London Restaurants - South London

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.

There's a new in Lambeth attached to the freshly reopened Garden Museum, and it's some interesting chefs at the helm, who'll be dishing up a daily changing menu.

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.

A husband-and-wife duo who met in the kitchens of St. John are bringing their extremely ample experience to this restaurant in Lewisham. There'll be a changing menu, brunch and more...

This is next door to the Dairy, and taking the space formerly held by The Deli in an entirely new direction. Billed as "The Dairy's evil little brother", Counter Culture sees them aiming for the vibe of a San Sebastián pintxos bar - but with the Dairy's signature style.

One of the biggest restaurants of the 90s - albeit for a very short time - has returned as Damien Hirst has brought back Pharmacy restaurant to his gallery space in his Newport Street gallery. And Mark Hix is in charge of the menu.

A compact, lively neighbourhood restaurant with as much love given to the low-intervention wine list as to the charcoal grill which is the main focus for the short, inspired menu. Their basement bar is a great place to work through the wine list, before heading to your table or counter seat in this minimal space. Whilst the menu changes frequently, dependant on the quality and seasonality of what’s on offer, the BBQ pork belly with sesame and Korean spices is now a firm staple due to its popularity.

An all-day neighbourhood restaurant and bar from the people behind Soho's Damson & Co. Expect a strong focus on healthy food too

The Manor sees the Dairy's Dean Parker heading up the kitchen in this restaurant from the people behind Clapham's hugely popular The Dairy. As the new restaurant is just down the road from The Dairy, they'll still be able to use the produce from the rooftop garden and beehives, while Delicatessen will supply the homemade charcuterie.

This revamped pub and hotel sees chef Daniel Stevens, of River Cottage, and L’atelier des Chefs, heading up the kitchen.

The menu at Artusi changes all the time, chalked up on a wall to salivate over, and it is always hard to choose from. The dishes match the décor – inspired, fresh, no-nonsense. Italian-inspired, pasta is made on-site daily. One day there might be cacio e pepe, and the next pappardelle with merguez sausages. Meat comes from renowned neighbourhood butcher Flock & Herd.

The custard doughnuts at St John's bakery shop at Maltby street are much sought after, but now you'll be able to sit down and devour them on the spot which will be offering "breakfast, lunchtime savouries, fresh baked madeleines & hot chocolate, doughnuts". Plus there will be a wine shop too.

A pioneer of regional Thai food in London, The Begging Bowl couples ingredients sourced from Bangkok with meat and fish from local suppliers. They press their own coconut cream and make their own bitters and infused spirits. The Kaffir Sour, made with their own kaffir lime-infused gin, is sublime and goes perfectly with their excellent Northern charcoal grilled sausage.

This new restaurant from Ramsay is looking to take advantage of the upcoming redevelopment of Battersea Power Station. Anna Haugh-Kelly is in charge of the kitchen offering a European menu.

This pub revamp sees it being taken over by the same people behind Waterloo's hugely popular Anchor and Hope and has Mike Davies in the kitchen, a young chef trained up in the Anchor family and also part owner of the achingly hip Franks Cafe pop up in Peckham.