London Restaurants - Soho, Fitzrovia, Covent Garden

12 Upper St Martins Lane, London WC2H 9FB

This is the original Dishoom, the self-styled Bombay cafe that propelled them to success (albeit now twice the size it was when it originally opened). Like all Dishoom restaurants, you'll find their excellent small plates, inspired by Indian street food, with certain specials like the bacon naans and the house black daal not to be missed. Also note that this Dishoom has one of their longest queues in the evening.

43 Drury Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5AJ

The ever-popular Barrafina's Drury Lane outpost has a lovely wraparound terrace, making it one of the best in the group for alfresco dining. As with the other branches, it's one of London's best restaurants for tapas, with the tortilla being unmissable.

4 Mercer Walk, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9FA

This is from the same people as the original Le Bab - but it's a restaurant of two halves. Upstairs you'll find their next-level kebabs which are inspired by and are paying homage to great kebab houses. And downstairs is the hidden counter dining restaurant Kebab queen. This is a different beast altogether, offering a kebab tasting menu like no other.

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.

17 Denman Street, London W1D 7HW

The Devonshire is a team-up between top landlord Oisin Rogers, founder of Flat Iron Charlie Carroll, and chef Ashley Palmer-Watts. There's a traditional pub on the lower level and a wood-ember grill restaurant on the upper floors. Downstairs, the pub sells some of the best Guinness in London (as well as unique features like three hidden snugs). The wood-ember grill upstairs takes classic grill dishes and elevates them considerably, with some of the best lamb chops in London, a great suet pie and a standout chocolate mousse.

16-18 Beak St, London W1F 9RD

Tomos Parry is the man behind the uber-successful Brat and this is his just as successful Soho restaurant. Here Parry takes his influences from both Spain and Wales, with a big eye on local sourcing and both cheese and bread made in-house. Expect top sharing plates like lobster caldereta, grilled meats and some excellent small plates too.

12 Archer St, London W1D 7BB

Jacob Kenedy's Soho Italian wins universal praise for its cuisine, a well-chosen wine list and for being one of the best counter dining spots in London. Pull up a stool at the counter and enjoy the regional Italian dishes on a menu that changes regularly..

1 Upper James Street, Soho, London W1F 9DF

Bob Bob Ricard remains one of our personal favourite spots in town. We don't know whether it's the fantastically blingy design, the rich food with just a hint of Eastern European in there, the "press for champagne" button or... who are we kidding, it's definitely the Press For Champagne button.

26-29 Dean Street, London, W1D 3LL

Quo Vadis has Jeremy Lee in the kitchen and he's been cooking up a wonderfully British menu. The restaurant has recently had a revamp, bringing it back to former glory and it now fits in twice as many diners as before. The food serves some of the best British/European dining in town, and the pies and smoked eel sandwich are a must.

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".

48 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4EF

This classic French institution has been in Soho for more than 100 years, serving up classic French cuisine. And, as you can imagine from the name, it serves the very best snails in London. A wonderful institution that still has great life in it.

49 Dean St, Soho, London W1D 5BG

The French House is mainly known as a classic Soho pub - but it also has a dining room upstairs. It's a small affair - it almost feels like a private dining room - but it's hosted some great names. It's now home to chef Neil Borthwick who's very much at home here serving up French classics.

64 Dean Street, London W1D 4QQ

Victor Garvey's Soho restaurant looks towards Californian fine-dining restaurants for its inspiration. So there's a West Coast USA vibe to the restaurant, fitted into its Soho location.

49 Lexington St, Soho, London W1F 9AP

After a number of years in pop-ups and other spaces across town, Rita's have settled in Soho for their main restaurant (they also do sandwiches in Dalston). The menu is inspired by owners Gabriel Pryce and Missy Flynn travels across the Americas and the wine list is pretty special too.

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."

Top Floor, Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, London W1B 5PW

Asma Khan's restaurant returns to where it all began, in Carnaby's Kingly Court. Now the restaurant is much more of an open affair, showcasing the kitchen. The menu still serves up some of the best Indian food in London, as well as their much-loved biryanis.

2 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4NB

This is the follow up to the original Noble Rot, led by Mark Andrew and Daniel Keeling. This Soho outing is a purely restaurant affair, which takes on the building that used to be the Gay Hussar. Dishes explore the heritage of that Hungarian restaurant and, of course, there's an excellent wine list.

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.

17 Neal's Yard, Seven Dials, London WC2H 9DP

Story Cellar is a spin-off from Tom Sellers' Story restaurant. It's a smaller-scale affair, billed as a "Parisienne-influenced" restaurant. Food-wise, the rotisserie chicken is a centrepiece alongside plenty of riffs on French cuisine (like snail bolognese) and a strong wine list.

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 who has a Michelin star for his Soho restaurant. Like that, this Fitzrovia outpost is a fully-vegan affair and bring some of the chef's best plant-based dishes to a bigger audience (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.