Counter Dining

It's all change over at the restaurant formerly known as Counter 71 in Shoreditch. The chef's table restaurant previously focused on an all-British menu. Now it's being turned into Appalachia, a restaurant inspired by the mountainous region of the US.

For the new restaurant, a new chef has been brought in - Alistair Borer (ex-Smoking Goat and Nutbourne). He's taking the American co-owners Camilla Meshiea and Ryan Sheenan's vision to the table. And really, the idea to turn the restaurant over to American influences does marry the whole space here together as the bar downstairs,

In the heart of Soho, Kumori is a vinyl/sushi bar serving up innovative handrolls. We went down to take a look.

If you want to get up close to the action of some of London's best kitchens then picking a

Dover Street Counter is The Dover's younger, more fun sibling and, as we discovered, is a startlingly good value spot for Mayfair.

Legado is the new Shoreditch restaurant from Michelin-starred chef Nieves Barragán that travels the length and breadth of Spain for inspiration. We went to see if this was a sequel worth booking a table at.

You may have seen the cheese conveyor belt restaurant at Seven Dials popping up on your Instagram feed from time to time. Well, now it's come to Camden too. We went to check out Pick & Cheese 2.0.

Directly opposite Dorian, and from the same owners, you'll find Eel Sushi - a sushi bar that comes with bragging rights for those who get a seat here.

6/5/25 - updated with new opening date and soft launch details

Not content with having one of the hardest-to-book restaurants in West London in Dorian, or the viral sushi experience Tuna Fight Club, the team responsible for both of those is now gearing up to open a sushi bar in Notting Hill.

Eel has taken over an old antiques shop on Talbot Road. It'll be a 10-16 seater restaurant that they're describing

The founders of Roji have switched their attentions to this more casual Japanese affair just off Carnaby Street. We took a seat at the counter to check out what Himi has to offer. 

When we heard that the family who own the London and New York branches of Le Relais de Venise l’Entrecôte were opening a new restaurant in London, you can be sure we sat up and took notice. Romeo San sees the Elghanayan family branching out into Japanese food, with a temaki bar in Marylebone.

"Our handrolls are made with the finest ingredients," says founder Yasmine Elghanayan. "The dining experience is

If your idea of the perfect restaurant visit is being up close and personal with the chefs or if you're looking for the perfect place for a solo lunch or supper, then counter dining is the way to go. Here's our guide to the best restaurants in London for grabbing a stool up at the counter.

The arrival of an affordable omakase experience in Soho is to be celebrated. We grabbed a seat at the counter to see what Sushi Kyu is serving up.

Lawyers and other city folk working in and around Holborn are about to have an interesting new place landing on their doorstep. Hotori is a slick-looking yakitori restaurant on New Fetter Lane that's going to be all about the 'beak to tail' experience. Owners Mike Zheng and Kuangyi Wei have loved their trips to yakitori spots in Japan, but couldn't understand why there weren't more options here in London, particularly

Covent Garden gets a very useful little sushi spot with the opening of Japanese hand roll bar Ukiyo in The Yards.

Having just celebrated its 15th birthday, Soho restaurant Bocca di Lupo is still knocking it out of the park. We headed for the counter to see why it's now such an integral part of Soho's restaurant scene.