Last updated in Fall 2015.
It is by no means exhaustive, just a list cobbled together about what I think is good today. London and UK, followed by Rest of the World. Hope you find something you like on it.
TL:DR: Current all time favourites are Bonhams, Medlar , Goodman, Cambio de Tercio and The Ninth.
Best meals this year so far were at Bonhams, Clove Club, Pitt Cue, Marianne and Takahashi.
London and UK
| Restaurant | £pp | Cuisine | Location | Public Transport | Latest Blogpost | Last visit (IG) | No. of visits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spuntino | 020 - 30 | American | London, UK | Piccadilly Circus | 2011 | 2015-03 | 10+ | Still my favourite Russell Norman haunt. Less busy these days, making it a great place to relax for long afternoon snacks. |
| Bob Bob Ricard | 040 - 70 | Anglo-Russian | London, UK | Piccadilly Circus | 2012-07 | 2014 | 5 | Crazy fun and more importantly incredible wines, vodka and bubbles at decent prices. |
| Bread Ahead Donuts | 003 | British | London, UK | Borough Market, London Bridge | - | 2016 | Too many.. | Best donuts in town. |
| Quality Chop House | 030 - 50 | British | London, UK | Farringdon | 2015-07 | 2015-07 | 1 | |
| St John Group | 030 - 60 | British | London, UK | Farringdon , Liverpool Street | 2010 | 2014 | 10+ | Its the quintessential classic. If you've never, you should. |
| Ginger Pig Sausage Roll | 003 | British | London, UK | Borough Market, London Bridge ...and various. | - | 2016-01 | Many | Has been and still is the best sausage roll in town. |
| The Clove Club | 050 - 130 | British Modern | London, UK | Old Street | 2016-04 | 2016 | 2 | Young Turks. Love them to bits. Those buttermilk chicken nuggets. Now has a £95 extended carte blanche, with exceptional roast Challans duck. Don't miss. |
| The Fat Duck | 255++ | British Modern | Bray, UK | - | 2010-04 | 2010 | 1 | Can't believe it was 5 years ago. It was £150 then, now its... gasp. They re-opened this year after long refurb, now with floating pillows. I need to go back.. |
| Portland | 040 - 75 | British Modern | London, UK | Oxford Circus | 2015-03 | 2015-08 | 3 | Fantastic reserve wine list at great prices. Will is doing great things to change the way we buy quality wine in restaurants. Of course, the food is proper too. Merlin is a chef to follow. |
| Lyle's | 040 -70 | British Modern | London, UK | Liverpool Street | 2014-10 | 2015-03 | 2 | |
| Bleecker St. | 010 | Burgers | London, UK | Liverpool Street | - | 2016-02, 2015-06 | 4 | Lives up to its hype, just solid burgers. |
| Tommi's Burger Joint | 010 - 15 | Burgers | London, UK | Baker Street | 2012-10 | 2014-12 | 5-10 | The steak burger with béarnaise. Quality. |
| A.Wong | 030 - 75 | Chinese | London, UK | Victoria | 2014-02 | 2015-06 | 5 | My favourite Chinese restaurant in London, both for dinner and dim sum. The duck egg buns are peerless (in London). I also love his beef hofun - with scratch of lemon zest, genius. Andrew continues to innovate with his recipes. He loves visiting restaurants too, so feel free to sit at bar and chat with him. Always something different here. |
| Prufrock | 003 - 05 | Coffee | London, UK | Holborn | 2011 | 2013 | 10+ | Favourite cafe in London |
| Vintage Salt | 020 - 30 | Fish & Chips | London, UK | Islington | - | 2015-07 | 3 | Favourite fish and chips in London. |
| Medlar | 040 - 70 | French | London, UK | Bus 328 to Worlds End | 2015 | 2015-12 | 15-20 | My favourite restaurant in London. Pictures of dishes through the years (1, 2, 3, 4) |
| The Ninth | 025-50 | French-Mediterranean | London, UK | Tottenham Court Road | 2016-01 | 2016-03, 2016-02, 2016-01 | 4 | Definitely one of my favourites in 2016. Jun Tanaka's new outift is quite casual, offers great value (esp lunch) and some fabulous cooking - light & fresh intepretations on classic dishes. His pain perdu is incredible, and I love the salt beef cheecks, ossobucco tortellini and the stuffed quail. Don't miss. |
| Roti Chai | 020 - 40 | Indian | London, UK | Bond Street | 2012-04 | 2014 | 5 | |
| Takahashi | 030-70 | Japanese | London, UK | Wimbledon | 2016-03 | 2016-04 | 2 | Ex-Nobu husband & wife outfit. Good Izakaya. |
| Atari-ya Swiss Cottage | 030 - 50 | Japanese | London, UK | Swiss Cottage | 2010-06 | 2015-03 | 20-30 | Long-time Japanese importer with numerous locations. Swiss Cottage branch is my favourite izakaya-style in London. Just easy and good value. Great for midweek tuna-fix like this |
| Sushi Tetsu | 040 - 100 | Japanese | London, UK | Farringdon | - | 2012-06 | 2 | Like those Ginza legends, a pain to book, but absolutely fantastic sushi. |
| Shoryu | 010 - 20 | Japanese | London, UK | Oxford Circus | 2013-02 | 2015 | 10 - 20 | All about the non-ramen dishes.. The wagyu skewers, the genki don, superb prawn tempura and frozen kirin. |
| Yashin | 030 - 100 | Japanese | London, UK | Gloucester Road, High Street Kensington | 2010 | 2015-06 | 6-10 | I prefer Ocean House to the original. More cooked dishes, plus they've got a good chef who does the hot food there. Interesting things such as this Ishiyaki Sukiyaki. The Yashin 8 still hits the spot. |
| Jingogae | 020 - 40 | Korean | London, UK | Motspur Park | 2015-11 | 2015-07 | 3 | After moving to the area, this is one of my two favourite Korean restaurants in New Malden. The other is Yami. They specialise in Kalbi Tang (spare rib soup). |
| Bonhams Restaurant | 050 - 80 | Modern Euro | London, UK | Bond Street | 2016-05 2016-03 2015-12 2015-09 | 2016-05, very successful turbot | 5 | It was best meal in 2015. I've been a total of 5 times, but now making an effort to go back once a month. It has become my favourite. I am quite addicted to Tom Kemble's cooking. An avid restaurant lover, this informs his pure and natural style of cooking with keenly sourced seasonal produce of distinct quality. He expanded his team to 5, dare I say, flashes of Ambroisie and Arpege when its on... |
| Taberna do Mercado | 030-40 | Portuguese | London, UK | Liverpool St | 2015-07 | 2016-04 | 4 | Just excellent. Recent visit, £10 Brill head , Steamed Egg Yolk , excellent tinned fish , those oozy tarts and the best pork sandwich in town surely. |
| Smokehouse | 030 - 50 | Pub & BBQ | London, UK | Highbury & Islington, Gunnesbury | 2013-10 | 2015-08 | 5 | Favourite sunday (pork) roast. |
| Parlour Kensal | 030 - 70 | Pub & Reataurant | London, UK | Kensal Rise | 2016-04 | 2016 | 3 | Do the Chef's Table. You won't regret it believe me. Read the blog here. |
| The Sportsman | 050 - 80 | Pub & Restaurant | Whitstable, UK | - | 2011-10 | 2011 | 1 | As time goes by, it is becoming clear that this is one of the best in Britain. Paul Weaver at Noble Rot will give you a tiny glimpse if you are London based. |
| The Hind's Head | 050-75 | Pub & Restaurant | Bray, UK | - | 2010-05 | 2010 | 1 | Always thought of this as the precursor to Dinner. In many ways, Hinds Head may just be better than either Dinner or Fat Duck. Easier to get into and much cheaper, but food is just as brilliant. |
| Lurra | 045 - 60 | Spanish Grill | London, UK | Marble Arch | 2015-10 | 2015 | 1 | |
| Cambio de Tercio | 060 - 100 | Spanish Modern | London, UK | Gloucester Road | 2011, 2010 | 2016-05 | 40-60 | Favourite Spanish in London. Been coming here for 12 years, never disappoints. |
| Copita | 030 - 40 | Spanish Tapas | London, UK | Oxford Circus | 2011 | 2014-06 | 5 | |
| Goodman & Beast | 050 - 100 | Steakhouse | London, UK | Oxford Circus , Canary Wharf, Bank | 2011 | 2015-04 | 20-30 | Favourite steakhouse in London. But you must also try their Norwegian king crab at Beast. Yes I know, very expensive, but it is worth it. |
| Flat Iron Steak | 010 - 25 | Steakhouse | London, UK | Oxford Circus | - | 2015 | 6 | Not just serving flatirons anymore. Unique cuts from good breeds. Incredible value for money. The burger with Béarnaise , The irish beef belly steak for £15. |
Around the World
| Restaurant | £pp | Cuisine | Location | Public Transport | Latest Blogpost | Last visit (IG) | No. of visits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glorious BBQ King | 003 - 10 | Chinese | The Venetian,Macao | - | - | 2014 | 2 | Best chicken rice Ive ever had - like polished porcelain... meat has layers! |
| Yu Ding Xiang | 030 - 40 | Chinese | Taipei, Taiwan | - | - | 2015-09 | 1 | The Best Peking Duck I've ever had. |
| Ming Court | 060 - 100 | Chinese | Mongkok, Hong Kong | - | 2014 | 2014-10 | 1 | Because Charsiu. |
| Pizzarium | 005 - 10 | Italian | Rome, Italy | - | - | 2014-01 | 3 | Honestly my favourite pizza place ever. They do hundreds (or thousands?) of toppings every year. It's crazy good. Took a box on the plane with me. If pizzas were like a box of chocolates. |
| Roscioli | 025 - 40 | Italian | Rome, Italy | - | 2016-03 | 2014-01 | 3 | The best carbonara. In the world. Likely. They also sell the carbonara home kit. We tried it - look here. Its amazing. The Conero Guanciale. |
| L'Archangelo | 030 - 50 | Italian | Rome, Italy | - | - | 2014-01 | 1 | The best amatriciana I've ever had. |
| Trattoria Meloncello | 015 - 30 | Italian | Bologna, Italy | - | - | 2013-07 | 1 | Indebted to Helen for this rec. Mythic tagliatelle al ragù, and a beautiful restaurant run by two sisters. |
| Katsukara | 020-30 | Japanese | Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan | - | - | 2013, 2012 | 4 | No ceremony, just brilliant Tonkatsu, from this chain restaurant that has a bunch of locations across Kyoto and Tokyo. This is my favourite Tonkatsu. I prefer this to the famous Maisen. |
| Sabi Omakase | 110 - 220 | Japanese | Stavanger, Norway | - | 2015-10 | 2015 | 1 | Norwegian Crab, Langoustines, Scallops, Salmon, Mountain trout + careful sushi ageing techniques + crazy good wine. |
| Sushi Saito | 150 - 300 | Japanese | Tokyo, Japan | - | 2012-09 | 2012 | 1 | Best sushi I've ever had. |
| Kyubei | 035 - 120 | Japanese | Tokyo, Japan | - | - | 2015 | 3 | At today's exchange rate, you can get 10 pieces for £35 as lunch. It may have lost its reputation to the younger guys, but it's still an institution and offers ridiculous value, and the skills are still there. Custard tamago and dancing shrimp and those unagi/anago. |
| Tango bar & kitchen | 050 -75 | Norwegian | Stavanger, Norway | - | - | 2013. (1, 2, 3 , 4 | 1 | Basically this is one the best restaurants in Norway. The chef, Tony Martin is extremely talented lad and has dubbed his restaurant's style 'rough fine dining'. If you end up in the south of Norway, make this your number 1 priority. |
| House of Curry | 002 - 04 | Roti Prata | Brunei | - | - | 2015-02 | 3 | Forget Roti King. This is the BEST roti I've ever had in my life. It's seriously that good. Those condiments. Worth a flight to Brunei just to eat this. |
| Bar Nestor | 010-30 | Spanish | San Sebastian, Spain | - | 2015-12 | 2015 | 1 | Some of the best egg tortilla I have eaten, and fantastic tomato salad. Their steak dinners are very famous and a good choice if you're still up for Rubia Gallega. You'll be amazed how cheap it is compared to London. Great atmosphere. |
| Peter Luger | 060 - 80 | Steakhouse | New York, USA | - | - | 2013 | 1 | The Original. |
| Shi Yang | 025 - 40 | Taiwanese | Taipei, Taiwan | - | 2012-01 | 2012 | 1 | Perched on the side of a mountain. Unforgettable, spirit-nourishing stuff. |