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$$$ | Chelsea |
The kind of smooth-running, welcoming all-day brasserie that is difficult to find in Paris these days, Colbert offers well-prepared bistro favorites like croque monsieur, escargot, and steak haché, along with bigger plates like pan-roasted sea trout with samphire and seaweed and cider-braised pork cheeks. The service is professional but friendly and the atmosphere is stylish but comfortable. Although a neighborhood favorite, it's a swanky neighborhood which is reflected in the prices, but a prix-fixe menu (two courses fir £24.75 and three courses for £29.95) offers good value.
50–52 Sloane Sq., London, Greater London, SW1W 8AX, England
Known For
- Good value prix-fixe menus
- Tasty all-day brasserie food
- Buzzy bar
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$$$ | Soho |
Everyone feels 100 times more glamorous just stepping inside this candlelit restaurant attached to the swanky Georgian-era hotel of the same name. Straightforward but enormously fun retro British faves include classic pea-and-ham soup, primary school–style mince and potatoes, smoked haddock soufflé, and sticky toffee pudding. You'll also find traditional English scones and buttered crumpets for afternoon tea, and nostalgic 1970s fish finger sandwiches for early evening high tea.
69–71 Dean St., London, Greater London, W1D 3SE, England
Known For
- Classy candlelit dining salon with modern British art on the walls
- Welcoming and highly professional service
- Cheery afternoon and high tea services
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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$$$ | Marylebone |
It almost feels like Sigmund Freud or Gustav Klimt might doff their Homburg hats and shuffle into a dark leather banquette at this evocative, early-20th-century–style Viennese neighborhood café on Marylebone High Street. Savor the antique light fittings and distressed wallpaper before diving into a rye brötchen (bread roll) sandwich with chopped chicken livers and dill. Expect top service from staff in natty Trachten-style Tyrolean green waistcoats and dark green ties.
50 Marylebone High St., London, Greater London, W1U 5HN, England
Known For
- Evocative turn-of-the-20th-century Old Vienna café decor
- Some of London's best breaded Wiener schnitzel
- Decadent strudels and ice cream coupes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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$$$ | Mayfair |
There is no finer fish dish in town than the Malai stone bass tikka at this upmarket Indian restaurant. The food and spices here are so authentic that it regularly buzzes with Bollywood stars, wealthy Mayfair moguls, and the entire well-heeled Indian diaspora. Inspired by the Viceroy's House in New Delhi and oozing with Lutyens-style furniture, this spot is perfect for luxuriating in mini dosas, coconut spiced lobster, or Old Delhi butter chicken.
8 Mount St., London, Greater London, W1K 3NF, England
Known For
- Stunning interior of dark wood, marble, and Indian artwork
- Unmissable Malai stone bass tikka
- Glossy, luxurious Indian crowd
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$$$ | Southwark |
Renowned chef José Pizarro has managed to re-create an authentic, slightly rustic Spanish tapas-and-sherry bar. With just 30 seats and no reservations, it's always packed after 6 pm, but it's worth the wait for remarkably fresh, perfectly prepared classic tapas plates like patatas bravas, croquetas, skewered prawns with lemon and garlic, and clams with fino sherry. Everything's impeccably sourced, from the peppery Marqués de Valdueza olive oil to the top-flight acorn-fed Ibérico ham; you'll also find more than 50 Spanish wines and sherries.
104 Bermondsey St., London, Greater London, SE1 3UB, England
Known For
- Notoriously long waits and large crowds
- Daily changing menu of authentic tapas
- Unique sherry menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations not accepted
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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$$$ | Bermondsey |
This long-standing favorite specializes in French haute cuisine done right, with an emphasis on luxurious dishes like caviar, oysters, lobster, and Dover sole (served meunière) along with bistro classics like rabbit with mustard and steak frites. Standards, like the prices, remain high, and the swanky dining room takes inspiration from the art deco liner SS Normandie. Weather permitting, grab a table on the terrace to make the most of the wonderful views of the Thames, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. A weekday lunch/early-bird dinner set menu (two courses for £30; three courses for £35) lets you sample this expense-account favorite with minimal damage to your wallet.
36D Shad Thames, London, Greater London, SE1 2YE, England
Known For
- Stunning views of Tower Bridge and the Thames
- Outside terrace dining in nice weather
- Destination and celebration meals
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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$$$ | Mayfair |
Part of Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton's dining dynasty, Little Social backs its elegant, modernist dining room with a menu of adventurous dishes celebrating the joy of British produce. Expect to find a range of prime cuts straight from the Josper grill, and pay special attention to the maple-glazed pork rib eye with charred cabbage and pomme purée.
5 Pollen St., London, Greater London, W1S 1NE, England
Known For
- Relaxed mid-century modern setting
- Great value set menu
- Chic cocktail bar
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon., Reservations essential
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$$$ | Clerkenwell |
Exmouth Market today is a magnet for fine indie-spirited restaurants and it all began with this one back in 1997. Lovingly nurtured by husband-and-wife chefs Sam and Sam Clark, the menu features a mélange of Spanish and Moroccan dishes, all packed with flavor and perfectly seasoned and spiced. From vegetable mezze like baba ganoush eggplant dip, Syrian lentils, and okra with pomegranate molasses to wood-roasted pork belly with trinxat (a mouth-watering Pyrenean potato, cabbage, and pork combo), your biggest problem will be deciding what to have.
34–36 Exmouth Market, London, Greater London, EC1R 4QE, England
Known For
- Loud and buzzy dining room with booming acoustics
- Expressive Moorish delights
- House yogurt cake with pistachios and pomegranate
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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$$$ | |
Bucolic beauty and rustic Italian cuisine combine wonderfully at Petersham Nurseries Café, a delightfully charming and informal dining experience housed within the serene environ of Richmond's poshest garden center. Prices are high, but your farm-fresh dishes do come surrounded by a backdrop of hanging plants, succulents, shrubs, and climbers that create London's most whimsical greenhouse dining room.
Church La., London, Greater London, TW10 7AB, England
Known For
- Sustainable ingredients and Slow Food philosophy
- Stunning ramshackle interiors filled with plants
- Relaxed, rustic fine dining
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun., Tues., and Wed.
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$$$ | |
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 and sustainability, and the menu changes daily, depending on what's in season and available. Plates are tapas-style and designed for sharing, but dishes like braised rabbit with duck liver, bucatina, and cognac cream are hearty enough to be quite filling. The weekday set lunch (£22 for three courses) is a bargain.
172 Kings Rd., London, Greater London, SW3 4UP, England
Known For
- Fresh game
- Shared plates using seasonal and local ingredients
- English wines from owners' vineyard
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Mon.
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$$$ | City of London |
Established in 1889 not far from St. Paul's Cathedral, little seems to have changed since the height of the British Empire at this quirky eatery. Although there are some things Sweetings doesn't do (dinner, reservations, coffee, or weekends), it does, mercifully, do great seafood. Sit at raised linen-covered counters and chase down the Dover sole, skate wings, and whitebait with tankards of Guinness and champagne "Black Velvet." Regulars love the potted shrimps and West Mersea oysters, and be sure to finish off with the jam roll or spotted dick.
39 Queen Victoria St., London, Greater London, EC4N 4SF, England
Known For
- Fresh Billingsgate fish served at raised linen-covered counters
- Tankards of "Black Velvet" Guinness and champagne
- Popular potted shrimp and Dover sole
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed weekends. No dinner, Reservations not accepted
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$$$ | St. James's |
A glitzy procession of famous faces, media moguls, and hedge-funders comes for the spectacle, swish service, and soaring elegance at this bustling Viennese-style grand café on Piccadilly. Located in a former Wolseley Motors luxury-car showroom, this brasserie begins its long decadent days with breakfast at 7 am (8 am on weekends) and serves Dual Monarchy delights until 11 pm (10 pm on Sunday). Don't be shy about popping by (they welcome walk-ins) for dishes like kedgeree, steak tartare, chicken soup with dumplings, or Wiener schnitzel. For dessert, go for an éclair, and don't forget to return to savor the classy afternoon tea.
160 Piccadilly, London, Greater London, W1J 9EB, England
Known For
- Old-country central European delights
- Afternoon tea with a Viennese twist
- Classic grand café setting
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$$$ | |
To those in the know, this friendly neighborhood trattoria is one of the best Italian restaurants in town. The emphasis is on unpretentious, well-executed dishes bursting with verve and flavor, from fresh pappardelle with beef shin ragù to succulent charcoal-grilled black Hampshire pork chops with endives and an anchovy dressing. The atmosphere manages to be both buzzy and intimate, whether you dine on the bright, airy ground floor or in one of the basement booths. Service is pitch-perfect and there's an excellent wine list.
300ù302 St. Paul's Rd., London, Greater London, N1 2LH, England
Known For
- Legendary homemade pasta dishes such as tagliarini cacio e pepe
- Laid-back, welcoming vibe
- Authentic Italian fare, exquisitely done
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$$$ | Kensington |
Here at one of London's top Japanese restaurants, head chef and cofounder Yasuhiro Mineno creates fresh, colorful, and exquisite sushi, sashimi, salads, and carpaccios. Tofu foam-topped miso cappuccino comes in a Victorian cup and saucer, while nigiri might include signature flourishes such as truffle shavings on fatty tuna. But there's a lot more than sushi here, including sensational small plates such as Robata-grilled black cod marinated in soy sauce. The £16 salmon nigiri set lunch is a relatively affordable way to sample Yashin's below-the-radar brilliance.
117--119 Old Brompton Rd., London, Greater London, SW7 3RN, England
Known For
- Exquisite sushi and sashimi with creative twists
- 5- to 15-piece chef-decides omakase sets
- Head-to-tail seafood dishes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential