When did our bathrooms become so fussy? Full of half-used shampoo bottles, a binful of empty toilet rolls, and towels seemingly without a home, what was once supposed to be a room for relaxation and rejuvenation is now one we’d prefer to spend as little time in as possible…
It can be pretty distracting when you’re trying to do your business, and certainly not relaxing when you’re trying to do your bathing, that’s for sure.
Perhaps it won’t come as a big surprise, then, that one of 2026’s major interior design trends is an attempt to reverse the apparent decline of our bathrooms-as-wellness-spaces. Introducing; the biophilic, minimalist bathroom.
This design philosophy combines our innate love for nature with the sleek simplicity of minimalism, aiming to create an oasis of calm and serenity within your home, which sounds just about right for a year that’s felt just as turbulent as the four that preceded it.
With that in mind, here are some top tips on how to achieve 2026’s ultimate bathroom trend: the biophilic, minimalist bathroom.
Natural Stone: A Solid Foundation
The first step in harnessing the power of biophilic minimalism in your bathroom is to incorporate natural stone elements, which provide a solid, grounding foundation to the space. Think granite countertops, slate floors, or even a luxurious marble bathtub.
Not only do these materials provide a touch of elegance and sophistication, but they also connect you to the great outdoors. After all, nothing says “nature” quite like rocks, right?
Some of 2026’s most on trend natural stone elements include travertine tiles and sandstone vanities. These materials have a textured, organic look that is perfect for a refined biophilic bathroom. Plus, they are durable and easy to maintain, making them a practical choice for any homeowner.
Photo by Alexander Fife on UnsplashPhoto by Victoria Rain: https://www.pexels.com/photo/comfort-room-area-3315291/
Wood Panelling: Bringing The Forest Indoors
Next up on our journey to bathroom-based nirvana is wood panelling. Whether it’s reclaimed barn wood or sustainably harvested teak, adding wooden accents to your bathroom instantly creates an inviting atmosphere in which you’ll be keen to luxuriate rather than just, erm, defecate.
An excellent way to make your bathroom feel like a cosy woodland retreat (minus the bears, of course), 2026’s most popular types of wood to deploy in your bathroom include cedar, bamboo, and walnut. These woods are known for their durability and resistance to moisture, making them ideal for bathroom use. Consider using wood panelling on the walls or as a statement piece on the ceiling to really bring the natural world indoors. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘’forest bathing’’, don’t you think?
In a biophilic, minimalist bathroom, natural lighting is key. Not only does it provide the lighting that your intricate daily grooming routine deserves, but it also helps to connect you with the outside world, any time of day or night.
If you’re keen to go all out here, and to effectively encourage the flow of natural light, consider installing casement windows or tube skylights, which not only provide ample sunlight but also ensure privacy and proper ventilation. Opt for frosted or privacy glass to maintain discretion while still allowing light to filter through.
And when the sun goes down, opt for warm, ambient lighting that mimics the soft glow of a sunset. If that’s not an option, opt for sheer curtains or blinds that allow light in.
Greenery Galore
No biophilic bathroom would be complete without a touch of greenery. Introduce potted plants, hanging ferns, or even a cactus or two to breathe life into your space, adding a pop of colour and creating a calming atmosphere. Plus, talking to your plants while you shower is totally normal, isn’t it? Isn’t it, guys? Guys?
Consider adding a few low-maintenance plants such as aloe vera or snake plants to your bathroom. If you have limited space, consider hanging plants from the ceiling or deploying the aforementioned vertical garden to maximise your greenery.
Do remember, though, that 2026’s bathroom trends seek not to overwhelm visually, but to keep things slick, clean and subtle. You don’t want to be scything through foliage just to take a tinkle, now do you? Instead, a carefully deployed pot plant or two is the best way to go.
Yep, the bathroom buzzwords of the year are without doubt ‘’less is more’’. Opt for simple but sleek fixtures that don’t overpower the natural elements in your bathroom, but rather, bring out the best in them. Think wall-mounted faucets, frameless mirrors that double up as cabinets, and towel racks that stay as flush to the wall as possible – these space saving but stylish choices help create a sense of calm and serenity, not a cluttered mess.
Sleek, streamlined faucets and showerheads not only look elegant, but they also take up less visual space, allowing your natural stone and wood elements to shine. Consider matte black or brushed nickel finishes for a modern touch.
Incorporate a neutral colour palette to further enhance the minimalist aspect of your bathroom. Earthy tones like beige, taupe, and grey not only complement the natural materials used in your design but also create a soothing atmosphere perfect for relaxation. And hey, who doesn’t love a good “greige”?
This helps create a calming, spa-like atmosphere, providing a clean backdrop for any natural stone or wood elements you incorporate into your space.
Organic Textiles: Softness With Substance
It’s not just the hard surfaces that matter in a biophilic bathroom. As Clan, specialist bathroom fitters in Glasgow, tell us, the textiles you choose play a big part in how the space feels against your skin, and whether it reads as a spa or a service station. Swap out synthetic bath mats and polyester shower curtains for organic cotton, linen, or even hemp alternatives. These materials are naturally breathable, more sustainable, and tend to age far more gracefully than their man-made counterparts.
Colour-wise, stick to the earthy neutral palette you’ve already established — undyed linens and oatmeal-toned cottons work particularly well alongside natural stone and wood. And if you’re feeling fancy, a waffle-weave throw draped over a wooden stool gives the room a boutique hotel quality without adding any visual clutter. It’s the kind of small upgrade that makes stepping out of the shower feel like a genuine pleasure rather than a soggy inconvenience.
Sensory Delights: Aromatherapy & More
Finally, don’t forget to engage all your senses in your biophilic, minimalist bathroom. Incorporate aromatherapy with essential oil diffusers, use soft, organic cotton towels, and play relaxing nature sounds to create a truly immersive experience. After all, a bathroom should be more than just a place to brush your teeth – it should offer a personal spa experience each and every time you enter.
The Bottom Line
By incorporating natural stone, wood panelling, and other earthy elements, you’ll create a serene, calming space that feels connected to the great outdoors. So go forth and transform your bathroom into a haven of relaxation – you deserve it!
Though loft conversions can add space, character and charm to a house, let’s be honest for a moment; they can also be hugely problematic. Although they represent a cost-effective and relatively easy home improvement project, they are also one of the most likely undertakings to go wrong. Yep, mistakes do happen and can affect the outcome of the project, financially and in the build.
Space, design and location of the property are all factors that affect conversion suitability. With that in mind, here are 6 important things to consider before beginning your loft conversion.
Early Stages
Knowing the type of loft you want, intimately and in great detail, is the first crucial step to measuring the feasibility of the conversion. Once you have this information, you can measure the headroom space between the floor to the topmost part of the ceiling; it should be at least 2.2m.
Furthermore, your conversion plan should include giving prior notification to the neighbours on any disruption it might cause; accurate measurements of the room’s dimensions, including the potential addition of a made to measure loft hatch; the likely cost of the conversion and a realistic timeline for the work; and a list of the changes to the loft for any insurance change. Just be aware that even the best of planning doesn’t completely guarantee any slip-ups; it’s best to be flexible and adaptable.
Design For Practicality Over Looks
No loft design is unique. Whatever conversion type you decide, inspiration has to come from somewhere. This is why sometimes homeowners get caught up insisting on design features that are not feasible with their particular space, dimensions and even budget.
One way to avoid getting entangled in unrealistic expectations is by hiring an architectural expert to advise you from the planning stage. They would guide you in choosing the right material, use of the space and the suitability of the structure. But most of all, they’ll advise from a position of realism. When you design your loft for practicality, it’s easier to maximise on the space available to you.
Obtain Planning Permission & Building Regulation Certificates
Whether or not you can convert your loft sometimes depends firstly, on its size of course. In general, small loft conversions have a higher chance of being permitted, as they’re less impactful to adjacent properties. It’s also dependent on you having the right paperwork. The two that regulate loft development are:
Planning permission
Building regulations
It should be noted that permissions and regulations can differ according to whether you’re considering a loft conversion or loft extension.
A loft conversion and a loft extension, while similar in that they both seek to add function and value to a property by maximising use of the loft or attic space, do have several differences.
Loft Conversions
A loft conversion is transforming an existing loft space into a functional area, like a bedroom, an office, or a playroom, without significantly altering the external structure of the house. Standard types of loft conversions include the Dormer, Hip-to-Gable, Mansard, and Velux conversion. They focus more on internal alterations.
In the United Kingdom, loft conversions usually fall under ‘permitted development rights’, which means they do not require planning permission unless they exceed certain limits and conditions, such as if they extend beyond the existing roof slope at the front of the house or exceed height of the original roof.
Loft Extensions
A loft extension, on the other hand, involves expanding the existing loft space itself, often externally. It usually involves changing the structure of the roof to increase space, such as raising the height or changing its shape. This can result in a significant alteration to the house’s external appearance.
In contrast to a loft conversion, a loft extension is more likely to require planning permission, especially if it substantially alters the roof height or shape, or if the property falls within a conservation area or a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Every council in the UK has different guidelines, so it is essential to check with the local planning authority before undertaking an extension.
With these discrepancies in mind, you can actually start working on your loft without needing planning permission, as long as it falls within these permitted development specifications:
The planned extension does not go beyond the existing roof slope
The material used must be similar to that of the existing house
Home extensions are not permitted in designated areas like conservation land and parks that are protected
The roof enlargement cannot extend on the outer face of the wall of the original house
Choosing The Right Contractor
A loft conversion is only as good as the team delivering it. Yet too many homeowners choose their contractor based on price alone, without properly vetting their track record, accreditations or approach to communication. Before committing, ask to see examples of previous work – ideally projects similar in scope to yours – and speak to past clients if you can. A good contractor will welcome the scrutiny.
It’s also worth clarifying early on who takes responsibility for the technical documentation. Some contractors handle everything from structural calculations to loft conversion drawings in London and beyond, while others expect you to source these separately through an architect or architectural technologist. Knowing where those boundaries sit before work begins can save considerable friction later.
Get at least three detailed quotes, compare not just on cost but on what’s included, and make sure your chosen contractor carries appropriate insurance and is registered with a recognised trade body.
Building Regulations Can Affect Approval For Your Loft Conversion
You’ll need to get approval for building regulation, as it ensures your conversion is structurally sound, fire-safe and soundproof.
Some of the issues here include:
Make sure you get the right fire and safety regulations set up
Floor and beam structure should be secure for the extra room
Soundproofing on walls, floor and ceiling to ensure the noise is properly insulated
Stairs for access to the loft
Walls that support the existing or new roofs where support doesn’t exist.
Aside from this, the other permission you’ll definitely require is a party wall agreement. This agreement helps to sort out any misunderstanding with neighbours that could develop from work done on the shared wall.
Manage Expectations & Be Patient
A lot of things can go wrong if you don’t plan with realistic goals for your conversion from the start. Almost inevitable are budget discrepancies. If finances for the project aren’t well managed, limitations later down the line can hinder the conversion ever getting finished. Calculating the cost of materials, labour and other work should be given under expert supervision.
It’s vital, then, to devise detailed timelines for the project, including a deadline and the actual time the project will be completed can change. Unexpected changes to the plan and design can affect the timeline.
That’s enough of the practical stuff, there are more esoteric, holistic concerns which should also be driving any domestic adjustments you make. Check out these 5 IDEAL ways to incorporate wellbeing into interior design for a different perspective.
Wedged between the gleaming, steaming towers of the City and the ever-evolving cliches of Shoreditch like some kind of glorious refuge from bullshit, Whitechapel occupies a unique position on the London landscape. This hard-to-define (we will now attempt to) East End enclave has long been an area shaped by generations of cultural exchange and preservation, with the Bengali community in particular leaving an indelible, edible mark on the area’s culinary scene.
While parts of East London may have succumbed to the relentless march of what might euphemistically be termed ‘urban renewal’, Whitechapel moves at its own pace, its curry houses, family-run takeaways and centuries old bakeries seemingly untroubled by what’s going on up the road.
It’s a confidence earned and honed over the last 50 years, and Whitechapel’s culinary identity is inseparable from its immigrant history. Brick Lane earned its nickname ‘Banglatown’ in the 1970s as Bengali immigrants, particularly from the Sylhet region, arrived following Bangladesh’s independence and established restaurants and businesses that transformed the street. Before this, the area welcomed successive waves of Huguenots, Irish, and Jewish communities. The establishment of the East London Mosque in 1985 (now one of Europe’s largest) further anchored the community.
Though it’s a little hard to define where Whitechapel definitively begins, it’s easy to know where it ends; with a bowl of gajar ka halwa and a cup of cardamom chai. It’s a sweet conclusion that tells you something essential about the neighbourhood— a story of diversity, distinct regional specialities, and family recipes passed – sometimes lovingly, sometimes reluctantly – through generations until they reach your plate.
With all that in mind and still no closer to defining the place, here’s our rundown of the best restaurants in Whitechapel.
Tayyabs
Ideal for legendary lamb chops with a half-century history….
On an unassuming Whitechapel backstreet, the electric blue neon sign and heady miasma of burnt cumin seeds and grill smoke has been a clarion call for hungry Londoners long before Eating With Tod, Top Jaw and the rest first unearthed this ‘hidden gem’. Several times.
Tayyabs, established in 1972, is perhaps the most famous Punjabi restaurant in the capital, and for good reason. The décor is a heady mix of opulent and wipe-able, the service cheery but efficient, and the food simple and satisfying in a way that allows the kitchen to churn, churn, churn relentlessly.
The sizzling lamb chops are the undisputed stars, arriving at your table still spitting and crackling, marinated in a proprietary blend of spices that’s remained unchanged (and still, somehow, a secret) for decades. The chops’ protruding, crudely French-trimmed rib handle presents the perfect opportunity to ditch the cutlery and go full Flinstone. Indeed, any tedious chuntering about ‘fall off the bone’ flesh should be avoided here; a bit of chew and resistance brings out the flavour, we think.
Don’t stop at the chops though, as it would be mental to come here, order one dish and leave. Tayyabs’ signature karahi chicken tikka masala delivers a complexity and nuance far beyond the usual assumptions about the national dish, and the peshwari naan is a Grade A version of a sometimes divisive side. Boasting the kind of proof that exhales when pierced, it comes anointed with butter that pools pleasingly across its surface.
Long-time patrons will remember the infamous queues that once snaked around the block (no bookings were taken for decades), but these days you can book ahead. Remarkably, despite its capacity for 500 diners spread across several floors, Tayyabs still boasts those queues. It should be said that the reservation system feels chaotic at best – we’ve occasionally waited longer for our reserved table than it took for the queue to be seen to in its entirety.
Open every day from noon until late evening, Tayyabs is BYOB. There’s a Tesco Express on the same street with a decent selection of cold beers. Back in the restaurant, non-boozers are well catered for with a good selection of yoghurt based refreshment.
Whether you’re on the lager or the lassi, Tayyabs is reliably raucous, and certainly isn’t the place for an intimate tête-à-tête. But, for a full-on feast with friends, it’s unbeatable. Whitechapel’s finest? We certainly think so.
Ideal for no-frills Pakistani feasting that won’t break the bank…
In the unofficial battle of the Whitechapel lamb chop, Lahore Kebab House has long been Tayyabs’ greatest rival. This canteen-style Pakistani restaurant five minutes south along Pargett and around the corner onto Umberston Street offers a decidedly more laid back atmosphere than its famous counterpart.
Established in 1972 (coincidentally the same year as Tayyabs – something in the Whitechapel water that year, clearly), this Pakistani powerhouse has maintained its no-nonsense approach for over five decades. The interior could generously be described as ‘functional’ – brown utilitarian furniture against plain white walls that wouldn’t look out of place in a school canteen – but you’re not here for the décor. The cricket matches and Bollywood epics playing on massive screens provide more than enough visual stimulation anyway, as does the bustling semi-open kitchen (there’s two panels of glass and what looks to be a mattress obscuring one of the panes that separates dining room and chefs) where you can witness pan dexterity on a whole different level.
The mixed grill is why you’re here and is exactly what you’d hope for, featuring those skinny lamb chops, expertly spiced and grilled to pink but gnarly perfection. While the lamb chops rightfully get top billing – using higher quality meat than many competitors and spiced with such liberal enthusiasm they practically vibrate on the plate – the menu rewards even the vaguely curious.
The chicken tikka brings unexpected heat dimensions that will recalibrate your understanding of the national dish, but you’d do better with the house specials, particularly the nihari and dry lamb curry, served in karahi bowls that always seem to add another dimension to a dish, even if it’s the taste of brass seasoning. Do save room for dessert – their selection of traditional sweets, including kulfis, ras malai and gajar ka halwa, provides the perfect sweet send-off.
For a restaurant that can host a staggering 350 diners across two floors, the service is remarkably acute – waiters performing gravity-defying feats as they carry multiple dishes at once, uncorking your BYO bottles with practiced ease (and no corkage fee). City workers rub shoulders with East End locals here, united in their appreciation for unfussy, delicious food served in generous portions. What more could you want?
Ideal for hearty Punjabi cuisine with Bollywood tunes as your soundtrack…
Opened in 2009 by a former Tayyabs manager, Needoo might not luxuriate (or, suffer from, depending how you want to look at it) queues of its more famous neighbour, but the food is every bit as good.
Inside, the vibe is bright, garish even. Those bold crimson walls, matching leather chairs and blue LED lighting call to mind somewhere that’s part curry house, part nightclub – the sort of place where every meal feels like a celebration, all accompanied by a Bollywood playlist that adds to the general sense of convivial cheer.
Their house speciality, karahi lamb chops masala, features lamb chops marinated in Needoo’s signature karahi masala and then grilled to its natural conclusion – a dish that rivals any in Whitechapel for its fragrant complexity. Beyond the celebrated lamb chops, the menu offers other stunners, including the karahi butter chicken masala which delivers that ideal balance of richness and spice, and could cure (and cause, quite frankly) many an ill.
The palak-paneer is top notch too, the cottage cheese simmered in a smooth and creamy spinach gravy without it disintegrating, all executed with careful, cautious finesse. The palak chicken applies the same luscious spinach treatment to tender chicken pieces – proper comfort food, this.
Sunday visitors should not miss the nihari, a popular Pakistani dish of slow-cooked lamb shank with a kind of throbbing pastoral undertone – a weekend speciality worth planning your life around. For those in search of something more simple, the half chicken with chips, marinated with rich masala and grilled, offers a perfect East-meets-West option that feels like the sort of dish you’d request for a final meal.
Service is swift and friendly, and the BYO policy makes this a highly affordable night out. Needoo might live somewhat in the shadow of its more famous New Road neighbours, but those in the know recognise it as a worthy contender for Whitechapel’s curry crown.
Ideal for inventive, plant-based Middle Eastern cuisine…
For something different at the tail end of Whitechapel, Bubala has rapidly gained a reputation as one of East London’s most exciting dining destinations for Middle Eastern food.
The moment you slip inside, the carnage of the busy road behind melts away. It’s a mellow, nourishing space that is very Blank Street in its aesthetic but ultimately, probably, designed not to distract you from what really matters: the food.
Bubala delivers dishes of remarkable depth and flavour. The menu features small plates designed for sharing and tearing, with standouts including their fried aubergine with zhoug and date syrup – crispy at the edges but meltingly soft inside, topped with that vibrant green coriander-spiked sauce that gives vibrancy and value to everything it touches. Don’t miss the halloumi with black seed honey – a slab of milky cheese fried to golden-brown perfection and drizzled with a sweet, spiced syrup that’ll have you fighting over the last piece.
Other must-orders include their silky-smooth hummus arriving with burnt butter, pine nuts and a generous dribble of olive oil, the oyster mushroom skewers delivering that perfect umami hit. The confit potato latkes come with toum (Lebanese garlic sauce), which is a sentence that sounds really weird if you read it too fast and get your consonants mixed up. It tastes damn good though.
The place has a good buzz but is laid back, and the staff are genuinely passionate about the food they’re serving. Speaking of sweet spots, the tahini, date and tangerine ice cream is as good as it sounds and then some; a really intriguing mix of savoury and sharp, sparkling flavours, and the perfect end to a meal for all those who say they’re not into dessert, but actually are.
With most plates between £5-£11, and the option to feast for about £30 a head, Bubala represents excellent value. While reservations can be hard to come by (book well in advance), it’s worth the effort. Oh, and did we mention it’s all vegetarian? We tried not to, as this is gorgeous food, meat-free or otherwise.
Ideal for a taste of history at London’s oldest Indian restaurant…
Among Whitechapel’s dining institutions, few can claim the longevity or, indeed, the naming prescience of Halal Restaurant. The name is SEO genius, though it’d be even better if they added ‘near me’ to the end. Though, since this place was established in 1939, they might have had other things on their mind than Google dark arts.
Indeed, Halal Restaurant stakes a claim as East London’s oldest Indian establishment. Originally founded to serve South Asian sailors working the docks, this venerable institution has been in the same family for four generations and maintains a loyal following that spans just as long.
Unlike the more casual curry houses nearby, Halal Restaurant offers a slightly more formal dining experience, with white tablecloths (daredevil stuff with this much turmeric in the curries) and food served in lidded pots – the big reveal is pure theatre, especially on the nose. The menu features classic Indian dishes executed with time-honoured precision – the rogan josh, shish kebabs and mutton mince biryani are particular highlights.
After over 80 years in business, Halal Restaurant offers something increasingly rare in London’s ever-changing dining landscape – a genuine taste of history.
Ideal for faithfully rendered regional Thai cuisine that doesn’t hold back…
We can’t be arsed with the pedants, so we’ll say this again; we’re not sure where Whitechapel begins and ends. Commercial Street might be part of it.
We’re more confident that some of London’s best Thai food is still served at Som Saa, a relative old warhorse of the city’s restaurant scene as it approaches its second decade here in Whitechapel/Shoreditch/Spitalfields/let’s not worry too much about pin drops.
Here, dishes showcase the complex, multi-layered, high wire balancing act of the very best Thai cooking. Their nahm dtok pla thort – a whole deep-fried sea bass with North Eastern herbs and roasted rice powder – is the headliner, no doubt, and never off the menu for good reason; it demonstrates the kitchen’s love of the country’s Isaan region and its reliably bold palette.
This is reflected too in the daily changing som tam salad, that reliably delivers the perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty and spicy notes (a bit of a tired summary by now, admittedly) that defines Thai cooking. Just to cast your eyes up to the blackboard to see what’s in store for the day.
There are coconut curries from further south in Thailand, too. The restaurant is one of the only places in the capital to freshly squeeze their coconut milk every single day, a process and dedication reflected in the suave finish to their curries and unparalleled, superior flavour compared to the canned stuff. Ditto the hand-pounded curry pastes; you really can taste the difference here.
Be sure to save room for their exquisite salted palm sugar ice cream served with grilled turmeric banana and sesame seeds – on since day dot and as good as ever.
After eight successful years, the team has expanded with a sibling restaurant, Kolae, in Borough Market, but the original location remains a must-visit for anyone who loves the food of The Kingdom as much as we do. Back in Spitalfields and to mark its 10th anniversary there, Som Saa are serving that legendary sea bass at its original 2015 Climpson’s Arch price of £14 from 20th to 26th April, alongside a revival of dishes from the residency where the whole thing began.
A sister restaurant to Xi’an Impression up in Highbury, and taking its name from the Shaanxi provincial capital and the onomatopoeic ‘biang biang’ (supposedly mimicking the sound of dough slapping against the countertop), this stark, brightly-lit space may look more corporate canteen than place of crosstown culinary pilgrimage, but appearances can be deliciously deceiving. Actually, we’re not sure that’s quite true; if this place looked fancy, you’d rightly suspect it might be a bit shit. Hmmm, we’ve tied ourselves in knots here…
…not like the noodles, which are perfectly separate strands, but also boast the requisite level of homogeneity. Their hand-pulled BiangBiang noodles in ‘special sauce’ are the ideal showcase for the eponymous speciality, with a perfect chew and rich sauce clinging to every strand. Variations on a theme include the glorious hand-pulled Belt noodles with cumin lamb, the fragrant, dusty, musty spice cutting through the richness of the lamb and anchoring the whole thing in something that hums and undulates rather than slaps and tickles.
Beyond the signature wide belt noodles, the boneless chicken in special sauce delivers a genuine surprise – thin slices of tender poultry soaking up a house special concoction that’s vinegary, sweet and gently spiced. It’s a perfect counterpoint to the more robust flavours elsewhere on the menu.
The handmade traditional pork burger (‘rou jia mo’ – one of the world’s oldest sandwich-type foods) represents another regional speciality from the streets of Xi’an – succulent, slow-cooked pork belly with aromatic spices, chopped and stuffed into a distinctive wheat flatbread pocket. It’s street food with thousands of years of history behind it, and light years away from the Western concept of a burger.
The restaurant’s no-reservation policy and wipe-clean utilitarian aesthetic speak to its roots – this is a place where solo diners feel comfortable tucking in with a book and a beer, where eating with your fingers is not just accepted but encouraged, and where the nine-napkin approach to dining (you’ll need them for the splashes of chilli oil) is considered perfectly sensible. Or, you could just buy a T-shirt from the nearby charity shop and wear it as a massive bib.
Anyway, at these remarkably reasonable prices, with most dishes between £7-£11, you’ll hardly mind the extra cost.
Ideal for succulent Somali lamb at absurdly good value…
Al Kahf means ‘the cave’ in Arabic – fitting for this Somali restaurant tucked away off Whitechapel Road. Since opening in 2010, it has built a devoted following among those in the know. A recent renovation has transformed the once-hidden entrance into a proper street-level dining space, though the restaurant still thankfully maintains its understated charm.
The menu showcases the distinctive cuisine of the Horn of Africa, where geographic position and history have created a fascinating culinary crossroads. Their celebrated lamb shank (the xaniid) steals the show – slow-cooked to such tenderness that just a spoon is required to eat it, with undulating layers of aromatics and meltingly soft fat helping that gorgeous spicing last long in the mouth. Each main arrives on a generous platter of aromatic bariis iskukaris, a beautifully spiced rice adorned with sweet raisins and topped with caramelised onions and peppers.
Al Kahf really know how to guide your hand in seasoning your bowl, as each meal also comes with the essential companions: basbaas, a vibrant green chili sauce that brings a powerful kick of heat and fresh coriander, and sabaayad, a buttery Somali flatbread perfect for scooping up every morsel. You will genuinely want to do so.
The service is refreshingly unfussy and reassuringly unhurried, a place where it would be criminal not to take your time. At around £14 for a lamb dish substantial enough to satisfy two hungry diners, Al Kahf offers remarkable value, too.
No alcohol is served here, so round off your meal with a bottle of Shani, an intensely sweet Arabic soft drink that Jimi Famurewa rightly observed was pretty reminiscent of Vimto, and discover why this modest establishment has earned its reputation for serving some of the most memorable East African food in London.
Ideal for traditional village-style Bangladeshi cooking that showcases the flavours of Sylhet…
Among Brick Lane’s curry houses, Graam Bangla offers something genuinely different. First opened in 1997 (then spelled ‘Gram Bangla’), it closed in 2016 before reopening under new ownership in 2019, bringing its distinctive Sylheti cooking back to East London.
Unlike the anglicised curry houses that dominate the area, Graam Bangla focuses on regional specialties from Sylhet in Bangladesh’s northeast—the ancestral home of many British Bangladeshis. The restaurant gained unexpected royal recognition in February 2023 when King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited during a tour highlighting the cultural contributions of the Bangladeshi community to the East End.
The food here diverges sharply from standard British curry house fare that you’ll find elsewhere on Brick Lane. Fish plays a central role in the menu, reflecting the cuisine of river-rich Sylhet. You might encounter keski (tiny sprats from the Ganges), elish (a buttery river fish requiring patient deboning), or for the less adventurous, perfectly seasoned catfish curry. The restaurant is also known for its selection of bhortha—intensely flavoured mashed preparations of vegetables, lentils, or fish that add vibrant accent notes to the meal.
There’s no paper menu here—instead, staff guide you through the dishes displayed in glass counters, explaining unfamiliar ingredients with patience. Once primarily a gathering spot for Bangladeshi men to engage in adda (a form of politically-tinged socialisation), the restaurant now welcomes a diverse crowd of diners who aren’t required to share their views on Sheikh Hasina or Sir Starmer before ordering.
Ideal for perhaps the best chicken tikka in Whitechapel…
While the big-name curry houses get all the glory, this modest Pakistani eatery on the corner of New Road delivers food that deserves far more recognition. Shalamar operates with quiet confidence just minutes from its more TikTok’d neighbours, offering a bright, fuss-free dining space where the focus is squarely on the food. And which, come to think of it, is the perfect lighting for those reels…
The menu here doesn’t try to please all parties with its length (matron) but rather with its execution. The chicken tikka here is worth crossing town for – plump cubes of breast meat marinated in yoghurt, garam masala and turmeric that remain wonderfully juicy while developing a distinctive rusty-orange exterior. At just £5.50 for a tikka roll, it represents one of Whitechapel’s – no, London’s – best food bargains.
Don’t overlook their meat biryani either – a generous heap of aromatic rice tumbled with quite-tender strings of braised beef. The whole dish carries gentle notes of cardamom and green chilli that perfume each forkful and linger until nighttime. You’ll get change from a tenner ordering it, which is wild in this economy.
What makes Shalamar special is its everyday dependability. This is restorative food served without ceremony – the kind of place locals return to weekly for a reliable, satisfying meal that brightens the day without emptying the wallet.
Ideal for London’s best Lebanese and Palestinian food not on Edgware Road…
Established circa 2008, Bon Appetit maintains its identity as a family-owned restaurant. It proudly declares on the menu that it uses mum’s homemade recipes – and the food here does taste homemade and, for lack of a better word, authentic. What strikes you first is how friendly the owners are. Sometimes they give you tea while you wait, sometimes a big hug. Never both, for some reason…
The ambiance is decidedly casual – a place you feel immediately comfortable in. A Palestinian flag casually drapes over a room divider and above a wooden counter there’s a huge menu board displaying all their dishes—making it nearly impossible to decide what to order because everything looks delicious. Everything looks a little dated, too, stone wall accents and hanging plastic plants, worn black leather dining chairs and the overall sense of a place well dined in.
Of course, Palestinian and Lebanese cuisines share many similarities due to their shared Levantine heritage and geographical proximity. Bon Appetit serves a mix of beloved Lebanese and Palestinian classics (though more firmly anchored in the former), including hummus, tabbouleh, and of course, grilled chicken.
Let’s talk about that grilled chicken. It arrives charcoal-burnished with a golden, fire-freckled crust and stays beautifully juicy, despite its time on the grill. It’s served with rice or chips, pickles, and plenty of garlic sauce.
A must-order is the lentil soup, which seems to be one of the most popular dishes on the menu. Glossy red lentils laced with cumin and olive oil, this delicious, wholesome Lebanese lentil soup wins us over every time – it’s comforting and nutritious, and a real sin-settler.
Both Palestinian and Lebanese traditions emphasise small shared plates as appetizers or as part of a larger meal, so come back another time with people who love to share. You could make a whole meal of their precisely rendered mezze options and you should, but fill it out with the generously sized grill platter which arrives exactly as you’d imagine: grilled, charred, and irresistible.
Wash it al down with a bottle of Mezza – a pomegranate flavoured nonalcoholic malt beverage and finish with some syrup-soaked knafeh. You could say we ‘we can’t get knafeh of it.’
Ideal for bagels and pastries from century East End institution…
Like many great East London establishments, Rinkoff’s is steeped in history and tradition. This Jewish bakery first opened its doors in 1911 and has been making exceptional challah, pastries, and of course bagels, ever since. The century-old business is still in the family, passed down through generations, and remains a treasured Whitechapel favourite.
Their smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel is a masterclass in the form – the kind of food that transcends trends and fashions. The sweet offerings are equally impressive, with the signature ‘crodough’ (their take on the cronut) developing something of a cult following among East London’s diabetes-baiting denizens. The lotus biscoff and white chocolate crodough was the flavour of the month last time we dropped by – a creation that has earned its place on many Instagram feeds but still delivers on actually tasting good.
What makes Rinkoff’s special is not just its longevity but its appetite to evolve. While still honouring traditional Jewish bakery items like cheesecake (sold by weight and made to Hyman’s original recipe) and challah bread, the fourth generation of the family, including Ray and his daughters Jen and Debs, have expanded the selection to include vegan options and contemporary treats like the recent viral Dubai cookie.
The bakery has adapted remarkably to Whitechapel’s changing population. While it began serving the area’s Jewish residents (even keeping ovens warm on Fridays for families to cook their Shabbat meals), Rinkoff’s now proudly serves a customer base that’s mostly from the local Muslim community (80% of the base, according to Vittles).
This transition extends to their kitchen too, where many staff members have been part of the team for years, creating their own chapter in the bakery’s continuing story.
Just a five minute ride on the Jubilee Line from Canary Wharf to North Greenwich and the O2, it should come as no surprise that the choices for dinner in London’s premier business district are quite corporate. There’s little in the way of creativity or excitement here, in a kind of ‘Mark Zuckerberg only wears grey T-shirts’ utilitarian rejection of mundane decision-making.
No amount of glittering sky-scraper lights can sprinkle any stardust on this most soulless of areas, but nonetheless, Canary Wharf’s chains are some of London’s better ones. There are a couple of independent belters in here for good measure, to be fair.
With that in mind, if you’re heading to the O2 Arena or you’re simply in town to do some business, then you might want to check this out; our guide on the best places to eat in Canary Wharf.
Gopal’s Corner at Market Halls, Canary Wharf
Ideal for authentic Malaysian Tamil street food in a hawker centre-style setting…
The third outpost for the fast proliferating Market Halls concept (with one in London Victoria, another on Oxford Street and a fourth recently opening in Paddington), you’ll find a few good feeds in the Canary Wharf branch.
Give the lamentably named Le Bab a swerve, and make a play for Gopal’s Corner, by far and away the best ‘stall’ within the covered food hall.
The sibling to beloved London restaurant Roti King, here the proposition is similar; Malaysian Tamil street food featuring freshly slapped roti canai, served in bundles to accompany nourishing curries unafraid of a little oil and salt.
But equally as satisfying are simple but umami-heavy noodle stir-fries, and banana leaf platters laden with curries, crisp papadam, and chutneys positively undulating with the funk of shrimp paste and assertiveness of chilli. Just superb.
Ideal for premium steaks while gently rocking on the dock’s waters…
Thick fillets, thicker wallets? Heavy Malbecs and heaving waistlines? Ruddy-faced investment bankers? It’s a match made in heaven (?) at Hawksmoor, which stands – or rather, floats – proud in the new but strangely barren Wood Wharf development.
This particular branch of the esteemed chain prides itself on its unique waterside setting, offering diners twinkling views of the surrounding docks. Unlike its siblings across the UK, there’s a more relaxed vibe here, with an expansive outdoor terrace that invites guests to enjoy their meals al fresco, weather permitting.
Moving with the tides in a manner that might rock a baby to sleep but can cause a distinct seasickness in a drunk person, this iteration of Hawksmoor is housed in an eco-friendly floating pavilion. The 120-seat waterside bar downstairs (formerly known as The Lowback) now offers the full Hawksmoor experience in a more casual setting, with a heated terrace overlooking the water.
Back in the main dining room, the usual high-quality, properly rested steaks we’ve come to expect at Hawksmoor are here and as they should be, the restaurant’s exemplary bone marrow gravy and anchovy hollandaise both in attendance too, bestowing their umami-laden good will to anything on the plate that makes contact. Mix them together; you know you want to.
Service hours here are pre-gig friendly, too, with the restaurant open for dinner from 4:30pm daily (and all day on Saturdays and Sundays). All gentle sarcasm aside, this is probably the best meal you’re going to get within such a short distance of The O2.
Ideal for ambitious game dishes and that showstopping blooming onion…
ROE is the third restaurant from the trio behind Fallow and Fowl, the former a critically acclaimed ‘nose-to-tail and root-to-stem’ restaurant in St. James, and the latter an ‘off the wall’ chicken shop which is just as annoying as that billing suggests.
The name has been carefully chosen, make no mistake, to emphasise both the restaurant’s sustainability chops (with roe being a male deer native to the British isles that’s considered an ethical source of meat) and as a ‘cheeky’ nod to its location in London’s financial district (ROE, as in, Return On Equity…geddit?).
Anyhow, the restaurant is a whopper, boasting upwards of 350 covers and a dining room the size of an olympic swimming pool and then some. There’s a terrace, too, overlooking the South Dock canal which, in the right light, is a shimmering, twinkling vantage point to be tucking into some snail vindaloo flatbreads, octopus and samphire skewers, and the ROE mixed grill, which is a handsome piece of work.
Featuring grilled venison haunch, crispy ribs and harissa sausage which uses up all the delicious offal, it’s served with aubergine, a piquant green ezme and sesame, all of which serve to see this massive meaty spread happily on its way. Yours for £58, and perfect for sharing between two or three.
That said, and somewhat surprisingly for a restaurant so in thrall to meat, the star of the show for us was the beautiful blooming onion, where a battered onion, deep-fried until crispy and golden with its segments fanned out like flowers, is given a flavour boost with a generous sprinkling of cheese & onion seasoning. A little (a lot) dusty, admittedly, but delicious nonetheless. Served with garlic aioli and pickled onion gel for a bit of vigour and verve, and finally topped with fresh chives, if there was an award for the best alium dish in London, this may just win it.
Honestly, we wanted to hate this place, but the mixed grill sharing plate and that onion are both mighty fine things, and surprisingly good value in a city where prices are on an unstoppable rise skywards.
And then you find out that there is no wine by the glass here below £11 (!), and you’re brought right back down to earth. Well, they did need to turn a profit, after all.
Ideal for well-priced chops when the expenses account is running low…
Image Courtesy of Blacklock
Not to be outdone on the steak front (well, to be slightly outdone, we’d say), the Canary Wharf branch of Blacklock is a decent bet for dinner before heading to the venue, too. Doing all the good things well – as Jay Rayner would say in the vast majority of his positive critiques – the proposition at Blacklock is straightforward. Prosaic, even. And that is, ‘chop love’.
No, not the kind of chop love that the finance bros are enjoying in the cubicles of the restaurant, but rather, a refreshingly brusque selection of steaks (just four) and a couple of bigger ‘door stop thick’ chops, of beef, lamb and pork.
Prices are reasonable, too, with similar cuts of beef clocking in a couple of quid cheaper than Hawksmooor per 100g across the board. As with Hawksmoor, opening hours are agreeable for pre-show dining.
Ideal for late-night Bombay-style comfort after the show…
Image via of Dishoom
Wherever you find a Dishoom in the UK, it’s safe to say that the all-conquering Bombay-inspired chain still delivers if you’re looking for a decent meal that will be consistent, reliable and predictable, which, let’s face it, you are looking for with a concert to get to.
The bacon naan roll (though only on for breakfast, until midday), chicken ruby, okra fries and house black daal are all present and correct here, and done to the same standard as every other Dishoom branch and dark kitchen.
The Canary Wharf iteration of Dishoom is also one of the only places on our list where you could plausibly eat after a concert at The O2, with the restaurant closing at 11pm school nights, and midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Ideal for inclusive Neapolitan pizzas with adventurous dough choices…
Though this London pizza chain (listen to the wind bloowwwww) has only been tossing dough for a decade now, and perhaps owing to the tangible decline in quality of Franco Manca during that time, Zia Lucia has become many Londoners go-to high street Neapolitan pizza joint.
Founded by friends Claudio Vescovo and Gianluca D’Angelo in Islington, 2016, and now with 9 outposts across the city, Zia Lucia distinguishes itself from the rest through its inclusivity. Pizza should, after all, be a democratic, diplomatic affair. Here, there are four different types of dough to choose from: traditional white flour, wholemeal, gluten-free, and a vegetable charcoal black base.
Ideal for traditional Thai feasting before a scenic cable car ride…
Fire emojis at the ready, Nakhon Thai is the best place to eat in the Royal Docks section of London’s Docklands, its old-school royal Thai sensibility a charming change from the proliferation of ‘nu’ Thai restaurants a few miles east.
The menu is intimidating in its expansiveness, but the Nakhon Thai Platter is a good place to start. A collection of small bites and dips, the chicken satay is the star here, arriving pleasingly blistered and burnished rather than a uniform glowing curcuma. The fish cakes are great too, boasting plenty of that much sought after ‘factory bounce’.
Follow with a glowing, generously portioned green curry of chicken, the bitter crunch of its pea aubergines bringing some respite from the throbbing sweetness. Balance it out with a regionally-ambiguous som tam and some steamed jasmine rice for a meal that feels complete.
A couple of ice-cold 630ml Singhas is all you need to see you on your way.
Speaking of being on your way, the journey to The O2 Arena from Nakhon Thai is a real treat – the quickest route is over the Thames by IFS Cloud Cable Car. What fun!
Ideal for intimate Japanese izakaya with perfectly curated small plates…
This. This is the place. A compact, independent Japanese izakaya with a concise, almost clinical menu that chimes perfectly with the utilitarian decor of the place, Uoichi is an awesome spot for a quick lunch or dinner before heading over to Greenwich.
Compile your order from the ‘snack’ and ‘grill’ sections of the menu for best results; the monkfish liver, served in generous pucks, simply steamed, is superb. When they are on the menu, a must order is the kaki fry which sees oysters panko-coated, deep-fried until golden brown and served with tonkatsu sauce. Pair that with a plate of pickles, perhaps some sesame seed-sprinkled chicken wings, and a glass or two of ice-cold sake, and you’ve got yourself a meal that feels both wholesome and a little indulgent.
The tunes are great, too, the Meiko Nakahara deep cuts feeling synergistic with Uoichi’s wider surroundings. Fuck The O2; we might just stay here a while…
Disembark at London’s Liverpool Street Station and the bright and bustle of the big city can at first overwhelm. People jostle and shimmy, police vans congregate, and all the buses come at once, defying both attempts to cross the road casually and a certain London saying. It’s bedlam out here, make no mistake.
Sure, you could retreat back into a station once known as the Dark Cathedral, taking refuge under its atrium vaulting, the golden arches of McDonalds or in a box of Krispy Kremes, but to do so would be to miss out on all the fantastic restaurants just a short stroll from Liverpool Street.
So, pull yourself together, engage your appetite, shoulders back and smash it; here’s where to eat near Liverpool Street Station, our favourite restaurants in Bishopgate and Liverpool Street.
Three Uncles, Devonshire Row
The ideal place to enjoy traditional roast Cantonese meats over rice…
After that flustered introduction, who’s going to firmly but fairly tell us to get a grip? Not one, not two, but three of our favourite uncles, that’s who.
So, it’s to Three Uncles we’re heading first (leave the station, cross Bishopsgate, pass the Bull and Last on your left, and you’re pretty much there) which celebrates traditional roast Cantonese meats over rice.
Just the ticket after a train journey, whether you’ve come from Cambridge or Tottenham Court Road, you’ll see slabs of crispy pork and whole roast ducks hanging over the counter at this modest shop, making it hard not to order both. Fortunately, the ‘any two meats over rice’ (complete with iron-rich, steamed pak choi) offer is as generous as you like, and a steal in the City for just £14.50.
Grab a stool at one of the two outside tables and watch the world go by, or head back to Liverpool Street Station for your departing train; you’ll be the envy of the whole carriage.
Needing little in the way of introduction, Fergus Henderson’s St. John Bread & Wine is arguably even better than the Smithfield mothership, with the stark, ascetic interiors, stark, ascetic plates, warm hospitality, and yes, plenty of offal, all present and correct here.
Whilst you won’t always find the bone marrow and parsley salad on the menu at Bread and Wine (grilled sardines often stand in), there’s plenty of nourishing, generous dishes to get very excited about. We’re often found stalking Commercial Street, waiting for the doors to swing open at noon; a Bread & Wine kedgeree, a chilled glass of St. John Blanc, and a big ol’ plateful of warm madelines… Could it be the best ‘brunch’ in all of London? We certainly think so.
Stay for lunch, for a dish of upmost simplicity; a whole roast quail with a little jelly, or grilled red mullet with a fennel salad. Upfront, straightforward, and all the more delicious for it.
And if you can’t wait ‘till midday, the restaurant’s iconic bacon sarnie is available for takeaway only between 9am and 11am. Be prepared to queue.
Ideal for some seriously sensational Sri Lankan food…
In the new, long-teased development of Norton Folgate, on pretty, cobbled Blossom Street, Kolamba East is positioned as the sophisticated, slightly more premium sibling of the acclaimed Soho restaurant Kolamba. Whilst it’s only been open for a a year and a half, the restaurant is already on form, and is a great option for a spicy, invigorating feast close to Liverpool Street.
Introduced to the London dining scene by husband and wife duo Eroshan and Aushi Meewella in 2019, Kolamba was conceived from their memories of growing up in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo and the incredible food of the city.
Kolamba settled into Soho fast, earning several rave reviews in the national press. The announcement of a second act with loftier ambitions, then, piqued our interest something substantial, so we’re alighting at Liverpool Street once again, and heading five minutes down the road to the second outpost.
What first strikes you is the design here. Kolamba East is one handsome building, its 90-cover dining room a homogenous, harmonious single entity. Designed in partnership with Annie Harrison of FARE INC, it’s all plush booth seating, an attractive central bar, and some truly gorgeous lanterns, the latter of which cast a blanket of warming sepia over the whole space. It’s a beautifully designed room and one that really feels like you’re travelling on a private jet, for some reason.
Roasted Pineapple
When you come back down to earth, fold yourself into plates of Sri Lankan ‘homecooking’ with a few flashes of finesse from executive chef Imran Mansuri and team, perfectly exemplified in the string hopper king prawn biryani, which comes with a small jug of intensely flavoured, delicately spiced shellfish stock. Pour that jug over the tangle of thread like noodles, squeeze the prawn brains into the mix, and muddle; inside, it’s heady, oceanic alchemy. Alongside, and whatever you do, order the roasted pineapple; it’s one of the best things we’ve eaten this year.
If you prefer your conversations to be conducted in hushed, reverent tones, you might be better off seeking shelter elsewhere. But if you’re looking for one of the best restaurants close to Liverpool Street Station, however, you’ve found it here.
Because Manteca, the ‘Britalian’ restaurant from chefs Chris Leach and David Carter, is a brimming, boisterous affair, and impossibly hard to book since moving to its permanent location in Shoreditch.
Once named by Time Out London as the second best restaurant in the city, and receiving a slew of fawning national reviews, the nose-to-tail small plates here are as satisfying as they come, the energy both in the dining room and on the plate totally irresistible.
Whilst the brown crab caico e pepe is arguably the restaurant’s most talked about dish, it’s the pig head fritti that truly had us cooing. Or should that be ‘oinking’? Served alongside a burnt apple purée, Sunday lunch this ain’t. Rather, it’s a refined, deeply savoury bite, offset perfectly by the purée.
Equally fine when it’s on the menu is the tortellini in brudo, the pasta parcels filled with a mortadella mixture that’s both light and umami-heavy. The broth glistens, the tortellini bounces, and everything feels right with the world.
Speaking of Sunday lunches, incidentally, Manteca observes the lord’s day in true Bolognese fashion, with a celebratory lasagna verde (here, using belted galloway beef and rarebreed saddleback pork), all finished in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven. Only available on the Sabbath, it’s a worthy match to a more traditional Sunday roast in the city.
Anyway, Manteca truly is a class act, and somewhere you’ll want to return to again and again (and that’s coming through a writer who has now made their way through the entire menu here!).
By some estimates, there are around 50’000 Portuguese nationals living in London, with the majority living in South Lambeth, the city’s so-called ‘Little Portugal’, and, more specifically, Stockwell, which is home to the biggest concentration of Portuguese outside of the Motherland.
Unsurprisingly, then, that to eat great Portuguese food in London, it’s wise to head into SW9. That said, north of the river, in the rather bromidic surrounds of Finsbury Avenue Square, some of the best Portuguese food we’ve ever had – Lisbon, London or anywhere – is being served at Bar Douro City.
In a dining room that might better be described as a particularly well-appointed corridor, with intricate blue-and-white azulejos-tiles lining one wall, and a bar and open kitchen on the other. From here, a procession of generous, gutsy Portuguese small plates are served with the kind of flourish that whisks you far away from the soulless City and to somewhere altogether more sincere.
Start with the croquetes de alheira – circular croquettes filled with a sharp, spicy smoked sausage and topped with a dab of aioli that hit all the right notes with your first crisp glass of Super Bock, the only beer you need here. An exemplary bacalhau à brás pulls off that delicate balancing act that only the best versions do, of being both crunchy and creamy, its top end seasoning moreish rather than parching, as long as you’ve another Super Bock to hand.
From the larger ‘land’ based dishes, the secretos de porco preto alentejano (grilled black pig) is a highlight, the highly prized cut from around the pig’s shoulder served blushing pink and beautifully marbled. The accompanying Montanheira salad features segments of orange that lift and cleanse. This has got to be one of the best dishes you’ll eat close to Liverpool Street Station, and well worth delaying your train for.
Round things off, naturally, with a pastel de nata. Bar Douro’s is served with a cinnamon ice cream which at first feels superfluous, but is so well made – smooth and rich rather than dusty – that you have to remove your purist hat and succumb.
Bar Douro is also one of the best places in London for large groups, its dining room able to accommodate 16 people with a sharing menu that clocks in at just £49.75 (just call it £50, guys!) a head. Woof.
JKS Restaurants – the group behind Gymkhama, Sabor, and Trishna – runs this Indian barbecue and beer hall in a former banking hall at ten minute walk from Liverpool Street station. And they run it with a certain chaotic precision, make no mistake. The space holds 240 covers across two floors, with ceiling fans, colonial-era fittings, and multiple screens showing live sports, and it gets rowdy. But that doesn’t mean you’re left checking your watch as you wait for your sizzling lamb chops. Quite the opposite; things happen smoothly here, but with enough kinetic energy to keep things interesting.
The menu divides between small plates – Punjabi vegetable samosas, goat belly vindaloo samosas, Indo-Chinese chilli paneer lettuce cups – and larger grills and kebabs meant for sharing. Tandoori lamb chops come as half or full rack, methi chicken chops arrive with fenugreek marinade, and the mixed grill sizzler serves two with guinea fowl, lamb chops, and prawns. Biryanis are substantial: dum beef shin and bone marrow serves two, as does the tawa prawn version. The wood oven turns out dishes like Sikandari kid goat shoulder with lacha paratha, and wood-roasted sea bream pollichathu, and the whole place smells like smoke. Alongside, the house IPA is brewed in Bermondsey specifically for the restaurant, designed to work with the char and spice coming off the sigri grill and tandoor. It’s the only drink you need here.
Monday nights bring a curry club thali for £30 per person: chicken tikka butter masala or paneer butter masala, house daal, garlic naan, rice, and a Cobra lager. Saturdays offer a sports menu with two hours of free-flowing Cobra (‘let me dance away forever’ on repeat, please), Tanqueray gin cocktails, and Paul John Nirvana whisky drinks for £35, alongside a £35 feast that includes a chicken tikka club sandwich and mixed grill pilau. When major cricket or rugby fixtures are on, expect the room to shift from restaurant to sports bar – tables book out early and the atmosphere gets considerably louder. It’s all part of the fun.
Open Monday to Saturday from midday until half past ten, closed Sundays.
A Yiddish term of endearment akin to ‘sweetheart’, this vegetarian restaurant on the peripheries of Spitalfields takes inspiration from the cafe and casual dining scene in Tel Aviv. Put simply, Bubala is as charming as they come.
Whilst at lunch the menu is a la carte, at dinnertime it’s a ‘Bubala Knows Best’ set menu only affair, which at £39 per person isn’t necessarily cheap, until you see just how much you get for that figure; with over ten courses, this certainly isn’t a meal for watching yours.
Whether you’re here for lunch or dinner, the brown butter hummus is essential (and all present and correct on the Bubala Knows Best evening set). But the headlining act for us is the fennel with saffron caramel and rose harissa, whose impossibly heady top notes are smoothed and sedated by a piquant yet cooling yoghurt. Just superb.
Ideal for cinnamon, spice and all food ridiculously nice…
Fittingly located in the historic East India Company spice warehouse and just a two minute walk from Liverpool Street, Cinnamon Kitchen is the perfect spot to escape the hustle and bustle of the City.
With Chef Vivek Singh at the helm, the restaurant and all-weather covered terrace serves his signature modern Indian cuisine with the best of British ingredients for lunch and dinner. The restaurant also does one of London’s spiciest dishes – the perfect way to dust yourself down after a long day, we think.
The Cinnamon Collection celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2026, and throughout the year Cinnamon Kitchen City is offering a special three-course menu for £25 to mark the occasion.
Ideal for sophisticated all-day dining in the heart of The City…
Nestled in the heart of London’s historic/soulless Square Mile, this European restaurant pays homage to its much-loved forefather, The Wolseley, by retaining the ‘all-day’ offering intrinsic to its DNA, with food served in one way or another from 7am to 11pm, daily (except Sundays, which ends at 5pm) – pretty useful if you’ve missed your train and need somewhere to pitch up for a while, we think.
The ‘City’ version of this much cherished restaurant is a place where British (and London) heritage meets contemporary broadly-French cuisine, creating a dining experience that’s both casual and elegant, glamorous but grounded.
Upon entering, you’ll be greeted by the graceful design details of the interior, which was once a bank and later a department store before being transformed into the capacious dining room you’re just about to settle into. Of course, twinkling, meandering jazz plays at just the right volume…
With the scene set, it’s time to tuck in, and the menu at The Wolseley City is a continent-spanning rundown of European classics. The snails done in the Bourguignonne-style, as in, swimming in plenty of garlic and herb butter, with a lick of pastis to liven them, are particularly good. Pack chewing gum for that onward train journey.
Even better – the highlight, in fact – is a tranche of turbot ‘Grenobloise’. Here, the pearlescent, expertly cooked fish arrives positively bathed in a lemon-spiked brown butter, capers dotted across its surface. You’ll want a side of frites with this one. Sure, £44.50 for a fairly small piece of fish – king of the sea or otherwise – might feel pretty extortionate, but the place is heaving with boorish bankers who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the price tag, so fair fucks. Veal sweetbreads, all crisp exteriors and buttery centres, are served with a pleasingly light soubise sauce and pleasingly rich veal bone reduction, creating a ying and yang effect that complements those butch yet delicate offaly bits perfectly.
Desserts are decent, too, the apple strudel with a strident calvados chantilly cream hitting all the markers you want from your sweet course – caramelised sugar, giving fruit, and a soothing but boozy cream. Lovely stuff.
Located just a stone’s throw away from Monument Station, The Wolseley City is an accessible place to dine, making it the ideal choice for those looking for a grand dining experience without venturing too far from Liverpool Street.
Ideal for Indian small plates that pack heat and flavour…
Duck down Artillery Lane (sadly no relation to the whole Gunpowder thing; the restaurant is named after a famous spice mix), and you’ll find Gunpowder holding court in a tight space that feels like someone’s front room in terms of the cheek-to-jowl nature of things.
Five minutes from Liverpool Street Station, this tiny space has been buzzing with interest since day one, the room enveloped in a thick miasma of blooming spices that promises a good meal before you’ve even had the chance to get properly across the menu. These days you can actually book a table (a recent change from their famous no-bookings policy), though they do still keep some spots for walk-ins. Sure, you might be practically sitting on your neighbour’s lap, but nobody seems to mind when the food starts arriving. Hey, you might even enjoy that kind of close proximity…
The spicy venison and vermicelli doughnut sounds like something dreamt up after too many pints, but it works brilliantly. The meat’s been spiced judiciously, and the doughnut is light and grease-free, adding richness that’ll have you licking your fingers without shame (perhaps avoid doing so whilst looking into your neighbour’s eyes, though). Order the Gunpowder chaat for contrast – these crispy Norfolk potato fingers come dressed in yoghurt and tamarind, creating the kind of sweet-sour-spicy balance that the subcontinent does so well.
It’d be madness to stop after snacks. Instead, go for the grilled pork ribs arrive lacquered in a crimson Nagaland glaze that’s got a pleasing punch. These aren’t your Sunday pub ribs – they’re sticky, funky, and hot enough to make you grateful for the lassi you’ve almost knocked over several times. Speaking of heat, approach the bhel puri with caution if you’re spice-sensitive. What looks like an innocent puffed rice salad will absolutely blow your head off, though in the most delicious way possible.
The intimate space still creates a buzzy, energetic vibe, even if queues have been reduced by the new allowance for reservations. Perfect for a pre-train feast or a lunch that’s anything but boring.
A fair amount of scepticism existed about the opening of the juggernaut Italian ‘marketplace’ Eataly just moments from Liverpool Street Station, and the first to land here in the UK.
Did we really need a sprawling food court and Italian deli in London, when affordable pasta joints were proliferating faster than the time it takes to boil some freshly rolled angel hair? Would the self-proclaimed premium ingredients appeal to a British market often more concerned with convenience than quality? Was a whopping 42’000 square feet of eating, shopping and learning strictly necessary?
Nearly five years in, and it turns out we did and it was. With over 5’000 food products and 2’000 wines – the largest collection in London – all under one roof, including some seriously good charcuterie, cheeses, and sweet stuff (the cannoli here is ace), Eataly has thus far been a massive success.
It’s also a great place to spend an afternoon, with samples, tastings and trials all available at the various retailers. Just make sure you bring a large bag and a larger credit limit; it’s impossible to leave this place empty handed!
There’s also decent pasta and pizza in Eataly’s three dedicated restaurants, for those looking to take a load off for a while.
The ideal destination for some of the best hand-pulled noodles in the Capital…
If you prefer your noodz hand-pulled rather than pasta machine rolled, then over on Commercial Street you’ll find one of the very best restaurants near Liverpool Street Station; Xi’an Biang Biang Noodles.
A sister restaurant to the much celebrated Xi’an Impression, one of our favourite places to eat in Highbury and Islington, the food is equally as good here. Visually akin to a canteen, all white walls and clinical lighting, and with straightforward service to match, the food is anything but impersonal; noodles have just the right amount of bite and spring, sauces (and subsequently, shirts) are slicked with chilli oil, and garlic lingers for days after dining here.
Some good news for those devoted to central; Xi’an Biang Biang Noodles now have a second branch in Covent Garden, and two more have recently opened, close to Gloucester Road and London Bridge.
Spitalfields Market has a slicker, smoother feel than some of the more cobbled together markets in the city, but that’s not to its detriment at all. It’s large, covered (great for sheltering from the ever present London rain) and has a great variety of the good stuff, both in stall and fully-realised- restaurant form.
Indeed, there are plenty of Spitalfields restaurants to choose from and the much renowned Galvin Brothers have two places here if parking your bottom and taking your time is more your thing. If snacking, shopping and switching cuisines does it for you, then Smokoloko, The Duck Truck and Ebby’s are particular favourites.
Sure, Shoryu Ramen may be pretty ubiquitous by now, with the chain boasting 9 London outposts, as well as more across the UK, but that shouldn’t detract from the quality of the milky thick, rich, heavily porcine tonkotsu broth that has become the restaurant’s signature.
Founded by Tak Tokumine, a Fukuoka city native who might bleed bone broth if you cut him open with a Nakiri knife (weird image), the aim when opening Shoryu was simple; to bring the unique flavour of Fukuoka’s Hakata tonkutsu ramen, hard to find outside of Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, to London and beyond.
A noble aim indeed and one that has been embraced by ramen-loving Londoners. At the glass-fronted Shoreditch branch, a brisk 10 minute walk from the station, in a rather functional space, the usual lofty standards remain; the char siu barbecue pork is as tender as ever, the 12-hour broth is so enriched with pork fat it’s become opaque, and the dappling of chilli oil across its surface brings a curious sort of respite.
It’s bloody fantastic, though perhaps not one for your lunch break; your white shirt is sure to get splattered and your energy levels may well be tanked. Best save this glorious bowl for after work, we think.
Idealfor regional Thai dishes and fruity cocktails that still both pack a punch…
The boozy and brilliant Som Saa has been such a foodie fixture since its Shoreditch opening back in the heady days of 2016 that it’s easy to forget how groundbreaking the restaurant felt at the time.
A wildly successful pop-up that became a crowd-funded bricks and mortar restaurant, Som Saa’s introduction to the world was one of regional Thai food that wasn’t only liberal with the chilli, but also didn’t hold back on the cuisine’s funkier elements. Shrimp paste, fermented fish sauce and entrails, fresh durian and more all made an appearance on the big sharing tables that defined Som Saa’s convivial, cacophonous vibe.
Som Saa is now celebrating a decade in Shoreditch, and the whole of London suddenly feels conversant in the difference between Isaan’s pla raa and Sai Buru’s nahm bu du, with the city’s capsaicin tolerance at an all time high, and some of Som Saa’s more unfamiliar dishes now very much part of the fabric of food culture here.
Much recent focus has been placed on Som Saa founders Andy Oliver and Mark Dobbie’s new Southern Thai joint Kolae over in Borough Market, but back at the mothership on Commercial Street, the whole deep-fried seabass is still as crisp and herbal as ever, the rotating cast of som tam still pounded to order each and every time, and the coconut cream for the restaurant’s excellent curries is still getting freshly pressed daily.
It’s a labour of love that bears delicious fruit in a current red curry of crispy tofu and Thai basil, a thick, fresh and fragrant affair that undulates gently with the smoky background note of a complex dried red chilli paste. Equally good is the menu stalwart of stir-fried to order seasonal greens, with black cabbage, asparagus and mushrooms boasting huge amounts of wok hei.
This is a place where you’ll want to come for a full sharing spread. Indeed, each dish’s interplay with its neighbour feels just as important as its flavour profile when standing alone. Som Saa’s ‘tem toh’ menu is designed with this interaction and balance in mind; a spread of 5 or 6 complementary dishes, plus rice and dessert, is priced for £40 per person.
A couple of the restaurant’s signature cocktails (mine’s the Siam Sling – a long, floral number flavoured with Thai basil and makrut lime – if you’re asking) sees that sharing menu on its way beautifully.
This April, Som Saa marks a decade in Spitalfields with a week-long nod to its Climpson’s Arch residency (20th to 26th April), reviving dishes from those early days and offering the signature deep-fried seabass at its original 2015 price of £14. A fitting way to toast ten years of pushing London’s Thai food conversation forward.
Arguably South London’s most famous neighbourhood – and one which gave us Giggs, Only Fools & Horses, Isla Bevan, Rio Ferdinand, John Boyega and so many more – on any given day Peckham’s streets are a hive of activity; a cornucopia of cultures and cuisines, as African-Caribbean grills and bakeries mix with minimalist coffee houses and ‘Modern European’ bistros to give the high street an unmistakably eclectic vibe.
It’s a vibe that’s been seeing seismic change recently, for better or for worse. Amidst this backdrop of change, Peckham’s restaurant scene has burgeoned, offering a diverse array of dining options that cater to both new and old residents, with the area’s more established food purveyors adapting to shifting times with admirable nimbleness.
For many, the culinary landscape of Peckham thrives when managing to reflect the area’s multicultural heritage and evolving identity. Join us as we explore the restaurants, both new and old, that make Peckham’s dining scene truly one-of-a-kind. Here are the best restaurants in Peckham.
Levan
Just a minute’s walk from Peckham Rye Station, Levan, a contemporary European bistro, takes its name from the legendary DJ Larry Levan, and pays homage to the spirit of inclusivity and creativity that he embodied.
Chef Rani Raimondi, formerly of Planque and the Clove Club, leads the kitchen team in crafting seasonal sharing plates that showcase the best of modern European cooking, inspired by Paris’ ‘bistronomy’ movement, which aims to fuse fine dining with a more casual atmosphere and eclectic wine lists.
Start with the now iconic Comté fries with saffron aioli; a decadent twist on the classic French chip blanketed under whispers of delicate grated cheese, showcasing Limpl’s ability to elevate humble ingredients to new heights. Follow that with a couple of sharing plates; the bavette steak (cooked blushing) with heritage tomatoes and scotch bonnet that’s currently on the weekly changing Chef’s Menu is a knockout. And anytime there’s pork chop on that menu – arriving a pleasing pink – don’t miss out on it!
That said, it’s the restaurant’s fantastic wine list that takes centre stage, with a firm focus falling on low-intervention, bio-dynamic wines from small producers across Europe, reflecting the restaurant’s commitment to sustainability and quality.
Accordingly, one of the most notable achievements for Levan has been winning the Special Jury Prize in The Buyer’s 2022 Star Wine List of the Year UK. This prestigious award highlights the restaurant’s dedication to championing wines from the Jura region in France (the owners here nearly called the restaurant ‘Jura’ in its honour), an area often underrepresented and challenging to source.
Levan’s wine list features an impressive range of producers and styles from this region, showcasing a refreshing, unique, and distinctive personality that sets it apart from other neighbourhood restaurants in Peckham.
Address: 12-16 Blenheim Grove, London SE15 4QL, UK
If you’re stepping off the train seeking the sweet, spicy smell of jerk chicken on the grill, then don’t look for smoke signals as soon as you alight. Instead, head north out of Peckham Rye Station and up Rye Lane, making for JB’s Soulfood, arguably the best known jerk in the area (except, perhaps, Gregg Wallace).
Serving the good folk of Peckham High Street since 2014, Bill and Jennifer, the much-loved dynamic duo behind the South London institution, have transformed a compact unit into a bustling hub of authentic Caribbean cuisine and community. Bill, a former welder, convinced Jennifer to bring her culinary skills to the forefront, and together they created a soul food haven.
Though you can squeeze in around one of the restaurant’s clutch of sparsely appointed wooden tables, owing to its size JB’s is better suited to takeaway, and that’s fine by us; there’s nothing better than pitching up on the pavement outside and getting acquainted with the signature drum-smoked jerk chicken, which is also one of the area’s best value meals, clocking in at under a fiver when served over rice. A plastic cup of JB’s Guinness punch will send you merrily on your way…
… But not before you pick up a side of silky macaroni cheese and, because you’re here, you’re hungry and it’s delicious, some heavily, headily-spiced curry goat.
Lunchtime deals and student specials run every lunchtime from Monday to Friday.
Address: 27A Peckham High St, London SE15 5EB, United Kingdom
Right next to Peckham Rye station at 11a Station Way (in the former Coal Rooms space), Hausu brings together food and music in a way that captures the creative energy of SE15.
Founded by siblings Tom and Holly Joseph, alongside their mate Chris, Hausu takes its name from a trippy Japanese horror film from the ’70s. Fortunately, it’s not all shocking psychedelic shades and murderous household appliances. Instead, the space offers a relaxed, mid-century feel with green banquettes, herringbone floors, and warm lighting that gives the panelled walls a soft glow. Set and setting, indeed…
Holly Joseph, who previously worked at The Camberwell Arms and The Waterman Arms (both on our rundown of London’s best gastropubs, incidentally), runs the kitchen here. Her menu is a globetrotting affair, with dishes like scallop and prawn toast – a dish with truly gorgeous mouthfeel, coming covered in black sesame seeds and served with a quite spicy dipping sauce. To truly get a measure of the place, don’t miss the humble, restorative ‘Dad’s Broth’ (£4.50) either, a chicken soup packed with herbaceous flavours that offers a glimpse into the Joseph family’s food heritage. Interestingly, Joseph’s cooking has been recognised beyond Peckham, too; she was named one of the National Restaurant Awards’ Rising Stars for 2026
For something on decidedly the other side of the substantial scale, try the sirloin steak (£47 for 450g). It comes with a beef sauce and a pert condiment made from confit lemon zest, salted red chillies, and crispy garlic. Be warned – these steaks are big boys, served on the bone, and can take a while to hit the table. Best order an extra starter while you wait.
Music is central to Hausu’s identity. Chris selects tracks that play through a vintage sound system, creating a soundtrack that envelopes but doesn’t overwhelm the dining experience. On Fridays, local DJs take over, and the team believes strongly that music and food together create something special.
A place this vibey needs carefully made drinks, and the Gibson Martini (£11) is a knockout (quite literally after three or four), combining Absolut Vodka, Dolin Blanc, and juice from Hausu’s house pickles.
Open Tuesday to Friday from 6pm and Saturdays from noon (closed Sunday and Monday), Hausu works for both quick drinks and proper meals. Its location practically inside the station makes it perfect for a pre-train cocktail or a night out in Peckham.
Christ we loved Larry’s, the New York-inspired bistro that used to sling the finest meatball subs known to man from this spot, the same one that Bar Levan now occupies.
So, like a stepkid who needed convincing about their mum’s new partner, we went into Bar Levan more than a little apprehensive, having already decided we missed Larry’s chilled out vibes and latke too much to welcome its replacement into our lives.
We were wrong. Opened in the Autumn of 2023 by Mark Gurney and Matt Bushnell as a replacement for Larry’s, the minds behind neighbouring Levan from a few paragraphs earlier have brought another slice of Parisian chic to Peckham with Bar Levan. Inspired by the vibrant natural wine bars of Paris, such as Septime La Cave and Aux Deux Amis, Bar Levan offers an intimate vibe seemingly at odds with the bustle of the Blenheim Grove thoroughfare beyond its doors.
Just a stone’s throw from Peckham Rye Overground, Bar Levan is a 42-cover space that features high-top table, as well as street-level seating for those warmer days. The bar’s vintage sound system and rare vinyl collection, curated by owner Mark Gurney (something of the nominative determinism here, being a house DJ?), provide a dulcet backdrop to your dining and drinking experience. Every Friday, local DJs spin tunes, and once a month, the bar hosts the cult music and wine tasting event, Strictly Bangers.
Bar Levan’s wine list, curated by Gurney, is a treasure trove for natural wine enthusiasts. The ever-evolving selection features an extensive range of natural wines from across Europe, including lesser-known regions like Slovakia, The Czech Republic, and Hungary, alongside more familiar territories such as Austria, Italy, and France. Wines are available by the glass, carafe, or bottle, with unique ‘one-offs’ making regular appearances. Lovely, inclusive stuff.
The menu features playful sharing plates rooted in informal European bistro classics, blending retro and refined cooking styles. Start with small bites like miso devilled egg with nori and togarashi, or a more prosaic but no less delicious Ortiz anchovies in olive oil. Pair both with an even more straightforward baguette and butter, the latter properly salty and all the better for it.
Move on to Bar Levan’s excellent Croque Monsieur with pickles, a stacked, indulgent affair that continues Larry’s legacy of doing truly killer sandwiches. Even better are ‘mussels on crisps’, which are just that. Need we say more?
Bar Levan is open from Tuesday to Friday, 5pm to 12am, and on Saturdays from 3pm to 12am. The bar takes reservations but also welcomes walk-ins.
A joyful weekend spent eating through Eater London’s recommendations on where to eat in Peckham (for pleasure, not business) ended in the conclusion that the beef suya at Tiwa ’n’ Tiwa is one of the most moreish plates of food in all of the city. It’s also one of the spiciest.
As Jonathan Nunn (editor of the superb food newsletter Vittles) writes, the easiest way to find Tiwa ‘n’ Tiwa is to head to the huge, glass fronted Burger King on Peckham High Street, turn around, and ‘’look for the smoke’’.
Follow your nose, and you’ll find barbecued beef suya that’s been rolled in the effervescent Nigerian suya spice blend yaji, usually made from several different strains of dried chilli alongside onion, garlic and ginger powders, white and black pepper and several other heady ground spices.
The chilli-hit here is of the rasping variety, teasing and taunting the back of the palate rather than the tip of the tongue, as fresh chilli seems to. Its analeptic quality invigorates, and despite the hot fluster it puts us in, it’s impossible not to order another plate.
Address: 34A Peckham High St, London SE15 5DP, United Kingdom
Artusi
Artusi, named after the famous Italian gastronome Pellegrino Artusi, is the Italian neighbourhood restaurant every borough dreams of; it’s no frills in every sense of the word, and all the better for it.
A chalkboard menu details the ever-changing offerings of the day; always expect two or three freshly made pasta dishes (on one of our many, many visits a wild garlic spaghetti with a ricotta salata was bloody lovely), a strong vegetable showing and a couple of meat and fish dishes. The cod, pancetta and braised coco beans currently on the menu is a salty delight.
Though simplicity and respect for ingredients lies at the heart of the operation, everything is executed with confidence and care – what we would expect from a former Clove Club chef, Jack Beer.
Whisper it, but the Sunday set menu deal, from 12pm to 4pm, is probably the best of its kind in the city – you can enjoy 3 courses for just 29 quid. Yes, 29. For more of a blowout, the £40 per person sharing menu for eight or more people, housed in the airy lower floor right next to the kitchen, is another great deal.
Images via Artusi’s Instagram
The restaurant boasts an all-Italian wine list, with a focus on small producers and natural wines, as is the way in a modern London neighbourhood restaurant. The 2020 Ciello Baglio Antico Catarratto – an orange wine bursting with vivacity and freshness – is a steal at £8 a glass.
Whilst Artusi isn’t quite so close to Peckham Rye Station as the other entries on our list, sitting a ten minute walk away on Bellenden Road, it’s certainly worth stretching your legs for.
Inside the recently renovated Rye Lane Indoor Market at 48 Rye Lane sits Guacamoles. Hmm, perhaps sits isn’t quite the right phrase – it stands proud. Look for orange dahlias painted on white beams, Mexican flags, and a sombrero perched on top of a small blackboard menu and you’ll know you’ve arrived.
This colourful taco spot is run by Manolo de la Torre – known as ‘Taco Manny’ to some – and his wife Gabriella. What started as a pop-up in late 2023 has quickly become a beloved fixture in Peckham, serving really damn good tacos at surprisingly reasonable prices.
Manny’s background adds depth to his cooking. Originally from Veracruz on Mexico’s east coast, he comes from a family of food vendors – his grandfather built a business selling burritos to factory workers. After coming to the UK and noticing the lack of affordable Mexican options, Manny decided to fill that gap. “This is fast food; it shouldn’t be expensive,” he says. “With one kilogram of masa, I can make 90 tortillas”, he told FT Globetrotter.
Mission statement dispensed with, unsurprisingly the menu centres on corn tortillas made fresh daily by hand. The birria tacos feature slow-cooked beef with a complex spice blend that gives them remarkable depth. Even more impressive is the lengua (beef tongue) taco, where the meat becomes wonderfully tender after slow-braising.
The al pastor uses pork belly that’s been braised and fried rather than the traditional spit-roasting method. The mix of achiote, orange, and vinegar creates a flavor that’s complex and satisfying. Every order includes freshly made guacamole and three different salsas, plus lime wedges.
Save room for Manny’s tres leches cake – a light sponge soaked in evaporated milk following a family recipe passed down through generations. It’s delicate yet indulgent. The Jamaica Aguas Frescas (hibiscus tea) makes a perfect accompaniment – sweet and refreshing with a pleasant tartness.
While you can take your food to go, it’s worth eating in the market’s food court. The area directly in front of Guacamoles has colorful papel picado decorations and a lively atmosphere that enhances the experience.
Budget-conscious visitors should come on Tuesdays when tacos are just £3 each. As for Manny’s claim that these are “the best tacos in London” – well, they’re certainly contenders.
M. Manze, a renowned pie and mash shop, has been serving Londoners with its delicious traditional British meals since 1902. The history of this iconic establishment is deeply rooted in the culinary culture of London, particularly in the eastern docklands area where it first gained popularity during the Victorian era. Pie and mash, originally a working-class food, was designed to be easily transportable and protected from the dirt and grime of historic London by its pastry crust.
The legacy of M. Manze began with Michele Manze, an Italian immigrant who opened his first pie and mash shop on Southwark’s Union Street in 1844. His business was inspired by the travelling piemen who sold their pies throughout London. Over the years, the Manze family expanded their business, opening several shops across the city. Today, the fourth generation of the Manze family, Emma Harrington, her father Rick Poole, and her husband Tom Harrington, continue to run the family-owned business.
Image via Manzes Facebook
Located at 105 Peckham High Street just a 5 minute walk north of the station, M. Manze’s Peckham shop is the second oldest surviving branch after the Tower Bridge shop. It first opened its doors in 1927 and has since become a beloved institution in the community. However, the shop faced a significant challenge in 1985 when it was burnt down during the riots in the area.
A long legal battle ensued, and unfortunately, Lionel Manze, Michele’s son who took over the business after his father’s death in 1932, did not live long enough to see the outcome. Despite these hardships, M. Manze persevered and continues to thrive in Peckham.
The signature dish of M. Manze is, of course, their famous pie and mash. The pie consists of a minced-beef filling, which historically contained leftover scraps of meat and vegetables, baked in a pastry crust. It is served with mashed potatoes and a thin green parsley sauce called liquor, which, despite its name, contains no alcohol. This hearty meal has been a staple of London’s culinary scene for generations and remains a favourite among locals and visitors alike.
M. Manze is not only known for its delicious pie and mash but also for its warm and welcoming atmosphere. The staff at the Peckham shop are friendly and greet customers with a smile, making it a go-to place for those seeking a taste of traditional London grub. In addition to their signature dish, M. Manze also offers other handcrafted traditional English dishes, such as stewed eels, which are available for delivery throughout the UK.
Ganapati is a South Indian gem tucked away just off Bellenden Road, offering a taste of Kerala cuisine as imagined by head chef and owner Claire Fisher, who has spent years perfecting her recipes, resulting in dishes that transport diners straight to the sun-soaked shores of Southern India.
Open since 2004, long before Peckham shapeshifted into its current form, the restaurant’s inception can be traced back to Claire Fisher’s life-changing trip to India in 1992. Enamoured by the rich flavours and vibrant culture, Claire embarked on a journey to master the art of South Indian cooking, which eventually led her to Holly Grove, and Ganapati.
The Thali here, a traditional Indian platter with a selection of curry, rice, raita, mung bean salad, pickles and poppadoms, offers a true taste of Kerala’s diverse culinary landscape, and is just fantastic. It’s a bargain, too, at £12.50 for the full spread, and is one of the best budget lunches in the immediate area. Come get it while it’s hot!
Address: 38 Holly Grove, London SE15 5DF, United Kingdom
National newspaper recognition has not dented the idiosyncrasies of this great ‘pan-Balkan’ Peckham institution, where head chef and owner John Gionleka, originally from Albania, brings his wealth of experience and passion for regional cuisine to create dishes that are both comforting and innovative..
With its celebration of the South Eastern Mediterranean, it’s no surprise that fish is done superbly here, with a grilled octopus, white taramasalata (none of that neon-pink stuff here), and caper dressing a standout dish on our last visit, showcasing the chef’s skill in combining bold flavours and textures. It’s intriguing, exciting and both familiar and thrilling, which is pretty much all you want from a meal out.
The wine list here is a celebration of sometimes lesser-known grape varieties from the Balkans and Eastern Europe, and features unique and diverse options, ranging from the Simcic Opoka Ribolla, an orange wine from Slovenia, to Greek reds and other regional favourites. Spirit enthusiasts can indulge in a Peckham Negroni with Otto’s vermouth from Athens, which is excellent. Throw in a glass or two, and you’ve got yourself one of the best meals in Peckham.
Address: 119 Consort Rd, London SE15 3RU, United Kingdom
Located on Peckham’s premier foodie strip Bellenden Road, the Begging Bowl uses Thai street food to form gorgeous small plates of zest and fire. The building is beautiful and airy, adding to the buzz this place generates even on a weeknight.
Chef-owner Jane Alty has trained in some of the best kitchens in London. Originally from New Zealand, Jane has lived in London for two decades, working alongside the city’s best chefs in top-name restaurants such as Bibendum, Galvin at Windows, Racine and, most influentially, the Michelin-starred Bangkok restaurant Nahm.
On the menu, dishes boast real clarity and punch, with excellent sourcing evident in the precision of flavour. Don’t miss out on deep fried whole sea bass, served under a tangle of shredded green mango and doused in a perky tamarind dressing. The jasmine rice, so fragrant and nourishing, is limitless. A real treat, and one of London’s best Thai restaurants, for sure.
Address: 168 Bellenden Rd, London SE15 4BW, United Kingdom
Mr. Bao has been delighting South Londoners with its famous fluffy buns and other Taiwanese staples since 2016.
Frank Yeung, the owner of Mr. Bao, is no stranger to Peckham’s restaurant scene, as he co-owns Miss Tapas on Choumert Road and has previously run a small chain of Mexican restaurants called Poncho 8 with his friend Nick Birkett, who is co-owner here. The duo fell in love with baos during their trips to New York and Asia, which inspired them to bring these instagrammable bites back to Peckham. We’re so glad they did.
The star of the show at Mr. Bao is undoubtedly one of its signature dishes, the Bao Diddley, a fried chicken bao given a real kick of flavour by kimchi and wasabi mayo. The tapioca flour used here is the masterstroke, making their chicken extra crispy, the fermented bean curd nestled within the buns packing an umami punch. It’s pretty much the definition of ‘crowd-pleaser’. For the vegetarians in the gang, the teriyaki shiitake mushroom bao is just as satisfying.
If you have a penchant for dessert, then their squidgy, sweet, salty and savoury miso cookie sandwich will make you smile – think two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies sandwiched together with miso caramel and marshmallow fluff. We’re grinning just thinking about it.
The restaurant also boasts an enjoyable selection of drinks, including their house Daddy Bao Yuzu Pale Ale, Mr. Bao Plum Wine Negroni, and a keen roll call of sake. Aahhhh.
And with that, we’re in need of a well-earned lie down…
Address: 293-295 Rye Ln, London SE15 4UA, United Kingdom
Life can be full of surprises — just ask anyone who moved here expecting a sleepy seaside town with nothing but fish and chips and tea rooms. “But that’s not part of the deal”, they said. In 2026, it is very much the real Deal…
…Hmmm, that introduction was pretty laboured but let’s not dwell on things; we’ve got food to eat and ‘the art of the Deal’ jokes to cook up.
This stretch of Kent coastline, the so-called White Cliffs Country where the North Sea meets the English Channel in a daily dance of tides and light, has become something remarkable. Deal, once content with its role in maritime history as a crucial naval port and smugglers’ haven (where the Boatmen’s rooms in seafront houses hint at a shadier past), is now the kind of place that first has food lovers cancelling their return tickets and checking when the last train home is. And then, firing up Rightmove on that 22:30 to London St Pancras International to check house prices.
From contemporary Japanese small plates to ingredient-led farmhouse cooking, via some of the freshest seafood you’ll find anywhere in the UK, here’s our pick of where to eat in Deal right now: the best restaurants in Deal.
The Blue Pelican, Beach Street
Ideal for elegant Japanese-inspired small plates in a serene setting…
If there’s a more intriguing dining spot on the Kent coast right now, we haven’t found it. Housed in a handsome seafront townhouse, The Blue Pelican is the acclaimed venture from Chris Hicks and Alex Bagner (the duo behind The Rose – more of that later), and it’s turning heads with its considered approach to Japanese cuisine – enough to earn glowing reviews from both Grace Dent in the Guardian, Hannah Evans in the Times, and William Sitwell in the Telegraph, plus a spot in SquareMeal’s Top 100 UK Restaurants for 2026.
The poised dining room sets the tone perfectly – all clean lines and calming cerulean hues, with a striking triptych of Hokusai-inspired wave murals adding drama and a sense of place (painted by local artist Tom Maryniak, those waves are actually crashing over Deal seafront) to proceedings.
Paper globe lanterns cast a gentle glow over the checkerboard floor, while candlelit marble tables and mid-century chairs nurture intimate spots for lingering over dinner. Grab a seat at the open counter, where chef Luke Green (formerly of Quo Vadis and with five years’ experience in Tokyo) works with quiet precision, sending out plates that marry Kent produce with Japanese technique. It calls to mind London’s supremely composed spot Evernight, which is certainly no bad thing.
The regularly changing a la carte menu is a masterclass in subtlety and punch. Begin with the must-order crab croquettes, which feel extravagant at two for £12 until you taste the damn things – laden with the low thrum of brown crab meat and topped with piquant kewpie mayo and flecks of seaweed. The raw hamachi with fermented turnip tops and green mandarin is a delicate balance, while the chicken karaage arrives with padron peppers and shichimi mayo – a generous portion that you’ll be glad you ordered once the first bite lands.
A pile of puffed, crisp pork crackling with whipped cod’s roe and more flecks of nori seaweed has us beginning to question the Japanese part of the deal here – but they pair so beautifully with a crisp Kirin Ichiban so it’s all soon forgotten.
From the grill, the aged Dexter sirloin with trompettes and lardo is a rich, deeply savoury plate, and the halibut with salsify and bergamot showcases Green’s ability to let fine ingredients do the talking. The sharing plates reward groups willing to dive in together – the pork katsu with castel franco and sesame dressing, coming in at £38, is perfect for two or three, while the monkfish with clams, cedro and tagete is the kind of dish that has the table falling silent. For vegetarians, the Jerusalem artichoke misozuke and chestnut clay baked donabe is a serious, satisfying centrepiece rather than an afterthought.
It’s all incredibly satisfying, well thought out food, and the drinks list is equally thoughtful, roaming from Peckham-brewed sake to inventive cocktails like the umeshu negroni and miso old fashioned. Champagne Piollot ‘Brut Reserve’ is available by the glass at £13, and the English-leaning wine selection shows similar imagination.
On Thursdays and Sundays, Green swaps the a la carte for a dedicated ramen menu that draws directly on his years in Tokyo. Three bowls anchor the lineup: a walnut miso ramen that arrives with kalette tempura in a wild mushroom and hojicha broth – earthy and warming in equal measure; a chashu ramen built around rare breed pork belly, palourde clams and nori in a rich chicken and katsuobushi broth; and the Dexter sirloin tan tan, a bolder proposition with shiitake, daikon oroshi, fermented chilli and a sesame broth that has real depth to it. All clock in at around £20.
Sides are pared back on these ramen days – a single crab croquette for £5, chicken karaage with shichimi mayo for £6, and a cucumber and seaweed salad or pickles and ferments at £4 each. It’s a smaller, more focused menu, and all the better for it.
A recent addition worth noting is the Cellar Bar, open on Fridays and Saturdays from 6pm, serving drinks and small plates in an intimate downstairs setting – no booking required, just head down and pull up a pew. Upstairs, the private dining room seats up to 10 guests and catches the evening sun beautifully, with views over Deal’s conservation area.
Open Wednesday-Saturday for dinner (6-9pm), plus lunch service Thursday-Saturday (12-2:30pm). Closed Sunday to Tuesday.
Ideal for ingredient-led cooking in idyllic surrounds…
Just a 15-minute drive inland from Deal’s seafront, Updown Farmhouse is worth seeking out for some of the most exciting cooking in Kent right now – a view shared by the National Restaurant Awards top 100 and, more recently, SquareMeal, who named it the best restaurant in Kent for 2026. This gorgeously restored 17th-century red brick farmhouse, with its stone steps leading through a lovingly tended garden, looks like something straight out of a Jane Austen novel.
The dining room itself is pure romance – a vine-draped heated conservatory where vintage rattan pendants cast a gentle glow over crisp white tablecloths. Through the glass walls, seven acres of grounds stretch into the distance, while inside, the original farmhouse bread oven and wood-fired grill add both drama and delicious smoky notes to proceedings. This all feels a world away from the coastal cuisine you perhaps came here expecting, but sometimes you just need an escape from your initial intended brand of escapism, don’t you think?
Owners Ruth Leigh (yep, daughter of Rowley) and chef Oli Brown have created something truly special here, with hyper-seasonal menus that change regularly to reflect what’s best from both local and European producers. Everything is cooked over wood in the open kitchen, lending even the simplest dishes a depth that electric ovens simply can’t replicate.
A typical evening might begin with a delicate castelfranco salad with apples, walnuts and dolcelatte, before moving onto a sublime crab tagliatelle with saffron and chilli, pitched at £18 and worth every penny and strand. The pate en croute – a generous slice of Mangalitsa pork and duck liver wrapped in golden pastry with PX jelly – is as technically satisfying a piece of pastry work as you’ll find in the whole county.
For mains, the acqua pazza swimming with cod, mussels, courgette and tomato showcases Brown’s deft hand with seafood, while the lamb chump with broad beans, artichokes and bagna cauda is both satisfying and light.
Groups should consider the sharing rib of beef with ceps, garlic and parsley, served with gratin dauphinois – it’s a splurge, but feeds 3-4 generously. Whichever way you play it, end with a textbook rum baba that is as boozy and bracing as anything we’ve tried this side of Naples. And we’ve tried a lot of them.
The wine list leans heavily Italian with some excellent French and local bottles in the mix – start with a glass of Kent’s own Pelegrim Brut (£85) while you peruse the menu. The cocktail list draws on the Italian aperitivo tradition, with drinks like the fig leaf negroni (£14) making excellent use of produce from the kitchen garden.
For arguably the best value dining in Kent, visit on a weekday. Monday to Friday lunches and Monday, Tuesday and Thursday dinners offer a set menu at £18 for two courses or £25 for three – a steal for cooking of this calibre. Wednesday is steak night (£30 for three courses), and Sundays bring a £50 set roast menu. For overnight guests, breakfast is a treat – the full breakfast at £18 hits all the right notes, while the wild mushroom omelette (£15) offers something more unusual to start your day.
The restaurant is now open Monday to Saturday for both lunch (12-3pm) and dinner (6-9.30pm), with Sunday lunch served 12-4pm. Book well ahead for one of their beautifully appointed bedrooms if you want to make a night of it – and trust us, after a few glasses of their carefully chosen Italian reds, you probably will. They’ve also recently added a pool and a separate bar, Bar Vita, if you needed further persuasion to extend your stay.
Ideal for laid-back but precise modern British cooking…
Nowhere embodies Deal’s renaissance quite like The Rose. This 200-year-old pub on the High Street has been transformed into part of what The Times dubbed ‘the coolest spot on the Kent coast’, and it’s easy to see why. The dining room, with its original 1950s wood panelling, sets the scene for cooking that celebrates seasonal Kentish produce with precision and flair. We see a theme developing here…
Start with a plate of their exemplary snacks – the short rib croquettes at £7 are a must, while Maldon oysters with bramley apple mignonette make a beautifully bracing, briny opener. The starters proper showcase both technique and seasonality – salt-baked celeriac arrives with cider butter and a study in wild mushrooms both grilled and raw, while the pumpkin porridge over toasted barley is given verve via blue cheese.
The Rose leans hard into whatever the season throws at it, and you might as well hunker down and let them. Main courses find a fine balance between comfort and refinement. Their halibut, poached in brown butter and served with sea herbs is a masterclass in classical cooking done right. At £28, you’d hope so, too. The braised short rib of beef with bearnaise glaze and savoy cabbage offers deeper, richer pleasures at £26. Even their burger (£17, served with salty, skinny fries) has a fierce local following for good reason.
Save room for dessert – Nuno’s olive oil cake is a legacy of the restaurant’s collaboration with acclaimed Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes, who helped write the opening menu here, and remains one of the menu’s highlights. The blackberry and custard mille feuille shows similar finesse.
They do a great set lunch menu, too. On a recent visit we had a pot-roasted purple broccoli with pickled apple and fresh cheese (Sportsman-inspired, we’re sure of it), pan-fried skate wing with dill butter sauce and cavolo nero, and to end, a vanilla milk panna cotta with greengage compote, all for just £24. Fabulous stuff indeed, and we’re already planning a return visit.
The kitchen works closely with an impressive roster of local suppliers including The Black Pig butchers, Jenkins & Son fishmongers (also featured on this list) and Docker’s bakery, lending real provenance to every plate. And if you find yourself too comfortable to contemplate the journey home, their eight individually designed bedrooms upstairs (from £125 per night, breakfast included) offer the perfect excuse to extend your stay.
Open daily, with lunch served Tuesday to Saturday (12-2.30pm), dinner nightly (6-9pm), and a generous Sunday service running from midday to 4pm. The bar stays open until 10pm for those wanting to linger over their excellent wine list.
Given its reputation as Deal’s hottest table, booking ahead is strongly advised, particularly for weekend dinner service.
The walk to the end of Deal’s striking brutalist pier is worth it for the food alone at Deal Pier Kitchen. That said, those floor-to-ceiling windows offering 180-degree views of Deal’s coastline (can you ever have 360 views of the sea? Only if you’re in it) certainly don’t hurt.
Housed in an attractive glass and timber building, this versatile venue has mastered the art of seamlessly transitioning from laid-back brunch spot to evening destination dining. By day, it’s all about their legendary bottomless brunch (£38, available seven days a week), which includes unlimited Aperol Spritz, prosecco, Bellinis or Bloody Marys alongside a snack, any dish from their creative brunch menu, and dessert.
Their eggs royale – featuring soft poached eggs with citrus-cured salmon and dill on toasted muffins – is a standout, while the Thai red curry mussels with sourdough is a little confusing, sure, but it’ll satisfy those looking for a point of difference in their brekky. There’s even a non-alcoholic version of the brunch at £28 for those keeping clear-headed. But really, what sick fuck drinks unlimited soft drinks like some kind of maniac? If it means another hour admiring this view, we might even be persuaded…
Come Friday and Saturday evenings, the restaurant evolves into something altogether more sophisticated. Their steak and lobster nights (6.30pm onwards, booking only) have become something of a local draw, with sharing plates like The Banquet offering premium steaks and whole lobster alongside garlic prawns and a textbook bearnaise. For solo diners, the Surf and Turf combining lobster tail and 8oz sirloin offers the best of both worlds. The wine list is particularly strong on sparkling wines – ask about the Kent options for a taste of the county’s burgeoning wine scene.
Named by The Times as one of Britain’s top 30 beach cafes and restaurants, Deal Pier Kitchen covers a lot of ground – from casual coffee spot to serious dining destination. Dogs are welcome during daytime service, making it perfect for post-walk refuelling.
Open Monday to Thursday 10am-4pm, Friday and Saturday 9am-late (with evening steak and lobster service), and Sunday 9am-5pm. Booking is essential for steak and lobster nights, though daytime visits operate on a walk-in basis. They release evening dates monthly, so sign up to their mailing list to avoid disappointment. Keep an eye on their social media for seasonal changes to opening hours.
When fourth-generation fishmonger Darren Jenkins recently added casual dining to his family’s legendary fish shop (a Deal institution since the 1940s when his great-grandfather Charlie started the business with just a horse and cart), he didn’t just create a fantastic place to buy day-boat caught fish – he launched one of Deal’s most intriguing lunch spots.
The shop itself, in 2022 named one of Britain’s top 10 fishmongers in the Great British Food Awards, now occupies much larger premises at 77-81 High Street – the former JC Rook & Sons site – with one half given over to the traditional fishmonger and poulterer, and the other to a street food bar and grill with seating for 24. Head chef Peter Keyes works with whatever has been landed that morning, treated with reverence and a light touch.
The kitchen sends out a regularly changing selection that reads like a greatest hits of seaside eating – think pristine oysters freshly shucked to order, generously filled lobster baguettes, and Mediterranean fish koftas that would give any Greek taverna a run for its money. Their blackened salmon salad shows similar finesse, while the fish tacos pay lip service to that ‘street food’ billing. King prawn skewers with garlic and herb oil and monkfish tacos with avocado cream and chipotle are particular standouts.
For the full experience, order one of their laden seafood platters, perfect with a chilled bottle of fizz, or grab a classic Kent crab sandwich to take down to the beach – it’s just a two-minute stroll away. The commitment to sustainability shown in the retail side of the business (they exclusively work with day boats rather than destructive trawlers) carries through to the kitchen, meaning you can enjoy your lunch with a clean conscience and an even cleaner flavour.
Still, first and foremost, Deal’s only wet fish shop is still very much that – supplying both the public and many of Kent’s best restaurants – but this addition of casual dining makes the most of their impeccable supply chain, minimising food waste in the process. There are ambitious plans for a rooftop restaurant in future, too. What’s not to love?
The street food menu is served here from Tuesday to Saturday, 11am-2.30pm, no bookings required. Just turn up hungry and put yourself in the hands of a family that’s been handling Deal’s seafood for four generations.
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, and Hut 55 – a coffee and cake shack nestled directly on the pebbles at Walmer beach – proves the point perfectly. A short stroll from Deal town centre along the seafront brings you to this charming spot where homemade treats are served against a backdrop of endless sea views (and on a clear day, you can spot France).
The daily-changing counter groans with the kind of bakes that make you glad you walked here – think thick, fat quiches, courgette and ricotta galettes that put most restaurants’ vegetarian offerings to shame, and Ploughman’s picnic pies that demand to be eaten al fresco. The fresh cream Victoria sponge is a winner, too, and their cookies make the perfect accompaniment to a cup of their excellent coffee.
Everything comes packed in compostable containers, ready to be enjoyed on their deckchairs and outdoor benches, or taken for a wandering lunch along the beach. Their location opposite the paddling pool makes this an especially good pit-stop for families, though the quality of the baking draws everyone from solo walkers to returning locals.
In winter, their cosy nook is open for warm indoor seating – a welcome addition when the wind picks up off the Channel. Come spring, they also offer bike hire and pre-ordered picnic hampers, perfect for exploring the Kent coastline with a fine feed when you need a break.
The beach location is idyllic, but it does leave them at the mercy of the elements – check their social media during inclement weather before making the journey, as they’ll always post if they’ve had to close. Open seven days a week, 9am-3pm, weather dependent. Free parking is available along Marine Road, or it’s a pleasant 10-minute walk from Deal town centre.
Sometimes the best dining experiences feel more like being at a friend’s dinner party than a restaurant, and that’s exactly what husband-and-wife team Scott and Suzanne Roberts have created at The Dining Club. Hidden away on Middle Street, this unique venue – now in its fifteenth year – offers something genuinely different from Deal’s other dining options.
The format is refreshingly simple (or, to some including us, a tad confusing) – pay £20 for annual membership (per household), then book into one of their five individually styled dining rooms, where Scott (who previously earned 2 AA Rosettes for six consecutive years at his Cornish hotel) creates weekly-changing menus that roam the globe for inspiration. Bring your own bottle (there’s a modest £2.50 corkage charge per person) and settle in for what feels more like a private dinner party than a regular restaurant service. In the best possible way, we should add…
The Dining Club’s cooking is seriously accomplished, in a homely kind of way, which is quite a nice balance, quite frankly. Recent menus have ranged from a seafood feast featuring tuna sushi with wasabi mayonnaise, spider crab soup and monkfish scampi, to a Mexican night with five courses at £37 per head. Sunday lunches are a particular highlight – a recent game-centred menu delivered peppered venison carpaccio, warming cauliflower and hazelnut soup, perfectly pink grouse with dauphinoise potatoes, and a toffee and banana souffle to finish. For cooking of this pared back confidence, it’s remarkable value.
Keeping things refreshing, menus might take inspiration from classical British, French or Spanish cuisine one week, before exploring Chinese flavours the next. Scott even occasionally creates menus in homage to internationally renowned chefs and their signature dishes. Vegetarian options are always thoughtfully considered – that grouse menu, for instance, offered a crowd pleasing mozzarella and courgette loaf as an alternative main.
The venue seats up to 27 downstairs across three rooms and 16 upstairs across two, so larger groups can join rooms together. The restaurant’s tagline is “great food, great company” so don’t forget to invite us when you go!
This one operates on Friday and Saturday evenings only, from 7-11pm, with dining strictly by reservation.
No seaside town worth its salt (or vinegar) would be complete without a stellar fish and chip shop, and Middle Street Fish Bar more than delivers on that front. This no-frills spot might be cash-only and refreshingly old-school, but it consistently serves up some of the best fish and chips along the Kent coast.
The secret here lies in the basics done exceptionally well – a choice of fresh cod, haddock, plaice or rig (all at an absurdly good value – in this economy! – £9 with chips), each encased in crisp golden batter that shatters satisfyingly with each bite. The chips find that perfect balance between fluffy interior and crunchy exterior with that slightly anaemic quality you want from chippy chips (yes, Cole) while slightly browning mushy peas provide the requisite dose of health that you need, for the sake of breaking the beige as much as anything else.
By John shepherd from Getty images via Canva
The Fish Bar offers good value for holidaying families, with a dedicated children’s menu doing smaller portions of classics like cod and chips for £6, or fish cake and chips for just £3.50. For dessert, the pineapple fritter with ice cream provides a perfectly retro ending to your meal.
Take your paper-wrapped, gently greased bundle to the beach and enjoy it the way it should be done – with wooden fork in hand, watching the waves roll in. Just watch out for the seagulls; they know quality when they see it too. And don’t forget to bring cash – they’re as old-school in their payment methods as they are in their aesthetic.
Deal’s dining scene is punching well above its weight for a town of its size, and the sheer range on offer – from a SquareMeal Top 100 Japanese spot and a National Restaurant Awards farmhouse to a fourth-generation fishmonger’s street food bar – means there’s something worth booking a train for at every price point.
If you’re planning a longer stay on the Kent coast, our guide to where to eat in Whitstable is worth a read too!
With over 75 million passengers passing through London Victoria annually, and the station’s main thoroughfare essentially one massive pasty passage, it’s no wonder hungry travellers are constantly bemoaning the lack of dining options within the station complex. Do they really need five Upper Crusts and several Caffè Nero stalls?
An exaggeration perhaps, but to eat well here, it’s best to step out and into the Westminster wilderness for a proper feed. Here are our favourite restaurants, eateries and food halls close by; our round-up of the best places to eat near London Victoria.
A. Wong
Ideal for innovative and thoughtful contemporary Chinese food..
Now with two shiny Michelin stars above the door, A.Wong has come a long way since its opening in 2013. This ‘upmarket Chinese eatery’ (their words) is actually refreshingly welcoming, inclusive and reasonably priced, considering the level of cooking going on here.
The star of the show at lunch is arguably the dim sum menu, where Wong’s technical mastery and creative flair truly shine. Each piece is individually priced and crafted to order, elevating these small bites far beyond their traditional origins. The Shanghai steamed dumplings come with a precise pipette of ginger-infused vinegar, while the ‘Memories of Peking duck’ with foie gras and plum sauce offers a luxurious twist on a classic. Perhaps most impressive is the ‘Three treasure dumpling’ featuring king crab, smoked tofu, and a fragrant lemongrass broth – a dish that exemplifies Wong’s ability to honour tradition while pushing boundaries.
Images via awong.co.uk
For dinner, the restaurant transforms into an altogether more ambitious affair, offering only the ‘Collections of China’ tasting menu – a three-hour culinary voyage through China’s 14 international borders. This £235 experience promises to introduce diners to over 100 ingredients across some 30 dishes, from zhou dynasty cured scallop to Yunnan sweet potato with tamarind and shrimp caramel.
The level of detail is staggering; take the chrysanthemum tofu, where bean curd is precision-cut to resemble a delicate flower, floating in a fragrant broth and finished with coriander purée. It’s this kind of technical mastery combined with deep respect for regional Chinese cuisines that has earned Wong his second Michelin star – and a reputation as one of London’s most exciting chefs.
Wong, who took the helm from his parents in 2012, brings both academic rigour (he’s as much anthropologist as chef) and technical brilliance to ancient recipes and regional specialties. His cooking demonstrates that attention to detail doesn’t mean sacrificing flavour – every dish, whether it’s a simple dim sum or an elaborate tasting menu creation, balances tradition with innovation.
Open Tuesday evenings and Wednesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner (closed Sunday-Monday). While the evening tasting menu is certainly a splurge, the lunch dim sum offers an accessible entry point to Wong’s remarkable cuisine. Advance booking is essential, particularly for dinner service.
Those not ready to commit to the full tasting menu experience now have another option. Forbidden City, the basement bar beneath A Wong, reopened in February 2026 as a standalone destination with its own cocktail list and food menu. Dishes include a dim sum basket, a cherrywood-smoked Peking Duck wrap and Cantonese wonton noodle soup, alongside cocktails tied to the kitchen upstairs (the Peking Duck Old Fashioned, washed with fat from the roasting process, is exactly as good as it sounds).
One Night in Hong Kong, a £55 set offering a soy chicken and Oscietra caviar wrap, wonton noodle soup, crispy wonton and a cocktail, makes the two-star kitchen more accessible than ever. No dress code, no obligation to commit to a full evening.
Ideal for Mediterranean cooking that makes a virtue of simplicity…
In a former timber yard off Pimlico Road, and only a year and a half into life here, chef Aaron Potter (previously of Trinity and Elystan Street) and his Wildflowers have already bedded in and, erm, blossomed. The dining room here – all cream linens, exposed brick and candlelight, with an open kitchen that actually adds to the atmosphere rather than the noise levels – is a wonderful place to sink into, striking a neat balance between neighbourhood warmth and West London polish that’s surprisingly hard to pull off in this rather superficial side of town.
The cooking at Wildflowers is broadly, nominally Mediterranean but never gets bogged down in attempts at regional authenticity – we are in Pimlico, not Positano, after all. Instead, Potter seems more interested in getting the most from his ingredients, particularly how they respond to the the charcoal grill. A plate of grilled mackerel on sardine-laden bruschetta shows his knack for allowing good fish to speak for itself, while the cuttlefish fideuà – a sort of pasta paella – is the refined side of deeply comforting, ticking both those boxes with the most effortless of gestures.
Image via wildflowersrestaurant.co.uk
Do start with the gnocco fritto, little fried pasta parcels filled with gorgonzola and topped with speck and honey. They’re pure indulgence but without any unnecessary fuss or frippery, which rather captures the spirit of the place. The upstairs wine bar is worth visiting in its own right. Try the Nearly Dirty Martini, where olive oil-washed gin meets house brine and nocellara olives, or simply settle in with something from their thoughtful wine list.
Ideal for arguably the best Malaysian food south of the river…
Food courts seem to be proliferating in London faster than the city can handle them, with several blockbuster openings occurring in recent years. Though revered restaurant group JKS’ Arcade Food Hall on Tottenham Court Road has received the vast majority of media attention we’re just as enamoured with London’s Victoria’s Market Hall which has several stellar eateries all under one roof, Market Hall represents one of the best places to eat near London Victoria.
The fact it’s only a two minute stroll from the station certainly does no harm, but in reality, the selection of food options is the main draw; Baoziin’s superb dim sum, Pasta Evangelists’ cult ‘carbonara of dreams’, and Fanny’s flame-grilled kebabs have all found a home here.
But it’s at Gopal’s Corner where the finest food is found. The sibling to beloved London restaurant Roti King, here the proposition is similar; Tamil street food featuring freshly slapped roti canai, served in bundles to accompany nourishing curries unafraid of a little oil and salt.
But equally as satisfying are simple but umami-heavy noodle stir-fries, and banana leaf platters laden with curries, crisp papadam, and chutneys positively undulating with the funk of shrimp paste and assertiveness of chilli. Just superb.
Address: Market Halls, 191 Victoria St, London SW1E 5NE
Ideal for the ultimate All-American burger experience…
Many of London’s culinary cognoscenti concur that Bleecker is the city’s best burger, and, though our opinion is more humble, we might just be with them.
An All-American burger which started life in London’s Spitalfields, Bleecker now has locations across the capital, including Bloomberg, Westfield, London Bridge, Seven Dials Market, Baker Street and Soho, with the Victoria outpost among its most convenient.
It’s easy to see why Bleecker is going from strength to strength. The burger menu is a concise, no-frills affair, with just six options on the menu, five of which deploy 45 day aged, grass fed beef from ‘the chef’s butcher’ Aubrey Allen, with the sixth – the ‘symplicity’ burger – a vegetarian offering using chef Neil Rankin’s much hyped fermented vegetable ‘meat’.
Basically, if you’re a carnivore, it’s cheeseburgers, single or double, with or without bacon. The paradox of choice is unlikely to fell you here.
The results are spectacular, tasting both ‘dirty’ (not a term we usually like to deploy) and possessing depth through those superior pattys. All in all, it’s a knockout, and the best burger you’ll find in this part of London, at the very least.
Ideal for a taste of Portugal and possibly the best peri-peri chicken in London…
Though London Victoria’s Nova development is, by most folk’s estimations, the devil’s work, it does house a couple of enjoyable options for dinner. The best has got to be the Victoria iteration of popular peri-peri chicken join Casa do Frango.
The restaurant’s name, which translates to ‘chicken house’, prosaically encapsulates its culinary focus. Casa do Frango Victoria brings the spirit of Southern Portugal to London, serving traditional Algarvian cuisine with a special emphasis on their signature dish – Frango Piri-Piri.
This dish, chicken grilled over wood-charcoal and brushed with an age-old Piri-Piri blend, has a satisfyingly smoky finish and blistered skin, which is what you’re here for, surely?
A word for the supporting cast and sides, which are a fine match to the headlining chuck – the rice with crispy chicken skin, chorizo, and plantain, is especially good.
Ideal for Sichuan hot pot & a genuine sense of occasion…
There’s something pleasing about a restaurant that makes you work for it. Dragon Inn Club sits on an unremarkable stretch of Upper Tachbrook Street with little to announce itself from the outside, but step in and you’re somewhere else entirely. Dark wood, bamboo, moody red lighting and a layout that unfolds across multiple levels, each with its own character and purpose.
The hot pot is the reason most people come, broths ranging from the signature numbing Sichuan spicy to a gentler chicken and spring onion, and the communal, cook-it-yourself format making for an evening rather than just a meal.
Image via @dragoninn_club
But the ground floor open kitchen turns out dim sum worth visiting for in its own right, and the corn-fed chicken in Sichuan chilli oil delivers that distinctive málà hit that lingers long after you’ve left. For something more intimate, the eight two-seater Private Caves along the Silk Passage are as theatrical as they sound.
Open noon until 10:30pm Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays.
If you’re looking for a three course affair – the menu, in a revolutionary move, is laid out in sections of starters, mains, and desserts – of unpretentious yet utterly flawless French-ish grub, then Lorne will see you right.
It’s a reassuring space to spend time in; with a neighbourhood restaurant atmosphere, service on point – warm, gracious and knowledgeable – and the food generous and soulful. It’s not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for.
A piece of fallow deer was beautifully cooked, with edge to edge pinkness and a good crust coming in at just the right level of bitter, paired with pomme puree and boudin noir. Yep, this is unapologetically traditional in its pairings, but sometimes, that’s exactly what you need, right?
The proposition at Olivomare, an elegant establishment sitting somewhere between London Victoria and Belgravia, is a simple one; Sardinian seafood dishes, cooked with care and precision. The restaurant more than lives up to that enticing billing, with a menu that is deceptively simple in its descriptions but premium in its delivery.
With an adjoining deli championing artisan producers from Sardinia, premium ingredients take centre stage here, with fish spanking, squeaky fresh, and both local and imported vegetables shown equal reverence.
The trofie with clams and grated bottarga is a must order, given piquancy via liberal additions of chilli, both fresh and dried, and some serious salinity with the addition of reduced clam stock and that fantastic cured grey mullet roe, playing the role of parmesan adeptly.
With whole fish coming off the charcoal grill, whether marinated or salt-crusted, and making up the bulk of the main courses, there’s plenty to luxuriate in here, making Olivomare the perfect spot for a leisurely lunch in Victoria.
Ideal for lively fine dining and modern British fare…
Okay, we accept that you might have to hotfoot it 10 minutes north east into Westminster to get to The Pem, but with the eating options around London Victoria not exactly resplendent, you may well be glad that you did.
This luxurious and lively fine dining restaurant, located within the elegant Conrad London St. James Hotel, now operates under head chef Daniel Winser, whose menus continue the restaurant’s founding commitment to high-quality, seasonal British produce. Think hand-dived Orkney scallops, roast venison loin and glazed veal sweetbread, dishes that are contemporary in technique and bold in flavour, shifting with the seasons.
The Pem’s name pays homage to suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, affectionately known as Pem by her family, and that spirit of bold thinking remains very much embedded in the restaurant’s identity. The interior exudes an art deco charm, adorned in striking pinks and deep reds, with plush seats and banquettes. It’s the perfect place to settle into.
The Pem was recognised in the 2025 National Restaurant Awards and appears in the SquareMeal Top 100 London restaurants, testament to a kitchen that continues to deliver at the highest level regardless of who’s manning the pass. The ‘Taste of The Pem’ six-course tasting menu is the most complete way to experience what Winser’s kitchen is about, though the set lunch at £35 offers an accessible and very good-value entry point.
Sure, the vast, vast majority of both Turkish and Cypriot restaurants are found in London’s north, but down in depths of Pimlico, an outlier exists doing some truly exceptional Turkish Cypriot fare. That outlier is Cyprus Mangal, just a short stroll from London Victoria, and a damn fine place to spend an evening of eating.
It’s also an eminently reasonable restaurant to feast big; a generous portion of lamb beyti (minced lamb, charcoal grilled), a freshly baked basket of Turkish bread and chopped-to-order tabbouleh won’t set you back much more than £20, which in this part of town, is, quite simply, excellent value.
Open daily from midday ’till midnight, it’s also an inclusive late night spot in an area of London that often feels pretty inhospitable. Bravo, indeed.
Address: 45 Warwick Way, Lillington and Longmoore Gardens, London SW1V 1QS
Is it Belgravia? Is it Victoria? Let’s not get bogged down in the minutiae of geographic semantics here, La Poule Au Pot has been a Westminster institution for almost 60 years, and continues to deliver largely Lyonnaise ‘bouchon’ classics to this day.
Indeed, La Poule Au Pot wouldn’t look out of place on Paris’ Rue des Martyrs or in the middle of Lyon’s Presqu’Île. This charming, old school restaurant is all about Burgundy bistro fare; expect snails with garlic butter, frogs legs, grilled calves liver, terrine of foie gras with Sauternes jelly, rabbit with mustard sauce…you get the picture, and it’s a very pretty one to paint.
With nooks and crannies, trinkets and even, whisper it, tablecloths, this is a spot best enjoyed as the nights draw in and the evening temperature drops. Because when the candles are flickering, the carafes of drinkable are red breathing on the table, and the food is at its most hearty and comforting, there’s fewer better places to spend an evening in London.
Speaking of Belgravia, if you’re moving on there to continue your food tour of London, then check out our guide on where to eat in Belgravia. You may even recognise our previous entry in there!
IDEAL for small companies looking to reduce expenses…
All small business owners know that every single penny counts. Unlike larger corporations and enterprises, these companies often have to work with limited financial resources. And when the money is tight and margins tighter, it can be a struggle to generate a profit, especially in these tough and trying economic times.
Fortunately, not all is doom and gloom. Even in turbulent times, with 2026’s rising energy prices, as well as increasing costs of goods and labour, there are things you can do to help you drive down the costs of your operations without making significant changes and compromises in the process.
With that in mind, here are a few ideas to help your company reduce expenditure and improve revenue through smart small business management; these tips on how to cut costs without downsizing.
Switch To Cloud-Based Computing
Cloud computing has become increasingly widespread among businesses today. After all, it boasts several advantages over more traditional data centres; improved accessibility, security, and reliability, as well as a lessened environmental impact, to name but a few benefits.
However, its biggest benefit is the fact that using cloud-based computing is hugely cost-effective and one of the most impactful changes you can make to your small business. And since it’s also completely scalable, companies pay only for what they need and do away with expensive packages and software suites that won’t see any use.
Go Virtual With Your Business
Having physical, tangible office space is undoubtedly an asset to many businesses, enabling face-to-face interactions between colleagues and clients to occur naturally. However, you can potentially save a considerable amount on your running costs by going virtual if a workplace isn’t necessary.
In fact, this decade many have found that, after years of believing otherwise, a physical location is surplus to requirements and doesn’t make much of an impact on the day-to-day operations of the business.
Not only will having a virtual platform potentially help a business improve its overall efficiency and productivity, but telecommuting will also make it easier for everyone to manage their work-life balance a little more easily.
Outsource, Delegate & Automate
Another way to reduce the operating costs of that central office or warehouse space is through outsourcing and automation. Outsourcing has become an increasingly prevalent practice in recent years, especially for small businesses and start-ups, with the internet facilitating a shrinking of the working world and enabling companies to find expertise further afield with ease.
The range of roles now handled remotely is remarkable, from bookkeepers in Portugal and customer service teams in the Philippines to software developers in Eastern Europe and design studios in Buenos Aires. Specialist roles that once demanded a full-time hire on a UK salary, think back-end engineers, data analysts, paid media specialists, can now be filled on a project or retainer basis at a fraction of the cost. Platforms like Upwork and Toptal, alongside dedicated nearshoring agencies, have made vetting and onboarding this sort of talent far less daunting than it was even five years ago.
Doing so allows small businesses to be more nimble and flexible, and to take advantage of services that would normally be reserved for companies that have the financial clout to establish in-house departments for such desired, specialist tasks. Simply put, it’s ultimately a more economical approach that can save a business money in the long run.
Automating some tasks can also free up human hands to be delegated elsewhere, into more complex roles where intuition and instinct can be harnessed. In the office, consider using virtual assistants or even AI to carry out administrative roles at a more affordable cost (freeing up your employees for more complex tasks, rather than replacing them, we should add).
Find New Clients Without Breaking The Bank
For small businesses operating on tight budgets, acquiring new customers doesn’t have to mean splashing out on expensive advertising campaigns. There are numerous cost-effective strategies that can help you expand your customer base without breaking the bank.
Start by tapping into your existing network. Encourage satisfied customers to refer friends and colleagues by implementing a referral programme that rewards both parties. Word-of-mouth marketing remains one of the most powerful and affordable methods of client acquisition, and happy customers are often your best advocates.
Consider forming strategic partnerships with complementary businesses in your area. For instance, if you run a web design agency, partnering with a local marketing consultancy can create mutually beneficial referral opportunities. These collaborations allow you to access new audiences without the hefty price tag of traditional advertising.
Networking events, both online and in-person, present excellent opportunities to connect with potential clients. Join industry-specific groups, attend local business meetups, and participate in online forums relevant to your sector. The key is to focus on building genuine relationships rather than simply pushing your services.
Don’t overlook the power of offering free workshops, webinars, or consultations. These value-driven initiatives showcase your expertise whilst allowing potential clients to experience your knowledge and approach first-hand. It’s an investment of time rather than money, and it can establish you as a trusted authority in your field.
Finally, ensure your existing clients are fully aware of all the services you offer. Often, businesses miss out on opportunities simply because their current customers don’t realise the full scope of what they provide. Regular communication through newsletters or check-in calls can uncover additional ways to serve your existing client base whilst naturally leading to referrals.
Safe Money On Office Space & Costs
Indeed, one of the biggest costs to a business is office space. Covid changed the way we work forever and left many questioning if their company truly needs a central office space. If you run a small business, you could save yourself a small fortune by working from home instead of renting an office.
That said, this is largely dependent on the size of your business. Should you still need a central office space or warehouse to complete company tasks effectively, then it’s important you involve your employees in the decision making, to ensure you have their full support going forward in this challenging time.
If you do decide that you need an office, then it’s important that you look at ways of reducing your office’s operational costs. Energy bills, in particular, can quickly run up and out of control in an office if not managed effectively.
Fortunately, you can reduce the amount of energy you use (vital in the current climate or vastly inflated gas and electricity bills) by making some simple changes. Shift furniture around to allow maximum light to enter, negating the need for lights to always be on. You can go further and strategically place some mirrors to reflect and spread the light, too.
Photo by MART PRODUCTION: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-man-and-woman-having-conversation-while-sitting-near-the-table-with-laptop-7550542/
Invest In Employee Training & Development
Investing in your employees’ training and development is another effective way to reduce costs and improve efficiency in the long run. By equipping your team with the latest skills and knowledge, you can enhance their productivity and reduce the need for external consultants or additional hires. Training programs can be tailored to address specific needs within your business, such as improving technical skills, enhancing customer service, or developing leadership capabilities.
Moreover, a well-trained workforce is more likely to be engaged and motivated, leading to higher retention rates and lower turnover costs. In today’s fast-paced business environment, continuous learning and development are crucial for staying competitive and adapting to new challenges.
Leverage Social Media & Digital Marketing
In the digital age, leveraging social media and digital marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach a broader audience and drive sales. Unlike traditional marketing methods, which can be expensive and less targeted, digital marketing allows you to tailor your campaigns to specific demographics and track their performance in real-time. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer powerful tools for engaging with your audience, building brand awareness, and driving traffic to your website.
Additionally, content marketing, such as blogging and video creation, can help establish your business as an authority in your industry and improve your search engine rankings. By focusing on digital marketing strategies, you can maximize your marketing budget and achieve better results with less expenditure.
Adopt Green Technology
Adopting an eco-friendly attitude is not just beneficial for your own energy bills and bank balance, it also helps to decrease your carbon footprint in the workplace. Indeed, going green – be it through solar energy or switching over to LED lighting systems – can reduce a small business’ costs significantly, and reduce office stress in the process, it should be added.
But it isn’t the only advantage that it yields. In this day and age, with people more environmentally conscious than ever, it can also benefit your company’s image if your target audience is aware that your business is energy efficient.
Cast your mind back to 2011. We were all pretending to understand what planking was, Charlie Sheen was having a very public meltdown, and Margate? Well, Margate was still struggling to shake off decades of seaside decline. Then Turner Contemporary opened its doors, and something rather extraordinary began to happen.
Fast forward to 2026, and this once-fading Victorian resort has transformed into what food critics are calling Britain’s most exciting coastal food destination. London chefs are abandoning eye-watering rents to open ambitious restaurants overlooking golden beaches, day-boat fishermen deliver their catch directly to kitchens, and getting a table at the town’s hottest spots requires a quite tedious level of planning.
Drumming home a point, the inaugural Margate Restaurant Week last February sold out faster than Glastonbury tickets tend to (this year’s sold out in record time again), which tells you everything about the town’s burgeoning culinary credentials. And, indeed, how cursed those bloody spreadsheet syndicates have made getting a ticket to the Big G in recent years…
What makes Margate special isn’t just the quality of cooking (though that’s undeniably brilliant) but the spirit of the place. This is a town where Michelin-recognised sophistication sits comfortably alongside seaside fish and chips, where ageing hipsters and retired party animals serve natural wine next to fourth-generation cockle sellers, and where a meal might cost you £3 or £300 depending on your mood. It’s gloriously unpretentious, fiercely creative, and utterly addictive.
We’ve eaten our way through the Old Town’s narrow streets, queued for tables at harbour-side shacks, had our polystyrene cup of prawns nicked by seagulls, and discovered some true gems in Cliftonville’s Victorian terraces, all in the name of this guide. From sustainable seafood champions to pasta perfectionists, Vietnamese street food to LA-inspired tacos, here are the best restaurants in Margate.
Bottega Caruso
Ideal for dogmatic, delicious pasta perfection…
Grace Dent called Bottega Caruso ‘heroically wondrous’, and whilst we don’t agree with the adverb and adjective combination, we’re in complete agreement with the sentiment. This tiny Campanian osteria on Broad Street is genuinely one of the UK’s best Italian restaurants, so much better than the thousand cacio e pepe purveyors in the bigger cities, with a regional focus that keeps things really interesting rather than restrains them.
Owners Simona Di Dio and Harry Ryder aren’t messing about. Alongside head chef Thom Eagle (whose Substack is ace, by the way), they make fresh pasta every morning using Di Dio’s grandmother’s recipes, import artisanal products from her beloved Sannio region, and maintain standards that are reassuringly dogmatic. The converted pub seats barely 20 people (only 6 or so tables), creating an atmosphere so intimate you’ll know your neighbours’ life stories by dessert. Or, perhaps, your neighbour will be feeding you their dessert…
The menu changes with the seasons and what’s good at the market, but certain dishes are regulars. A mainstay is the polpette di pane al sugo – ‘meatballs’ made using bread instead and served with Simona’s family recipe for slow cooked tomato sauce. It’s absolutely incredible, the polpette boasting the most satisfying bounce, the sugo rich but still tasting vital rather than rusty.
Of course, the fresh pasta dishes are the highlight, and we’ve had a few seafood versions in our time at Bottega Caruso that have made a mark; a version of pasta con le sarde using mackerel, and a spaghetti con la spigola with locally caught wild sea bass and imported Datterini tomatoes both live long in the memory. The latter dish perfectly exemplifies the approach here; use local, seasonal ingredients when they are at their very best, and complement it with imported Italian products that are simply too good to leave behind in Bel Paese.
Here’s the catch: booking opens 60 days in advance and reservations are essential weeks in advance, as tables vanish faster than limoncello at an Italian wedding. Open Wednesday to Saturday only.
Ideal for when sustainability meets sublime seafood…
There’s always a moment at Angela’s when you realise you’re experiencing something rather special, whether it’s your first or your fiftieth time in the intimate, unassuming dining room. Perhaps it’s when chef Rob Cooper emerges from the kitchen to explain why today’s turbot was caught using a specific technique to preserve its texture. Or maybe it’s when you taste that turbot, served simply with white beans and green sauce, and understand why less really can be more.
This compact 26-seat bistro on The Parade has become Margate’s most difficult reservation since earning the town’s first Michelin Green Star for sustainability. Owners Lee Coad and Charlotte Forsdike, who took over in 2017, operate with a philosophy that’s refreshingly straightforward: source the best possible ingredients from local waters, then “don’t mess them up.”
The daily-changing blackboard menu depends entirely on what fishermen land each morning, meaning you might find gurnard one day, john dory the next. What is guaranteed is the restaurant’s commitment to sustainability, which goes beyond sourcing. Everything from the natural wines to the sourdough (from local bakery Oast) reflects an ethos of supporting small producers and minimising waste. Even the simple interior, all white walls and tables made using recycled plastic waste that somehow look like marble, keeps focus firmly on the plate.
Prices reflect the quality of the product – starters average around £10, while mains push £30. But when you’re savouring perfectly cooked brill with samphire that was growing on Thanet’s marshes yesterday morning, a sense of good value still presents itself. Book weeks ahead and pray for calm seas – rough weather means slim pickings on that blackboard. But that’s all part of the fun.
Open Tuesday to Saturday, with lunch from 12pm and dinner from 6pm.
Ideal for harbour-side dining that lives up to the hype…
When Ed Wilson and Josie Stead of critically-acclaimed Hackney restaurant Brawn announced they were opening a place in Margate, interest was certainly piqued in London’s food scene. When that place turned out to be Sargasso, positioned dramatically on the harbour wall, everyone understood why.
Yes, that William Gleave of P. Franco, Bright and Hill and Szrok fame, one of the UK’s most gifted chefs, with a natural touch that gives you absolute confidence in just about anything listed on the Provençal-leaning menu. If you do need to direct that confidence, start with the Cantabarian anchovies and pickled boquerones on toast – a double-header of the good stuff that’s umami-heavy but beautifully balanced. The squid sandwich is an absolute showstopper, too; a pillowy bun that can barely contain a generous handful of deep-fried tentacles and aioli.
Dip deeper with a plate of boiled asparagus with chunky romesco sauce, or grilled scallops served in their shell and dressed in a particularly assertive green sauce. Yep, as we said, basically anything you order is going to be on point here, such is the inherent skill and good taste that Gleave wields.
The setting provides the perfect seasoning. Housed in a former boat shed, diners watch fishing boats bob past while tucking into some of the finest seafood from the North Sea. Sargasso has attracted rave reviews in several nationals but don’t let that intimidate you – the atmosphere remains refreshingly unstuffy.
The winelist follows that theme, with a bright and breezy approach in keeping with the location and fish-forward menu. Wine on tap – including a Loire Muscadet and Domaine Plaisance rosé – keeps things refreshingly casual (and affordable), while the wider selection leans heavily into natural producers with a particular fondness for volcanic wines from Mount Etna and playful bottlings like Calvez Bobinot’s ‘PIAK!’ rosé, which is an absolute banger of a bottle (at £55, you would hope so).
Summer sees the outdoor seating area come into its own, effectively doubling capacity and offering some of the best views in town. Even on blustery days, there’s something romantic about being this close to the elements – just bring a jacket.
Now open seven days a week, serving lunch from noon and dinner from 5:30pm, Sargasso has become the anchor (sorry) of Margate’s harbour dining scene, spawning several neighbours but remaining the destination that started it all.
Buoy & Oyster, occupying prime real estate on the High Street with gorgeous views of sand and water, could easily coast (ahem) on location alone. Instead, this two AA Rosette winner delivers on every front, from the open theatre kitchen to sunny beachfront pergola, all the way to the excellent food.
Head chef Craig Edgell has created a menu that somehow satisfies both the sustainable seafood crowd and Sunday roast traditionalists, the Bloody Mary nursers and the champagne special occasionalists.
The signature Buoy Bowl – a generous compilation of king prawns, calamari, and battered fish with chips and garlicky aioli – feeds two very happy people for a reasonable sum (right now, £28, but subject to change upon the whims of the tide). There are also whole grilled lobsters, local oysters that get the respect they deserve, bottomless mussels on Wednesdays and, yes, there are even excellent options for vegans.
The interior works perfectly – special-occasion smart yet beach-casual comfortable. Huge windows frame the view (book a window table if you can), while the buzz from the open kitchen adds a gentle bustle of activity without drowning out conversation.
What really impresses us is the consistency. Whether you’re here for a milestone birthday dinner or a casual Tuesday lunch, the standard never drops. It’s become our go-to recommendation for visitors wanting a ‘restaurant’ experience with that essential Margate personality.
Do check their website for exact, official opening days and hours, as they change with the seasons. Right now, it’s open every day from midday until 9pm. Result!
Ideal for keeping it real with cockles and whelks…
You can keep your tweezers and your tasting menus – sometimes what the soul craves is a pot of bracing cockles eaten while watching the tide roll in. Manning’s has been fulfilling this precise need since 1962, making it as much a part of Margate’s DNA as candy floss, questionable tattoos and Carl Barat.
This isn’t a restaurant; it’s barely even a stall. What it is, though, is seaside eating at its most pure. Maldon oysters for £1 each (yes, really), cockles doused in malt vinegar, whelks for the slightly more adventurous, and those glorious pots of hot garlicky mussels that make your breath unsuitable for polite company.
The beauty of Manning’s lies in its complete lack of pretension. No Instagram-baiting décor, no artfully arranged microgreens, just honest seafood served by people who’ve been doing this longer than most of us have been alive. Stand there with your little wooden fork, prodding at shellfish while seagulls eye your pot optimistically, and tell us this isn’t exactly what a seaside holiday should taste like.
Find them on The Parade near the clock tower and just seconds from the Turner Contemporary, though honestly, you could probably just follow your nose. Cash only, no seating, zero glamour – and absolutely essential Margate eating. Bring a few cans or even a bottle of something fizzy and sit on the three picnic tables opposite. Or even better, on the seawall, your legs dangling down and swinging like a kid.
In a town whose tide is rising with natural wine bars and small plates concepts (not that we’re complaining, some are excellent), Peter’s Fish Factory stands as a beacon of deep-fried democracy. This family-run chippy has been serving what locals (and we) consider the best fish and chips in Margate, all for the price of a pint in that there London.
You read that right; a medium cod and chips here (medium is pretty fucking massive, it should be said) costs just £7.50 and is of sparkling, spanking quality.
The secret? Well, there isn’t one really. Just squeaky fresh fish, beef dripping for the chips, and a batter recipe that achieves a gorgeously copper colour when cooked and a pretty impressive shatter on first bite. This is democratic dining at its finest, where everyone from Turner Prize winners to actual turners queue at the same counter, and jostle for a spot on the ragtag collection of garden furniture just outside the restaurant.
What we particularly appreciate is how Peter’s has resisted the urge to gentrify. While restaurants around them add sourdough and sriracha to everything, they’ve stuck to their guns, with the only accoutrements pickled onions, pickled eggs, and, er, pickled gherkins, just as it should be.
Ideal for Vietnamese street food classics in a pretty Margate side street…
Nathalie Nguyen’s Vietnamese café might be tiny – we’re talking eight tables and knocking-elbows-with-strangers tiny – but what it lacks in space it makes up for in sheer deliciousness, serving up the kind of food that makes you close your eyes on the first bite and start planning your return visit. Or, indeed, a flight to Vietnam, depending on your ambition…
The bánh mì are legendary, and at £11 for one stuffed with five-spice pork belly, they represent one of the best value lunches in Margate (yes, we know you can get one for a fraction of the price in Hanoi, but that’s beside the point). That pork has been marinated for hours, the pickled vegetables provide the perfect acidic counterpoint to all that lovely fat, and the baguette (from a secret supplier Nathalie won’t reveal) achieves that distinctive parched-earth crust; essential to a proper banh mi. Yes indeed, there’s no French baguettes subbed in here lazily, thank the lord.
The sweet, fragrant vegetable curry is gorgeous, too; heady from dried spice and luxurious from coconut cream, it’s enough to lift the spirits on one of Margate’s surprisingly frequent dreary days. There is, of course, Vietnamese coffee, served ‘phin’ style for those with the patience to watch it drip through. It’s worth the wait.
Décor is largely utilitarian, just as it should be, because who wants to eat noodles in an armchair anyway? There is some snake-themed artwork (Nathalie was born in the year of the snake), to be fair, and the irresistible aroma of star anise and cinnamon that wafts out of the open door like a come hither finger made of white steam on a cartoon. It’s enough.
Open Thursday to Monday for lunch, with dinner service added on Fridays only. Fair warning: that bijou size means waits are common, but as they say in Vietnam; “Kiên nhẫn là mẹ thành công”. Patience is the mother of success.
High Dive wants you to know it’s not trying too hard, which is exactly how you know it is. Opened December 2023 on the High Street, the restaurant name is taken from ‘high end dive bar’ apparently. Fortunately, the interior by Vacuum Studio doesn’t do things by similarly confusing halves. Instead, it’s full-throttle in here; think Miami Beach meets Memphis Group, with highly pigmented colours that shouldn’t work but absolutely do, and 1980s brass bamboo cutlery that makes every meal feel like a celebration. It’s the kind of space that makes you want to dress up, order cocktails you can’t pronounce, and pretend you’re infinitely more interesting than you actually are.
The Los Angeles-inspired menu brings sophisticated Mexican vitality to Margate’s oft grey skies. You know you’re in good hands when the tortilla chips arrive in various shades of masa harina, just out of the fryer and puffed in all the right places. A delicate dice of pico de gallo is all you need to affirm High Dive is the real deal.
The hits continue apace. Crab tostadas feature a brown crab mousse and picked white crab salad that balances funk with freshness. The tacos here (the tortillas use heirloom corn imported from Mexico which is nixtamalized, milled and baked by Masafina in London) are outstanding. The fish taco might be billed as ‘classic’ but this isn’t your usual Baja California situation. Instead, griddled hake is dressed in red adobo – a marinade that walks the tightrope between smoky and spicy without tumbling into either extreme. Guacasalsa (the portmanteau game is strong here) and pickled citrus onions provide the acidic counterpoint every good taco needs.
The bar seats offer the best people-watching, particularly when Margate’s creative crowd descends for weekend sessions. From that bar, the team keeps things tight with just three cocktails, but what a trio they are, including a Dirty Horchata that tastes like dessert with a tequila kick, and a Spicy Old Fashioned that swaps bourbon for Jameson with chili liqueur.
The whole thing – food, drinks, vibe – feels playful without being cloying, and carefully executed without losing the essential sense of fun that makes Mexican food so life-affirming. Do be warned, opening hours at High Dive are less loose; Tuesday to Saturday evenings only.
Ideal for Parisian cave à manger culture, at the coast…
Natalia Ribbe set out to “take the wank out of wine” (more oenophile than onanist, then) and succeeded so thoroughly that Sète has become our favourite place to drink in Margate. This wine bar-restaurant-bottle shop hybrid in a former sweet shop brings Parisian cave à manger culture to Northdown Road, just with a ferocious sea breeze blowing you through the door, rather than the aroma of freshly baked bread beckoning you in.
The focus on female winemakers isn’t a gimmick but a genuine passion, resulting in a list that surprises even seasoned wine connoisseurs. Can’t decide? The team guides without condescending, finding bottles to match both your palate and pocket. The ‘Apéro Hour’ runs 4-6pm Monday-Saturday with all (yes, all) wines by the glass at £5. We regularly adjust our schedules – and, indeed, our next day’s schedule – accordingly.
The set menu offers genuinely silly value, too: £22 for two courses, £25 for three, available Monday and Tuesday evenings. That might buy you pâté en croûte that’d make a Lyonnais grandmother proud, Toulouse sausage over braised green lentils, or onion tart with comté mousse that has us still trying to recreate it at home many months later.
The space itself charms without trying too hard – original features retained, simple furniture, walls lined with bottles begging to come home with you. Garden seating expands capacity in summer, though winter has its own appeal when you’re inside with candlelight and something robust in your glass.
Sète’s kitchen is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday evenings, with lunch and dinner on Saturdays.
Ideal for trying the UK Latte Art Champion’s take on breakfast…
Will Pitts won the 2019 UK Latte Art Championship, which might seem like niche boasting until you taste his coffee. Try it at Forts Café on Cliff Terrace (a steep climb but with gorgeous sea views as your reward), which has become Margate’s caffeine headquarters.
But dismissing it as just a coffee shop would be criminal negligence. The food earns equal billing, in our minds at least. Korean fried chicken is as crispy as you’d hope, with that sweet-spicy glaze that triggers endorphins. Sadly, the plate hasn’t been given the same artistic treatment as the coffee; the accompanying gochujang mayo is just a boring ol’ perfunctory zig zag. Guys, with your talent, you’re missing a trick here!
Nduja fried eggs on sourdough provide the kind of breakfast that sets you up for whatever Margate throws at you, and the sandwiches – oh, the sandwiches. These aren’t sad triangles in plastic boxes, but doorstops stuffed with ingredients that taste fresh and alive.
The space offers a particular kind of Margate magic – unfinished in parts, comfortable in others, with mismatched furniture that, when you zoom out, feels harmonious and whole. Local artists’ work adorns the walls (and yes, it’s for sale), laptops compete for plug sockets, and the coffee machine hisses like an angry dragon.
Open every day until 4pm, Forts provides reliable service in a town where opening hours can be… creative. It’s become our default meeting spot, morning fuel stop, and afternoon refuge.
Yes, we realise we’ve done this all topsy-turvy by ending with two breakfast spots, but we don’t make the rules. Actually, we do make the rules here, but anyway…
We don’t hand out any baking awards either, but we’re calling it all the same: Oast makes the best cinnamon buns in Britain. This Northdown Road bakery is known across town and beyond for these burnished spirals of joy – spiced, generously glazed, with that perfect pull-apart texture that has you reaching for another before finishing the first.
That’s not to say Oast is a one-bake-wonder. The sourdough loaves have that tang and structure that comes from long fermentation and bakers who actually give a damn. Saucisson-gouda croissants shouldn’t necessarily make sense but absolutely do, while seasonal specials keep regulars guessing what delicious madness emerges from the stone ovens next.
But even more than that, what really confirms the quality here is how Oast has become part of Margate’s food ecosystem. Their bread appears on restaurant tables across town (Sète uses theirs exclusively, Angela’s and Dory’s too), creating a web of quality that raises standards everywhere. That’s the thing about Margate’s food scene – it’s collaborative rather than cutthroat, with everyone understanding that better neighbours mean better business. We love it.
Open Thursday through Monday only, 8:30am-2pm, queues form early and items sell out fast.
Tyrol has been welcoming families for generations, but the region’s family hotel scene has changed significantly over the past decade. Where once a children’s playroom and a high chair at dinner constituted a family-friendly offer, a new generation of dedicated family resorts now provides professional childcare from infancy, purpose-built adventure worlds and separate spa and wellness facilities for parents who want to switch off while their children are looked after.
The Austrian tradition of Kinderhotels, a quality-rated network of specialist family properties, has its deepest roots in Tyrol. As such, competition between properties has driven standards to a level that few other Alpine regions can match. If you haven’t heard of Kinderhotels Europa, it rates member properties across two tiers: Premium, which requires at least 40 hours of qualified childcare per week, and Premium+, which raises that to a minimum of 60 hours and adds dedicated baby areas with kitchens and in-room monitoring systems. Both demand 4-star superior standard or above. Across both categories, staff are trained through the organisation’s own Competence Academy, covering pedagogy, developmental psychology and child communication.
The combination of lakes, glaciers, high-altitude plateaux and protected valleys means that each property on this list occupies a different kind of Alpine setting, from a lakeside resort on the shores of Tyrol’s largest lake to a glacier hotel at 1,500 metres where snow is guaranteed year-round. These five hotels with childcare in Tyrol each take a different approach, but they share a common commitment: children are not an afterthought, and parents are not expected to spend their holiday supervising. With that in mind, here are 5 of the best hotels with childcare in Tyrol.
Familienresort Buchau, Lake Achensee
Ideal for an adventure world big enough to fill a full week outside…
Known locally as the “Sea of the Tyroleans,” Lake Achensee sits at 930 metres above sea level, stretching nine kilometres in length and reaching 133 metres at its deepest point – both the largest and deepest lake in Tyrol. It is framed by two distinct mountain ranges: the rugged Karwendel to the west and the Rofan to the east, with the Rofan’s highest peak, the Hochiss, topping out at 2,299 metres. The water is genuinely clear, with visibility reaching ten metres below the surface and quality close to drinking water standard, which matters when you’re sending children into it.
The Familienresort Buchau sits directly on its shores in the village of Eben, and the Rieser family, who run it, have spent decades building what is now one of the most comprehensive family resort operations in Austria. It holds a five-Smiley rating from Kinderhotels Europa, the organisation’s highest distinction.
The outdoor adventure world is vast – large enough that children reliably disappear into it for hours, and what fills it goes well beyond the usual playground: a go-kart track, a 3D archery range, a high ropes course, a pirate ship adventure area and, most distinctively, a full riding arena with Haflinger horses and ponies where children can take lessons throughout their stay. The resort also runs its own football school, a swimming academy through Fred’s Swim Academy (covering babies through to competent swimmers) and a watersports centre on the lake offering sailing, SUP and kite surfing.
Professional childcare operates seven days a week from 9am to 8pm, with children grouped by age and looked after by trained staff. Inside, the facilities include a climbing and bouldering hall, a soft play area, a ball pool, a 3D cinema and a dedicated magic school. The water world features a giant tyre slide, a triple slide, a toddler pool and a natural swimming pond, while the wellness area for parents includes a Swiss stone pine sauna, a bio light sauna, a brine steam bath and an infinity rooftop pool with views across the lake to the mountains.
The all-inclusive superior package covers meals (a plated evening menu for adults with a separate children’s buffet), snacks, drinks, activities and childcare. Rooms and suites are modern and well-designed, with separate children’s bedrooms, computer-controlled baby monitors and smart TVs. Three family-friendly ski areas sit within a few minutes of the property, reached by a free ski bus, and the resort runs its own children’s ski school and snow playground in winter.
Ideal for a five-star hotel where your one-week-old gets their own carer…
Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, a trio of villages on a sunny plateau above the Inn Valley at around 1,400 metres, has been named Europe’s most family-friendly holiday resort, and the infrastructure backs up the claim. The Leading Family Hotel Bär is a five-star property at the heart of Serfaus, run by the Heymich family (now in their third generation; Charly Heymich also serves as mayor of the village). It operates as a families-only hotel: couples without children cannot book.
The childcare provision is the most extensive on this list. Professional care runs from one-week-old babies through to teenagers aged 17, with dedicated baby, children’s and teen programmes staffed by qualified carers. The Bär Kids Club is a sprawling space spread across five storeys, with a soft play area and slide, a 3D cinema and a stage for live shows. The Bär Water Paradise has a heated outdoor pool open year-round, a large indoor pool with toddler paddling pool, a family textile sauna and a 96-metre water speed slide over two floors. In summer, the Bär Beach Club adds a generous sand lounging area with bubble loungers, trampolines, bouncy castles and bungee trampolines. Clip ‘n’ Climb walls round out the active offer.
For parents, the Bär Spa provides a Finnish sauna, bio-sauna, Laconium, steam bath, ice grotto, whirlpool and two relaxation rooms with water beds. The kitchen is listed in the Gault Millau guide, and suites range from compact to genuinely apartment-sized, all featuring separate children’s bedrooms with integrated electronic baby monitors and HIPP organic baby care sets.
The village of Serfaus is largely car-free, and its Dorfbahn — an underground air-cushion funicular that runs beneath the main street on a route between the village car park and the cable car station, with four stops along the way — keeps the resort traffic-free and is free to use. It is the world’s smallest and highest-altitude system of its kind, and it is, predictably, a detail that children find endlessly appealing.
In winter, the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis ski area offers 214 kilometres of piste and dedicated children’s ski parks across the resort, including Berta’s Kinderland in Fiss and the Kinderschneealm in Serfaus, which features ski carousels, a fairytale village, a playground and snow slides. All lifts in the ski area are pushchair-compatible during the winter season — a practical detail that significantly changes the logistics of a day on the mountain with young children.
Ideal for ski-in, ski-out with a rooftop whirlpool in Austria’s prettiest village…
Alpbach was voted Austria’s Most Beautiful Village in 1983, and the strict local building code – issued by the village council in 1953 at the suggestion of Mayor Alfons Moser, making traditional Tyrolean architecture mandatory for all new construction – ensures it has stayed that way. Only the ground floor may be built in masonry; upper floors must be timber, and there are precise regulations governing window widths, balconies and roof pitches. The valley has retained a character that more developed resorts have long lost. The Galtenberg Family & Wellness Resort sits slopeside at the edge of the village, with ski-in, ski-out access to the Ski Juwel Alpbachtal Wildschönau area and its 113 kilometres of piste.
The Kostner family has run the property since 1974, and today it operates as a four-star superior resort with a substantial wellness and pool complex spread across three floors. The split between family and adult zones is well defined. The Family Spa on the ground floor (accessed by electronic key card) includes indoor and outdoor pools, a baby splash pool with mini-slide, a water park with 100 metres of tube slides and a dress-on wellness area where families can use the saunas together. Upstairs, the 7Heaven Spa on the 7th and 8th floors is reserved for guests aged 16 and over, with a long indoor sports pool, a relaxation outdoor pool, a full sauna landscape and a rooftop whirlpool overlooking the Alpbachtal.
The Galti Kids’ Club operates seven days a week from 8.30am to 9pm, with trained staff supervising a programme that runs from creative workshops and cinema sessions (in the Galtiplexx theatre) to pony riding on the hotel’s own ranch in summer. Austria’s largest hotel indoor soft play facility is here, alongside an indoor climbing wall, a Las Vegas Playworld and a dedicated teen chillout zone with billiards, PlayStation 5 and a Bluetooth sound system. Outside, a funcourt, e-Trial motorbike park with its own course and go-kart track keep older children occupied.
The restaurant serves Tyrolean and international cuisine, with 5-6 course evening menus for adults and a separate children’s buffet. The Alpbachtal Card, included for guests, provides free rides on mountain lifts, access to bathing lakes, free use of regional buses and discounts on activities and attractions across the valley.
In winter, the Alpbach ski school runs a Ski & Smile tiny tots programme on a piste directly beside the hotel. Worth noting for parents of beginners: Alpbach is particularly strong for teaching children, with nursery slopes close to both the village and the mountain stations, and terrain that skews towards wide, well-groomed blues and reds – better suited to families after a relaxed holiday than a technical test.
Ideal for skiing on a glacier in August at 1,500 metres…
At the very end of the Zillertal, where the valley narrows and the road climbs to the foot of the Hintertux Glacier, the Hintertuxerhof occupies a position unlike any other family hotel in Tyrol. The Kofler family’s four-star superior property sits at 1,500 metres above sea level, directly below the glacier, and the altitude brings specific benefits: air that is virtually allergen-free, pleasantly cool summers and, critically, a 100% year-round snow guarantee.
The Hintertux Glacier is one of only two ski resorts in the world offering year-round skiing, with the ski area reaching elevations of up to 3,250 metres and glacier ice in places more than 100 metres thick. In winter, the valley ski run descends directly to the hotel door; in summer, families can still ski on the glacier.
The Hintertuxerhof won first place in Tyrol and third in all of Austria in the Kinderhotel.Info Awards 2026, and the childcare reflects that standing. Daily supervision runs from 9am to 9pm for children from two years old (rising to three years from October 2026 to comply with updated Austrian regulations), with separate baby and toddler care available from five months by prior reservation. The hotel’s mascot, Kurt the Glacier Worm, appears as a life-size character, features on the children’s morning post and turns up as a cuddly toy in the cots
The facilities are more intimate in scale than some properties on this list, which suits the hotel’s character. There is no vast waterpark here; instead, the emphasis is on the landscape itself. Free daily guided hiking tours run Monday to Friday in summer, children get free access to the Playarena Tux (a large play zone a short drive away, reached by free hotel shuttle), and there are outdoor playgrounds, bouncy castles, an archery range, a tennis court and tobogganing in winter. The spa area includes a sauna, steam bath, infrared cabin and relaxation room, and the restaurant serves Tyrolean and international cuisine with regional specialities and homemade pastries.
One consideration for parents: the upper glacier terrain skews towards intermediate and advanced skiers, and small children may find the long surface lifts on the glacier sections challenging. The lower slopes and the hotel’s direct valley run are well suited to beginners, but the Hintertuxerhof makes the most sense for families where at least one adult wants serious ski time. What it trades in beginner infrastructure it gains in setting – the longest piste in the Zillertal, a 12-kilometre descent from the Gefrorene Wand to the valley floor, is a draw for confident skiers, and the surrounding Zillertal nature park offers hiking terrain ranging from valley-floor meadows to high-alpine ridgelines, enough to fill a full week for non-skiers too.
Ideal for children who’d rather muck out a stable than ride a water slide…
Not every family wants a mega-resort. The Landgut Furtherwirt, run by the Hagsteiner family in Kirchdorf in Tyrol, takes a fundamentally different approach to the other properties on this list. This is a four-star country estate with its own organic farm and riding stable, set against the Kitzbühel Alps, where the emphasis falls on animals, land and a pace of life that most children rarely experience at home.
The farm is central to the offer. Children can help with feeding, learn about organic agriculture and spend time with the animals – an experience that the Furtherwirt treats as part of the holiday rather than a side attraction. The riding stable provides lessons for beginners and more advanced riders, and the Haflinger horses and ponies are a particular draw for returning families. A natural swimming pond and outdoor play areas complete the grounds.
Childcare runs to 70 hours per week for children and 35 hours per week for babies, delivered by trained staff in a well-equipped kids’ club. The weekly programme covers indoor and outdoor activities, and in winter children can learn to ski from age three at the Bobo Snow Adventure Land on site. The hotel has an indoor pool, a sauna, a beauty and massage studio and a wellness area for parents.
The all-inclusive premium package covers all meals, drinks (including at the bar in the evenings), snacks and activities. The kitchen takes its ingredients from the hotel’s own organic farm, regional partner farmers and trusted suppliers, with everything baked in-house. Kirchdorf sits between St. Johann in Tyrol and the Kitzbühel Alps, with the Koasalauf cross-country skiing trail running directly past the property in winter. For families managing food allergies or intolerances, the farm-to-table model — with full traceability on ingredients – offers a level of transparency that larger all-inclusive resorts rarely match.
Tyrol’s family hotel landscape runs deeper than most visitors expect. The Kinderhotels quality system and decades of competition between properties have produced a tier of family resorts where childcare is professional, facilities are purpose-built and parents are treated as guests rather than supervisors.
Indeed, what’s striking about Tyrol’s family hotel scene isn’t the scale of the facilities or the hours of childcare – it’s the degree to which these places have been thought through. The Kinderhotels framework sets a floor, but the best properties go well beyond it, shaped by people who understand, from long experience, what parents actually need. Whether that’s a glacier outside the door, an organic farm down the lane, or a lakeside resort where children vanish happily for days at a time, each of these five properties has a character that goes beyond the checklist.
Lake Garda has always drawn visitors for its light. Italy’s largest lake sits at the point where the Alps begin to loosen their grip on the landscape, and the result is a microclimate that allows olive groves, lemon trees and palms to flourish on shores backed by mountains that still hold snow well into spring. The Romans came here for the same reasons people come now: the air, the water and a sense that the ordinary rules of northern European weather do not apply.
In recent years, the lake’s western and eastern shores have developed a serious wellness infrastructure to match the setting. Where once Lake Garda’s hotel scene was dominated by historic grand hotels and family-run pensioni, a new tier of five-star properties has emerged, each building its spa programme around the landscape rather than bolting it on as an afterthought.
The approaches vary widely, from a clinical wellness method rooted in Chinese medicine to a sensory retreat designed by South Tyrolean architects, but the constant is the lake itself: the views, the Mediterranean vegetation and the particular quality of light that has made this stretch of northern Italy feel like somewhere further south for centuries. With that in mind, here are 5 of the best luxury wellness retreats at Lake Garda.
Stroblhof Lake Garda, Gargnano
Ideal for a Sky Pool at 33°C and a family that’s been perfecting this for 350 years…
The Pircher family’s hospitality story begins not at Lake Garda but in South Tyrol, where the original Stroblhof in St. Leonhard in Val Passiria has operated as an inn since 1658. Four generations later, hosts Hansjörg and Sara Pircher spotted an opportunity on the western shore of Garda: a large, forested plot high above the town of Gargnano, inside the Parco dell’Alto Garda nature park, with unobstructed views across the lake. They signed the purchase in 2018, navigated a pandemic and the complexities of Italian planning permissions, and opened the Stroblhof Lake Garda as a five-star resort that brings the family’s South Tyrolean spa expertise to a Mediterranean setting.
The wellness offer centres on water. The headline is the adults-only Sky Pool, heated to 33°C and reserved for guests aged 16 and over, with panoramic views across the lake that are, by any reasonable measure, among the best on Garda. Below it, an 800m² natural bathing pond with its own infinity edge provides a chemical-free alternative, and an indoor-outdoor pool connects the spa interior with the terrace.
The sauna area includes a Finnish sauna and a steam bath. On the treatment side, the menu leans into the resort’s South Tyrolean roots (the Herbal Stamp Massage, heated alpine herbs wrapped in linen and drawn across the body on a film of essential oil, is the standout), though the range runs wider than that, from the 80-minute Lomi Lomi Nui, a Hawaiian full-body technique performed with the lower arms, to Thalgo’s Source Marine facial, a marine skincare ritual using algae extracts to target dehydration and dullness, and couples’ rituals for two. A yoga deck overlooking the lake completes the picture.
The resort is built for families in a way the others on this list are not. A miniclub, teenie lounge and weekly activity programme sit alongside the adults-only Sky Pool without the two worlds colliding. The spatial separation between the family zones and the adults-only areas is well managed, and the premium half-board arrangement, built around Italian and Mediterranean cuisine with an emphasis on regional ingredients, serves both audiences. For guests who want to be active beyond the spa, the resort runs a weekly programme covering water sports, hiking, cycling, road biking and golf, all drawing on Gargnano’s position on the lake’s western shore.
Ideal for a 4,300m² spa with its own medical philosophy and over 100 awards to prove it…
Lefay is, by most reckonings, the best-known wellness destination on Lake Garda and one of the most awarded spa hotels in Europe. It occupies an 11-hectare natural park of olive groves and woodland above Gargnano on the western shore, with views across the lake that guests and critics have been writing about since the resort opened. It is an adults-only property with over 100 international awards to its name, including the Sunday Times’ overall winner of the 50 Best Spas in the World in 2025.
The spa covers 4,300m² and is built around the proprietary Lefay SPA Method, developed in collaboration with an international medical team and blending Classical Chinese Medicine with Western scientific research. In practice, this means that wellness programmes here go beyond the standard massage-and-sauna offering: multi-day retreats address specific conditions including insomnia, chronic stress, detoxification and weight management, with treatments that stimulate energy pathways and acupuncture points alongside more conventional therapies.
The signature energy massages, colour-coded to address specific imbalances (yellow for anxiety, green for digestion), has previously won the European Health & Spa Award for Best Signature Treatment, and moxibustion (the heat therapy derived from Classical Chinese Medicine) features across several of the multi-day programmes. The facilities include six saunas (one ladies-only), five relaxation areas, a salt lake, an indoor-outdoor saltwater pool, a 25-metre outdoor swimming pool, a Jacuzzi and a Kneipp path.
Dining plays a central role in the wellness philosophy. The Vital Gourmet cuisine takes a modern approach to the Mediterranean diet using fresh, seasonal ingredients, with the option of a dedicated detox menu for guests on specific programmes. The restaurant, La Grande Limonaia, is designed to evoke the traditional lemon houses that once lined this stretch of the shore. The kitchen leans heavily on ingredients grown on the resort’s own Lake Garda and Tuscan olive estates, and Gargnano’s lemons appear throughout, in sauces, compotes and dressings that give the menu a distinctly local character.
The second restaurant, Gramen, takes this further: a meat-free, dairy-free fine-dining room where two tasting menus (one built around lake fish and seafood, one exclusively vegetable) draw on herbs and plants harvested from the resort’s therapeutic energy garden. Rooms and suites are spacious and lake-facing, and the top-tier Royal Pool & Spa Suite comes with its own private infinity pool and dedicated concierge. A free shuttle runs to Gargnano village for guests without cars.
Ideal for a Michelin-starred dinner followed by a spa built inside a Habsburg hunting lodge…
The Grand Hotel Fasano’s history is unusually rich, even by Lake Garda standards. Built in 1888 as a hunting lodge for the Austrian imperial family, it was later frequented by the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, the painter Gustav Klimt and the writer Paul Heyse. In 1989 it was designated a National Heritage Site by the Italian Ministry of Culture. Today it operates as a five-star family-run hotel and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, set within a 12,000m² lakeside park of palms, magnolias and banana trees with a private jetty and direct access to the shore.
The AQVA Spa was fully renovated in 2023 and expanded again in 2025 with the addition of a new spa wing containing four suites connected to the wellness centre by elevator. The spa now covers over 3,500m² and includes indoor and outdoor swimming pools connected by a tunnel passage, three saunas, two steam rooms, two hot tubs (one indoor, one outdoor), a Kneipp therapy path, chromotherapy showers, a gym and a spa garden on the lake. Treatments draw on the French Sothys Paris product range, and the signature 1888 GHF treatment, a face and body massage using scented butters inspired by the property’s gardens, nods to the hotel’s founding year.
The culinary offer is the strongest on this list. Il Fagiano, the signature restaurant led by chef Maurizio Bufi, was awarded a Michelin star in 2024 and serves a menu that draws on both northern and southern Italian traditions. Bufi’s Puglian background shapes the menu throughout: lampascioni, bottarga and langoustine all appear, while northern traditions hold their own in the pearà sauce (a Veronese bread and bone marrow preparation) and ravioli filled with goat, shiitake and barley miso. The risotto with lemon, burrata and liquorice has become something of a signature.
Three further dining options, including the lakefront Trattoria Il Pescatore and the park-set Magnolia Restaurant, give guests range without leaving the grounds. The hotel is seasonal, operating from April to October, and the combination of heritage, gastronomy and renewed spa facilities makes it an option that few properties on the lake can match for depth of experience.
Ideal for Tibetan singing bowls and an infinity pool on the shore no one else thought to build on…
Cape of Senses is the newest and most architecturally distinctive property on this list. Opened on the eastern shore of Lake Garda in Torri del Benaco, it was designed by Hugo and Alessia Demetz of Demetz Architects to follow the contours of the hillside, with a curved, low-slung structure clasped into the terrain roughly 200 metres above the lake. The owners, the Margesin family from Lana in South Tyrol (who also run the eco-resort ALPIANA Green Luxury in Völlan), wanted a property that prioritised the senses, and the architecture delivers: every aspect faces the lake, and the scalloped terraces create pooled spaces for dining, relaxation and contemplation.
The Senses SPA covers 2,000m² and takes a holistic, nature-connected approach to wellness. Treatments use medicinal herbs, aromatic salts, essential oils and lava stones, and the signature Inner Sounds treatment incorporates Tibetan singing bowls. A Finnish sauna, organic sauna and steam room are complemented by heated indoor and outdoor pools, a sports pool and an exclusive private spa for guests seeking total seclusion. The tea corner, stocked with dried flowers and herb infusions from the surrounding area, is a characteristic touch. Morning yoga sessions take place on an outdoor platform set among the olive trees and green meadows, with the lake below.
The resort is adults-only (14+) and a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Its 55 suites come in six categories, rising to the Sky Pool Suite Deluxe with its own 6×3 metre rooftop pool, sunbathing area and gazebo for sleeping under the stars. Two restaurants, Al Tramonto and the Osteria La Pergola, serve Italian and international cuisine with a focus on local, seasonal ingredients. The eastern shore location gives Cape of Senses a different perspective on the lake from the western shore properties that dominate this list, and the town of Torri del Benaco, with its medieval castle, pebbly beaches and fragrant citrus groves, is a short drive downhill.
Ideal for VINOBLE grape-seed treatments above the bay where Salò meets the Alps…
The A-ROSA was the first five-star hotel to open in the Gulf of Salò, and its position on the hillside above the bay gives it a panorama that takes in the lake, the surrounding mountains and the rooftops of one of Garda’s most handsome towns. The property belongs to DSR Hotel Holding, a German group that started with river cruises and now operates resorts in Kitzbühel, Sylt, Travemünde and Kleinwalsertal alongside the Lake Garda property. The interiors, designed by Berlin-based Bost Interior Design, blend Nordic restraint with Mediterranean warmth, and the colour palette takes its cues from the local landscape: the dark ochre of Salò’s rooftops, the silvery green of olive trees, the deep blue of the lake.
The SPA-ROSA spans 1,900m² and includes indoor and outdoor pools connected via a direct passage, a garden pool with a pool bar overlooking the bay, a bubble pool and four saunas: a 90°C Finnish sauna, a herbal sauna, a 65°C bio sauna and a 45°C peeling sauna. Private spa suites are available for guests who want treatments in a more intimate setting. The product range comes from VINOBLE Cosmetics, an Austrian vegan skincare line made from grape-seed extracts, and the signature A-ROSA Ritual builds a full treatment around this range. A SPA Remedy Bar serves revitalising teas and custom-blended peelings and oils.
The hotel sits above Salò but connects to the town via a woodland path (roughly 30 minutes on foot) or a complimentary shuttle. Salò’s three-kilometre lakefront promenade, its restaurants and its position as the starting point for ferry trips around the lake make it a strong base for guests who want to combine spa time with exploration. Free bike rental is included for guests, and the rooftop terrace, with views across the gulf to the Alps, is the kind of feature that earns a property repeat visits.
The lake, the light, the olive groves and the mountain backdrop do as much for your state of mind as any treatment menu. Whether you want a clinical wellness method backed by Chinese medicine, a Michelin-starred dinner followed by a soak in a renovated Habsburg spa, or simply a heated pool at 33°C with nothing between you and the water but the view, Lake Garda’s luxury wellness offer is now strong enough to stand alongside the best in the Alps.
Morning exercise? We couldn’t imagine anything worse. Several more hits of the snooze button please, then the whole wake up routine condensed into five minutes in the bathroom. That was, until we exerted some serious willpower, reframed how our AM should look, embraced the power of an early bird’s workout and learnt how to become embrace the power of a good morning workout.
The benefits are huge; a sense of achievement, a positive outlook for the rest of the day, and more free time in the evening. Join us, with these; our 8 ways to help you become a morning exerciser.
Set Up Everything The Night Before
We know what it’s like. Truly. Hearing that alarm go off and looking for any excuse not to get up, out and exercise. Raindrops on the windows? Result. Early morning meeting? Just this once. Gym kit not packed? No chance am I doing it now.
So, while you may not be able to control the weather or have as much autonomy as you’d like over work, you can make things easy for yourself in the morning by having everything set up and ready to go the night before. That means having your work clothes and lunch laid out and ready, as well as your gym bag packed, including toiletries, a water bottle and your headphones. You can also have a snack ready to eat, and coffee waiting to be brewed. Then it’s as easy as rolling out of bed and onto the treadmill.
Have A Solid Bedtime Routine & Wake Up Rituals
It’s incredible that only in the last few years we’ve woken up to the power of sleep and started to acknowledge its vital role in our health and wellbeing. And if you’re going to exercise early and effectively, you need to catch those zeds effectively.
Let’s flip the clock and start at bedtime. If you’re going to sleep well, it’s important to follow a routine, preferably one which is regular and unwavering. That means a consistent turn in time, a downing of tools (particularly those which emit that pesky blue light) an hour or two before bed, as well as perhaps a meditation and warm bath, and a concerted effort to keep your bedroom cool. We’ve written more about the IDEAL bedtime routine over here, by the way.
It’ll also stand you in good stead once at the gym if you wake up in the best possible way each day. Once you’ve opened your eyes, don’t dwell in bed checking Twitter. Get up, get the curtains open and get amongst it as soon as possible.
Morning Exercise Multi-Tasking
You don’t actually have to drag yourself to the gym each day to qualify as a ‘morning exerciser’. Sometimes our hectic schedules don’t grant us the time to get in a full workout, but a little stretching of the limbs can go a long way to lifting our spirits and setting us in the right frame of mind for the day. At the very least, take the time to engage in a few morning salutations and stretches to limber up for what’s to come.
Reframe the way you think about ‘exercise’, too. Exercising can be incorporated into practically any daily activity, and it’s easy and cheap to do. Squat at the fridge, take the stairs, park further away from the entrance, or walk-lunge on your way to the bathroom. Walk, cycle or run to work. Get in 15 minutes early and do some press ups somewhere quiet before you start work. Every little helps.
Buddy Up
There’s no motivation quite like having a companion smashing your door down and rousing you from your slumber dressed in head-to-toe lycra. Peer pressure, when executed positively, is some stimulus.
So, enlist a work colleague or friend to join you on your journey; the companionship and camaraderie is sure to spur you on. Make sure they’re similarly driven to get fit and committed to braving the mornings to do so. The most detrimental thing you can do is find an ally who encourages flakiness. Even better, get involved in morning group exercise classes. The power of peer pressure is exponential, after all.
Find A Team Sport That Sticks
There’s a particular kind of accountability that kicks in when other people are waiting for you on a court, a pitch or a patch of scrubland at 7am. Miss a solo gym session and only your conscience notices. Miss a team one and you’ve let down six other bleary-eyed souls who dragged themselves out of bed on your behalf. Suddenly the snooze button loses its appeal.
Pickleball is having its moment, and that momentum is worth riding if you’re trying to build a habit. Courts are springing up across the UK, the learning curve is forgiving enough that you won’t humiliate yourself on day one, and communities like Pickleball People are making it easier than ever to find a morning session near you, connecting players to clubs and courts up and down the country. The crowd tends to be the sort who’ll notice your absence and give you grief about it next time, which is precisely the point. But if paddle sports leave you cold, the fringes are where things get interesting.
Consider kabaddi, the South Asian contact sport that’s essentially tag crossed with wrestling, now played by a growing number of UK clubs. Or walking football, which trades sprints for strategy and is one of the fastest-growing participation sports in the country.
Sepak takraw, often described as volleyball played with the feet, has a small but devoted following and will do more for your flexibility than any yoga class. Korfball, the mixed-gender Dutch hybrid of basketball and netball, rewards teamwork over individual flair. Even something like Real Tennis, played in only a handful of courts nationwide, comes with a morning league and a community that takes attendance seriously.
The more niche the pursuit, the stronger the bonds tend to be, and the harder it becomes to bail. Find your tribe, however odd, and the mornings start to look after themselves.
Reward Yourself
Incentivising your morning workouts can be a powerful motivator. Set small, achievable goals and reward yourself when you meet them. This could be as simple as enjoying a delicious, healthy breakfast post-workout, treating yourself to a new piece of gym gear, or even allowing some extra relaxation time in the evening. By associating your morning exercise with positive rewards, you’ll create a cycle of motivation and achievement. Over time, these rewards will help solidify your morning exercise habit, making it something you look forward to rather than dread.
Embrace The Power Of Music
Music has an incredible ability to energise and motivate us, making it a perfect companion for your morning exercise routine. Create a playlist filled with your favourite upbeat tracks that get your blood pumping and your feet moving. The right music can transform a sluggish morning into an invigorating start to the day. Whether it’s pop, rock, or electronic beats, find what works for you and let the rhythm drive your workout. Additionally, consider using wireless headphones to avoid any tangled distractions and keep your focus solely on your exercise.
Warm Up & Down Completely
If you don’t fancy hobbling around for the rest of the day, muttering that the early bird catches nothing but pain, then you’ll need to warm up prior and warm down after comprehensively. This is particularly important with morning exercise as your body is still stiff and susceptible to injury from a long night of laying down. Cold mornings only serve to emphasise the threat. Don’t skip this part because time is scant. Instead, give the muscles which will be getting a going over a good stretch.
So, if you’re running, pay particular attention to your calves, thighs and hamstring. If you’re lifting weights, your biceps, triceps and shoulders will need a good stretch. Job done.
Since you’ve arrived here unabated and unprompted, it’s clear you know that the role of a pet parent extends far beyond the simple pleasures of cosy cuddles and joyous games of fetch. You also know, deep down, that the kibble you’ve been scooping into the bowl each morning deserves a bit more thought than a cursory glance at the packaging. So let’s get into it: what should your dog actually be eating, how much of it, and what are the warning signs that something’s off?
Getting The Basics Right
Dogs need a balanced diet built around proteins, healthful fats, carbohydrates, and a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals. That much is obvious. What’s less obvious is how wildly the quality varies between brands.
A high-quality dog food will list a named meat source as its first ingredient, not vague “meat derivatives” or grain fillers. When scanning the label, look for a clear breakdown of protein percentage (ideally around 25% for adult dogs), identifiable fat sources, and minimal use of artificial preservatives or colourings. If the ingredients list reads like a chemistry textbook, that’s your cue to put it back on the shelf.
The Scales Don’t Lie: Keeping Your Dog At A Healthy Weight
Just as with humans, maintaining an optimal weight is crucial to your dog’s overall health. Being underweight or overweight can lead to a host of problems, from joint stress to reduced immunity. Regular vet check-ups offer an invaluable resource for monitoring their weight and health status, but you can keep tabs at home too. Run your hands along their ribcage; you should be able to feel the ribs without pressing hard, but they shouldn’t be visibly protruding either.
If your dog needs to shed a few pounds, specialist weight management foods can help. These are formulated to be lower in calories while remaining rich in nutrients and fibre, so your dog feels satisfied without the excess. That said, always consult your vet before making significant dietary changes.
It’s Not Just What, But How Much
Portion control is where many well-meaning owners slip up. The feeding guide on the packaging is a starting point, but it’s just that: a starting point. Adjust according to your dog’s size, age, breed, and activity level. A working Border Collie and a sofa-loving Pug have very different caloric needs, even at the same weight.
Few topics divide dog owners quite like the raw feeding question. Advocates argue that a diet of raw meat, bones, and organs mirrors what dogs evolved to eat, and can lead to shinier coats, healthier teeth, and better digestion. Sceptics, including many vets, point to the risks of bacterial contamination (salmonella and E. coli being the main concerns), nutritional imbalance if meals aren’t carefully formulated, and the practical challenges of handling raw meat safely at home.
The truth, as ever, sits somewhere in the middle. Raw feeding can work well, but it demands research, planning, and ideally guidance from a veterinary nutritionist to ensure your dog gets everything they need. If you’re considering the switch, don’t go cold turkey (so to speak); introduce raw elements gradually alongside their existing food and monitor closely for any digestive upset.
Mealtime Monotony? The Spice Of Variety
Consistency is key in a dog’s diet, but a bit of variety can deliver a broader range of nutrients and keep mealtimes interesting. Dog-safe fruits and vegetables (think blueberries, carrots, green beans), lean meats, and certain types of fish all make worthwhile additions. But the danger list is worth memorising.
According to Modern Vet’s guide to pet nutrition and food safety, xylitol, an artificial sweetener commonly found in sugar-free peanut butters and chewing gum, is one of the most dangerous substances a dog can ingest, capable of triggering a sudden drop in blood sugar and even liver failure within hours. Chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions, and garlic should all be avoided too.
Hydration Nation: Don’t Forget About Water
Keeping your dog well-hydrated supports everything from digestion to temperature regulation. Fresh, clean water should be available at all times, and it’s worth noting that a study published by the University of New England, Australia, found that dogs often prefer their water cold. Adding a few ice cubes to the bowl on warm days or after exercise is a simple way to encourage them to drink more.
Keep an eye out for signs of dehydration: lethargy, dry gums, and loss of skin elasticity (gently pinch the skin on the back of their neck; it should spring back immediately). If you notice any of these, contact your vet.
Treats: Snack Smart, Not Hard
Treats are a brilliant training tool and bonding mechanism, but they add up faster than most owners realise. As a rule, they should account for no more than 10% of your dog’s daily calorie intake. Lean meats, pumpkin puree, and dog-safe vegetables like cucumber or carrot sticks are all solid alternatives to shop-bought treats, and remember to factor them into the day’s overall calorie count.
Age Is More Than A Number: Dietary Changes Through Life Stages
A puppy’s nutritional needs are radically different from a senior dog’s. Puppies need more calories and higher protein to fuel their rapid growth, while older dogs typically benefit from fewer calories and more targeted nutrients supporting joint health and cognitive function. Adjusting their diet according to their phase of life is one of the simplest things you can do to keep them thriving at every stage.
Watch Out For Food Allergies & Intolerances
Dogs can develop food allergies or intolerances just as humans can, with common culprits including dairy, beef, wheat, and chicken. Symptoms to watch for include persistent itching, recurrent ear infections, and digestive issues like vomiting or diarrhoea. If you suspect an allergy, your vet may recommend an elimination diet to identify the trigger, which involves stripping the diet back to a single protein and carbohydrate source, then reintroducing ingredients one at a time.
Timing Is Everything
Regular feeding times aren’t just convenient; they support healthy digestion and help prevent overeating. Most adult dogs do well on two meals a day, while puppies may need three or four smaller servings to sustain their energy levels. Try to feed at roughly the same times each day, and resist the urge to leave food out for grazing, which makes it much harder to monitor how much they’re actually eating.
The Bottom Line
Every dog is different, and there’s no single diet that works for all of them. But with a bit of attention to what you’re feeding, how much, and how your dog responds, you can build a nutrition plan that keeps them healthy, energetic, and content. When in doubt, your vet is always the best port of call.
Rather strangely for a place where the bedraggled and the hungover so often congregate, these words don’t actually feel like the most natural of bedfellows. Perhaps it’s the fact that brunch is more of a neighbourhood thing, and not many of us are lucky/cursed enough to live in Soho.
Maybe it’s that dining in Soho is more synonymous with high jinx, debauchery and, you know, nightlife. Or, maybe it’s that, by the time everyone can stomach food in this neck of the woods, it’s time for lunch…
…Anyway, these are all just sweeping statements in service of an introduction. In reality, there are plenty of great places to enjoy brunch in Soho, whatever your stripes, likes and appetites. Here are just a few of them; our favourite brunches in Soho, London.
Bar Italia, Frith Street
Ideal for espresso, Esportazione and early morning eating…
We start our brunch crawl of Soho at one of the neighbourhood’s most beloved ol’ girls, Bar Italia. Sitting pretty on Frith Street since 1949 and soaking up Soho’s revellers for just as long, Bar Italia is open daily from 7am to 5am, allowing you to get ‘brunch’ at the beginning or end of the day/night, however the mood takes you.
It’s where all the broken people go, sure, but it’s also where plenty of well put together folk do their thing. Either way, if you’re looking for the ultimate Italian breakfast, of a pastry, double espresso and a ciggy, this is your spot.
For something a little heftier, Bar Italia also does ciabatta rolls with Italian sausage or bacon. Lovely stuff, and for just £4.20, an absolute steal in this part of town. In this city. In this country…
Bar Italia now has a second outpost at Outernet on Tottenham Court Road, which opened in January of last year year – though for the full experience, the original remains the one to visit.
Ideal for a soul-nourishing Syrian vegetarian breakfast…
For something decidedly more nourishing, both for stomach and soul, head to Imad’s Syrian Kitchen in that wretched old place, Kingly Court.
More than just a restaurant; Imad’s Syrian Kitchen is a testament to resilience and passion. Helmed by Syrian restaurateur Imad Alarnab, who fled Damascus in 2015 amid the ravages of war, this kitchen is a love letter to Syrian cuisine and the country itself.
With a journey that saw him cooking for fellow refugees across Europe before settling in London, Imad’s story adds heartfelt seasoning to every dish served, with the warmhearted man working the room every time we’ve eaten here.
It’s the kind of hug you want from your brunch, setting you up for the day in some style. And that’s before you’ve even tried the glorious fatteh from the all-vegetarian breakfast offering here, which runs from Monday to Saturday from 8:30am to 11:30am. Rich and, erm, fatteh, fried shards of flatbread are layered with spiced chickpeas and a tahini-spiked yoghurt, the whole thing then topped with melted ghee. Woof. Equally good is a gold-standard shaksuka, here topped with dill fronds for a bit of added intrigue and elegance.
If you prefer to start your day with something sweet, the riaayiq asal has got your name on. This deceptively simple dish sees flaky cheese-filled filo pastry baked until golden before being drizzled with honey. It is fantastic.
Though Imad might chastise you for having coffee so early in the day and point you in the direction of his beloved mint tea, we can’t resist a stiff, viscous Syrian coffee here, blessed with the unmistakable perfume of cardamom. Together with the dining room’s unstoppable flow of natural light, the deal is very much sealed, whatever the day chooses to throw at you. On hotter days, the Damascus ice tea, made with hibiscus, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, and agave, is a revelation.
And if you do insist on your brunch being meat based, then on Sundays the brunch menu at Imad’s Syrian Kitchen is a little different, with the usual breakfast menu supplemented by a few classics from the broader menu.
The restaurant’s popularity shows no signs of waning – Imad’s has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its great value cooking for the last four years, and Imad himself has recently opened Aram by Imad at Somerset House, bringing his signature hospitality to a second London location.
When: Breakfast is served Monday to Saturday, from 8:30am to 11:30am. A broader brunch menu is served on Sundays from 11am.
Ideal for a restorative bowl of something soul-warming…
A few doors down from Ronnie Scott’s is Koya, a slender corridor of a Japanese noodle bar that’s been essential London eating (brunch or otherwise) since 2010. Here it’s walk-ins only, no bookings, queues down the street – the hallmarks of a place that’s earned its reputation through delivering on its promise.
Inside, it’s all counter seating and bowed heads. Around 25 spots line the open kitchen, where you can watch the chefs work their way through the morning’s udon, the noodles made fresh on-site daily and possessing that unmistakable bounce and chew you only get from the real thing. It’s a meditative sort of place, well-suited to solo dining or a catch-up with one other person. Any more than two and you’ll struggle to explain the nuance of your latest life dramas.
Leave them at the door, as this is a place to be nourished. The breakfast menu, served until midday, offers something genuinely different to the usual poached eggs and sourdough (must. not. reach. for. the. avo. cliche) line-up. For the traditionalists, the Japanese breakfast (around £17) is textbook: grilled mackerel, rice, miso soup and an assortment of pickles. It’s the kind of thing that sets you up without weighing you down, clean and restorative in that distinctly Japanese way. Add an onsen tamago – a softly poached egg in chilled dashi – if you want something extra to tinker with.
For the globe-trotting, the English Breakfast udon (around £16) is one of the city’s cult classic brunch options. Thick-cut bacon, a gloriously runny fried egg and earthy shiitake mushrooms sit atop springy udon in a light broth. It shouldn’t work, this collision of fry-up and noodle bar, but it absolutely does – the pig fat enriching the broth, the egg yolk breaking and coating the noodles.
Simpler still, a kama tama – just udon, raw egg and soy – is the purist’s choice, the heat of the noodles gently cooking the egg into a silky coating. It’s comfort food at its most elemental.
To drink, there’s Japanese barley tea, hot ginger tea, or if you’re feeling robust, a beer. The whole thing will set you back under £20, and you can be in and out in half an hour if the day demands it.
When: Open daily, 10am to 10pm. Breakfast served until midday. Walk-ins only
It’s probably clear by now that brunch in Soho doesn’t need to only be about bacon, eggs and a builder’s. The area caters to all tastes and budgets, and at our next spot for a fine Soho brunch, the proposition is very different to either vegetarian Syrian food or an espresso and Esportazione.
Temper Soho is a one-of-a-kind barbecue restaurant tucked in beneath Broadwick Street in a vast basement space, its grungy, below street-level surrounds apropos with the mise en scene of live fire cooking and the nose-to-tail ethos of the restaurant and its founder, Neil Rankin.
Brunch here is a reassuringly raucous affair, both on the plate and in the room. Available from midday to 3pm every Saturday, it’s an all-in for £45 affair. This figure, a bargain in today’s economy, gets you a brunch platter of epic, carnivorous proportions, stacked with coal-roasted belted Galloway beef, smoked beef sausages and pork burnt ends.
And that’s just the meat! Potatoes with gochujang butter, fried eggs, charred peppers, pickled chillies, paratha and chimichurri…it’s all there, it’s all very extra, and it’s all likely to make tackling those stairs back up to Broadwick Street feel like you’re climbing a mountain. And that’s before you factor in the one and a half hours of free flow lagers, wine, prosecco and margaritas that’s also included in that £45. Come up for air, it’s smokey down here.
When: Brunch is served from midday to 3pm every Saturday
Does Dishoom even need introducing anymore? We’re all au fait with the mission statement, of paying homage to the storied Irani cafés of old Bombay. Since its inception in Covent Garden in the heady days of 2010, we’ve all demurred over the house black dal (before noticing even better versions in other places across town).
And we’ve all, at one time or another, smashed back a bacon naan roll and erroneously declared it the best bacon sarnie in London.
Served from 8am to 11.45am on weekdays and from 9am to 11.45am on weekends, it’s become Dishoom’s most famous dish. Featuring (not even sure why we’re doing this) crisp, smoked streaky bacon wrapped in a fresh naan, accompanied by chilli tomato jam and cream cheese, it’s as good as it ever was, but the bacon naan roll (£11.50, incidentally) isn’t the only brunch dish on offer at the Carnaby branch of Dishoom.
There’s also Kejriwal, an enjoyable dish of two perfectly fried eggs (no snotty white here) sitting on chilli cheese toast, or a Parsi three egg omelette that uses diced green chilli to pleasing effect.
For the sugar heads, the Irani café staple bun maksa is satisfying in its simplicity; buttered brioche soldiers are served alongside steaming, spicy chai, the former to be dipped in the latter. Or, date and banana porridge, this one bottomless and re-uppable, also hits the spot.
But for us, the best brunch dish at Dishoom isn’t anything sweet, nor is it egg related. It’s not the country-conquering bacon naan roll, either. The killer dish here, without question, is the keema per eedu. Here, spiced minced chicken, salty and heady as hell, is studded with lovely little nuggets of diced chicken liver. Plonked on the plate unceremoniously, because we don’t need anyone tweezering our brunch, it’s topped with two fried eggs. The obligatory accompanying buns are there to be filled. Love this one – yours for £17.50.
It’s a salty beast, as we said, but a lovely little mango and fennel lassi or the signature masala chai will soothe and cleanse you. The sins of last night though? They’re never getting cleansed…
When: Brunch is served from 8am to 11.45am on weekdays and from 9am to 11.45am on weekends
Ideal for a fry-up steeped in traditional but not too much oil…
Steeped in history and still packing plenty of charm, Balans Soho No.34 is an iconic spot in Soho with a legacy dating back to 1987. Initially known as The Old Compton Café, this quaint corner eatery set out to offer delicious food around the clock, quickly becoming a local favourite in a neighbourhood that used to be London’s 24 hour party hub.
Those days have long gone since London’s night tsar keeps clocking off early, but a decent, wholesome brunch at Balans remains, sprawling from 8am to 5pm each day. We’ve taken a while to introduce a proper Full English to our rundown of the best brunches in Soho, but a fine one is served here – no fuss, no frippery, just a damn good version that sees you right and isn’t offensively greasy, too.
The famous French toast is a must-try, too with caramelised banana, warm maple butter and pecans. For something a little less conventional, fried chicken pancakes with spicy Korean honey and kimchi salsa is a fine dish indeed, and one to put the hairs on your chest and the burn in your heart early doors. Pair it with a couple of pert Breakfast Martinis, pray you’ve packed some Gaviscon, and watch Soho slowly open up. Heaven.
When: Open from 9am daily, brunch is served until 5pm
Ideal for alfresco late brunching in the heart of Soho…
Just a short hop from Tottenham Court Road Station, Kapara occupies an enviable position, with a large terrace that manages to be slap bang in the middle of the action but also far enough removed from the road the offer a bit of intimacy.
A restaurant based around a playful, Middle Eastern-inspired theme, there’s a sense of fun and theatre about the peach-hued, curvaceous furnishings. That’s carried through to the outdoor space, where throbbing music and the soundtrack of lively chatter interweave and entangle.
The brunch menu is all killer no filler, with a round of six or so mezze (none of which top £7) followed by larger plates that are priced fairly in the mid teens. From the former section of the menu, the hummus ‘katan’ is particularly good, a gorgeous muddle of long-braised aubergine and tomato, both collapsing and sweet, that’s given piquancy by a good dusting of sumac. You can add slow-braised lamb and make it a more fulfilling affair.
It’s from the larger plates that things get more recognisably ‘brunchy’; go for the harissa and hake, whose prosaic billing belies the fact that it’s an expertly conceived cousin of the fish finger sandwich. For £19, it’s on the premium end of the brunch experience, but for a spot on the gorgeous terrace in the sun, ideally clutching an on-brand Watermelon Spritz that’s the same shade as the decor, it’s worth those extra few coins.
As well as Kapara’s excellent brunch, the restaurant does a set lunch deal that’s hard to top in this part of town; for just £25, you get two courses and a side, with the likes of light, enlivening ceviche of black bream, scotch bonnet and nectarines, or crispy chicken thighs in an orange & harissa glaze featuring on the menu.
When: Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11am
Ideal for a satisfying Italian breakfast from a Soho doyenne…
When it comes to brekkie in Soho, there’s no place quite like Lina Stores Delicatessen on Brewer Street. Established in 1944 by the indomitable Lina (not a single publication knows her surname) from Genova, this iconic spot – the original of a burgeoning army – has been serving the best of Italian deli bits to Londoners for nearly 80 years.
Today, the kitchen is headed by the talented Masha Rener, an experienced chef from Umbria who’s passionate about Italian produce, and it’s that sourcing that makes the breakfasts at the inaugural Brewer Street branch so satisfying.
The paninis are the most substantial breakfast item at Lina, with a rundown of 10 all using the excellent house focaccia, and all priced between £7.95 and £9.95. Our go-to order is the Tuscan sausage, salty and fennel spiked, melting Scamorza cheese, and fried egg number, which is as generous a breakfast as you’ll find in Soho for under a tenner.
Even better, and a rare find in London, is Lina’s parigina, a typical Neapolitan street food that sees a square of pizza dough topped with, here, spinach and ricotta (£4.50) before that’s then topped with puff pastry. Sounds odd, tastes bloody excellent with a coffee.
Also excellent with a coffee, if you feel your sweet tooth needs satisfying, there’s a fine range of dolci, the moist, fragrant orange and almond cake feeling sufficiently breakfasty, we think. Enjoy it all standing at the counter, in typical Italian style, or take a seat at one of the outdoor tables if it’s warm and pleasant.
When: Open for breakfast from 10am daily, except Sundays, when things get going an hour later, at 11am
Ideal for a wholesome Chinese breakfast to put a spring onion in your step…
Chinatown’s earliest riser, Far East Bakery has the breakfast needs of Gerard Street taken care of with its dumplings, soups, bakes and other Chinese breakfast dishes.
Serving breakfast from 9am to 5pm (can we even call that ‘brunch’?!), this bakery keeps the menu clear and concise, with the soup dumplings an obvious highlight. For £12.80, the pork, prawn and chive wonton soup is a winner, though if we’re feeling fancy we might add a few pan-fried bao to our order, which arrive with whimsical, doily-like fried edges.
Best of all, though, is a simple bowl of salted bean curd that wobbles like a pannacotta when you nudge it. It’s dressed simply with peanuts and pickles. It’s all you need; a glorious antithesis to the fry–up or stack of pancakes that will lay you low for the whole day. This bowl of nourishment, priced keenly at just £5.80, will give you a welcome spring in your step.
We haven’t tried the sweet rice wine with egg yet, but we certainly plan to.
Ideal for a vegan breakfast that’s had some thought go into it…
We realise that we haven’t covered the explicitly vegetarian side of Soho brunching yet, so we’ll end at Mildred’s on Lexington Street, where all your plant-based breakfast needs are taken care of.
Co-founded by Jane Muir and Diane Thomas in 1988, this (at least, then) pioneering eatery boasts a storied history of serving vegetarian, and now fully plant-based, cuisine. The restaurant’s name pays homage to Mildred Cooke, the historical figure tied to Stamford, yet the vibe here is anything but antiquated.
With a brunch menu of global dishes, from grilled Roman artichokes with hemp Caesar salad (good stuff) to southern fried seitan burgers (less so), there’s plenty of thought and effort gone into these dishes, making a welcome change from the usual avocado on toast that the vegetarians get sidelined with.
