgers and more.

55 Great Portland Street, London W1W 7LQ

This is the main restaurant upstairs at The George pub in Fitzrovia. It comes from JKS (the people behind Gymkhana) and Kitchen Table's James Knappett, who is behind the menu. Expect a much more elevated approach to a traditional pub menu.

21 Slingsby Pl, London WC2E 9AB

This is the second restaurant for Lahpet, originally finding fame in Shoreditch. It sees them bringing their unique take on Burmese cuisine to the west end, with noodle soups and their famed tea leaf salad all on the menu, along with a great cocktail list. There's a huge heated terrace on the first floor too.

61 Rupert St, Soho, London W1D 7PW

Paradise took over the space once held by Spuntino, serving up British and Sri Lankan ingredients in a menu that's inspired by the owner's childhood trips to Sri Lanka. This is matched by a sleek room designed by the people who did Smoking Goat and Klin.

23 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4DZ

The duo behind Bun House and Pleasant Lady have turned their original site into a bar and restaurant inspired by the late-night scene of 1960s Hong Kong. The sugar skin Iberico char siu is a revelation.

14- 16 Brewer St, Soho, London W1F 0SG

Randall & Aubin is a Soho institution, having been here for nearly 30 years. And there's a reason for its longevity - eating here is a lot of fun (there's even a disco ball). There's a big emphasis on sustainability and on French and British seafood classics, with their signature dishes including bouillabaisse, spaghetti vongole and big fruits de mer platters.

26-27 Dean St, Soho, London W1D 3LL

The original Barrafina moved from its Frith Street location to take up pride of place beside (and 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.

19 Ganton St, Soho, London W1F 7BN

Pastaio is Italian for someone who makes pasta by hand - something you'll see plenty of in this venture by Stevie Parle (Dock Kitchen, Rotorino, Palatino, Craft) in Soho. Fast, casual and good value - particularly for this area - the pasta is super and the Prosecco slushies a must.

12 Denman St, Soho, London W1D 7HH

After beginning life in a shipping container as one of the first restaurants in Pop Brixton, Kricket has come a long way. Inspired by Indian cuisine, they offer an ever-changing menu of Indian small plates. And they feature what may be one of our favourite snacks in town, the samphire pakora dish.