London Restaurants
The restaurants below have been grouped alphabetically within four different pricing categories:
$$$$ (over £70)
$$$ (£45 to £70)
$$ (£20 to £45)
$ (up to £20)
These prices are for a three-course meal for one, including tax but not drinks.
A service charge of 12.5% will be added to your bill in most restaurants. This is technically an optional charge but it would be very unusual to ask for it to be removed. Where ‘Service is not included', a tip of at least 10% is expected, although 12-15% is becoming more common. Diners should check the bill thoroughly, as tipping is not required on top of a service charge.
Gastronomic
Still the only London restaurant with three Michelin stars, this remains the best place to experience Gordon Ramsay's cooking. In a comfortable but fairly neutral room, the focus is entirely on the food. All dishes are superb and might include the starter of pan-fried Scottish sea scallops with parmesan velouté and truffle smarties, followed by roasted Barbary duck breast. Reservations essential. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
68 Royal Hospital Road, SW3
Tel: (020) 7352 4441.
Website: www.gordonramsay.com
Price: $$$$
Since its opening in 1967 by brothers Albert and Michel Roux, the smart, formal, dark and classically French Le Gavroche, with two Michelin stars, has been setting the culinary benchmark for the British restaurant scene. Highly praised dishes include loin of venison with peppery sauce and cranberries, and seared foie gras with a duck-flavoured and cinnamon pancake. Reservations essential. No lunch Saturday. Closed Sunday.
43 Upper Brook Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7408 0881.
Website: www.le-gavroche.co.uk
Price: $$$$
Irish-born chef Richard Corrigan has made this Soho townhouse his home and gained a Michelin star in the process. The 1740s building exudes a subtle charm, while guests pad up carpeted stairs to a small, elegant but simple dining room, with white walls, oil paintings, a grand fireplace and comfortable chairs. The menu changes daily (Richard Corrigan tries to source all his ingredients from small suppliers). Every dish is well presented and beautifully cooked. No lunch Saturday. Closed Sunday.
21 Romilly Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7439 0450.
Website: www.lindsayhouse.co.uk
Price: $$$
The excellent Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli serves up delectable Italian dishes in sleek surroundings with a glamorous 1970s feel. Four courses are recommended, so diners are able to enjoy both an antipasto and a pasta dish. Mains include a decent number of fish and meat dishes, served simply with one or two other ingredients, such as roast monkfish with walnut and caper sauce. Desserts should not be missed. Reservations well in advance are essential.
8 Seymour Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7935 9088.
Website: www.locandalocatelli.com
Price: $$$
The brainchild of Agnar Sverrisson and Xavier Rousset, who met whilst working under Raymond Blanc, Texture merges food and wine to create a unique gastronomic experience. Modern European food is served up in sleek surrounds, with signature dishes including char-grilled Anjou pigeon served with moreish bacon popcorn and a hint of red wine. Every dish is masterfully created and the tasting menu allows diners to sample Texture's best along with the perfect wine accompaniment as recommended by the expert sommelier.
34 Portman Street
Tel: (020) 7224 0028.
Website: www.texture-restaurant.co.uk
Price: $$$
This sleek restaurant, which won a Michelin star within one year of opening, is a real connoisseur destination, as the many Japanese diners here testify. Kyoto style food is the main draw, especially the much praised Kaiseki, although the delicate sushi and sashimi are just as popular. Other highlights on the menu include the Wagyu beef, and the delicious soups. There is a good selection of sakes.
14-16 Bruton Place, W1
Tel: (020) 7499 8881.
Website: www.umurestaurant.com
Price: $$$$
Business
Nico Ladenis' unfussy West End restaurant provides the best-value set menu in London. For under £20 diners can enjoy a well-composed three-course meal, with a choice of two dishes per course. Dishes might include a brandade of salt cod in crispy pastry, followed by pork belly with fresh sauerkraut and Madeira sauce. The interior is cosy and uncluttered but the service can be patchy. Closed Sunday.
117 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2
Tel: (020) 7836 8866.
Price: $$-$$$
Jaan is a peaceful haven looking out to a lush rear terraced garden, and an ideal place to do lunch al fresco in the summer. French cooking is enhanced by delicate South-East Asian influences. There are some interesting offerings on the menu, from starters like the pan-fried foie gras with caramelised banana, pineapple and coconut to green tea flavoured creme brûlée with passion fruit and hibiscus.
Swissôtel the Howard, Temple Place, WC2
Tel: (020) 7836 3555.
Website: www.london.swissotel.com
Price: $$-$$$
Although Matsuri High Holborn features the obligatory sushi bar, the real action takes place downstairs in the Teppan-Yaki room, where expert chefs prepare flavoursome dishes on a hot plate right in front of customers. The entertainment factor is huge, and the set-up makes for convivial eating. It's hard to single out individual dishes for praise, but various set menus are a good choice for those wishing to sample a variety of Japanese specialities.
71 High Holborn, WC1
Tel: (020) 7430 1970.
Website: www.matsuri-restaurant.com
Price: $$-$$$
For panoramic views of London, there is no better place to eat than the restaurant at the top of the Thameside Oxo Tower. In good weather, diners can eat on the terrace; otherwise they take a seat in the stylish minimalist interior. At lunchtime, the place is a favourite venue for business meetings. In the evenings, the place takes on a more festive mood, serving modern European food against the stunning London nightscape.
Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street, SE1
Tel: (020) 7803 3888.
Website: www.harveynichols.com
Price: $$$-$$$$
Theo Randall specialises in modern, Italian gourmet cuisine, and the food, along with the service, the wine selection and the sommelier's advice, is rarely less than excellent. Some of the dishes, like the pan-fried squid with borlotti beans, or the Scottish scallops with lentils, are superb.
InterContinental Hotel, 1 Hamilton Place, Park Lane, W1
Tel: (020) 7318 8747.
Website: www.theorandall.com
Price: $$$$
Trendy
The flagship Piccadilly branch remains the epitome of steakhouse chic and still attracts the city cool set with its romantic low-lighting and cowhide wallpaper. Mouth-watering slabs of Argentine steak are the star of the show, although the traditional gambas and outstanding seafood ceviche selections give them a run for their money. As well as having great wines, Gaucho knows how to serve up a mean cocktail and prides itself on its Americas-inspired offerings. Gaucho has recently overhauled the menu, adding some new highlights such as the white chocolate panna cotta.
25 Swallow Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7734 4040.
Website: www.gauchorestaurants.co.uk
Price: $$$
Other locations:
2 More London Riverside, SE1
Tel: (020) 7407 2220.
125 Chancery Lane, WC2
Tel: (020) 7242 7727.
This chic restaurant is situated down an alley in central London, which deters passing trade and helps heighten Hakkasan's sense of exclusivity. Once down the smart slate steps and past reception, the blue glass doors open on to a stunning, dimly lit room, where a beautiful latticework screen encases the dining area. This is one of only five Chinese restaurants with a Michelin star and the lunchtime dim sum is so good that it is difficult to single out any one dish.
8 Hanway Place, W1
Tel: (020) 7927 7000.
Price: $$$
The restaurant of choice of many a celebrity, The Ivy is notoriously difficult to get into without a famous name or advance booking of at least six weeks. Once inside, the comfortable décor suggests a gentleman's club with dark wooden panelling and diamond-patterned stained-glass windows. The food is simple but of high quality and includes traditional British favourites, such as bangers and mash, potted shrimps or braised beef in stout.
1 West Street, WC2
Tel: (020) 7836 4751.
Website: www.the-ivy.co.uk
Price: $$$
French chef Pierre Gagnaire's first venture in London, this enormous 18th-century house has been divided into four different culinary experiences, all extravagantly designed by Mourad Mazouz. Though the décor may stray into the realms of pretention, the attentive staff and excellent food do not. The light inventive dishes, touched by Asian influences, are a joy.
9 Conduit Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7659 4500.
Website: www.sketch.uk.com
Price: $$$-$$$$
This restaurant, an old smokehouse, is notorious for being carnivores' heaven, where no bit of the animal is left off the menu. But it also happens to be home to one of the loveliest dining rooms in London. The restaurant serves up old-fashioned British classics with absolute panache - boiled ham and parsley sauce, rabbit saddle, roast beef with a stunning horseradish sauce, Eccles cakes with Lancashire cheese for dessert.
26 St John Street, EC1
Tel: (020) 7251 0848.
Website: www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk
Price: $$
Budget
This brasserie serves some of the best-value food in Soho, so its no-booking policy means that a queue is inevitable. As well as various starters and snacks, there is a selection of main courses under £10, including Cajun-style chicken with potato skins, or home-made salmon fish cakes. The dark-wood interior is packed with candle-lit tables and the service is brisk but not rushed.
17 Frith Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7437 0723.
Website: www.cafeemm.com
Price: $
This retro American diner in the heart of Soho has become a mainstay for local office workers and kitsch-appreciators. The traditional American fare doesn't fail to impress, with juicy burgers and glorious eggs Benedict being popular choices. After dark, the restaurant takes on a bar vibe with shakes going 'hard', with a dash of booze, and the Mojitos free-flowing. 18 Ganton Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7287 8962.
Website: www.thedinersoho.com
Price: $-$$
A quirky little gastropub in a quiet Bloomsbury street, the Duke of York is a relaxed yet vibrant place to spend an evening. Unlike most gastropubs, it is not overly trendy, overly crowded or overly priced. The tasty dishes range from British classics like Cumberland sausage and mash to more unusual daily specials, such as sea bream tempura with stir-fried noodles. Reservations recommended for dining area.
7 Roger Street, WC1
Tel: (020) 7242 7230.
Website: www.dukepub.co.uk
Price: $
One of Chinatown's best restaurants, the Golden Dragon is bedecked in red and gold and has a noisy, bustling atmosphere. In the daytime (1200-1700), the dim sum selection, brought to the table in a never-ending parade of bamboo steamers, is of exemplary quality. Main dishes, available both night and day, are excellent value and come in generously sized portions.
28-29 Gerrard Street, W1
Tel: (020) 7734 2763.
Price: $-$$
Fish and chips are a British institution and there are few places better to indulge than this, London's oldest surviving chippie. It serves up all the basic fish (cod, rock, haddock, plaice, skate and scampi) and more specialities (halibut, lemon sole, Dover sole, trout, salmon, sardines and mackerel), depending on market availability, as well as other chip-shop standards like pasties and pies.
47 Endell Street, WC2
Tel: (020) 7836 3785.
Price: $
Personal Recommendations
Pearl is a thrilling addition to the London dining scene, and no doubt one that will become a firm favourite with foodies in the capital. The recipe? Start with glamorous décor, add excellent modern French cuisine and an award-winning wine list with over 50 wines by the glass, and finish with live piano music and attentive yet not overzealous service. The result? You are onto a winner.
252 High Holborn, WC1V
Tel: (020) 7829 7000.
Website: www.pearl-restaurant.com
Price: $$$
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