London Restaurants - Westminster, Strand, Victoria

The Old Westminster Library, Great Smith St, London SW1P 3BU

Chef and restaurateur Vivek Singh’s fine-dining Indian restaurant has long been a Westminster institution. Housed in a gorgeous Grade II listed building it’s the perfect place for a business lunch or dinner. Game and seafood are a speciality and if things are going particularly well you might want to call the gin trolley over.

22 Palmer St, London SW1H 0PH

For an old-school Lyon bouchon experience look no further than Chez Antoinette. Owner Aurelia took inspiration from her grandmother’s cooking. So we're talking croque monsieur, French onion soup and chicken cordon bleu on the menu. Both this restaurant and the other branch in Covent Garden are packed with furniture, curios and art sourced from France.

3-5 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HN

If you aren’t headed to Sweden any time soon then a visit here to Michelin-starred chef Niklas Ekstedt's only restaurant outside Stockholm is a must. Here it’s all about using live-fire cooking, applying Swedish techniques to the best of British produce. That might translate to dishes like a Tunworth cheese cooked in a wood-fired oven and served with smoked honey.

4 Greycoat Pl, London SW1P 1SB

Set in the Grade II listed Edwardian Westminster fire station, Yaatra is a modern Indian restaurant
Executive chef Amit Bagyal worked with Atul Kochhar for years at both Kanishka Mayfair and Benares. Menus are created in a way to give you a tasting tour of the Indian subcontinent. The purple carrot & kohlrabi koftar is a signature dish.

76 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1DE

With an ex-sommelier from River Cafe and a chef from Brawn, visitors to Lorne should expect a particularly good wine list and a Modern British seasonal menu to match with it. It's deservedly rated as one of the best restaurants in Victoria.

70 Wilton Road, Victoria, London SW1V 1DE

This two-Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant is one of the city’s best. In a pared-back room, the menu travels the broad spectrum of Chinese cooking and has a lunchtime dim sum menu that's absolutely worth crossing town for.

191 Victoria St, Westminster, London SW1E 5NE

A food court, but not as you know it; this is where you’ll find some excellent dining options under one roof, with nine different kitchens, two bars, and a heated rooftop terrace overlooking Victoria station. The only dilemma will be which vendor to order from.

51 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8NE

Hunan is rated as one of London's best Chinese restaurants, loved by chefs and critics alike. It's a "no menu" restaurant where you're served about 12-18 courses. As the name suggests, you can expect Hunanese cooking here - so there's going to be plenty of heat, but you can also warn them just how much heat you can take. After that - you're in their hands.

205 Victoria St, Westminster, London SW1E 5NE

Bleecker are in the upper echelons of what's already a pretty damned good burger scene in London. Originally starting out on the street-food market, they've slowly become established across town. The cheeseburgers are great but if the Blecker Black is on offer - with extra black pudding - that should be your go-to burger.

2 Sir Simon Milton Sq, London SW1E 5DJ

This two-floored Victoria restaurant in inspired by southern Portugal, and the cooking is led by their signature piri-piri chicken, all fire-grilled. Those are paired with small plates like their piri-piri garlic prawns and more. There's a Portuguese wine list with a specific focus on vinho verde too.

23 Eccleston Place, London SW1W 9NF

This outlet of a popular pizza chain is just as much about the 72-hour-fermented Neapolitan pizza doughs as it is the music. Expect a next-level sound system with your traditional pizza toppings, as well as gelato, beer and cocktails.

Beeston Place, London SW1W 0JW

The Goring has been a London institution for over 100 years. It's around the corner from Buckingham Palace and the Queen had been known to pop in from time to time, and if you're lucky you might still see a royal or two. Here you'll find high-end Michelin-starred dining. Don't miss out on the eggs drumkilbo - they were a favourite of the Queen Mother.

10 - 11 Eccleston Yards, London SW1W 9AZ

Two Columbian sisters are behind this all day Latin-American spot in Eccleston Yards. Brunch is big business with corn pancake stacks and cassava waffles on offer. At dinner time on weekends, the offering switches up to cocktails and a small plates menu.

13 Eccleston Yards, London SW1W 9AZ

This diminutive wine shop and bar is devoted to vegan wine brand Amie. There’s a focus on rose, although they do a boutique range of their own-brand French wines. Sit and sip inside or outside on the terrace. There’s also a popular space for booking out for parties.

The Rubens at The Palace, 39 Buckingham Palace Rd, London SW1W 0PS

Billed as serving English dishes with a twist, this hotel restaurant celebrates the art of tableside dining with all manner of treats. Smoked salmon is carved beside you and both mains and desserts include flambe options for a bit of theatrics.

This bakery has a team of international chefs producing everything you need in the form of bread and patisserie in an upmarket café. Name a variety of loaf from anywhere in the world and it’s probably on offer here. There are also freshly baked flatbreads from the clay oven to enjoy for savoury brunches at sharing tables out the back.

Westminster Kingsway College, 76 Vincent Square, London SW1P 2PD

Play your part in supporting the chefs of the future at this smart brasserie that offers high-standard, contemporary, seasonal food at great-value prices, thanks to the role it plays as a teaching kitchen. You’ll be served by students (both chefs and front of house staff) from the college.

17-19 Regency St, London SW1P 4BY

A classic English café, this opened in 1946 and is so quintessential-looking that it’s been used as a filming location for its art deco style. This is where to get a proper ‘greasy spoon’ breakfast fry-up. None other than top chef Michel Roux Jr has also declared it his favourite (there’s a framed photo of his on the wall here with his statement to prove it).

Unit 17, 77 Buckingham Palace Rd, London SW1W 0AJ

Right next to Victoria station, this convenient location of the Vagabond bar chain is the place to wait for your train while sipping on one of the 100 wines by the glass. Or you could try something new, with help from its unique wine-matching machines.

15 Beeston Pl, London SW1W 0JW

A truly luxurious experience, The Goring’s cocktail bar showcases British spirits along with herbs from the hotel’s garden in an opulent setting, while a live pianist plinks quietly in the background. You can drink ‘The Madness of King George’, a cocktail featuring King George III’s favourite whisky, and nibble at lobster scampi with chilli and pepper jam from the bar menu.

43 Buckingham Palace Rd, London SW1W 0PP

If you like plants with your cocktails, Bbar lays claim to having London’s largest ‘living wall’. It’s also directly located across from Buckingham Palace, so keep your eyes peeled for royalty from the terrace while enjoying live DJ sets through the week.

18 Greencoat Row, London SW1P 1PG

This Nepalese restaurant serves up food with an emphasis on spicy flavour rather than excessive heat. It’s a place for homestyle cooking, whether you fancy a hearty dal, a mutton curry, or a quick momo. Vegetarians and vegans are well-catered for.

3-4 Eccleston Yards, London SW1W 9AZ

Particularly popular for its seasonal sharing plates, Wild by Tart in Belgravia’s Eccleston Yards development offers somewhere you can dine with large groups on feasting tables or watch the open kitchen prepare dishes from the wood-fired oven at the counter.

116 Ebury Street, London SW1W 9QQ

You may recognise the fairy-tale exterior from Instagram, but the (original) Belgravia outlet of Peggy Porschen still bowls visitors over with its pretty pinkness. You’ll have a wonderful afternoon tea here, as they’re renowned for their creative cakes, but there’s also an all-day breakfast, brunch and lunch.

37 Monck St, London SW1P 2BL

This is the place for modern Sichuan cuisine and dim sum. Expect lots of sizzle and spicy flavours in a relatively minimalist and sleek space with service that errs on the formal side. There are two set menus as well as à la carte; it’s particularly good for groups.

68 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6AQ

This two-level stylish Victoria branch of the Ibérica restaurant chain from two-Michelin-starred executive chef Nacho Manzano showcases some of the best Spanish produce in London. You can expect Juan Pedro Domecq jamón, croquetas from Manzano’s grandmother’s recipe and classic desserts such as caramelised rice pudding and churros.

1 Carlton St, St. James's, London SW1Y 4QQ

This corner restaurant on St James’s Market is a lovely bright spot to enjoy high-end Scandi cooking. The smorgasbord selection is genuinely inventive - think roasted sweetbreads with lingonberry chutney or a langoustine bao with cabbage slaw - and if you’re here for dinner, you should have a little trawl through their Aquavit spirit selection from Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

9-10 Waterloo Pl, St. James's, London SW1Y 4BE

The London outpost of one of Asia’s most Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant groups, Imperial Treasure is perhaps best known for its Peking Duck although its dim sum selection is also very refined. Here in London, you’ll find it in a Grade II listed building which suitably matches the high-end food.

The Savoy, Strand, London WC2R 0EU

This is Gordon's third restaurant at The Savoy - he already runs The Savoy Grill andThe River Room. It's a bijoux little restaurant (with room for just 26 diners) that pays homage to the iconic chef Georges Auguste Escoffier who came to work for The Savoy in - you guessed it - 1890.

1 Surrey Street, London WC2R 2ND

Toklas is a Mediterranean restaurant - with specific Italian, French and Spanish influences. But that's not all as it's also a top-notch bakery from the man who launched Angel Bakery in Abergavenny. All that and there's a very handy bar space too.