London Restaurants - Soho, Fitzrovia, Covent Garden

49 Frith Street, Soho, London W1D 4SG

Coming from the Sethi siblings, best known for Gymkhana and more, this is inspired by roadside shacks (boutiques) of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. These shacks focus on hoppers and dosas which is what Hoppers is all about. Persist in trying to get a table at peak times, it's worth it and very affordable.

24 Great Windmill St, Soho, London W1D 7LG

Blacklock's main speciality is chops - beef, pork and lamb and all at pretty good value. You'll want to go all-in with the chops dripping onto flatbread, but keep an eye out for some great steaks on the specials board. With very affordable cocktails too, a good time is guaranteed.

34 Rupert St, London W1D 6DN

Hands down one of the best counter dining experience in town, albeit not the quietest one. Expect a Jerusalem-style menu here, with additional influences from Southern Spain and Italy, North Africa through to the Levant. You can grab a table at the back - but try for the full-on counter experience if you can.

9 D'Arblay St, London W1F 8DR

Blanchette is from three brothers Maxime, Yannis and Malik Alary who are behind this "French bistro serving simple, classic and inventive French food". It's primarily based around sharing "French tapas" plates.

60-61 Berwick Street, London W1F 8SU

This restaurant comes from the people behind Salt Yard and takes its inspiration from the rural Basque and Italian methods of smoking and grilling over charcoal. The menu is almost entirely cooked on a custom built charcoal fired grill.

46 Brewer Street, London W1F 9TF

This North Italian restaurant was a bit of a sleeper hit at first until word got out about how great the food was. Descend to the basement restaurant for dishes like pappardelle with slow-cooked hare or hand-chopped raw veal with Parmesan as well as a 10 seater bar specialising in Vermouth.

26-27 D'arblay Street, London W1F 8E

From the same people behind Barrica, this is one of Soho's most popular tapas bars - all stools and standing space only. The menu changes daily and you can find many Spanish tapas classics on it, with lots of Spanish wine to go alongside.

21-22 Warwick Street, London W1B 5NE

This was Yotam Ottolenghi's first full-blown London restaurant, following in the footsteps of his still-crazily popular delis. The menu features plenty of sharing dishes - signatures include their courgette and manouri fritters and Valdeón cheesecake.

21 Romilly Street, London W1D 5AF

Alexis Gauthier brings his own take on French cuisine in the marvellous setting of this Georgian townhouse. The menu is now entirely vegan, making this one of the best fine dining vegan spots in town.

15 Broadwick Street, W1F 0DL

People may complain about the sharp table-turning at this subterranean Chinese restaurant - Alan Yau's follow-up to Hakkkasan, but you'll never hear a bad word about the dim sum. If it's something sweet you're after, head for the street-level patisserie and tea shop.

15 Maiden Ln, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NG

Condesa is a small tapas restaurant in Covent Garden with dishes inspired by both Spain and Latin America. Here you'll find a combination of Spanish tapas like jamon Iberico next to beef cheek tacos and ceviche along with plenty of cava and sherry, of course.

17-18 Henrietta St, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8QH

Flat Iron are known for bringing affordable steak dinners to the masses, but without losing the quality. You can get a really good steak and chips here without breaking the bank, all thanks to mainly serving up the affordable flat iron cut. Be prepared for a wait for a table at peak times, it's very popular.

1A Earlham St, London WC2H 9LL

Originally set up in Haggerston, this fried chicken restaurant is a collaboration between Carl Clarke and David Wolanski. As well as serving excellent fried chicken - tenders, wings and burgers, they also do a mean line in sour cocktails. Not to mention the amazing Szechuan Aubergine, one of our favourite London dishes.

19-21 Monmouth St, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DD

Mon Plaisir is billed as London's "oldest French restaurant" - with its current owners keeping it in the family since the 1940s. As you might imagine from such a traditional establishment this does the classic dishes very well.

4-6 Russell Street, London WC2B 5HZ

Keith McNally has been big on the New York restaurant scene for years where Balthazar is a go-to place for both tourists and locals in the Village. This is the London version, just off the Covent Garden piazza, serving brasserie style food in an impressive dining room. It's worth popping into the bakery here if you're just passing.

39 William IV Street, London, WC2N 4DD

Bancone's main event is its freshly cooked pasta and as it's also a great place for counter dining (bancone translated means "counter"). The "silk hankerchiefs" being a huge draw but expect the menu to change with the seasons.

45 Great Queen St, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5AA

This high-end Italian restaurant in Covent Garden has a strong focus on service and it's one of the smartest Italian restaurants in the area.

5 Mercer Walk Mercers Yard, London WC2H 9FA

The Temper restaurant in Covent Garden is where cooking over fire is a big thing and you can get some of the best tacos, steak and meats in town.

36 Tavistock Street, London WC2E 7PB

This is the Covent Garden outpost of Angela Hertnett's Cafe Murano restaurant group. Expect an Italian menu with a focus on fresh pasta. And if you just fancy a drink, there's a cafe/wine bar/shop next door where you can also buy fresh pasta to take home.

14 Garrick Street (Floral Street entrance), Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9BJ

This is the second restaurant from Virgilio Martinez whose original in Fitzrovia was a big hit. This Covent Garden restaurant is perhaps a little more mid-range than the original, delivering a Peruvian menu that's designed for sharing (alongside Peruvian snacks in their bar).

30-32 Foubert's Place, Carnaby, London W1F 7PS

Zahter comes from chef Esra Muslu, previously at Ottolenghi, and is pitched as a 'love letter' to Turkey with a contemporary take on Turkish cuisine. They also have a space upstairs called The Loft for private events.

5 Henrietta St, London WC2E 8PT

The hugely popular Taiwanese dumpling restaurant arrived in London to serve up their famous steamed soup dumplings and lots more. The queues around the blocks may have gone, but the consistency is still there.

8-10 Neal’s Yard, London WC2H 9DP

This wine bar comes from the same people behind the hugely popular Experimental Cocktail Club and this bar's sister site in Paris. Expect the wines to steer clear of the mainstream and the food to be a mix of seasonal British and French cuisine.

23 Catherine Street, London WC2

From the same stable as Salt Yard and Dehesa, this serves tapas-style dishes in a refurbished pub setting. Their teeny Iberico pork and foie gras burgers are worthy of the trip here alone.

9 Russell Street, London WC2B 5HZ

The people behind New York's infamous Pac Man dumplings have made it to London. The menu here is a modern take on Chinese dim sum with a few NYC influences too.

19-23 Charlotte St, London W1T 1RL

This Fitzrovia loction is the second iteration of Carousel, which moved from its original Marylebone home. It continues to host regularly changing residencies, often previewing restaurants that are due to open in London. In addition, they also have a permanent wine bar up front with their own, seasonally changing menu.

3 Windmill St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 2HY

Having worked for the likes of Tsukiji, Nobu and Zuma, this is Chef Padam Raj Rai's second Hot Stone. It's a steak and sushi bar - so there's all manner of top drawer sushi, lots of it with innovative sauces and toppings, and then a section of steak and seafood to be cooked on the titular hot stones.

19 Kingly Street, Soho, London, W1B 5PY

Crispin is a huge hit in Spitalfields, and this is their Soho wine bar spin-off. Primarily all about the wine, the list takes the same approach to its selection as the original Crispin - so that's old-world primarily and small producers. Alongside that, there's an all-day snack menu and they also have monthly wine events, including tastings, food pairings and more.

77 Brewer St, Soho, London W1F 9ZN

This huge restaurant in Soho is inspired (officially) by DC Comics. But you may well have heard it referred to as "The Batman restaurant". Essentially, it's a massive subterranean space which takes elements of various Batman stories as its theme. There are multiple areas throughout, but the immersive Monarch Theatre is an experience like no other in London.

Top Floor Kingly Court, Carnaby St, London W1B 5PW

This Korean restaurant is in a prime space at the top of Kingly Court and features a menu from the people behind TA TA Eatery - so you already know you're in for something special. Aiming for an LA Koreatown vibe, the corndogs are top-notch and their kimchi stone pot is showstopping.