With direct links to both Heathrow and central London, plus some of the capital’s finest museums on its doorstep, Gloucester Road has become a magnet for everyone from curious international visitors to hungover locals looking to fill a day with something ‘cultural’.
The arrival of the Elizabeth Line at nearby Paddington has only increased footfall through this corner of South Kensington, leading to loads and loads and loads of people looking for lunch. Why, then, we shout into the void, are the options for a good feed near Gloucester Road so limited?
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, perhaps, and this part of London seems to have buckled under the pressure. Accordingly, hungry museum-goers, time-pressed business diners and culture-seeking tourists might find that Gloucester Road’s excellent transport links come with the inevitable string of chain restaurants that populate every major London transit hub. Step off the Piccadilly Line and you’re immediately confronted with the usual suspects: Pret, Starbucks, Pizza Express, and at least three establishments serving expensive, fridge-cold sushi.
Fortunately for the discerning, there are a handful of good places to eat within a comfortable walk of Gloucester Road Station; you just have to know where to look. We’ve done that looking for you; here’s where to eat near Gloucester Road and the best restaurants close to its station.
Cambio De Tercio, Old Brompton Road
Ideal for experiencing one of London’s most serious Spanish restaurants…
Ever wondered what Carlos Alcaraz’s favourite London restaurant is? Well, according to reports, it’s Cambio de Tercio. He visited this west London tapas five times while competing in Wimbledon back in 2023. Heaven knows how many times he’s visited two years on.
And his favourite dish? The restaurant’s Iberian take on sushi – crispy salmon nigiri. Perhaps he got the memo from Nadal, who reputedly ate here every night during Queen’s, the Wimbledon warm-up event. Like both tennis players, the cooking at Cambio de Tercio is straight down the line – modern Spanish cooking that packs a punch.
Abel Lusa opened Cambio de Tercio back in 1995, long before London’s Spanish restaurant boom, and nearly three decades later it remains the capital’s most convincing recreation of a modern Madrid dining room. The Old Brompton Road location, just five minutes from Gloucester Road station, houses what might be London’s most impressive Spanish wine cellar too, with over 500 labels including verticals of Vega Sicilia Unico that would make collectors a little picante under the collar.
Chef Alberto Criado’s menu showcases Spain’s regional diversity with elegance. The Iberico ham selection features 36-month aged bellota that’s hand-carved tableside into translucent sheets, while the octopus a la Gallega arrives as enticing, come-hither curled tendrils. A place like this lives and dies by its croquettes, and the ham ones here – to our mind, at least – remain the gold standard in the city. Game, set and match – they’ve won the croquette championship hands down.
A far cry from the light-filled, marble counter-centred joints in Soho, the dining room exudes dark-wood elegance, with wine bottles lining the walls and enough embassy types at lunch to confirm the kitchen’s credentials. The chef’s table offers front-row seats to watch Alberto’s team work (can’t shoehorn in another tennis pun, can we?) though you’ll pay accordingly for the privilege.
Do note that they’re closed Mondays. A three-course meal with decent wine will set you back around £80-90 per person, though if you go for the Galician blonde T-bone, you’ll be paying significantly more. It’s worth it; they’ve aced the cooking of it. Sorry.
Website: cambiodeterciogroup.co.uk
Address: 163 Old Brompton Road, London SW5 0LJ
Korean Grill Kensington, Harrington Gardens
Ideal for high-end Korean barbecue in smart surroundings…
Hidden within the Millennium Hotel Gloucester but accessible via its own entrance on Courtfield Road, Korean Grill is perhaps London’s most ambitious attempt at luxury Korean dining. Each marble table, buffed and handsome, features a built-in smokeless grill, allowing for tableside cooking theatrics without the usual post-dinner dry cleaning bill, the meat selection boasting premium cuts that are hard for the diner-turned-cook to destroy.
The signature KGK King Kalbi features 48-hour marinated Wagyu short ribs, the marination providing protection from the grill even if you forget your ribs are burning (might want to see a doctor about that). The dry-aged options, including A5 Japanese ribeye at £50 per 100g, represent serious financial commitment but, again, the ample marbling in that cut is forgiving to less diligent grillers.
Unlike the wonderful chaos of New Malden’s Korean barbecue joints, here trained staff can help handle the grilling should your mind wander after a couple of soju bombs, ensuring your expensive protein receives due attention. They even bring out a blow torch to sear the meat one final time, creating an even more flavourful, caramelised crust.
All things considered, the Chef’s Feast omakase at £68 is good value, offering a guided tour through premium cuts alongside a three-piece banchan selection, a stew of the day, kimchi and steamed rice.
Despite the dining room’s hotel-restaurant aesthetic, the restaurant has a laid back vibe, though a smart casual dress code is enforced. That said, this is decent value, satisfying Korean food, and one of the best places to eat near Gloucester Road.
Website: millenniumhotels.com
Address: Courtfield Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 4LH
Dishoom Kensington, Derry Street
Ideal for breakfast that lasts until dinner time…
The Kensington outpost of London’s most successful Indian restaurant empire occupies the bones of the old Barkers department store, its Art Deco architecture now housing a recreation of a 1940s Bombay jazz club. The bacon naan roll remains London’s most addictive hangover cure, combining smoked bacon with cream cheese, tomato-chilli jam and coriander in a situation that barely needs describing considering its status in the city.
There are elements exclusive to the Kensington branch of Dishoom, however. Thursday and Friday evenings see The Marine Liners transform the space into something approaching those legendary Bombay clubs where international jazz legends once played, and the Kensington-exclusive Nalli Nihari biryani is a theatrical affair: lamb shank layered with rice and caramelised onions, sealed under pastry and served with chicken liver raita that divides opinion but, to our mind, is outrageously good. The best thing we’ve had at Dishoom, come to think of it…
Back to bits about Dishoom that perhaps don’t even need stating; the no-reservations policy means queues even midweek, though the bar serves drinks strong enough to make waiting bearable. Noise levels reach nightclub proportions by weekend evenings, making intimate conversation impossible but adding to that vivacity that makes Dishoom work, even if the food isn’t quite as good as people seem to say.
Website: dishoom.com
Address: 4 Derry Street, London W8 5SE
Myrtos, Brompton Road
Ideal for gently ground-breaking (not plate-breaking) Greek food…
After 13 years as executive chef at Michelin-starred Pied à Terre, Asimakis Chaniotis decided London deserved Greek food that transcended the usual moussaka-and-ouzo cliches (there is, to be fair, a traditional moussaka on the menu – more of that in a moment). His 80-seat restaurant, which took over the old Aubaine space in May 2025, already represents one of the capital’s most sophisticated approaches to Greek cuisine, in a city that’s falling ever more in love with the stuff.
The room centres around an olive tree that definitely didn’t grow naturally in SW3, but brings with it a sense of place. Surrounded by contemporary lighting and nautically-leaning artwork, it’s tastefully realised enough to stop just short of Instagram bait. When it comes to food, an absolute highlight, the lobster giouvetsi with orzo tastes like summer in the Aegean, while the fun, funky snail flatbread, served with aged graviera and chilli, is another knockout.
That said, it’s the moussaka that steals the show. Not in the least bit deconstructed, and proudly traditional in its composition, its souffléd bechamel top comes spiked with Gruyère cheese from Crete. It’s blow-torched for extra caramelisation, and cutting into it (with a spoon, naturally) is such a satisfying gesture. Its only affectation? It arrives on a pool of rich tomato sauce that cuts through all the richness. This is one of our dishes of 2025, make no mistake.
Other must try dishes include the signature Greek salad, a fairly faithful recipe until its indulgent garnish of whipped feta mousse and black olive crumb, and the prawn saganaki, which is anchored again in a profoundly sweet tomato sauce.
Arguably a meal at Myrtos reaches its pinnacle with dessert. The pistachio cake – soaked in thyme honey and amaretto – provides the kind of sweet, heady conclusion that has you reevaluating the whole meal through a more generous lens as you settle up. It really is one of the best desserts in London already, and certainly the best near Gloucester Road. Their portokalopita – a syrup-soaked orange cake, rich with citrus, gently spiced, and served with kaimaki ice cream – is another belter, the kind of dessert you might find cooling on a kitchen counter in Greece.
Line Bar from Athens (the world’s sixth best bar, no less) designed the cocktail menu, with creative concoctions involving mastiha and Greek mountain tea that cost £14 but justify every penny. Don’t miss their Mediterranean martini, featuring gin, dry vermouth, kalamata olive, lemon thyme and a touch of miso vinegar. It’s a savoury twist on the classic, and a wonderful way to end this entry.
Website: myrtoslondon.com
Address: St Georges Court, 260-262 Brompton Rd, South Kensington, London SW3 2AS
Go Viet, Old Brompton Road
Ideal for modern interpretations of Vietnamese food that still have soul…
Jeff Tan left his position as chef de cuisine at Hakkasan Mayfair to prove Vietnamese cuisine extends far beyond summer rolls and soup, and this 60-cover flagship makes his case convincingly.
Following the success of his Chinatown original Viet Food, this South Kensington sibling represents efforts at something more refined – think booth seating, low-hanging lamps, and a terracotta colour scheme that feels warm, if not a little function-roomy.
Though we come for the 16-hour pho – a dappled, savoury affair that could dust off life’s very worst hangover with a single slurp – we stay for the Saigon pork ribs. Sticky, smoky, and sweet, with a good kick of chilli heat to keep things interesting, they arrive with a knife and fork, but this is finger food that rewards – no, demands – you abandon cutlery entirely.
Don’t sleep on the grilled prawn vermicelli (bún tôm nướng). Juicy chargrilled prawns, crispy golden garlic, and fresh vermicelli drenched in a tangy-sweet fish sauce… It’s a light, flavourful number that proves irresistible.
Less traditional offerings hint at a growing ambition perhaps not yet fully realised. The foie gras chicken wings are ace – their fresh turmeric and fish sauce marinade giving everything an earthy, umami-laden quality – it’s a dish that will leave your head spinning, that’s for sure. We’ll keep going; the grilled aubergine with crispy bean curd in chilli-scented soy sauce is a suave number that we always go back to.
Unlike its funkier Chinatown sibling, Go Viet feels like the responsible older brother – a little more expensive but also more polished, with every detail considered from spring roll batter texture to tableside service. It’s a comforting place to return to.
Instagram: @govietnamese
Address: 53 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3JS
Read: Where to eat the best pho in London
Bancone Kensington, Kensington High Street
Ideal for when you need decent pasta in under an hour…
The fourth outpost of London’s silk handkerchief pasta specialists opened in Spring 2025, bringing hand-rolled excellence to a neighbourhood that needs it. For this is a place in dire need of somewhere you can eat quickly and efficiently, for a reasonable price, and leave satisfied.
The 120-cover space in Wrights Arcade follows the Bancone formula: counter seating where you can watch pasta being rolled, cut, and transformed into dishes that make high-street Italian chains look genuinely offensive.
The signature silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter and confit egg yolk remain the essential order, though Kensington-exclusive specials suggest the kitchen isn’t merely replicating the Bib Gourmand-holding Covent Garden mothership. Fresh to the London dining scene, the queue situation hasn’t reached Padella levels of chaos yet, though things are starting to get pretty busy around 1pm.
The wine list, entirely Italian and priced for W8 postcodes, includes options by the glass that won’t require financial planning – the house red, a Primitivo from Puglia, is eminently drinkable at just £6.50 a glass.
Service moves at the pace required to turn tables every 75 minutes, so your leisurely lunch needs to happen elsewhere, but you’re not here for hanging around. You’re here for a plate of those silk handkerchiefs before an afternoon at the museums. For that, Bancone Kensington is bloody perfect.
Website: bancone.co.uk
Address: 127a Kensington High Street (Wrights Arcade), London W8 5SF
The Other Kitchen, Harrington Gardens
Ideal for sustainable brunches all day long…
Some might think eating eggs benedict in the afternoon is wrong. Others? Not so much. Maybe this is why it’s called The Other Kitchen?
Part of The Other House hotel complex, this all-day (in the traditional sense of the term; it’s 7am to 6pm) operation takes breakfast very seriously. So much so, they’ve not given it a deadline.
The £49 Saturday bottomless brunch (90 minutes of prosecco, bloody marys and house wine, anytime of the day) provides a civilised alternative to Fulham Road’s weekend chaos, while Sunday jazz sessions add live music without cover charges or minimum spends. That’s an enjoyable way to bookend your weekend, should you be anchored to the Kensington area for some reason. The menu changes seasonally but maintains comfort food that works whether you’re hungover or just hungry.
On the brunch menu, the savoury French toast is a firm favourite – think fluffy and tender toasted brioche, topped with flavoursome chestnut mushrooms and a truffle oil drizzle. Since this is a hotel, of course they serve a club sandwich. The one here is particularly well constructed. A good club sandwich is the sum of its parts and requires high quality, fresh ingredients. Here you’ll find a smokey, savoury and flavourful layering of British free range chicken breast, streaky bacon, Clarence Court egg topped vine tomato and lettuce. It’s great.
However, the finest thing on that brunch menu though (and part of the bottomless part) is the beef short rib hash, which comes sticky, sweet and savoury, its caramelised onions and fried egg further bolstering the party. In a chilled, convivial dining room, it’s just the ticket while you ponder just what to do with the rest of your day.
Website: otherhouse.com
Address: 19 Harrington Gardens, South Kensington, London SW7 4JJ
Still got breakfast on your mind? Check out our rundown of the best fry-ups in London next.
