The last time I updated this page was way back in April 2012 – feels like a lifetime ago. The London restaurant scene continues to undergo rapid transformation, sadly some of my favourite haunts have left the game, but the good news is that lots of interesting new players have come into the picture.
This year, I decided to streamline into a list – less words, easier to scan, easier to update – and hopefully this will help you find your next meal. It is by no means definitive, just a list of places that I love. I’ve also included the few places which I was fortunate enough to visit on my travels.
(You can sort the list by clicking on the headings.)
It’s been 7 years now since I started this blog, thank you for joining me along the way and I hope you continue eating fabulous things.
TL:DR – Medlar , Goodman, Cambio de Tercio.
| Restaurant | £pp | Cuisine | Location | Public Transport | Latest Blogpost | Last visit (IG) | No. of visits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Curry | 02 - 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. |
| Prufrock | 03 - 05 | Coffee | London, UK | Holborn | 2011 | 2013 | 10+ | Favourite cafe in London |
| Glorious BBQ King | 03 - 10 | Chinese | The Venetian,Macao | - | - | 2014 | 2 | Best chicken rice Ive ever had - like polished porcelain... meat has layers! |
| Pizzarium | 05 - 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. |
| Shake Shack | 10 | Burgers | London, UK | Covent Garden | - | 2015 | 10+ | McDonalds 2.0 |
| Bleecker St. | 10 | Burgers | London, UK | Liverpool Street | - | 2015-14 | 2 | Lives up to its hype, just solid burgers. |
| Tommi's Burger Joint | 10 - 15 | Burgers | London, UK | Baker Street | 2012-10 | 2014-12 | 5-10 | The steak burger with béarnaise. Quality. |
| Shoryu | 10 - 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. |
| Flat Iron Steak | 10 - 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. |
| The Fish Shed | 15 | Fish & Chips | Topsham, UK | - | 2012-04 | - | 1 | |
| Trattoria Meloncello | 15 - 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. |
| Bao Soho | 20 - 30 | Taiwanese Street food | London, UK | Leicester Square | 2015 | 2015-06 | 2 | |
| Spuntino | 20 - 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. |
| Vintage Salt | 20 - 30 | Fish & Chips | London, UK | Islington | - | 2015-07 | 3 | Favourite fish and chips in London. |
| Jingogae | 20 - 40 | Korean | London, UK | Motspur Park | 2015-11 | 2015-07 | 3 | After moving to the area, this is my favourite of the many Korean restaurants in New Malden. They specialise in Kalbi Tang (spare rib soup). Also their Bossam is pretty spectacular. |
| Roti Chai | 20 - 40 | Indian | London, UK | Bond Street | 2012-04 | 2014 | 5 | |
| Roscioli | 25 - 40 | Italian | Rome, Italy | - | - | 2014-01 | 1 | The best carbonara. In the world. Likely. They also sell the carbonara home kit. We tried it - look here. Its amazing. The Conero Guanciale. |
| Shi Yang | 25 - 40 | Taiwanese | Taipei, Taiwan | - | 2012-01 | 2012 | 1 | Perched on the side of a mountain. Unforgettable, spirit-nourishing stuff. |
| Antidote | 25 - 50 | French, Wine Bar | London, UK | Oxford Circus | 2014-04 | 2015-08 | 5 | Change of chefs in 2015, but still bloody great. Scallops, Fish, Suckling Pork Belly. I prefer this to Hedone, so... |
| Yu Ding Xiang | 30 - 40 | Chinese | Taipei, Taiwan | - | - | 2015-09 | 1 | The Best Peking Duck I've ever had. |
| Copita | 30 - 40 | Spanish Tapas | London, UK | Oxford Circus | 2011 | 2014-06 | 5 | |
| L'Archangelo | 30 - 50 | Italian | Rome, Italy | - | - | 2014-01 | 1 | The best amatriciana I've ever had. |
| Smokehouse | 30 - 50 | Pub & BBQ | London, UK | Highbury & Islington, Gunnesbury | 2013-10 | 2015-08 | 5 | Favourite sunday (pork) roast. |
| Atari-ya Swiss Cottage | 30 - 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 |
| Quality Chop House | 30 - 50 | British | London, UK | Farringdon | 2015-07 | 2015-07 | 1 | |
| The Lockhart | 30 - 50 | American South | London, UK | Marble Arch | 2014-10 | 2015-05 | 4 | Unassuming but really serious cooking, like this short ribs dish. Mind-blowing. Brad is a hugely talented chef. |
| Social Wine & Tapas | 30 - 50 | Tapas and Wine | London, UK | Bond Street | 2015-06 | 2015 | 3 | I do like Berners Tavern too, but I think my favourite Jason Atherton has to be this one. Food is glorious, scallops and those toasties. |
| Pizarro | 30 - 60 | Spanish | London, UK | London Bridge | 2012-10 | 2014-10 | 5 | |
| St John Group | 30 - 60 | British | London, UK | Farringdon , Liverpool Street | 2010 | 2014 | 10+ | Its the quintessential classic. If you've never, you should. |
| Parlour Kensal Green | 30 - 70 | Pub & Reataurant | London, UK | Kensal Rise | 2014-08 | 2015 | 2 | |
| A.Wong | 30 - 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. |
| Yashin | 30 - 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. |
| Ember Yard | 35 - 50 | Spanish Tapas | London, UK | Oxford Circus | 2014-03 | 2014 | 1 | Had to put a Ben Tish restaurant on this list. All of the Yards (and Tavern) are brilliant. Can't go wrong. |
| Kyubei | 35 - 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. |
| Lyle's | 40 -70 | British Modern | London, UK | Liverpool Street | 2014-10 | 2015-03 | 2 | |
| Bob Bob Ricard | 40 - 70 | Anglo-Russian | London, UK | Piccadilly Circus | 2012-07 | 2014 | 5 | Crazy fun and more importantly incredible wines, vodka and bubbles at decent prices. |
| Medlar | 40 - 70 | French | London, UK | Bus 328 to Worlds End | 2015 | 2015-07 | 15-20 | My favourite restaurant in London. Pictures of dishes through the years (1, 2, 3, 4) |
| Portland | 40 - 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. |
| Engawa | 40 - 100 | Japanese | London, UK | Oxford Circus | 2015-06 | 2015 | 2 | Best during lunch, especially the wagyu katsu. |
| Sushi Tetsu | 40 - 100 | Japanese | London, UK | Farringdon | - | 2012-06 | 2 | Like those Ginza legends, a pain to book, but absolutely fantastic sushi. |
| Lurra | 45 - 60 | Spanish Grill | London, UK | Marble Arch | 2015-10 | 2015 | 1 | |
| Tango bar & kitchen | 50 -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. |
| The Manor | 50 - 75 | British Modern | London, UK | Clapham Common | 2014-12 | 2014-12 | 1 | Best meal in 2014. |
| The Sportsman | 50 - 80 | Pub & Restaurant | Whitstable, UK | - | 2011-10 | 2011 | 1 | As time goes by, it is becoming clear that this is the perfect example of a British restaurant. I'm due a return... |
| Bonhams Restaurant | 50 - 80 | British Modern | London, UK | Bond Street | 2015-10 | 2015-10 | 1 | Best meal in 2015 so far. I'm itching to go back. |
| The Clove Club | 50 - 100 | British Modern | London, UK | Old Street | 2013-07 | 2013 | 1 | Young Turks. Love them to bits. Those buttermilk chicken nuggets. Don't miss. |
| Goodman & Beast | 50 - 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. |
| The Hind's Head | 50-75 | 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. |
| Koffmans | 60 - 80 | French | London, UK | Hyde Park Corner | - | 2014 | 5 | La Tante Claire reborn. The perennial classic. Every meal has been about Trotters and Pistachio Souffle, with that amazing mash, in that order. |
| Dabbous | 60 - 80 | British Modern | London, UK | Goodge Street | 2012 | 2012-02 | 2 | It's on this list purely because I had 2 great meals, and then it became impossible to book (more accurately, they allowed crazy advanced bookings). I think its easier to get into now, so I'll be back soon... |
| Peter Luger | 60 - 80 | Steakhouse | New York, USA | - | - | 2013 | 1 | The Original. |
| Ming Court | 60 - 100 | Chinese | Mongkok, Hong Kong | - | 2014 | 2014-10 | 1 | Because Charsiu. |
| Cambio de Tercio | 60 - 100 | Spanish Modern | London, UK | Gloucester Road | 2011, 2010 | 2014-06 | 20-30 | Favourite Spanish in London. Been coming here for 12 years, never disappoints. |
| The Square | 60 - 130 | French | London, UK | Bond Street | 2014-03 | 2014 | 3 | Phil Howard, nuff said. |
| Marcus | 60 - 150 | French | London, UK | Knightsbridge | 2014-04 | 2015-02 (Taster Menu Pics : 0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) | 4 | IMHO the best 2 stars in London. The 3rd star must be soon. Always perfection. I still revere Marcus Wareing after all these years. Don't miss the egg tart. It really still the best in the world. |
| 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. |
| 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.. |
| Katsukara | 20-30 | 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. |