1 Brunswick Centre, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 1BS
Riding House Bloomsbury is a modern brasserie in the Brunswick Centre, where they're aiming for a club-like feeling inside. The modern European menu features brasserie dishes as well as a focus on healthy options, bowls and skewers.
103-105 New Oxford Street, London WC2H 8LH
This is from JKS, the people behind Gymkhana, Hoppers, Lyles and more. It sees a collection of top food vendors under one roof with probably the hottest table being Plaza Khao Gaeng from chef Luke Farrell. Besides that, there's Shawarma, sandwiches from Margot and Hector Henderson, burgers and more.
22 Grosvenor Square, London W1K 6LF
The Twenty Two is headed up by MD Darius Namdar who was one of the people behind the launch of Chiltern Firehouse and it certainly seems like he's brought some of that glamour to Mayfair. The buzzy restaurant also has top food credentials too, with ex Picture chefs Alan Christie and Colin Kelly in charge of the food.
54 Lamb’s Conduit Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3LW
This much-loved restaurant comes from Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich. Originally in Fitzrovia, this Bloomsbury location is a much larger space. The restaurant specialises in Middle Eastern cuisine and even with extra room, it's always worth booking ahead to ensure you get a table.
11-13 Abingdon Road, London W8 6AH
This is a joint venture between top chef Philip Howard, best known for Elystan Street, and his business partner Rebecca Mascarenhas. The chef here is Mark Kempson, who worked with Howard at The Square. This has slowly become a Kensington institution, a laid-back neighbourhood restaurant, but one that has a Michelin star.
Michelin House, 81 Fulham Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 6RD
Top French chef Claude Bosi's main London restaurant is at the classic Bibendum building. Being in the Michelin building seems a very good fit for Bosi whose fine-dining French style has already won him two stars. He's also in charge of the downstairs seafood restaurant.
165 Lower Clapton Rd, Lower Clapton, London E5 8EQ
This is a family-run Chinese dumpling house and sake bar that started as a pop-up and has become hugely popular in Clapton (it also has a sister site in Victoria Park). The specialities are their hand-rolled dumplings made fresh every day. Alongside those dumplings, there's a big range of sake from small family-run Japanese breweries.
58 Evering Rd, Lower Clapton, London N16 7SR
Bake Street has achieved almost legendary status, primarily for its weekend brunch menu. That's when they put their Nashville fried chicken sandwich on the menu which has become one of London's cult dishes (along with their creme brulee cookies). To those add lamb birria tacos and more. Good luck in grabbing a table (there are no reservations and they only have outside seating).
42 De Beauvoir Cres, London N1 5SB
This little cafe down on the canal in Hackney is one of London's best waterside spots. Run by Laura Jackson and Lori de Mori the food is always seasonal and delicious and, because there's no booking, landing a table here feels very much like winning in life.
1 Corbridge Cres, London E2 9DS
Gabriel Waterhouse's Water House Project started as a supper club before becoming a pop-up restaurant and then finding this permanent location. Sticking to the supperclub roots, there's a monthly-changing tasting menu, with a bit of Nordic influence throughout.
1a Bayford Street London E8 3SE
Facing Heaven is Julian Denis' sequel to Mao Chow, moving just around the corner from the previous restaurant. The vegan menu takes influences from Cantonese, Yunnan and Shaanxi cuisines as well as adding in a few Puerto-Rican, American and Portuguese flavours into the mix. They have hot pots at the weekend too.
205 Richmond Rd, London E8 3NJ
Lardo is an East London restaurant with what they call a contemporary Italian menu. In practice that means some of London's best pizza, with regularly changing specials on the menu too. Alongside those are antipasti and a wine list that focuses on low-intervention wines.
390 Kingsland Road, London E8 4AA
This is the original restaurant from Carl Clarke and David Wolanski and still the best. The fried chicken is among the best in London, the szechuan aubergine is one of our favourite dishes and the sours are still excellent, affordable cocktails. There's a great bar space in the basement too.
316 Queensbridge Road, Hackney, London E8 3NH
This is Tom Oldroyd's Hackney pub and dining room, serving up a European menu using British produce. The Cornish crab chip butty is a must, as is the Duke burger (or the veggie Duchess alternative) but it's generally worth trying as much of the menu as you can. Look out for special deals on Wednesdays and Fridays and a great Sunday lunch.
20 Sidworth Street, London E8 3SD
Andy Beynon's London Fields restaurant is all about opening up the kitchen experience. That starts with a huge counter that you gather around for a truly unique tasting menu experience (with a focus on seafood).
158 Sandringham Rd, Clapton, London E8 2HS
Casa Fofo saw ex-Pidgin chef Adolfo De Cecco opening his own place in Clapton, carrying on the same approach of a single tasting menu that makes the most of seasonal and local ingredients. He and his team are clearly doing something right as they've been given a star by Michelin.
23 Ezra St, London E2 7RH
Campania & Jones serves up Southern Italian food in Hackney, with pasta made fresh daily in its beautiful rustic-looking restaurant. The food is authentic Italian, the portions are generous and it's one of the most popular restaurant near Columbia Road. There's a daily changing menu, so you can always find something new to try.
68 Dalston Ln, London E8 3AH
All-day Hackney restaurant Little Duck - The Picklery comes from the same people behind Rawduck and Ducksoup. It's part shop and cafe and they're proud of their fermented food and drink (as the name gives away). On the menu, expect small plates that see those pickles put into action, with a focus on sharing.
197 Richmond Rd, London E8 3NJ
While the original Pophams is mainly a bakery and cafe, this, their second, also functions as a restaurant. So while you can still buy their bread and pastries here, there's the added draw of the pasta restaurant, with all the pasta made fresh in-house. It should go without saying that the desserts are pretty great as well.
374-378 Old St, London EC1V 9LT
Nest offers a set, regularly changing menu of small plates with a strong focus on provenance and local, British suppliers. Sustainability is also a big thing here and the wine list concentrates on low/no intervention.
134 Kingsland Rd, London E2 8DY
Song Que is an excellent Vietnamese restaurant on Kingsland Road's strong Vietnamese food scene. Expect authentic cuisine with excellent pho and banh mi, which underlines its longstanding great reputation. If you're looking for the best Vietnamese food in London, this should be on your list.
47 Hereford Rd, London W2 5AH
Ben Tish is now in charge of the menus at all Cubitt House pubs, although the Princess Royal was their first brand-new pub in the group in years. An immediate local hit (the huge garden and terrace certainly helps) it has a Mediterranean-led menu focusing on seasonal fish and shellfish all set inside a gorgeous-looking gastropub.
22 Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6DX
If you're searching for old school French cuisine, then look no further than this longstanding restaurant. It's a great spot for a long, liquid lunch but even better for a romantic dinner with all that warm brick and candlelight.
11-13 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 4QD
This is the original Caravan, where they built a reputation of creating some of the finest brunches in town. Having their own coffee roastery means the coffees here are second to none.
Bleeding Heart Yard, 19 Greville Street, London EC1N 8SJ
Bleeding Heart is a London institution. Come here for classic French food with a modern touch and a vast amount of wine supplied by their wine cellar. There's also a wine bar and grill off this historic courtyard for more casual fare.
12 Jerusalem Passage, London EC1V 4JP
The tiny Sushi Tetsu is both one of the best sushi restaurants in town and also one of the hardest to get into. With only half a dozen seats inside, each item served to you will be almost a work of art. This may well ruin other sushi restaurants for you. Note that bookings open on the first and third Monday of every month and go very fast.
82 Goswell Rd, London EC1V 7DB
This was street traders-turned restaurateurs Breddos first restaurant. It serves up excellent tacos, tostadas, tortilla-based Mexican pizza tlayudas and more. Don't forget to give their mezcal list a try as well.
29 Clerkenwell Green, Farringdon, London EC1R 0DU
In a quiet part of Clerkenwell, The Green comes from the same people who also run The Culpeper in Shoreditch. Either take it easy in the pub downstairs or head up to the first floor restaurant and you'll find the pub serving modern British food from an ever changing menu. Also look out for a Sunday lunch where they concentrate on Beef Wellington and one key roast dish.
46 Exmouth Market, Farringdon, London EC1R 4QE
This is an offshoot of Josh Katz's Berber & Q, and is something of a cut-down version of the main restaurant. Here you can find a combination of mezze, hummus and plenty from the grill - including the lamb shawarme of course - as well as rotisserie chicken. Make sure to stick around for their desserts.
38-40 Exmouth Market, Farringdon, London EC1R 4QE
Macellaio RC have a few sites across London where the main event is the steak, and you'll see plenty of this hanging in the restaurant. It's all Italian-style steak from a female Fassona breed. There is some pasta available too - but you'll really need to be trying as much from the grill as possible to do the place justice.
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