The City

1 New Drum St, London E1 7AY

Global flavours are the focus at self-taught chef Murat Kilic's latest Aldgate restaurant. Think corn ribs with umami dust and mussels skewers in roasted chicken wing butter sauce. As for drinks, it's all about sustainability from the vineyards featured on the wine list to cocktails made from spirits created from waste produce.

15 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7EF

Leydi sees a return to the London restaurant scene by chef Selin Kiazim. Here she's channelling her love of Turkish food and the vibes of Istanbul, hoping to translate that to a City audience. It's an all-day affair with Turkish breakfasts and pastries in the morning, through to sharing dishes at lunch and in the evenings. Cocktails are well worth a look too, as one of Turkey's best bartenders, Kevin Patnode, came up with the list here.

12 Blossom St, London E1 6PL

Husband and wife duo Eroshan and Aushi Meewella have plundered the favourite recipes of friends and family to come up with the dishes served at this modern Sri Lankan restaurant. The end result is a celebration of culinary diversity with everything from hoppers and samals to spiced chops on the menu. It's a gorgeous space too, with its own bar serving up a range of cocktails made with Sri Lankan spirits.

9th Floor, 100 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 2AT

London’s highest omakase restaurant (which seats just 12 people) can be found inside another high-rise restaurant, Los Mochis City. As the name suggests, there’s a lunar theme here, from the decor through to the menu. Expect clever creations from the creative team here as part of a 12-course menu, that also happens to be gluten-free. Sushi, sandos and modern twists on Japanese classics all feature.

1 Nicholl's Clarke Yard, off Blossom Street, London E1 6SH

Osteria Angelina comes from the same team behind the original Angelina, but this can be viewed as a more casual outpost. it still brings together Italian and Japanese cuisine under one roof, with a specific emphasis on northern Italian cooking. So you'll find milk break, sushi, sashimi and pasta dishes all on the same menu. There's a separate bar here, so if you're in the area it's well worth popping in for cocktails and a snack or two.

44 Cloth Fair, London EC1A 7JQ

Set in a historic part of the City, this neighbourhood-style restaurant was opened by a pair of wine importers so you can expect the wine offering to be on point. It’s split, loosely, into a wine bar for enjoying small plates, and a cosy dining room. The dishes are seasonal and the cooking is both inventive and great, with a big emphasis on seasonality.

92 Bartholomew Cl, London EC1A 7BN

Ibai comes from the team behind renowned Basque meat supplier Txuleta (also involved with Lurra in Marylebone) so you know the meat will be of great quality at this City restaurant. Alongside the huge sharing steaks are some great Basque-inspired small plates and the king crab rice is also a signature dish. Make good use of the wine list too, with many great Spanish vintages unique to Ibai.

182 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8EW

Want to be looked after to within an inch of your life? Well, Otto's is the restaurant you come to. Properly old-school French, Otto's has carved out a niche for itself serving up incredibly rich French cuisine in a lively environment. It also has a serious bit of kit called the duck press, which produces its signature dish.

63 Bartholomew Cl, London EC1A 7BG

The people behind Nest created this Smithfield restaurant, hidden away in a courtyard. Here, things are a little different from their previous restaurants, with a focus on hyper-seasonal British food and a huge 15-course tasting menu that starts in the bar before moving through to the restaurant.

The Arcade, Liverpool Street, LONDON, EC2M 7PN

Boxpark are primarily known for their semi-container village approach, but for Boxhall, they've opened something that's more in the classic food hall/court mode. Taking over what used to be an Edwardian shopping arcade, they've filled it with 13 spaces for food as well as bars, shops and more. You'll find everything from a bakery to burgers in here and a whole lot more.

80 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7AB

In less assured hands, fusion food can be a clunky mismatch. Happily, that’s not the case at the signature restaurant at the Pan Pacific London, where the best of British produce gets an inspired twist from the culinary flavours of Southeast Asia. Perched on a corner, the restaurant offers a great view of the ancient and new elements of the City. And with menu options ranging from an express set lunch to an experience tasting menu, it’s just as good a spot for a business get-together as an evening date.

157 Commercial Street, London E1 6BJ

The original Hawksmoor, and for many the best. Known as the group that transformed steaks in British restaurants forever for the better, this is a perfect place to come to for a meat-fest. And expect some cracking cocktails too - head to the bar downstairs for those and extra snacks not on the main menu.

9th Floor, 100 Liverpool St, London EC2M 2AT

The City branch of this Notting Hill fusion restaurant serves up a winning mix of Japanese dishes with Mexican influences. Its biggest selling point here at Liverpool Street is the late licence and capacious roof terrace with a great view of the City. There’s also a huge separate bar here as well.

Unit 2A, Tower Place, London EC3R 5BU

Guirong Wei, the chef behind Master Wei, is behind Dream Xi’an in Tower Hill. Like her previous restaurants, it focuses on Shaanxi cooking with hand-pulled noodles a big part of the menu. Dishes at this location include hand-made steamed dim sum while signature dishes from Master Wei are also available here.

39 Queen Victoria St, London EC4N 4SF

One of London’s best – and oldest – seafood restaurants, Sweetings has been going strong for over a century. All the fish and seafood served here is from sustainable sources, and while it’s only open for lunch, it’s the place to step back in time while also savouring such classics as prawn cocktail, fried whitebait, Lobster Thermidor and cod’s roe on toast.

11 Old Jewry, London EC2R 8DU

One of London’s best steak restaurants, this City outlet of the Goodman restaurant group is popular with business diners. The meat is dry-aged on-site, and regular diners even have theirs cut to order. There’s a private dining room seating up to 10, for serious steak meetings.

27 Poultry, London EC2R 8AJ

The Ned is both an impressive City hotel as well as a collection of restaurants. Soho House took over an impressive (and huge) old banking site and stuffed it with places to eat. There are ten restaurants to choose from and while some City restaurants get quiet at the weekends - this is buzzy at all times.

35 Spital Square, London, E1 6DY

Set within the astoundingly opulent Grade-II-listed St Botolph’s Hall, with its high stone ceilings and large arched windows, Galvin La Chapelle is fine French dining indeed. Holding a Michelin star since 2011, this 110-seater restaurant is the place for dishes such as barbecued Bresse pigeon, celeriac, Yorkshire rhubarb and dark chocolate. There are vegetarian and vegan menus too.

Level 3, 122 Leadenhall St, London EC3V 4AB

Infamous for its ‘press for Champagne’ button at every table, this London institution is great for groups (the largest booth size seats eight but up to 18 can dine comfortably in their private dining rooms). Menu-wise, expect reinventions of classic European dishes.

10-12 Bloomberg Arcade, London, EC4N 8AR

If you have a penchant for freshly made udon noodles, this is the place: a larger version of the much-loved Koya in Soho, where you can sit at wooden tables and enjoy izakaya small plates with sake and beer.

Bloomberg Arcade, 3 Queen Street, London, EC4N 8BN

One of the best Indian restaurants in The City, Brigadiers is from the same people behind Trishna, Hoppers and Gymkhana. It has a maze of rooms in the largest space in the Bloomberg Arcade, with a sizeable outdoor terrace too. Fans of smoky Indian barbecue will be particularly impressed.

16 Bloomberg Arcade, London EC4N 8AR

One of London's best burger restaurants, this is one of their proper sit-down restaurants, right in the heart of Bloomberg Arcade. All the burgers are fantastic and they often have special collabs on the menu, as well as special events and guest burger chefs at this City outpost.

68 King William Street, London EC4N 7HR

The Wolseley City is a sibling restaurant to the classic Wolseley on Piccadilly, with a design that's very reminiscent of the original but on a larger scale. Like this original, it's styled after a European Grand Café offers with an all-day menu, that also resembles its predecessor while adding exclusive dishes to the City branch. There's also a large upstairs bar here and it's a popular spot for City power breakfasts.

12 West Smithfield London EC1A 9JR

Origin City comes from the team behind 56 West Smithfield wine bar, and is a restaurant that emphasizes provenance with meat sourced from the family's organic farm in Scotland and seafood from Loch Fyne Oyster. Here, the menu showcases British classics including dishes like Tamworth pork tonnato and dry-aged Black Angus sirloin. The restaurant promotes a 'no waste, great taste' philosophy.

3 Crispin Pl, London E1 6DW

Taking up almost all of one side of Spitalfields Market, this hybrid bar, restaurant and alfresco space manages to be all things without diluting its offering. There are small plates and wines on tap in the bar along with a more formal dining room to enjoy the Italian-led menu. The outdoor kitchen also allows them to do a lot of live-fire cooking.

Unit 2A, Tower Place, London EC3R 5BU

This sees chef and restaurateur Guirong Wei (of Master Wei) taking her Shaanxi menu to the heart of the City. The Tower Hill restaurant has a strong focus on hand-pulled noodles with them making up many of the signature dishes.

South Place Hotel, 3 South Place, London EC2M 2AF

With spectacular views from the 7th floor of the South Place Hotel, Angler presents Michelin-starred dining with a special focus on seafood. Enjoy a tasting menu, lunch or à la carte meals from the rooftop terrace, with the likes of sea bass tartare with oyster cream, green apple and shiso on offer.

Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4A

The self-proclaimed ‘highest 24-hour restaurant in London’, Duck & Waffle has views of the city’s landmarks from its floor-to-ceiling windows on the 40th floor of Heron Tower. The curved banquettes are both cosy and retro, and the menu is imaginative, including the signature Duck & Waffle dish.

100 Bishopsgate, City of London, London EC2M 1GT

Fazenda is a rodizio grill restaurant group originating from cities like Leeds and Liverpool, and this is their first London location. While emphasizing the traditional rodizio experience, the London location introduces a broader menu plus there's a pretty huge buffet on offer. Alongside all that meat is a wine list primarily features South American options.

Unit 3, 1 Finsbury Ave, London EC2M 2PF

Travel to Portugal without leaving the City of London by perching at the counter by the open kitchen of the City outlet of Bar Douro. Here you can enjoy petiscos, such as salt-cod fritters and smoked sausage croquetas, while admiring the azulejos that adorn the walls.