46 Best Restaurants in London, England

A sophisticated crowd enjoys the sumptuous and elegant decor at this classic brasserie at the back of the royal grocer, Fortnum & Mason. An old-school trolley arrives table-side to serve Siberian sturgeon caviar with scrambled eggs, baked new potatoes, and blinis, while creamy beef Stroganoff and whole duck with elderberry sauce get the full table-side-flambé treatment. Truffles that are shaved at the table are another specialty. The popular Welsh rarebit toasty has a punchy mustard kick, while nostalgic desserts include a fleet of alcoholic ice-cream floats. It's open all day, with an unusually long five-hour window for lunch bookings—perfect if you want to take a break from shopping nearby.

One of only five three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the city, Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester achieves the pinnacle of classical French haute cuisine in a surprisingly fun, lively, and unstuffy salon. Diners feast on a blizzard of beautifully choreographed dishes, including classic rum baba with Chantilly cream, sliced open and served in a silver domed tureen. Slick service is off-the-scale outstanding, while the sommelier is a brilliantly charming expert on all things vino. The £285 tasting menu is the best way to sample the full gourmet experience overseen by chef patron Jean-Philippe Blondet.  

Welsh chef Tomos Parry brings his signature wood-grilled, whole roast Cornish turbot to this Basque-inspired hipster restaurant, almost hidden up a fairly narrow staircase on a quiet corner behind Shoreditch High Street. Watch the head chef and his team produce live-fire smashes from the intimate, open kitchen like aged Jersey beef chops, seared leeks, and burnt cheesecake. Even the grilled bread is something special at this very relaxed and welcoming venue, where there's an affordable range of options that won't break the bank. Lunch and early evening sittings have a more relaxed vibe with plenty of families and business meetings going on. Housed in a former pole-dancing club, it's probably London's most unassuming restaurant with a Michelin star. It's a small venue, so it can get noisy at night.

Be sure to ask for a table in the dreamy, white blossom–filled conservatory at this warm, cozy, and seriously romantic Provençal country-style inn off Covent Garden. Once inside, you'll be won over by the old-fashioned but refined French cuisine and charming country innlike ambience. Options include Loire Valley rabbit ballotine, poached wild turbot, and Charolais beef cheeks with fine French beans. Lunch specials and £39 pre-and posttheater prix-fixe meals (with a glass of bubbles) are a brilliant way to experience the cuisine and celebratory atmosphere. With its warren of candlelit, interlocking oak-paneled dining rooms, and open fires, Clos Maggiore never fails to enchant.

British comfort food classics like ham-and-cheese toasties, bubble 'n' squeak, and even the mighty potato chip are elevated into gastro showstoppers at this classy town house just off the Covent Garden piazza. Prized triple-cooked chips are squeezed, sliced, buttered, and deep-fried to perfection, while the equally famous crustless toasties are all succulent Wiltshire ham hock, Montgomery cheddar, and tangy house pickle. Understated jazz and blues music plays amid the elegant decor, from the antique table glasses and French-linen napkins to the tarnished mirrors and green-velvet banquettes.

The only British female chef with three Michelin stars, Clare Smyth fuses her classical French training with a devotion to quality British produce here. Smyth’s fantastic signature dish—a culinary tip-of-the-hat to her Northern Irish roots—is a baked potato delicately filled with dulse beurre blanc, herring, and trout roe. Seats at the chef’s table, from where you can watch the kitchen work their magic through a floor-to-ceiling glass wall, can be prebooked online. Core’s sumptuous Whiskey & Seaweed bar is the perfect place for a pre- or postdinner drink or two.

Enjoy the best pint of Guinness in London at the atmospheric saloon bar within this Georgian pub, grill, and restaurant just across the road from the Piccadilly Theatre. With its expert in-house butcher and wood-fired grill, expect phenomenal classics like Oban langoustines, lamb hotpot, or traditional beef cheek and Guinness suet pudding bathed in a rich gravy. Dogs are welcome, and be sure to ask to sit in one of the three cozy snugs hidden behind the ground-floor bar. 

Downton Abbey meets The Crown at this quintessentially English, old-school dining salon located within an Edwardian-era hotel down the road from Buckingham Palace. A favorite with royalty and courtiers, here you can enjoy daily specials like traditional beef Wellington and Dover sole or antediluvian quirks such as Eggs Drumkilbo (a hard-boiled egg/lobster seafood cocktail with caviar, currently reinvented using soft quail eggs)—a onetime favorite of the late Queen Mother. The Michelin star is clearly not just for the food, but for the impeccable service as well. Opt for the raspberry sorbet with Ayala Champagne for a decadent end to your meal.

Set in the former beer cellar of the Blue Posts pub in Chinatown, you'll find the tiny Evelyn's Table, a gastronomic experience based on amazing set tasting menus featuring top-notch British produce, with Scandinavian and Japanese notes, all underpinned by classical French technique. Arrive promptly for the two synchronized dinner sittings per night, which may wow with Scottish langoustines with pickled blackcurrant or flower-strewn Cornish cod with brown butter dashi. Enjoy a chat with the head chef, quality tunes, and wonderful paired wines. Book well ahead.  

The unassuming breakfast room at the Stafford London hotel transforms into the Game Bird restaurant after noon, offering all-day dining until 9 pm; come in the evening for a wonderful atmosphere, and let the sommelier choose the best wine to accompany dishes that use the finest British produce. The menu includes crowd-pleasers like oysters Rockefeller, Devon dressed crab, and Dover sole meunière. Try the steak and ale steamed suet pudding, cooked to exquisite perfection, for a real taste of modern British cuisine. Executive chef Jozef Rogulski has worked collaboratively with Lisa Goodwin-Allen, the Michelin-starred executive chef at Northcote, so it's no surprise that every mouthful delights. Leave room for the lemon meringue parfait with basil snow.

The last days of the Raj are invoked here at one of London's finest Indian curry emporiums, where top choices include dosas with fennel-rich Chettinad duck and the pork cheek vindaloo. Diners admire the whirring ceiling fans, rattan chairs, and other decor inspired by the colonial-era gymkhana sporting clubs of yesteryear. Other goodies include all-India delights such as Tandoori Masala lamb chops and Lasooni wild tiger prawns. A £110 tasting menu is the most extravagant way to sample the range of the restaurant's delights. 

The city's wealthy flock to French virtuoso Hélène Darroze's restaurant at The Connaught for her dazzling regional French haute cuisine served up in a stylish Edwardian wood-paneled dining salon designed by Pierre Yovanovitch. Taking inspiration from the Les Landes region in southwestern France, Darroze sallies forth with a procession of magnificent dishes like turbot with rutabaga and razor clams. A great value weekday lunch is available on request at £125 per person.  

Open since 1896, this timelessly elegant seafood haven is a favorite with neighboring Theaterland's top stars and theater moguls. A warren of interlocking dining rooms, J Sheekey always charms with a ravishing menu of fresh Atlantic prawns, arctic herring, salmon burgers, and the famous Sheekey Fish Pie. Better yet, sip pink Billecart-Salmon Champagne and shuck half a dozen Lindisfarne oysters at the chic 1930s mirrored oyster bar for the ultimate in true romance.

Acclaimed Aussie chef Brett Graham’s chic, intimate restaurant showcases modern European cuisine at its finest. The sheer inventiveness and quality of the food makes for a very special night out. Graham’s legendary attention to detail is such that he even grows the restaurant’s own fungi in a moisture-controlled cabinet that diners can view en route to the basement bathrooms. Six- and eight-course tasting menus place ever-changing seasonal produce at their heart, although game staples, such as Berkshire muntjac, often make an appearance. Bookings are accepted three months in advance.

Recently awarded its first Michelin star, Luca's formula is simple: modern Italian classics made from the very best British seasonal produce. Add to that the superchic setting—from the Art Deco--esque dining salon to the marble-top bar and the stunning glass-walled conservatory—and this popular Clerkenwell haunt is very much a triumph of both style and substance. Dishes include conchiglie of ragu bianco with Brussels sprouts, chestnuts, and Parmesan of potato and grilled Cornish squid served with chickpeas, datterini tomatoes, and 'nduja. 

Star chef Tomos Parry pulls off an audacious blend of Welsh-meets-Basque country cuisine at this always-busy spot near Carnaby and Regent streets. Diners come to dip restaurant-baked heritage grain bread in Balearic terra-cotta pots of Welsh Anglesey lobster Caldereta and mop up the juices with magical wood-fired rice. You can also sample spider crab omelets, Pembrokeshire cockles, and plancha-grilled whole John Dory, and marvel at the calm synchronicity of the open kitchen crew. There are also basement bar booths and a solid wine list. 

Bucolic beauty and rustic Italian cuisine combine wonderfully at Petersham Nurseries Café, a delightfully charming and informal dining experience housed within the serene environment of Richmond's poshest garden center. Prices are high, but your farm-fresh dishes do come surrounded by a backdrop of hanging plants, succulents, shrubs, and climbers that create London's most whimsical greenhouse dining room. The restaurant has also been rewarded with a Michelin Green Star in recognition of its sustainable credentials. 

Consistently brilliant modern European fare in a low-key setting characterizes this Michelin-starred restaurant located just northeast of Oxford Circus. Marvel at the chef's brigade in the open kitchen busily turning the inventive seasonal produce–driven menu into a delicious reality. Dishes feature superior British produce such as succulent Cornish cod served with caramelized cauliflower and black truffle and cep cream or Devonshire duck breast with beetroot, clementine, and chard. Desserts are always worth a second look; try the dark chocolate parfait with coffee liqueur, mascarpone and malt crumble. 

A Soho dining institution since 1926, and once home to Karl Marx in the 1850s, here revered British chef Jeremy Lee MBE creates classic dishes like smoked eel sandwiches with horseradish and long-lost rarities such as Scottish Cullen skink smoked haddock and potato soup. Also look out for traditional meat pies of the day and stupendous terrines, as well as towering pavlovas and tasty sticky toffee puddings. 

London's most opulent dining salon here at The Ritz would impress even Marie Antoinette with its sumptuous Gilded Age rococo revival trompe-l'oeil frescoes, tasseled silk drapery, and towering marble columns. Sit at the late Margaret Thatcher's favorite seat overlooking Green Park (Table 1) and luxuriate in unreconstructed British haute cuisine, such as langoustine à la nage or beef Wellington, carved table-side. Don't miss the crêpes suzette, which are flambéed table-side by the maître d'. The chef's five- and seven-course set menus are also a delight.

Trailblazing Australian chef Skye Gyngell worships the seasons at her pastel-hued dining destination in majestic Somerset House off the Strand. Housed in the building's 1865 Neoclassical New Wing, Spring offers exquisite root-to-stem, produce-driven Italian dishes in an airy light-drenched dining salon. Expect everything from a tousled heap of biodynamic Fern Verrow Farm salad leaves to egg yolk–rich crab tagliolini. Free of single-use plastic, you'll find all the bread, butter, ice cream, cordials, vermouth, and tonics are made on-site. Also look for Spring's brilliant zero waste £30 "Scratch" menus, available in the early evening Tuesday through Saturday.

Perfect butter-basted rotisserie chicken from Baserri Aldabia served with French fries and house salad epitomizes the understated Parisian-style bistrot elegance of this showstopper from chef Tom Seller. A short menu of a few quirks like snail Bolognese with wild garlic butter on toast or comforting faves like roast whole Dover sole is complemented by an electrifying wine list.

Austrian-born star chef Wolfgang Puck amps up the stakes at this ultraexpensive steak house on Park Lane. Set against a luxe backdrop of Damien Hirst artwork and globe lights, carnivores go crazy for the pricey prime cuts from England, Australia, Japan, and the United States. Options include impeccable 35-day Creekstone filet mignon, Black Angus New York sirloins, and an 8-ounce rib eye of pure Kagoshima Wagyu beef from Kyushu in Japan. Add bone marrow, French fries, chimichurri, or creamed spinach with a fried egg on top for the whole nine yards.

All the cool cats swing by this grand brasserie at Ian Schrager's insanely trendy London Edition hotel near Tottenham Court Road. Enter the monumental Edwardian dining salon, where you might swoon over a Herdwick lamb rump with aubergine puree and tomato and harissa fondue. Exquisitely appointed with framed pictures, paintings, and Grand Central Terminal--style bronze chandeliers, the sheer elegance of the place will soon have you feeling like a million dollars, too.

Variety is the spice of life, and it's also the modus operandi of this airy Charlotte Street eatery where an ever-changing roster of guest chefs from around the globe roll into town with their exquisite seven-course tasting menus. One week it might be Japanese trout roe with egg yolk and koshihikari rice, while the next week will feature skate wing bilbaina from the Basque country. Whatever the cuisine, the one constant is the sheer quality of the dishes on offer. Alternatively, there's also a wine bar that serves delicious tapas-style plates---don't miss the fried chicken with pickled cucumber and Scotch bonnet honey.

Revel with the A-listers in the glamorous buzz at this upscale Italian brasserie wedged between Cork Street, Savile Row, and the Royal Academy of Arts. It's perfect for a pit stop during a West End shopping spree or after browsing the nearby Mayfair galleries and auction houses, with diners spilling out onto pavement tables for breakfast, brunch, and cicchetti (Italian tapas)—and then returning later in the day for something more substantial. The luxe green-and-brown interior is a tony backdrop for classics like red mullet carpaccio, veal Milanese, and tagliatelle bolognese, and don't forget the pick-me-up tiramisù.

A largely corporate crowd comes here for the Manhattanesque views of The City and chef Jason Atherton's masterful but straightforward cuisine. Impressed diners look out from Level 24 of Tower 42 on a majestic panorama that takes in illustrious buildings like the Gherkin and the Walkie Talkie. Dinner options include sea bass and Jerusalem artichoke or a generous hunk of beef "Josper cooked" on the grill. The soufflé is a total winner for dessert, while the service—like City Social itself—is stratospheric.

Medieval English cuisine meets molecular gastronomy in this reassuringly luxurious Blumenthal flagship, with two Michelin stars, within the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Try the signature "Meat Fruit" appetizer (last popular in the 16th century, it's a ball of ultrasmooth chicken liver parfait encased in a citrus-flavored gel "peel") or the much-more-appetizing-than-it-sounds "Rice and Flesh," a 15th-century dish of yellow saffron rice with beef cheeks and red wine. For dessert, don't miss the signature Tipsy Cake (circa 1810)—brioche soaked in Sauternes, brandy, and vanilla cream, with slices of pineapple slowly roasted on the restaurant's open-fire spit. A three-course set lunch (£59) offers good value, relatively speaking.

Being a hotel restaurant, Dovetale provides a whole-day experience worth sampling at any hour. The modern European, produce-led menu delivers on every level, with langoustine and your pick of steak cut from the Josper grill as two of the highlights. The breakfast is a big favorite with the Mayfair-based hedge fund crowd, who dress noticeably sharply for the first meal of the day, possibly enjoying the spiced-oat porridge. The dinner service retains a cozy yet elegant ambiance, with the low lighting perfectly suited to the lounge-like space where booths and banquettes rule.