134 Best Restaurants in London, England

Scrub up like Eliza Doolittle and perch at the pewter bar sipping a My Fair Lady (with homemade gin and orange blossom) at this busy but laid-back little sister to the flagship The Ivy restaurant. You'll find bargains galore here on the something-for-everyone brasserie menu—from crispy duck salad and poached lobster cocktail to chicken Milanese and blackened cod. For dessert, be sure to try the chocolate bombe, a chocolatey mush of milk foam, vanilla ice cream, and gooey hot salted caramel sauce. The raucous salon atmosphere fits in perfectly with the green-leather banquettes, dark timber floors, and copious 19th-century brass lamps.

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.

Seemingly everyone involved in West End theater world hangs out at this legendary subterranean spot for its alluring blend of New York brasserie comfort food (think posh hot dogs, shrimp burgers, and mac n' cheese). Established elsewhere in Covent Garden in 1977, enduring classics include Joe's finger-licking slow-braised smoked baby back ribs, New York strip steak and chips, a not-so-secret off-menu hamburger, and a PB&J ice-cream sandwich.

Earthy northern Thai cuisine bursts out of the charcoal-fired kiln and hot clay pots at this barbecue-focused wonderland in Soho. Take in the action in the fascinating tiny open kitchen and you'll spy sizzling cumin-dusted cull yaw mutton skewers and chargrilled chicken thigh bites, along with other local Thai village-style dishes that crackle with influences from Laos, Myanmar, and Yunnan in China. Pick up pungent wafts of Thai parsley and Burmese wild ginger in a slew of authentic dishes such as lime-bathed langoustines or claypot-baked glass noodles with Tamworth pork belly and chewy crab meat.

When you arrive at Kinaara, the ambient lighting, aroma of spices, and very warm welcome tell you instantly that there is something special about this Indian eatery. With its extensive menu, it's best to let the professional and knowledgeable staff guide you, and a tasting menu is undoubtedly the best way to sample the divine flavors that head chef Imamuddin Khan conjures up. Start with crispy, shredded duck, watermelon, cashew nuts, and black radish, followed by salmon and prawn cooked in the tandoor oven and accompanied by the delectable coriander with mint, tomato, and mustard sauces. The lamb biriyani comes to the table covered with its own pastry top, which is peeled back dramatically to provide both aromatic theater and something to dip into the rich sauce. A chili mandarin palate-cleansing sorbet is wonderful before the chocolate and ginger dessert. With wine pairings for every course and a stunning vista from its elegant and elevated position at the InterContinental London O2, the gilded setting is as sumptuous as the food is. It's very smart to book a table ahead of time.

Windswept lines wait patiently outside on Frith Street, and inside there may only be 25 counter seats, but everyone's still smitten with the steaming bowls of hot broth and house-made udon noodles at this quirky but consistently brilliant walk-ins only Japanese joint in the heart of Soho. Favorite udon combos like cured cod with wakame seaweed duke it out with sweet tofu, pork miso, and lamb mince and cumin alternatives, all vying for the affections of regulars and slurpy udon aficionados alike. Check, too, the cult English breakfast udon, which famously comes topped with a fried egg, bacon, and marinated mushrooms. 

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. 

Founder and head chef Guirong Wei is that rarity of rarities on the Chinese culinary scene: a woman. Tucked down an alleyway just off Southampton Row, her unpretentious eatery features the spicy, surprising cuisine of Wei’s native Xi'an, the city in northwest China that's home to the famed Terracotta Army statues (pictures of which hang above the bar). This is Chinese street food at its finest. Popular dishes include the spicy cumin beef "burger" (minced meat inside a flattened bao), fried pot-sticker dumplings, and delicate homemade coldskin noodles called liángpí.

It's all beach coastal cool at this sleek Aussie stunner, tucked away in a modern courtyard enclave off Greek Street. The seafood- and vegetable-forward menu is inspired by the Sydney food scene and has wide-ranging hints of the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia, like a fine raw kingfish crudo bathed in macadamia milk or a crunchy gluten-free grilled aubergine karaage. At night, the lighting's low, the tunes are upbeat, and the fun and friendly service is relaxed but on point. 

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. 

There's an old Amsterdam coffeehouse vibe at this dark and creaky wine bar and restaurant on historic Lamb's Conduit Street in Bloomsbury. Run by two wine buffs and cult wine magazine publishers, you'll find deceptively simple ingredient-driven British dishes like roast Yorkshire pheasant with bread sauce and quince. There's an ever-changing French and British cheese plate menu, fantastic focaccia, sourdough, and soda bread, and an ambrosial wine list.

Fans of French bistro cuisine and fine wine flock to this glorious wood-paneled Georgian town house for masterful dishes like roast chicken with morel mushrooms and creamy vin jaune sauce alongside a marvelous 28-page French-focused wine list. Set in what used to be a famed Hungarian dining and left-wing political salon known as the Gay Hussar, these days diners bliss out on boudin noir and one of London's finest and most accessible wine lists, with numerous rare gems available by the glass.

Located next door to the London Coliseum (home of English National Opera), this hip café serves some of the best sandwiches, salads, and coffee in the neighborhood. In the evening (it’s open until 9 pm, Tuesday through Saturday), there’s more of a wine-bar vibe.

The "oak" in this all-day restaurant is a hand-crafted wooden "tree" that sits under a retractable roof that combines with blonde oak furnishings and pink walls to create a light, airy feel. The menu ranges from comfort food favorites like mac-and-cheese croquettes and mini-slider burgers to Asian-influenced dishes like duck bao buns or miso cod with egg noodles, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms to Mexican-influenced plates like fish tacos with pickled slaw and chipotle mayo or pulled-beef quesadillas. There are also inventive cocktails and indulgent brunch dishes like buttermilk pancakes with berries that have made the place a favorite with locals often accompanied by attendant children and dogs. 

Sit at the galley kitchen counter and you can watch the chefs toss hot pans of authentic handmade (on-site) Italian pasta, generally considered among the best in London. The acclaimed but amazingly affordable small plates include ravioli with Neal's Yard ricotta and sage butter, burrata with Puglian olive oil, pappardelle with a slow-cooked beef-shin ragù, and Dorset crab tagliarini with chili and lemon. An Italian cocktail favorite like a Negroni or Aperol Spritz (plus Italian wine on draft starts at £4.50) make the perfect accompaniment. Lone diners might get a stool at the counter overlooking the kitchen right away. Otherwise, leave your name at the door or join the "virtual queue" and they will message you when your table is ready, but the combination of high quality and low prices means you could be waiting an hour. The early bird catches the table.

It's Jerusalem meets Beirut at this pan-Arab-Israeli spot on Rupert Street off Chinatown. Sit at the zinc open-kitchen counter and down shots of arak while trading quips with the brilliant Middle Eastern chefs, who offer an exuberant medley of Levantine delights, including Yemenite Jewish kubaneh (a light, fluffy pull-apart bread), Persian oxtail stew, Jerusalem truffled mushroom polenta, and paprika-rich pork belly tajine with Israeli couscous. Look, too, for the lavish Kurdish-style mussels inspired by the head chef's beloved grandmother.

London's top contemporary Sri Lankan spot dazzles with Ceylonese spiced prawns, Brixham crab kiri hodi, authentic Sri Lankan egg hoppers, and fabulous char-smoked chicken curries. Located on Rupert Street in the heart of Soho, the diminutive space is a brilliant study in tropical brutalism, with its polished concrete walls, brown-leather cushions, stainless steel counters, and hand-thrown Tamil and Sinhalese typography clay tableware. Paradise's Sri Lankan--born founder and owner, Dom Fernando, can almost always be found somewhere on-site. 

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. 

Established in 1952, this East London staple strikes a balance between a 1950s American-style diner and a traditional British fish-and-chip shop, with a bright, vibrant retro interior and efficient service. There's a wide variety of fish suppers on the menu, including whole lemon sole, all caught daily and arriving via the City's Billingsgate fish market. If fish-and-chips isn't your thing, try the free-range rotisserie chicken, served with chips and gravy, for a traditional British twist.

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. 

Owned by three brothers who grew up on a farm (which supplies the restaurant with its produce and livestock), Rabbit introduces a note of rusticity to one of London's glitziest areas. The emphasis is on locality, sustainability, and nose-to-tail eating, and the menu changes daily depending on what's in season and available. Plates are tapas-style and designed for sharing, but dishes like celeriac confit with caramelized red onion and red kale or wild fallow deer in a tarragon crust with hen of the wood mushrooms and walnut ketchup are hearty enough to be quite filling. The eight-course tasting menu (£48) or weekday set lunch (£25 for three courses) is a bargain.

Co-owner Missy Flynn and chef Gabe Pryce bring a playful spirit to Modern American dining at this indie spot on Soho's gastro-central Lexington Street. Sit at cute raised tables or red-leather booths and enjoy densely flavored Americana like hearty baby shrimp boil, fried chicken with buttermilk waffles, or corn-crusted turbot with macha pico salsa. The wines are all organic, low intervention, or biodynamic, and you can't go wrong by kicking off dinner with a signature gilda martini. 

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.

Opened by Thomas Rule in 1798, London's oldest restaurant is still perhaps its most beautiful. The epitome of High Victorian design, overflowing with antique portraits, prints, cartoons, busts, and taxidermy, here you can indulge in traditional British fare like jugged hare, steak and kidney pie, or roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. For a taste of the 18th century, choose game from the restaurant's High Pennines estate, including roast grouse, mallard, or pheasant. Snag a table in one of the skylit rooms or the spot where the  Victorian-era Prince of Wales had trysts with the famed beauty and actress Lillie Langtry. 

The ultimate neighborhood restaurant in west London's wealthy Holland Park section draws diners with its brilliant-but-understated French and Mediterranean classics, relaxed service, and interesting, mainly French wines. Treat yourself to grilled dover sole with beurre noisette and capers, or King oyster mushrooms with sorrel risotto. With only 36 seats and a teeny bar, this is an intimate affair, which is highlighted by the white paper tablecloths and bentwood chairs. Service is friendly but not overly familiar, while wines are grower, boutique, or biodynamic. Traditional roasts served on Sunday.

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.

Global foodie fanatics join Clerkenwell locals for the pioneering nose-to-tail cuisine at this high-ceilinged, converted smokehouse near Smithfield Market. Here the chef uses all scraps of a carcass—from tongue and cheeks to tail and trotters—so brace for radically stark signatures like bone-marrow-and-parsley salad. One stand-out main is grilled ox's heart with chard and mustard while elsewhere on the menu you'll find crispy pig skin, lamb's liver, deviled tripe, and a pig's head and potato pie. Plunder the outstanding wine list (mainly French and Italian) and finish with traditional Eccles cakes with Lancashire cheese or half a dozen golden madeleines.

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.