Will Beckett is the co-founder and CEO of Hawksmoor. Having set up the first restaurant in 2006 with best friend Huw Gott, the pair have grown the business into one of the most admired restaurant brands in the UK. With restaurants across London and the UK as well as Dublin, New York and Chicago, Hawksmoor has a reputation as one of the best steak restaurants in the world. A long-time resident of Forest Hill in South East London, he's agreed to share his favourite food and drink places in his neighbourhood with us.
Bona
25 Dartmouth Rd, Forest Hill SE23 3HN
Forest Hill is changing. The Wetherspoons has closed, we only have one (relatively new) coffee chain. What we have is a load of independents, and a developing food and drink vibe. Good pizza often leads the way, and Bona was an early arrival – a great sourdough pizza joint that makes us as happy ‘in store’ as it does on delivery on a Friday night. It’s a Sausage and Friarelli white pizza for me every time.
Pantry
14 Perry Vale, Forest Hill SE23 2LD
Forest Hill is split in half by the train line. On ‘the other side of the tracks’ are a little treasure trove of cool spots – Clapton Craft and Olives & More amongst my favourites – but Pantry stands out for great coffee, bread, pastries and sandwiches and that irritating habit of having something delicious that I didn’t come in for, but always leave with.
The Dartmouth Arms
7 Dartmouth Rd, London SE23 3HN
While there are cool independents, it’s fair to say that not many of the hospitality industry’s glitterati look to Forest Hill as a potential destination. Luckily, Scott Collins also lives nearby (depressingly, making me only the second best-known middle-aged, shiny-headed meat-restaurant guy in the area, which tbh is a narrow field I thought I could compete in) and runs a MeatLiquor hidden in a pub that is one of the most fun places to hang out locally.
St David’s Coffee House
5 David's Rd, London SE23 3EP
There’s another version of my life, where I wanted to be the kind of person who has ample time to just sit around and read books all day. Rickety chairs, wooden tables, sunlight on battered floorboards, decent coffee. Squint and I can convince myself that I don’t have work to do and kids to parent and I can just eat a bacon sandwich and think big thoughts.
Sushi Garden
103 Dartmouth Rd, London SE23 3HT
Forest Hill isn’t the obvious place to expect more-than-passable sushi, but if you were to ask my family where they want to eat, Sushi Garden would just pip MeatLiquor at the Dartmouth Arms to the post as the most regular answer (sorry Scott). Good across the board, and the place that made my eldest semi-obsessed with unagi (eel).
See also
For more of these local area guides, visit the My Manor page.
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