London Restaurants - South London

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.

BAO has opened their third restaurant in Borough and this time, they're promising something a little different. There are the same bao buns you've loved, but more dishes as well as downstairs karaoke.

A menu with some Irish influence menu is on offer at Robin Gill's next restaurant Darby’s, inspired by his father. It's an all-day restaurant and bakery just opposite the US Embassy and they'll also be serving food at the development’s incredible Sky Pool 10 stories up.

Two Brixton locals, with one foot in Italy and the other in south London, have opened a neighbourhood spot on Brixton Water Lane serving up a range of Tuscan treats.

The second restaurant by Nicholas Balfe of Brixton’s Salon, Levan opened in November 2018 with an emphasis on sustainability and seasonality. The effortlessly cool interior features an open kitchen serving food European-inspired food with the odd nod to East Asia, all matched with natural wines. Their house-cured sardines are a firm favourite, as are the Comte fries.

Simon Whiteside originally opened Hook in Camden and now he's bringing his seafood expertise to Pop Brixton with his own restaurant, Roe. Expect sustainable seafood on an ever-changing menu that showcases his Irish influences.

Hoping to lure 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.

Having previously been in Covent Garden, you'll now find Native downstairs from Casa do Frango on Southwark Street. They may have moved, but they're still serving up an eclectic menu of super seasonal and local food.

Best known for their fishmongers in Islington, South Kensington and East Dulwich, this is a restaurant adjacent to their East Dulwich operation. Expect a seafood menu that makes the most of that location.

Having begun life in a container at Pop Brixton, the return of the restaurant to a more permanent spot under the arches on Atlantic Road is good news.

This cosy pan-Balkan restaurant serves delicious plates of food from this otherwise relatively under-represented part of the world. There’s always a buzz here, with tables packed in tight for a taste of the daily-changing menu of dishes that take you on a journey. Thankfully, they often revisit some of their favourites that have achieved near-cult status, such as their courgette fritters and their grilled quail.

There is something really fun about this Italian restaurant. It started as a rooftop pop-up before opening a permanent site built on a sharing ethos and emphasis on seasonal, sustainable ingredients. Their pasta is all handmade and creatively topped while their meat and vegetables are great too. Try their Custardo™ (yes, they trademarked it) – an espresso mixed with custard. Delicious.

This former multi-storey car park plays host to everything from yoga studios to clothes retailers but its 6th floor is about the food. At the time of writing, notable are Zephyr Burger – gorgeous California-style smashed patties using dry-aged meat from Nathan Mills at The Butchery. Also great is Hao Hao Chi who serve delicious dumplings. Their Spicy Sesame Noodle Salad is superb.

One of the oldest pie & mash shops in London, this branch of the Manze empire opened in 1927. Still in the original family’s hands, it’s renowned for its pies, mashed potato and liquor, as well as their jellied or stewed eels. Walking inside feels like stepping back in time with chilli vinegar on the table and white-clothed friendly staff.

Housed in Peckham Rye’s former ticket hall, this listed building looks great – check out the toilets - but the food is even better. Their robata-grilled meat is a delight and their Sunday roast is legendary. They’ve also started doing breakfast. Special mention goes to the Peckham Fatboy–a deliciously indulgent dish of potato hash, Ogleshield, beef fat mayonnaise and crispy onions.

Ask anyone for the best suya (Nigerian BBQ) in London and chances are they’ll suggest Angels Bakery. As its name suggests, it serves beautiful baked goods but come lunchtime the coals are lit to knock out takeaway boxes of the West African grilled meat staple. Choose from chicken, beef or lamb, seasoned beautifully and cooked with just the right amount of char.

Persepolis, a café-cum-shop, should come with a warning –it’s easy to lose yourself for hours amid its shelves stacked high with obscure and otherwise hard-to-find Persian and middle eastern ingredients. The small restaurant out back celebrates these ingredients in their vegetarian menu which can nearly all be made vegan. The fattet with garlicky tahini sauce is stunning.

This Peckham pub’s menu reads too good to be true, given how little it’s shouted about, but the food is consistently brilliant. There’s a focus on seafood, delivered daily from Cornwall and cooked perfectly by head chef Jake Chappel-Kelly, but everything from the meat to the vegetarian options are inspired.

Follow your nose to JBs Soulfood as they cook their jerk chicken and pork on a drum barbecue out back. Expect a queue - it’s a Peckham institution - but rest assured it’ll be worth it. Their signature chicken, served with rice and peas and coleslaw, is a must but come back to work your way through the menu, especially the oxtail.

Though technically a foodtruck-with-chairs, Salas’s Middle Eastern food has created a buzz as strong as any good restaurant – without any social media. A one-man-band, he makes everything from scratch, from the flatbreads to the falafel and sauces. Unexpected ingredients – such as wilted spinach and mango sauce in a chicken shawarma– make this a true delight. The queues say it all.

Hidden down an alley near Peckham Rye station, this Kurdish restaurant seems to relish being difficult to find, but it’s worth persisting. The kibbeh are to die for and the shawarma is beautifully spiced and delicious – and brilliant value too. Easier to find is the recently-opened secondary outpost on Rye Lane geared towards lunch - their huge mezze plate deal is a steal.

A five-star luxury hotel makes the leap to London for its first overseas restaurant, with street food downstairs, upmarket dining upstairs, and lots of art - including a giant, 14ft bronze elephant.

Paladar aims to bring the best of Latin America to Lambeth, drawing from areas as wide as Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.Expect a varied menu as well as a bodega where you can stock up, and a courtyard garden for warmer weather.

Finely sliced black pepper coppa made in-house is a thing of beauty to look at, ruffle up, lay on the semolina sourdough and eat. Jersey milk lends ricotta a satin finish denied other whey cheeses and the combination visually as well as in terms of flavour with black olives and golden Parmesan is regal.

A new all-day destination has arrived in Stockwell with the impressive pedigree of the people behind Waterloo's Anchor and Hope in charge.

From the people behind Taiwanese Peckham success, Mr Bao, comes the next restaurant Daddy Bao, this time in Tooting with bao buns aplenty.

Run by a couple, Kudu pays homage to husband Patrick’s South African roots but borrows inspiration from all over, for instance matching peri peri duck hearts with dukkah. Their boundary-pushing works – the food is different and delicious. Anything cooked on the braai (barbecue) comes recommended but whatever you do, order the Kudu bread with melted lardon butter and sumac. Mind. Blowing.

Wright Brothers have some very highly rated seafood restaurants dotted across town and this is their outpost in the area around the iconic Battersea Power Station.

This is the third restaurant that Italian chef Francesco Mazzei has collaborated on with D&D. This sees him setting up in the revamped Battersea Power station, serving Italian cuisine.

Having run supperclubs and residencies across London (as well as a long term spot in Islington) Smoke + Salt have settled down in Brixton. Expect various methods of smoking, curing and preserving to appear throughout the menu.