The gleaming heart of London’s luxury shopping universe, Bond Street remains the place where credit cards go to die and personal shoppers earn their keep. Between the Hermès windows and Cartier sparkle, the queues for Selfridges and the exclusive boutiques that don’t even display price tags, you’ll work up quite an appetite.
Fortunately, the streets radiating out from Bond Street station offer everything from Michelin-starred restaurants to more approachable neighbourhood spots happy to feed the fashion-conscious and the badly dressed without discrimination.
We’ve pounded the pavements from New Bond Street to Grosvenor Square (gaining several stone in the process) to bring you the restaurants that provide escapism, distraction or just a simple refuel, before you hit the shops once again. Here are the best restaurants near Bond Street.
Corrigan’s Mayfair, Upper Grosvenor Street
Ideal for proper British cooking and power lunches…
Five minutes from Bond Street station on Upper Grosvenor Street, the flagship of chef Richard Corrigan continues to prove that British and Irish cooking can hold its own against just about any cuisine in the world. Or, at least, any in a few mile radius of here…
This is clubby dining room perfection, all leather banquettes and warm lighting, the kind of place where deals get done over well-executed dishes, and everyone leaves blinking into the light wondering how best to cancel all of their afternoon meetings.
The Menu du Jour (£38 for three courses at lunch, £48 at dinner) represents genuinely good value for Mayfair, particularly when those courses might include smoked bone marrow agnolotti with Jerusalem artichoke or carpaccio of pig’s head with chicken liver and foie gras. Not for the squeamish, perhaps, but brilliant if you’re game. Or, indeed, love game.
Dickie’s Bar downstairs serves excellent cocktails if you fancy arriving early, whilst the Peter Hannan côte de boeuf for two has become a signature dish amongst the city’s carnivores. If you feel tired just reading all that, the butter-poached haddock with parsnip and cured egg yolk shows the kitchen’s lighter side, confirming that their pitch-perfect cooking extends well beyond meat.
Do be warned; the ‘cheapest’ (all relative, of course; we’ll come to that in a minute) bottle here is £42 for a Languedoc white, though wines by the glass start from a more reasonable (again, relative; Mayfair, and all that) £9.50.
Book ahead if it’s the weekend, or try your luck at the bar counter for walk-ins.
Ideal for progressive Indian that breaks all the rules…
Chet Sharma’s intimate 33-seater on North Audley Street has been collecting awards faster than you can say “Wookey Hole cheese papad” — their genius take on Quavers, if you’re asking. Having worked at L’Enclume, Moor Hall and Mugaritz, Sharma brings fine dining technique to dishes inspired by his Punjabi heritage in a handsome room with a classy, weighty feel.
The restaurant is named after his grandmothers (bibi being a term of endearment for grandmother across the Indian subcontinent) and their recipes provide the foundation, all filtered through Sharma’s multi-star training and applied to premium British produce. So, that’s family classics like Sharmaji’s Lahori chicken sharing billing with ajwaini scallop dressed with Wiltshire truffle and achari British Wagyu beef.
A recent visit spring visit saw the lunch menu keenly priced at £65 for four courses: a bright Hamachi and blood orange nimbu pani, Cotswold’s paneer, a tight, hugely enjoyable bun of Texel lamb nihari, that family chicken curry and its accoutrements, and a seasonal rhubarb and ginger kulfi.
There’s no a la carte; this is what you get, and it’s nice to submit to the occasion for what initially feels like a steal, especially in this part of town. Then you open the wine list. Bottles barely dip below £100 and head skyward fast after that, with Salons and Krugs stretching into four figures and even a solid Burgundy costing several hundred. Corkage at £70 a bottle suddenly looks like a shrewd move when most of the list costs multiples of that. Dinner is a single tasting menu at £145, incidentally.
Pitch up at the 13-seat counter if you can. It faces the open kitchen and provides dinner theatre, though the mango wood-lined main room has its charms too.
Named Restaurant of the Year by GQ in 2022 and currently placed at number 32 in the National Restaurant Awards, booking ahead is recommended. They can’t accommodate children under 12 due to licensing, which honestly suits the grown-up atmosphere.
Ideal for seafood in Mayfair’s most storied dining room…
Just a few minute’s walk from Bond Street station, Scott’s has been serving the finest seafood since 1851, when it started life as an oyster warehouse. This is where Ian Fleming conceived James Bond’s martini preference, and where the burgundy leather banquettes beneath antique glass columns still whisper of old-school glamour.
The onyx-topped oyster bar finished in stingray skin (no idea, either) remains the heart of the operation, where champagne and Colchester natives make perfect sense at any hour. Dover sole arrives butter-poached (at £56, you’d hope they’d butter poach you too), the roasted shellfish platter for two represents the apex of British seafood, and the lobster thermidor consistently earns superlatives after all these years, despite its retrograde feel. Or, perhaps, because of it…
Interestingly, if you’ve got money to burn, Scott’s has recently launched their own exclusive Chablis collection, crafted in collaboration with Château du Val de Mercy. The ‘Exclusif a Scott’s’ range includes a Petit Chablis 2023 (£82), benchmark Chablis 2023 (£125, £22 by the glass), and Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Jouan 2023 (£155) – each meticulously chosen to complement the restaurant’s seafood-focused menu with their distinctive mineral backbone and crisp acidity.
The pavement terrace fills quickly in decent weather, whilst two private dining rooms cater to those requiring discretion. Some bar counter seats accommodate walk-ins.
Ideal for two-Michelin-starred Indian dining in heritage club surroundings…
Five minutes from Bond Street on Albemarle Street, Gymkhana earned its second Michelin star in February 2024, cementing its position as London’s leading Indian restaurant. The interiors evoke the private clubs of the Raj era – jade green and dark timber upstairs channel Calcutta mansions, whilst the basement glows in Kashmiri red with hunting trophies from the Maharaja of Jodhpur.
It’s an intoxicating room, and that’s even before the tandoori masala lamb chops arrive, heady with cardamom and thrumming with cumin. Bolstered by walnut chutney, they are an impossibly succulent affair. For those who derive pleasure from getting their hands messy in a two star, the kid goat methi keema comes with pau rolls for DIY assembly.
And then, it’s on to the showstoppers. The wild muntjac biryani emerges in puff pastry, dramatically opened tableside to release saffron-scented steam. Kasoori chicken tikka showcases the tandoor’s mastery, impossibly tender but still blackened and blistered in all the right places. God, it’s all so good.
A subject of some controversy lately, dinner requires a £100 per person minimum spend, taken as deposit against the final bill, though the £75 lunch set menu offers exceptional value for two-star cooking. Either way, bookend (treat yourself to a sharpener and a night cap, you deserve it) your meal at the exclusive cocktail lounge 42 upstairs features Indian-inspired drinks alongside extensive gin and whiskey collections.
Book up to two months ahead, and you will need to book. Reservations open at 6am GMT daily.
Ideal for spice-forward elegance that won’t destroy your budget…
Atul Kochhar was the first Indian chef to win a Michelin star back in 2001, and his Maddox Street restaurant (two minutes from Bond Street) shows he hasn’t been resting on his laurels.
It’s still Michelin-level (a plate, admittedly), but the prices here fly in the face of both that recognition and its Mayfair location. The express lunch at £29.50 for two courses might be Central London’s best-kept secret, particularly when those courses could include Devon crab bonda or Gangtok momos with Kentish lamb.
From the larger menu, the black dal alone justifies the journey, though at these prices you can afford to explore widely. Do so with the signature chicken tikka pie perfectly encapsulates Kochhar’s Anglo-Indian approach – familiar yet surprising. The New Forest venison keema and raw beef pepper fry with fermented Tellicherry peppercorns continue on a theme, showcasing a confidence with spicing that many fine dining-leaning Indian restaurants in London lack.
Ideal for Spanish tapas without the West End markup…
Just around the corner from Bond Street station, this lively Spanish bar has made the humble croqueta its calling card. The St Christopher’s Place location offers excellent value in an area not known for budget dining, with four pairs of croquetas for £24 and most small plates under £10.
The blackboard menu changes weekly but always features their signature crispy croquetas – the black squid ink with aioli and ham versions consistently please the crowds. Beyond the eponymous dish, the flame-grilled pork pintxos with chimichurri and classic tortilla show impressive technique for the price point. There are even sweet croquetas to finish; the salted caramel provides a particularly indulgent finale.
The vibe channels northern Spanish bars with counter seating perfect for solo diners and small groups up to four (no reservations for larger parties). Expect Spanish covers of English songs, enthusiastic staff who genuinely care about the food, and an atmosphere that feels more Madrid than Mayfair. Open from 12pm daily, it’s the perfect place for a mid-shop pitstop. And yes, we realise that’s a clumsy rhyme scheme, but we’re keeping it anyway…
Ideal for patisserie perfection with royal connections…
India Hicks (King Charles III’s goddaughter) has teamed up with the fourth-generation Ayan brothers from Turkish chocolatier dynasty Pelit to create Mayfair’s most talked-about new patisserie. Sitting pretty on North Audley Street, the de Gournay wallpaper and leopard print accents scream expensive good taste, and the chocolates and other sweet treats taste good. What’s not to love? Except, you know, the suspicion that the taxpayer has contributed to this place…
Anyway, the chocolate éclairs represent seven decades of Turkish chocolate expertise, the Basque cheesecake is just the right side of oozing, and the magnolia pudding has already spawned a thousand Instagram posts. They serve wine and barista-made coffee if you fancy making an afternoon of it, plus lobster rolls for those requiring something savoury before the sugar assault begins.
Ideal for Italian-American theatre and tableside Caesar salads…
The hardest reservation in New York has finally crossed the Atlantic, taking residence in the former US Embassy building at The Chancery Rosewood. This is where you come for red-sauce Italian-American glamour if you manage to get let in. And, to be honest, you haven’t managed to score a table at The Dover.
The spicy rigatoni alla vodka is the restaurant’s signature dish across the pond for good reason, though the veal parmigiana and branzino deserve equal attention. Waiters in maroon tuxedos perform tableside Caesar salads and bananas Foster with the kind of showmanship that’s sometimes missing from the sometimes self-conscious London dining scene.
Yes, it’s expensive. And sure, you’ll struggle to get a table unless you’re famous. But the Murano sconces, jewel-toned seating and general sense of occasion make this worth the effort. This is where Rihanna and Taylor Swift eat in New York, which tells you everything about the vibe they’re cultivating. It tells you quite a lot about the quality of the food too, quite honestly.
For a city of its size and cultural capital, Southampton’s restaurant scene feels criminally underrated.
Sure, this might be the city where Jane Austen celebrated her 18th birthday and wrote Sense and Sensibility. And yes, it is the place where both the iconic Spitfire and the Titanic had their maiden voyages (the former more successful than the latter, of course), but ask most Sotonian about their culinary heritage, and it’s Clarence Birdseye, the founding father of fish fingers, that might first come to mind.
You can probably guess where this one is going; as locals and proud Saints, we hope we’re not taking the partisan position when we say that Southampton’s restaurant scene is thriving, with national acclaim and awards recognition surely around the corner.
If you’re in the city and wondering where to eat, then here are the very best restaurants in Southampton.
The Jetty, Ocean Village
Idealfor finely done seafood with views of the marina…
From your mum’s kitchen to a place with Michelin-starred aspirations, The Jetty manages to straddle fun and fine dining with grace, and is our favourite high-end restaurant in Southampton, hands down.
It’s a seafood-forward menu here, brought to life not only by veteran chef Alex Aitken, but also by the light and airy dining room, which boasts panoramic views across swanky Ocean Village Marina, and a terrace that always seems to be bathed in Solent sunshine and on the receiving end of the most gentle of sea breezes.
Phew, we could sit out here all day, but the kitchen’s pass-spanning display of freshly caught local fish laying proudly over ice has enticed us back inside. Though there’s a keenly priced set menu at £35 for three courses, we prefer to run roughshod over the a la carte offering – mainly because that’s where the funky, umami-heavy crab croquettes are found.
After that, for the ultimate seafood experience it has to be – and always is – the mixed fish grill, which sees the catch of the day grilled on the bone, served alongside a handful of tiger prawns, a marinière featuring clams, cockles and mussels, and, of course, some aioli, here positively humming with roasted garlic. For £37.50, it’s an absolute steal, though do be warned that it’s not always on the menu.
The restaurant is open everyday except Monday for lunch and dinner, closing a little earlier on Sundays.
Ideal for a contemporary take on the food of South East Asia…
Another fantastic restaurant in Southampton’s Ocean Village is Blue Jasmine, a place doing contemporary, tapas-inspired (hence the really bad pun in the name) takes on East Asian cuisine with real flair and imagination.
Though we’re usually a little cautious of ‘refined’ takes on regional cooking (isn’t it refined enough already?), there’s so much to love about the food at Blue Jasmine, with some seriously show-stopping dishes bringing some much needed spice and vitality to this corner of the quayside.
The kitchen here is now being led by promising young chef Anthony Vito, who fuses memories of growing up in the Phillipines and cooking Indonesian nasi goreng with some of Hampshire’s finest produce. The results are spectacular, whether that’s in the Hampshire lamb chops with sambal, diced Hampshire beef fillet with black peppercorn sauce, or the restaurant’s signature imperial crispy duck with pancakes. All of these clock in at £20, which is smart value in this swanky part of town.
Image via Blue Jasmine
If you’rekeen to sample the broadest range of Blue Jasmine’s innovative takes on East Asian food, then the Chef’s Choice menu (£60 for two) is a winner, with around 10 sharing dishes filling the table and complementing each other beautifully. Keep an eye on the restaurant’s partnership with Hampshire winery Hattingley Valley – they have several excellent sparkling wines on the menu.
Address: Unit 3-4, Alexandra Wharf, Maritime Walk, Ocean Way, Southampton SO14 3QS
The Pig In The Wall, City Centre
Ideal for a tiny restaurant with big flavours from a revered local restaurant group…
If you’ve ever dined at New Forest destination restaurant The Pig, who proudly source 80% of their ingredients from within a 25 mile radius, then you’ll already be well aware of the quality of the cooking at this restaurant group, which now numbers 8 in total.
One of those is found tucked away in the mediaeval walls of Southampton. ‘’The smallest of the litter’’ (their words, not ours), The Pig In The Wall more than makes up for its apparent Napoleon complex with big, bold flavours, even if this is more self-proclaimed ‘deli-dining’ than the usual finer side of things that we’ve come to expect from Hutson and co.
Hell, they even call it ”supper” rather than dinner, and the place closes at 8pm, but in those slightly reduced hours you’ll find plenty to enjoy on the Pig In The Wall’s dinner (sorry, supper) table. Go for the comforting cottage pie with a side of garden kale, followed by an apple crumble which has caught in all the right places. Pouring cream is mandatory.
Or, for something lighter, the deli bits are beautifully composed; the Hampshire pork pie, in particular, is a thing of majesty. With glasses of perfectly drinkable plonk available for under a fiver – the easy drinking La Vigneau at £4.75 is a particular steal – this rendition of The Pig is a great way to try the restaurant group’s famed hospitality without having to leave the city or open your wallet too wide. Result!
Address: 8 Western Esplanade, Southampton SO14 2AZ, United Kingdom
La Regata, Town Quay
Ideal for old-school Spanish tapas in kitsch setting…
If you’re after the kind of Spanish restaurant that eschews modern (or even kinda recent) gastro-pretensions in favour of time-honoured tapas traditions, then La Regata is your spot. Having held court near the waterfront for almost three decades, this place has earned its stripes as one of Southampton’s most beloved dining institutions.
The setting alone is worth the visit – housed in a Grade II listed building from the 1860s, the restaurant spans two characterful, kitschy floors with an impressive mezzanine overlooking the main dining room. The decor hits all the right notes of rustic Spanish charm, from the blue traditional tiles to the dark wooden furnishings, but there are also a few nautical flourishes to remind you where you are; if you didn’t smell the industrial sea breeze as you pitched up, the ornamental life buoys will anchor you in Southampton rather than Seville. Bringing you back to the latter, the fairy light-draped palm tree centrepiece adds an unexpected touch of whimsy to proceedings.
But you’re here for the food, and Regata does its thing quite capably in this department. The menu is a love letter to classic Spanish cuisine, with tapas plates that would make any Madrileño feel right at home. The tuna salad with potatoes and peas might sound simple, but it’s executed perfectly, while the fresh grilled sardines further showcase the kitchen’s deft hand with seafood – pleasing when considering how close you are to the water.
For the full experience, gather a group and order across the menu – three to four dishes per person is the sweet spot, but we’re sure you know how tapas works. Make sure the fried squid with aioli makes an appearance (it’s some of the best we’ve had this side of Barcelona), and don’t skip the Cantabrian cheese-stuffed dates, which strike that perfect balance between sweet and savoury, and basically work perfectly as a dessert/cheese course hybrid.
Unsurprisingly, Spanish wines dominate the winelist. Whether you’re in the mood for a crisp Albariño or a robust Rioja, there’s plenty to explore by the bottle or glass for around a fiver, which is cracking value in this economy. And if you’re feeling festive, the house sangria, available by the glass or jug, is dangerously drinkable.
Ideal for award-winning, Francis Benali-approved Indian food…
We couldn’t discuss the best restaurants in Southampton without paying lip service to everyone’s favourite curry house, Kuti’s, which is now under new management and with a new name; Royal Palace.
We’re pleased to report standards haven’t slipped here, with a recent meal at Royal Palace delivering the goods. It’s not just the restaurant’s long-serving association with Southampton FC legend Francis Benali that makes this place a cult favourite among the city’s curry fans; the food here is genuinely excellent, and its new location at the entrance to the Royal Pier illustrious.
In fact, Kuti’s was named as the UK’s Top Indian Restaurant in 2018 at the International Indian Chef Awards, and it was an accolade that felt well-deserved to those who have enjoyed the restaurant’s famous Adraki lamb chops or Kashmiri king prawn rogan josh.
Sure, this isn’t a modern ‘small sharing plates of Indian street food’ kind of place, with its very particular type of pink and yellow colourscheme and curious placement of full-size rickshaws. Rather, it’s a curry house in the Anglo-Indian tradition of the British high street, with ornate gold trim on the banquette seating and a purple hue to the evening dining that Prince would feel at home basking under. The menu hasn’t changed dramatically since the name did, with beloved classics like those lamb chops still very much in place.
With Cobra King Malabar IPA on tap and the poppadoms free-flowing, there’s no place we’d rather be, particularly post-St. Mary’s, while we dissect a famous Saints victory over some delicious Indian food.
Address: The Royal Pier, Mayflower Park, Town Quay, Southampton SO14 2AQ
Dancing Man Brewery, Town Quay
Ideal for pub classics and gorgeously hoppy beers…
Just a minute’s walk from the Royal Palace and into Town Quay proper, you’ll find some of the best food in Southampton at Dancing Man Brewery, with a pint of the brewpub’s award winning, hop-heavy Jack O’Diamonds in one hand and a double DMB cheeseburger in the other.
This gorgeous pub, housed in a mediaeval woolhouse defined by timber beams and a freestone facade, is a place for incredibly complex, invigorating beer first and foremost, but the food found on the menu (fresh out of a newly refurbished and reimagined kitchen) is eminently satisfying, too, with nourishing pub classics the order of the day – every day – here. It’s the perfect way to end a perfect day exploring Southampton’s top restaurants.
Address: Town Quay, Southampton SO14 2AR, United Kingdom
Hartnett Holder & Co, Lyndhurst
Ideal for refined Italian-British fusion in luxurious New Forest surroundings…
Just a short drive from Southampton proper, in the heart of the New Forest, sits what might be Hampshire’s most impressive culinary collaboration. When Michelin-starred Angela Hartnett joined forces with Lime Wood’s Luke Holder, the result was something rather special indeed – a restaurant that marries Italian soul with British produce in the most elegant of settings, the aforementioned Lime Wood Hotel.
The dining room, reimagined by designer Martin Brudnizki, strikes that perfect balance between casual and refined – think panelled dark-oak bar, flattering lighting that can make even a plate of pasta look fancy, and corner sofas that you’ll want to linger in.
The menu here is a constantly evolving love letter to Hampshire’s abundant produce, with many ingredients coming from the hotel’s own grounds and smokehouse. The kitchen’s partnership with Four Acre Farm in Ringwood (a no-dig farm just down the road) means the menu changes not just with the seasons, but sometimes daily, depending on what’s been pulled from the earth that morning. Breathe in that damp, earthy aroma of the woodland, and prepare for a sense of seasonality to match.
Current winter highlights include chalk stream trout from the River Test, West Country venison, and mushrooms foraged from the surrounding forest, but it’s the pasta dishes that really showcase the kitchen’s prowess – keep an eye out for the silky spaghetti with Isle of Wight lobster and chilli, a dish that perfectly encapsulates the restaurant’s Anglo-Italian approach and connects the restaurant to not only the surrounding pastures but also the nearby coast.
For the full experience, round things off with the tart tatin to share and some freshly baked madeleines. And while the tome-like wine list might feel overwhelming at first, the knowledgeable staff are more than happy to guide you through their impressive selection of organic and biodynamic options.
With three AA Rosettes under its belt and a string of historic accolades including Restaurant of the Year at the Hampshire Food & Drinks Awards over a decade ago, Hartnett Holder & Co proves that some of Southampton’s best food can be found just beyond the city limits. Just make sure to book ahead (and to book a bed, too) – this is one restaurant that’s worth planning your evening around.
Ideal for a refined, farm-to-table tasting menu at Southampton’s most Michelin-friendly restaurant…
The son of 3 Michelin-starred, Southampton-born Simon Rogan, Daniel Rogan has created something uniquely his own in the heart of the city. It’s a family affair here, with the name AO simply the initials of Rogan junior’s two children. Lovely stuff, but that’s enough about the lineage, we’re hungry…
Following the success of AO’s original 2022 opening at Sunnyfields Farm – which earned recognition from the Michelin Guide and accolades including Best Newcomer and Best Restaurant in Hampshire – Rogan has relocated to a Victorian building dating back to 1846 on Oxford Street, just a few doors down from his other venture, Album. The intimate 26-cover dining room has been designed by Rogan himself, all anthracite greys, oak tables and tanned leather seating; it’s understated but undeniably handsome.
The Michelin aspirations remain apparent in the refined but unfussy plates celebrating just a couple of key ingredients, the reaffirming of AO’s sustainability chops with every dish’s arrival, and the hyper-seasonality of the whole thing. Indeed, you’ll be on first-name terms with the restaurant’s producers and growers by the end of the tasting menu, whether that’s Chalk Stream trout from near Romsey or cod from Flying Fish on the Cornish coast.
The menu is available as a seven-course tasting experience (£85, Wednesday to Friday) or a ten-course option (£125, Wednesday to Saturday) at both lunch and dinner, with a more accessible five-course menu (£55) for those shorter on time. Current highlights include a roasted Jerusalem artichoke given depth and savouriness from black garlic and chicken skin, while a dish of cured mackerel finds unexpected harmony with watermelon, soy and shiso.
The Cornish cod arrives with Roscoff onion and a caramelised onion beurre blanc that speaks to Rogan’s burgeoning reputation for layered, considered flavour building, and an Orkney scallop is taken in a surprising direction by pumpkin seed, vermouth and sea fennel. Dry-aged lamb saddle comes with a playful ‘Shepherd’s Pie’ element alongside cauliflower and hispi, comfort food reimagined with precision, which is where we think AO shines most brightly.
With this new, more central home, expect to hear much more about this one as the restaurant settles into its new home and 2026 really gets going.
And you needed any more reason to book, AO is hosting a collaboration between Daniel and his father Simon from 30 April to 3 May, with the three Michelin-starred chef joining his son in the kitchen for a series of lunches and dinners. It’s a rare chance to experience Simon Rogan cooking in Hampshire, and a statement of intent from a restaurant that’s only getting more ambitious.
The transformation of Bath’s restaurant scene, from one dominated by chains and tea rooms to one of the South’s culinary powerhouses, has been nothing short of astounding.
Just a decade ago, only those hungry punters craving a Cornish pasty, sausage roll or scone would have been truly satisfied, but recent years have seen a slew of independent, forward-thinking eateries opening in the city, and we’re very much here for it.
No, really, we’re very much here, strolling the honeyed streets in search of a good feed. If you’re in the city centre doing the same, then you’ve come to the right place, cause we’ve got a whole twenty recommendations here for you, some fancy some frugal, but all very much delicious. Here are our favourite places to eat in Bath; our roundup of the best restaurants in Bath.
Upstairs At Landrace, Walcot Street
Ideal for light yet generous plates of produce-led Britalian dishes…
Yep, we said that many of Bath’s best restaurants are relatively recent additions to the city, and this is certainly true for Upstairs at Landrace, which emerged during lockdown, found its feet fast, and, thankfully, appears to be sticking around for the long haul.
Housed above the excellent Landrace Bakery, which specialises in sourdough bread made using stoneground British grains, the kitchen up that winding staircase is led by former Brawn and Quality Chop House chef Rob Sachdev, who brings a similarly straightforward sensibility to the cooking here.
The menu comprises a handful of snacks and starters and a couple of larger plates, with the cheddar fritters from the former section already reaching something close to cult status. It’s easy to see why; pillowy, giving and nestled under blankets of finely grated local cheese, they are seriously, seriously addictive. One plate simply isn’t enough.
From the larger dishes, deceptively simple, perfectly-cooked portions of fish are paired with hyper-seasonal veg; on our last visit, and as a bright early summer day lifted the mood in the city, a dish of monkfish, fennel and salsify felt apt. For something packing a touch more heft, rump steak or pork chops regularly appear on the ever-rotating rundown, the latter served as a whopping (and pleasingly pink) chop, complete with bone for gnawing. The new season broad beans, tender enough to be served still in their pods, reminded us that warmer times were just around the corner.
There’s a focus on whole-animal butchery here too, the beast broken down out the back and featuring several times in different forms on the menu. That Gothelney Farm Tamworth pork might appear not only as a chop, but also a hock and head terrine, a leg and shoulder ragu, and as a faggot of its livers. Waste not, want not!
Desserts are exemplary, with the skills of the now even more ambitious bakery below on full display. Should there be a tart on the menu – recently it was a blood orange and almond number – order it. That bakery, incidentally, was named in the Good Food Guide’s 50 Best British Bakeries 2026, further cementing Landrace’s status as one of the most important food businesses in the South West.
All in all, Upstairs at Landrace manages to be both light and breezy, and eminently satisfying. Right now, it’s our favourite restaurant in Bath, and long may that continue.
PS. You’re in for a real surprise when you visit the toilet!
You can read our full review of the restaurant here.
Ideal for Marco Pierre White-approved fish and chips…
Though nominally a fish and chips restaurant, the Scallop Shell, on Bath’s Monmouth Place, is so much more than that. Opened a decade ago and already superchef Marco Pierre White’s favourite restaurant in the area, this place is always packed and it’s easy to see why; fish is sourced sustainably, cooked simply yet thoughtfully, the vibe is cheerful and the service smooth. That’s all you could ask for, right?
And though their fish’n’chip offerings are certainly delicious, there’s also a regularly updated menu of other, arguably more interesting, options; whole fish (a whopping sea bass for two on our last visit) blistered and burnished by the grill and bathed in anchovy butter, steamed mussels or clams depending on the catch, grilled scallops in their shell, all served swimming in garlic butter, smoked sardines on toast… You get the picture.
Also of note, during weekday lunches diners can enjoy the restaurant’s ‘Fisherman’s Lunch’, which sees a portion of fish and chips, homemade mushy peas, tartare sauce and nice big mug of Yorkshire tea priced at a keenly priced – really, really keenly priced – £15. Yes, just £15.
All in all, it’s a top, top place for seafood lovers and one we can’t stop returning to for our fix of fresh fish.
If you’re in Bristol, the Scallop Shell now has a sister restaurant there. Called Noah’s, it’s already made it onto our list of the best restaurants in Bristol. And, in summer of last year, the team opened a new restaurant and bar next door to the Scallop Shell, called Sydney’s. Considering their track record for gorgeous, approachable places to eat, we’ve got high hopes for this one.
Ideal for vegetable-forward cooking that doesn’t feel like compromise…
The team behind Root have been doing the veg-led thing since 2017 – back when putting vegetables centre stage still felt like a hard sell – when they opened their first restaurant in Bristol’s Cargo development. A second site in Wells followed in 2022, and both hold Michelin Bib Gourmands. So when they announced they were taking over the former Jamie’s Italian site in Bath (vacant since 2019, if you can believe it), expectations were high. We’re pleased to report that they’ve been met. Emphatically.
This is Bath’s best restaurant opening for quite some time. What makes Root interesting isn’t that it’s vegetarian – it isn’t, strictly speaking. There’s a handful of fish dishes and usually one meat option on the menu. But vegetables are unquestionably the stars here, with the protein playing a supporting role. It’s a reflection of how people actually eat now, increasingly, with the full-on veganism of a few years ago giving way to something more flexible. The kitchen, led by Joe Fowler (formerly head chef at Root Bristol), treats its produce with real intelligence, and there’s a brightness and acidity running through the dishes that keeps everything exciting rather than worthy.
From the snacks, Marmite cheese puffs with Old Winchester and apple ketchup are moreish little things, salty and tangy and perfect with a glass of Pilton keeved cider, while grilled scallops with soy, butter and chives offer a preview of how deftly the kitchen handles the non-veg stuff. They arrive mi-cuit but with just two pronounced bar marks from the grill, straddling the two platonic ideals of a scallop with breezy confidence. They’re cooking cleverly here, no doubt about it.
Deeply roasted Jerusalem artichokes are paired with hazelnuts and a raisin and chilli dressing, the sweetness of the root offset by gentle heat. Texturally, it’s a triumph, the ‘chokes fudgy and close to collapse, the hazelnuts a toasted interlude. Celeriac pastrami – something of a Root signature across all three sites – comes with bread and butter pickles and Russian dressing, the vegetable transformed into something smoky, savoury and deeply satisfying.
It’s the standout dish until the grilled carrots with whipped feta, dukkah and harissa hit the table. They’re buried under a tangle of raw strands of carrot that initially looks like it could drown the dish and render everything cold and thudding. They turn out to be pickled, with a welcome zip that’s just lovely against the undulating charcoal flavours of the dish. It’s a knockout.
The ground floor, with its open kitchen and handful of tables, feels a touch utilitarian – functional rather than somewhere you’d linger. Head upstairs, though, and it’s a different story: a bright, generous dining room with views towards the Abbey and that lovely curved yellow booth seating that’s so pleasing for a couple dining side by side. We can imagine it’s beautiful for a summer lunch, too; we’ve only had the chance to visit in winter so far, but the warmth of the welcome more than compensated. We’ll be back in brighter times, make no mistake.
Ideal for regionally faithful Cantonese and Sichuan cooking, all so close to the station…
Bath doesn’t have a Chinatown, nominal or designated, owing to its size and sensibility, but there are several excellent, regionally faithful Chinese restaurants in the city, the high quality likely a result of the large number of Chinese students here.
Perhaps the best Chinese restaurant in the city, serving signature dishes from the Cantonese, Sichuan and Northern canon of Chinese cooking, is East meets West, its name thankfully just a reference to its location rather than a warning of the flashes of fusion within.
There are two menus here, an English menu and a Chinese version. These descriptors (theirs) don’t describe the language used, as both are presented in the Queen’s, but rather, the likely target demographic of each. Whilst the former has your usual Kung Pao, roast duck with plum sauce, and a range of chicken, cashew and pineapple preparations, it’s in the Chinese menu where things get interesting.
Here you’ll find a hefty rundown of properly spicy, numbing dishes from the Sichuan province, bubbling, rust dappled hotpots centered around tripe and stomach, and the odd preserved egg dish thrown in for good measure. This is exactly what you want on a wet and windy West Country night with winter in full swing.
The numbing dishes served cold are particularly good at East meets West, with a plate of hot and spicy ox tongue a revelation on our last visit. A cold poached chicken in simple spring onion broth – cloudy, piquant and complex – was superb too, as was the signature mapo tofu, which we saw the staff enjoying a huge bowl of out back. Always a good sign…
With Chilli Family Noodles (also on our list) visible out of the restaurant window, the whole thing would have been transportive were it not for the discarded Sainsbury’s bag blowing about folornly in the rain opposite.
Perhaps the best dish of all here, though, was actually one which could be found back on the English menu – slabs of soy braised pork belly that arrived in a sheen of molasses black sauce and quivered when nudged with a spoon. Sitting on top some much-needed pickled mustard greens as the perfect foil, it tasted amazing. None of these dishes top £15.
Pair it all with a Tsing Tao or two, priced at a decent £3.90 a bottle, let the buzz of a busy dining room wash over you, and luxuriate in some of the most effective escapism that a few notes can buy. That, or it’s a £600 flight to Chengdu Shuangliu International. You decide…
Ideal for an elegant, invigorating curry experience…
Though we’re sure that the Dishoom cookbook is out back, with certain pages turmeric stained and curry splattered, we’re also pretty sure that Bandook is Bath’s best Indian restaurant, its gently refined take on Bombay streetfood classics has been a really welcome introduction to the city since opening in 2019.
From the team behind the acclaimed Mint Room in the city, and the winner of ‘best restaurant’ at the Bath Life Awards in 2024, Bandook is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, with its light and airy dining room chiming perfectly with the restaurant’s intentions to be a place for relaxed, all-day drinking and feasting.
Start with the signature pan puri, those photogenic, enlivening bites of puffed semolina shell filled with chickpeas, tamarind chutney and sharp, invigorating jal jeera water. The version here is exemplary, all crisp exterior giving way to soothing, spiced chickpeas and the energising lift of the chutneys. It’s the perfect way to start a meal.
On the other end of the spectrum, the umami-heavy keema pav is ace, too. It’s a heady affair, with the curried minced lamb possessing enough funk to surely be mutton, and its buttery, pillow bed of brioche bun the perfect foil.
Unsurprisingly, the curries are awesome too, tasting like a true labour of love in their depth and complexity, but with a pleasing lightness at the same time. We could happily bathe in their old style Delhi butter chicken, though we could only dream of coming up for air as smooth and silky. Weird image aside, it’s such a luxurious bowlful.
Though a frothy Kingfisher might feel tempting and appropriate, we love to pair this one with a refreshing Limca soda, which chimes succinctly with the effervescent feel of the whole Bandook package. Cheers to that!
Oh, and Bandook’s resident jazz band, The French Connection, play every Thursday from 7pm to keep you entertained while you eat with their live rendition of swing-jazz.
Ideal for all-day dining and drinking in Bath’s creative quarter…
Just when you think you’ve got Walcot House figured out – is it a restaurant? A wine bar? A brunch spot? – you realise that’s precisely the point. This impressively versatile venue, set in the beating heart of Bath’s artisan quarter (bit of a grand term for a street with some graffiti and a flea market, admittedly), seamlessly transitions from refined dining room to sophisticated drinking den without missing a beat.
The transformation of this former bakehouse mirrors Bath’s own culinary evolution. Where once there were Jägerbombs, student nights and rugger folk downing pints, now sits one of the city’s most accomplished venues, spanning three distinctly different floors. The main restaurant, flooded with natural light through an industrial glass pitched roof, serves food you just want to eat.
A brigade of passionate chefs works with produce from carefully selected local farmers, with meat coming from their own Green Street butchers just around the corner (and just a few paragraphs below), where native breeds are dry-aged on the bone. Go peer through the window and gawk at some seriously handsome stuff.
A recent dinner brought paw-sized, hand-dived scallops with that beautifully caramelised crust but off-raw centre that would have Masterchef judges cooing. Its accompaniments were just the right side of interesting; pretty florets of heritage cauliflower, and a caper and raising purée that balanced sweet and saline notes with precision. What a great dish this was.
Perhaps even better was a main of local fallow deer, its loin served thickly sliced to reveal a perfectly blushing, wall-to-wall pink, the meat rich and deep but not mealy, clearly having benefited from that close relationship with their butchers and the proper hanging it deserved. A lovely little slab of celeriac dauphinoise – nutty, buttery, but surprisingly light – sealed the deal. So that’s that; the main dining room is most certainly a winner.
Downstairs, the intimate Bread & Jam bar crafts some of Bath’s most intriguing cocktails. Their seasonal list shows real invention – a winter Sérol Spritz blends No. 3 gin with nectarine and grapefruit sherbet, while their house negroni gains complexity from a measure of bitter-orange Pampelle. The bar menu – back at street level – matches this creativity and offers a fine focal point for a graze and a gossip: rich, almost sensual wild mushroom arancini arrive under a snowfall of pecorino, while the buttermilk fried chicken has enough nooks, crannies and crevices to be massively satisfying to crunch into.
The wine list is as inclusive as the venue, reading like a careful study of both classic and emerging regions. Many are available by the glass thanks to deployment of a Coravin, and they’ve even collaborated with South African winemaker Pieter Walser of BlankBottle to create ‘Flavour Zone’, a characterful Mourvedre-Shiraz blend that captures the creative spirit of the place.
Mornings bring excellent coffee and house-baked pastries in the Dilly Bar, a space that transforms from daytime café to evening wine bar. Fuck me; you could get lost in here after a few. The breakfast menu shows the same attention to detail as dinner service, from a Full English featuring Green Street’s own sausages and bacon to wild mushrooms with truffle on sourdough. A keenly priced set lunch (£20 for two courses) offers one of Bath’s better-value fine dining experiences.
And that, we think, covers this all-things-to-all-people operation that manages to keep everyone satisfied – no mean feat in such a discerning city.
Though Bosco bills itself as a Café Napoletana, the vibe inside is, quite frankly, more New York hotel bar, with plenty of marble counter seating, dark leather stools (you might want to see a doctor about that), and low filament lighting casting shadows over the more intimate corners of the dining room. This is one of the city’s most romantic spots for an evening date, that’s for sure.
On the plate are some excellent (on their day) pizzas alongside deep fried snacks, bruschetta, Italian meats and cheeses, pasta and a couple of larger plates for good measure. Though the quality of the pizza here has been erratic on a couple of previous visits, the pasta dishes are particularly well realised, with the veal lasagna genuinely excellent, its structural integrity intact, as it should be, but its bechamel sauce positively piquant and oozing.
If you’re looking to graze while you drink in the dining room’s amorous vibe (as well as the excellent house negroni), then the cicchetti section of the menu is where you’ll feel most at home. We’ve been known to base a whole meal around their taleggio arancini, fried zucchini and bouncy but giving polpette in the past. Bolster the spread with a little coppa and gorgonzola dolce, imported from Lombardy, and you’ve got yourself the finest Italian feast in the city.
A Bath institution and a restaurant of much seniority compared to many of the others on our list, Nepalese restaurant Yak Yeti Yak is one of the city’s longest serving restaurants for a reason.
Head down the staircase to this inviting, stone-cobbled room and – immediately after you’re hit with the intoxicating aroma of incense and black cardamom – you’ll be met with a warm welcome like you’re one of the family. Generous portions of intricately spiced, instantly-likeable Nepalese dishes follow.
Though the vibe is certainly snug and intimate here, the cooking certainly isn’t what you’d call ‘homely’; there’s some real flair on display in the nimble but keenly seasoned momos, whilst the signature Yak Yeti Yak chicken – inspired by Katmandhu’s hole in the wall bars – is delicate and sophisticated in flavour.
Don’t miss the regal, saffron-infused Kesariko dhai – a yoghurt dish with origins in the kitchens of Himalayan royalty – which sends you on your merry way back up that flight of stairs and onto street level a very satisfied diner indeed.
The restaurant also runs the YYY Foundation, which does excellent work on long-term community projects in Nepal, including raising money for women’s hygiene products and contributing to the rebuilding of several primary schools. Do check it out.
Ideal slurping bowls of spicy, nourishing noodles…
You wouldn’t perhaps expect to find a bowl of seriously nourishing, Sichuan-pepper laden noodles in a tightly-packed dining room tacked onto the back of a public toilet…
Scrap that last sentence; that’s exactly where you might expect to find a bowl of seriously nourishing noodles were you in one of the worlds street food capitals such as Guangzhou or Bangkok, but Bath, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly known for rugged, rough and ready dining.
That’s what makes Chilli Family Noodles all the more special, and, in our view, one of the best restaurants in Bath. It’s not just us who think so, either. Josh Barrie, writing for The New World, recently called it one of the best restaurants in Britain, with Marco Pierre White visiting in the same piece. And in a move that says a lot about the esteem in which the restaurant is held locally, Upstairs at Landrace invited the Chilli Family team up to Walcot Street for a one-night-only collaboration that sold out in seconds.
Here, and despite what at first appears to be an expansive menu, the choices are simple; choose between stewed beef, minced chicken, spare ribs or tofu, choose from flat, fat or thin noodles (or rice), and prepare for a mouth-numbing, lip-tingling bowl of pure heaven, and all for just £12.50, whichever way you choose to fill your bowl.
Though the restaurant name and menu quite rightly steer you in that direction, regulars to Chilli Family Noodles will know that the real highlights lie in the ‘something extra’ section of the menu, with the mouth-watering chicken (served cold) a real winner whether you’re looking for something refreshing in summer or nourishing in winter. It really ticks all the boxes.
And with a row of wok-burners out back, you know you’re in for that all-important ‘hei’ from the stir-fries, too. Mine’s a pak choi with extra garlic, if you’re getting them in.
Do be aware that the restaurant only takes cash, though you’ll be very well fed indeed for under £30 for two (there are several cash points just across the road).
For a similar vibe, we’re big fans of Noodle Bath (just off Kingsmead Square), too.
Ideal for the best Vietnamese food in the South West of England…
Vietnamese cuisine isn’t particularly well represented in the city, but Noya’s Kitchen is doing its best to change that with fresh, zippy Vietnamese food served at a variety of special events, lunches and supper clubs.
We’re particularly here for Pho Wednesdays, when bowls of the famous noodle and broth dish are devotedly served. A must order are Noya’s crispy pork with ginger and water chestnut dumplings topped with a blob of homemade chilli cranberry jam. They are divine.
You know when you’ve eaten one too many beige, protein-defined meals? In a sometimes beige, often protein-defined city, Noya’s the place to head for some respite.
In the summer, see if you can get a seat out in the popular garden; sunny, pretty and decorated with colourful parasols, it’s the ideal place to be on a summer’s day. The staff know their bun cha from their bun bo hue and are as charming as they come. You’ll leave here feeling happy, content and with a spring in your step.
Good news: recently, the team have started offering banh mi for takeaway, Tuesday to Friday from midday to 2pm. Available in lemongrass pork or crispy tofu for £9.50, they make for a superbly generous lunch.
Ideal for fine wines and the perfect drinking food…
Beckford Bottle Shop has made serious waves during its decade on Saville Row, picking up a hugely coveted Bib Gourmand award from Michelin and some fawning reviews in the national press. We certainly concur with that validation; the formula is one so very hip in London right now, of a wine bar which just happens to serve some really enticing small plates. It’s less ubiquitous here, which makes this bottle shop all the more enjoyable.
Two recent visits brought with them plates of precise seasonality and a keen sense of place. On the first outing, highlights included some superb devilled livers on toast, as well as Bath chaps – slow braised pig cheeks, pressed, breadcrumbed and deep fried – with a rustic, rough apple puree, and a decadent, dark chocolate mousse finished with pumpkin seed.
Even better on a more recent visit, a buttery, invigorating anchovies on toast was lifted by gently pickled shallots, whilst the now obligatory order of courgette fritti was texturally satisfying, its exterior crisp, its centre tender and giving. The accompanying aioli managed to be both delicate and decadent; a fine balancing act, indeed.
Both dishes – salty and satisfying – felt like the perfect drinking food in elegant Bath, and the accompanying Melissaki orange wine (available by the carafe), its texture dense and acidity gentle, was the ideal foil for the food.
Seemingly warming to a theme, a plate of salt cod brandade on toast was gorgeous, too, the wine now slipping down a little too easily. From the meatier side of the menu, a few blushing pink, thick slices of venison loin sat on a sharp tomatillo puree, a menu outlier but one which worked brilliantly well. The Nebbiolo d’Alba matched it with aplomb.
To end, an affogato of burnt butter ice cream, the restaurant’s own rum caramel, and a strong, bitter espresso, was the perfect way finish everyone off.
Ideal for a light-hearted atmosphere and gentle re-interpretations of classic British fare…
Part of the same acclaimed restaurant group as the Beckford Bottle Shop from just a few yards up the road, Beckford Canteen has only been open for just shy of four years, but it’s already become a fixture of (admittedly, increasingly predictable) national restaurant reviews and awards.
To be fair, it’s easy to see why Beckford Canteen is enjoying such precocious praise, of being one of the best restaurants in Bath already. First off, the dining room (set in a former Georgian greenhouse) is airy and easy-going, with plenty of window seating for watching the hustle and bustle of Bartlett Street go by. Service here, as with the bottle shop north up Saville Row, is flawless, cheery and mellow, a great encouragement to settle in for the afternoon.
The menu echoes this light-hearted atmosphere, with gentle re-interpretations of British classics like a sweet and verdant pea and mint soup, and the restaurant’s already iconic rarebit crumpet ticking all the right boxes. Better still is the pork jowl terrine, ensconsed in a translucent, giving jelly that tastes of the best ham hock stock.
On a recent visit, a panisse topped with wild garlic and trout roe was ordered three times – all you need to know – and the restaurant’s signature, impossibly crisp layered potatoes seemed to be on every table. If there is a whole fish, cooked on the bone and doused in brown butter with shrimp, then that is another must order on a menu full of them.
With every bottle on the tight but carefully composed wine list also available by the glass – the restaurant’s house Picpoul de Pinet, at £7.50, is crisp and refreshing – this is a meal that needn’t break the bank, too, the inclusivity of the ‘canteen’ moniker feeling wonderfully fitting.
The restaurant has recently announced via their Instagram a new lunchtime set menu. Running Wednesday through Friday, it will be keenly priced at £25 for two courses, or £30 for three.
The thoroughfare that takes in Kingsmead Square, Saw Close and Barton Street is perhaps Bath’s buzziest, full of hens and stags, seagulls and pigeons, waifs and strays, and three of the restaurants on our roundup of Bath’s best – The Oven, Chaiwalla, and our latest entry, the Persian mezze and charcoal kebab specialists at Baba’s Mezze.
Opened with little fanfare in October of 2024, you might be tempted to call Baba’s Mezze something of a ‘hidden gem’, were it not for the inviting smell of charcoal, smoke and caramelising fat that wafts out of the always open door and onto Barton Street whenever you walk past.
If that nostalgic aroma isn’t even to beckon you in like a freshly baked apple pie on a cartoon windowsill, then instead be enamoured by a glimpse of the twinkling Souk-inspired lighting and the warmth of the Persian rugs – a kind of curated, thematic dining room, sure, but one that promises a great feed.
And so it delivers. Ignore the piratical, tea-stained treasure map of a menu. Instead, admire its brevity, a refreshingly short and confident affair with seven cold and seven hot mezze, and a handful of larger items ‘from ‘the firepit’. From the former section, the signature baba ganoush is superb; roughly hewn rather than pureed, and smoky as you like. The yoghurt-based mezze mast o khiar is an exemplary version, too, given its characteristic perfume from dried mint and rose powder. Drag the restaurant’s grilled, butter anointed flatbreads through both and luxuriate.
And then, onto the main event; the kebabs. For us, a koobideh kebab – that heady, fatty minced lamb number wrapped around thick metal skewers and gently grilled – is always irresistible, and Baba’s is a fine rendition; not charred and gnarly, but rather, tender and full of the flavour of lamb fat. Its liberal basting of saffron butter certainly hasn’t harmed its immaculate texture.
The wine list is an interesting affair too, with the majority of bottles hailing from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon. That said, the Georgian Tbilvino Saperavi (£38) was just the ticket with that lamb koobideh, its deep, dark ruby colour and a rich bouquet of dark berries and subtle spicing, alongside robust tannins and well-balanced acidity, complemented the overtly succulent nature of the lamb brilliantly.
It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Baba’s Mezze has hit its stride so quickly. The owners here, Ben Shayegan and Ben Goodman (one Persian and one Greek), have extensive experience in Bath’s dining scene, with the Shayegan family owning several restaurants in the vicinity, including The Oven, Raphael and Amarone. The head chef here, Mehdi Paratesh, hails from Tehran and boasts 15 years of experience working the charcoal grill. We’re so glad they’ve brought that expertise to Barton Street.
The Chequers has long been one of Bath’s best pubs, standing on its humble, residential spot close to the Royal Crescent and the Circus for close to 250 years. A great place for pints since forever, it’s only recently started gaining very well-deserved traction for its food too.
Pull open the door and you’re immediately hit with that waft of a great pub welcome. Nope, not the smell of stale beer and flatulence but, rather, the din of chatter, chiming glasses and clinking cutlery. Stride up to the welcoming central bar that’s the beating heart of the dining room and order a stout if you’re so inclined, as the Chequers is still proudly a pub, but if you’re lucky enough to have nabbed a dinner reservation (booking ahead is highly recommended, particularly for their excellent Sunday Roast), you’ll be richly rewarded with a rundown of pub classics given the odd reinvention or twist.
A case in point is the current menu staple of crispy lamb, which here sees shoulder cooked down until giving and pull-able, and pressed into a terrine mould with plenty of ultra-gelatinous stock set around it. It’s then breaded and deep-fried, because everything tastes better than way. A bright, delicately spiced carrot and cumin puree mellows everything out. What a dish this is – yours for just £9.50.
You could order from the mains section of the menu, with dishes like Wiltshire venison loin, blackberries, cavolo nero and celeriac certainly singing of the seasons, but really, the highlight of a meal at the Chequers is stuff on the special’s blackboard just to the right of the bar, which lists a couple of big beefy bits (a tomahawk for two on our list visit), as well as dayboat fish, cooked simply and sympathetically, as produce this good always should be.
A late September visit brought with it a whole brill with sea vegetables and pickled shrimp, which was excellent, but even better was a skate wing so thick it looked more like a chop, that came anointed with a generous lashing of deep, brooding peppercorn sauce. A scattering of crispy sage leaves sealed the deal; this was a lovely dish. The accompanying triple-cooked chips will get pressed and mashed into that sauce if you know the move.
Yes, it’s that kind of place, of tradition and classical cooking with just a little innovation, which is often what you want from your gastropubs, don’t you think? Not that The Chequers would want to be called a ‘gastropub’, we’d wager. A pub will do just fine.
And yes, of course there’s a crackling fire to gather around in the depths of winter. We think we might stay here a while, actually…
With an enviable vantage point presiding over Bath and the Charlcombe Valley below, the Hare and Hounds isn’t just a pint with a view; they also serve fantastic food here.
Work up an appetite for it with a calf-stretching upwards climb to the pub (700 feet above sea level, if you’re asking) along Lansdown Road, your breathtaking walk rewarded with breathtaking vistas and a fine feast at the summit.
Get your name down for the famous Hare and Hounds lamb scotch egg while you’re ordering your first pint, as this one often sells out. After a bite, you’ll understand why. Do a bit of zero waste ordering and go for the lamb sweetbreads next, crisp and golden and served with a braise of warm lamb’s lettuce (no relation to the sheep you’ve been working your way through) and peas.
You could be properly weird and order the Sri Lankan lamb shank for mains, but the fish and chips are really, really good here, all lacy bronze beer batter and perfectly steamed Cornish hake within. Chunky chips, a chunky tartare sauce and a chunky (huh?) lemon wearing its best muslin cloth jacket seals the deal.
When the weather is kind, there’s no better place to dine al fresco than the Hare & Hound’s terrace, admiring the Somerset landscape and rewarding yourself with another cloudy cider for the road. You did earn this one, after all.
Ideal for pleasingly old school dining at a pleasingly old school price point…
Back down at street level, and the views are almost as gorgeous from Chez Dominique’s dining room, this time looking out over Pulteney Weir and its roaring waters (cue a conversation about whether you could survive being dropped into it, naturally).
Back in the room and eyes on the menu, and it’s not perhaps quite as Francophile as the restaurant’s name suggests, with gochujang mayonnaise, curried lentils, chimichurri and a whole host of other apparent interlopers making their way onto the table. That mayo forms part of a very agreeable starter, in fact, bringing vigour and succour to slices of ox tongue.
There’s something reassuringly old school about Chez Dominique. From the mahogany furniture and blue glassware all the way to the frivolous font on the menu, it’s the kind of place where you order your own starter, main and dessert without fear of being corrected with the old “let me explain how our menu works”. From the mains, a skillfully roasted chicken breast, crisp skinned and tender fleshed, comes with creamed leeks and a sauce poivrade, a gently acidic, black pepper-heavy sauce that’s thickened with a roux rather than cream. It coats that chicken just right.
With several very drinkable wines in the mid-twenties for a bottle (and just £13.50 for a carafe), and a lunch menu that’s just £29.50 for three courses, Chez Dominique is also one of Bath’s best value restaurants. A truly fabulous place to spend an evening.
Ideal for Bath’s finest 100% vegetarian dining experience…
A chic vegetarian restaurant just a Bath stone’s throw from the Abbey, Oak posits itself as something of a collaborative experience, with a team of ‘grocers, growers and cooks’ behind the gorgeously inviting menu here.
Formerly known as Acorn and honestly even better as its iteration as Oak, the restaurant is one of the first plant-based (pedants; fuck off) joints in the country to be listed in the Michelin guide and holds a green star for 2026 too. It’s easy to see why. Delicate but generous seasonal dishes like smoked ricotta agnolotti with asparagus and wild garlic not only deliver on flavour and freshness, but also on price point; dishes hover around the tenner mark, with nothing going above £12.95. For food of this quality, it’s an absolute steal.
That sense of value is exemplified by Oak’s five course tasting menu, a veritable feast for just £52, with wine pairing an almost philanthropic £27. In 2026’s eating out climate, you’ll rarely find a bottle for that price, let alone a bespoke pairing situation. Salut!
Ideal for a truly authentic, elbow-to-elbow tapas bar in the heart of Bath…
When on the hunt for the best tapas in Bath, we’re big fans of Pintxo, just a few doors down from the Theatre Royal. But a more recent discovery and, for our money, even better, is Ole Tapas, a tiny, first floor tapas bar that’s impossible to find and almost as impossible to snag a stool in. Incidentally, it’s only just around the corner from Pintxo and on the same street as the Gin Bar (just sayin’), if you do need to wait for a perch.
Whilst we’re loathe to use the word ‘authentic’ about a tapas bar in a Roman city in England, Ole is about as authentic as it comes, all tight seating and knocking elbows with your neighbour, noisy chatter, noisier flamenco music, and some great small plates designed for picking over as the cañas are kept flowing.
Ole’s berenjenas con miel are a fine version indeed, these salty, sweet batons of deep fried aubergine dressed in just the right amount of cane honey reduction. They are just the thing with a few cold ones, as is the croquette of the day, on our visit the classic ham; runny, gooey and just a touch tacky, as it should be. The classics keep coming; plump, pert boquerones that aren’t dressed too sharply, patatas bravas blanketed in a wellmade, viscous salsa brava rather than a ketchup/mayo mash-up, and albondigas with the requisite bounce.
Another cañas slides over to your space on the counter, and you conclude that this is the best tapas you’ll find in Bath. The city’s residents seem to agree, but fortunately, you can book Ole Tapas. Doing so a week or two in advance is highly recommended.
This little corner of South West England isn’t too blessed with seriously good pizza options, so we’re ending our tour of our favourite restaurants in Bath in The Oven.
The oven in question, central to the restaurant not only in name but in its prime position in the dining room, is manned by pizzaioli Fabrizio Mancinetti, with the pizzas here loosely based on the Neapolitan canotto style.
Translating as ‘dinghy’ and defined by their imposing, inflated crusts, the dough at The Oven boasts the requisite heft to carry some generous toppings, whether that’s the Sicilian sausage, mushrooms and toasted walnuts, or the goat’s cheese, caramelised red onion, rocket and pine nuts. Yes, nuts on a pizza; trust us, it works. While this won’t be the best pizza of your life, it’s a good spot with quick, efficient service.
Honourable Mention: Green Street Butchers, Green Street
Ideal for a taste of Bath’s best sandwich…
Okay, we accept that it’s not a restaurant, but if you’re looking for some of the best food in Bath, then we simply had to give a shout out to the sandwiches served at these esteemed butchers on Green Street.
You can get a sense of the quality here by perving on the various cuts of beef hanging in the window, all dry-aged, barked, and marbled to perfection. Inside, the presence of house cured guanciale in the fridge and freshly-baked focaccia on the shelf further points to the premium nature of the place.
So, to those sandwiches. You have a choice of three at Green Street Butchers; rotisserie chicken, roast beef or porchetta. The latter is particularly good (it turns out the butchers here are Italian, and it shows), with a thick, single slice of tender pork-stuffed pork and the most bubbly of cracking bedded between a bap, its accoutrements of tarragon salsa verde and celeriac remoulade bringing the whole thing to life. Incredible, and almost impossible not to order a second.
Ideal for one of the best falafel wraps in the UK…
It might seem hyperbolic to dub somewhere so small and unassuming as a Bath institution (or even, as it happens, a ‘restaurant’ as there are no seats) but this cheap and cheerful spot is more than deserving of that title.
The smell alone as you wander by this hole-in-the-wall, takeaway only operation in Kingsmead Square should tell you everything you need to know; inside, the cooks are doing incredible things in the most humble of spaces.
Marylebone. Though we’ve read it hundreds of times, we’ve still got no idea how to pronounce the name of this well-heeled West End district. What we do know, however, is just where to eat in Le Bone. Or, should we call it Mary for short? How about Boney M? Who cares? We were always taught not to speak with our mouths full anyway…
From Michelin-starred Mexican to traditional British pub classics given a twist or two, there is something for everyone in this food lover’s paradise. With that in mind, here are the best restaurants in Marylebone, London.
St. John Marylebone, Marylebone Lane
Ideal for nose-to-tail dining and a bloody brilliant British culinary experience…
One of the newer additions to the burgeoning family, St. John Marylebone brings with it a fresh and vibrant approach that is both unmistakably St. John and uniquely tailored to the sensibilities of its chic London neighbourhood. It’s already one of Marylebone’s very best places to eat.
Its instantly recognisable, clinical bright white interiors tell anyone who’s previously dined at a Fergus Henderson restaurant that you’re going to get fed very well indeed, and St. John Marylebone delivers on that promise.
The menu here is tighter – daintier, even – than at both the mothership and Bread & Wine, but there’s still some famous flourishes to be found. Here, the iconic Welsh rarebit appears in croquette form and is a gorgeously funky piece of work. Those ”nose to tail” leanings are all present and correct, too, with a recent dish of gently pink lamb’s liver and horseradish a bracing, bruising but utterly memorable affair.
A little earlier in the year, a plate of lamb sweetbreads, wilted young lettuce leaves and the sprightly lift of tarragon have lived in the memory even longer.
With plenty of wine being poured with a flourish by the glass, these smaller plates just feel right as you take your place at a window stool, watch the passing foot traffic of Marybelone Lane and ponder just how far we’ve sunk. It’s obligatory to order a plate of madelines (£10 for a small one, but you know you want the larger batch for £20) for the road.
Make sure to check the daily menu to see what’s ripe, ready and in store; it goes online – posted as a snap of the restaurant’s blackboard – at 11.30am for lunch and 5.30pm for supper.
It’s by no means our first time at Hoppers. In fact it’s become a bit of a favourite. We know what to expect – the bustling vibe, the punchy aroma of spices and coconut, those lacy baskets (hoppers) just right for scooping up a deep, rich curry.
But the true test of a great restaurant is getting it right every time. No-one wants to be raving about a place to your mates only for them to be underwhelmed. So we’re pleased to say that Hoppers still absolutely delivers. Early evening it’s packed – after workers winding down over Arrack cocktails, locals breaking their Ramadan fast with the Buriani Banquet special. There’s an upbeat energy to it all, and the food comes in hot and fast.
We went for the set menu. Starters set the tone. Mutton rolls are crisp and deeply spiced – perfect dipped in the fiery ketchup. A seafood allergy means one of us has to swerve the hot butter squid but substitutes from the veggie menu are cheerfully offered. The chilli garlic broccoli is well worth the detour, leaving the allergy-free to polish off all the squid with lip smacking enthusiasm. And, of course, there’s the bone marrow varuval: two imposing leg bones from which marrow is spooned out onto flaky roti. It’s a signature dish, and rightly so.
As the night moves on, the feeling changes. The post-work crowd disperses, the noise softens and the spicing on the main courses becomes a little gentler. Chicken and lamb karis arrive with an array of chutneys and sambols, a soothing dhal and a cooling raita. The dosas are even better than the eponymous hoppers for mopping up every last slick of sauce. Do we have room for desserts? Hardly, but it seems a shame not to, so the traditional Sri Lankan custard pudding watalappam brings up the rear.
So are we coming back again? You betcha, and we’ll be telling all our friends.
There is now a fourth Hoppers in Shoreditch, this time drawing inspiration from South Indian coastal cuisine. Early reviews suggest it’s another winner.
Ideal for a poetic coming together of British ingredients and Thai cooking sensibilities…
Before this bricks and mortar restaurant, AngloThai spent six years as London’s most promising pop-up, which is about six years too many. Now, finally settled into The Gate’s old spot on Seymour Place and already with a shiny Michelin star above the door (metaphorically speaking – it’s actually to the side of the door), John and Desiree Chantarasak’s first permanent restaurant does something fresh, as you may have guessed from its rather prosaic name: it takes Thai cooking and strips it of everything that isn’t grown in Britain. The results are always interesting and quite often spectacularly delicious.
This means no rice (replaced brilliantly by pearled naked oats), holy basil from Suffolk rather than Bangkok, and Devon-caught monkfish in place of sea bass from the Andaman. It’s the same philosophy that earned KOL its Michelin star (the two share the same umbrella restaurant group, MJMK), though here the execution feels more personal – John’s half-Thai, half-British heritage informing every plate and Desiree’s pinpoint knowledge of sometimes esoteric grapes writing the winelist. Indeed, it’s so personal that we’re on first name terms with the owners after only two paragraphs…
The dining room sets the tone: white-panelled walls, tables made from Chamchuri wood shipped from Chiang Mai, and lighting that somehow makes every diner look like they’ve just come back from a fortnight in Samui. In the open kitchen, proper turbojet wok burners (a rare sight in London) whoosh, creating that coveted breath-of-the-wok essence in dishes like long aubergine with sweet basil and a soy-cured egg yolk – a plate that arrives looking demure but punches hard with smoke and umami.
A crab and caviar number is served on a coal-black coconut ash cracker made with the same brass mould used to create kanom dok jok (otherwise known as lotos blossom cookies) in the Kingdom. It could easily feel precious, but there’s proper cooking muscle behind the theatrics, justifying the £35 supplement with a heady salty-sweet interplay.
Chef John Chantarasak’s profile has risen sharply in 2026, with appearances on both MasterChef: The Professionals and Great British Menu in the same week, showcasing that coconut ash caviar crab to a national audience.
The lion’s mane mushroom with sunflower seed satay arrives as pretty-as-a-picture, but in the eating boasts that characteristic Thai balance of both nuance and intensity. It’s perhaps the highlight of the whole meal here.
The kitchen really hits its stride with the larger plates. Hebridean hogget (from Desiree’s family farm, no less) comes in a massaman curry that’s gentle with its spicing but shows proper depth. Though if you’re after heat, the jungle curry with monkfish delivers it in undulating waves rather than all at once. Both are brilliant; dishes from a kitchen with a finely tuned grasp of correct Thai seasoning, but with enough flair and flourish to reemphasise the restaurant’s mission, rather than be stifled by it.
The meal ends, as with basically any Thai fine dining joint, with a riff on mango sticky rice, only this one is centred on reduced carrot juice and sea buckthorn. File in the ‘trust us on this one’ compartment.
Desiree’s wine list leans heavily on biodynamism and Austria, including their own house wines made with Nibiru in Kamptal. It’s exactly what you want with this kind of food – teeing up that complex spicing rather than extinguishing it.
Yes, it’s expensive, and some bores might chunter on about how you can get a plate of noodles in the Thai capital for a hundredth of the price of the tasting menu (an actually pretty reasonable £65 at weekday lunch). But AngloThai isn’t trying to recreate Bangkok. It’s doing its own, idiosyncratic thing, and, after only a year of being open, is clearly doing it very well, owing to the breakneck speed of that star. It’s well deserved, we think.
Ideal for Michelin-starred coastal Indian cuisine…
For those seeking a focused, flavour-forward dining experience, Trishna is a must-visit. This Michelin-starred restaurant specialises in coastal Indian cuisine, with an emphasis on fresh British seafood cooked with spice and verve, which sounds like all of the ingredients for a great meal in Marylebone, don’t you think?
Sitting rather ironically on Blandford Street, there’s nothing bland (sorry) about chef Sajeev Nair’s contemporary interpretation of the food of his homeland. Having grown up in Palakkad, Kerala, Nair understands the ins and outs of Indian coastal cuisine intimately, and the signature of funky, rich Dorset brown crab with butter, pepper, and garlic, all mashed and spoonable, has to be one of London’s most satisfying shellfish dishes.
Another Trishna crab classic is the nandu varuval – crispy soft shell crab, green chilli, a rocher of white crab meat, and a smooth tomato chutney all pull in the same direction to great effect. Just delicious.
The lunch and early evening menu, running from midday to 14:15pm and 5pm to 6:15pm, is a snip at £55 for four courses.
Ideal for meticulously crafted Mediterranean plates at admittedly premium prices…
‘A modern Mediterranean bistro with open fire cooking in the heart of London’. We could be describing the vast majority of recent restaurant openings in the city, to be honest…
…but Lita isn’t your everyday place, let’s be clear. Short for ‘abuelita’, which means ‘granny’ in Spanish, Lita isn’t really your grandma’s homecooking kind of place, either.
Unless your grandma is a young protege with time spent at Michelin-starred The Clove Club, its acclaimed sister restaurant Luca, and as head chef at Corrigan’s Mayfair, all before they turned 30.
This is damn convoluted, but we’re describing the career trajectory of the first Lita head chef Luke Ahearne, who boasts an impressive culinary pedigree. He’s continued that trajectory in some style. In its first couple of months of trading, it fast garnered several fawning national reviews, with Jay Rayner ‘in heavenly raptures’ and Jimi Famurewa breathtaken. Christ, that’s a scene we don’t want to play out in our mind every again.
It’s easy to see why they loved it, though; the food here is genuinely magnificent, with an admirable attention to detail paid to the most seemingly simple of dishes. Two smoked basque sardines, meticulously pin boned before being – at least, visually – bonded back together, arrive over a gorgeously smooth ajo blanco and piquant cherries. It’s a case in point of the kind of cooking Lita has already mastered, boasting a depth of flavour that knocks you back.
Don’t let it disarm you too much; you’ll want to regain focus for the briny, brilliant Dorset clams with artichokes done in the Roman style. That is, braised until giving in a mix of white wine and olive oil. It’s excellent, and you’d hope so too for £28.
Okay, the hulking Galician dairy cow in the room; Lita is expensive. Yes, we know it’s somewhat uncouth to mention prices quite so explicitly, but fuck me; there are snacks in the mid twenties, starters topping £30 and several mains over a hundred.
No pan con tomate in the world should cost £17, even one draped with Cantabrian anchovies, but this is admittedly a very good one. There are few bottles of wine available at Lita below £60. Desserts are stubbornly in the mid-teens.
Yep, this is most certainly a special occasion place, but what a place to sink into. The interior showcases a warm, earthy palette with reclaimed terracotta tiles, a timber-clad bar with a deep red, veined marble top, blood-orange banquettes, and restored antique tables, all reminiscent of a grand chateau kitchen that your nan might have helmed a half a century back. She’ll have balked at the prices here, sure, but she wouldn’t half have been proud to send out some of these dishes.
Ideal for refined French elegance bathed in natural light…
Orrery, named after a mechanical model of the solar system, is an elegant French restaurant located on the first floor of a converted stable block. The abundance of natural light hits you the moment you walk in, the restaurant’s huge arched windows and skylights letting in so much that sunglasses are genuinely needed on London’s brighter summer days. The reflective quality of the starched white table cloths only serve to pronounce this.
The refined menu, designed by Chef Igor Tymchyshyn, features classic French dishes with a modern twist. Though menu descriptions verge on the prosaic (Salmon, polenta, asparagus, veloute, or seabass and chive sabayaon, for instance), presentation is anything but, with artistic flourishes of dots and scrapes occasionally reminiscent of a Masterchef several seasons back. There’s no denying the clarity of flavour here, though.
Though you might tend to prefer a smoke at the end of your meal, the chicken parfait cigar here is the ideal way to start it. Close, instead, with a summery elderflower and strawberry pannacotta, adorned with a big puck of champagne jelly. Boom!
With its stunning rooftop terrace (start with Orrery’s signature Old Fashioned up here) and views of St. Marylebone Church, Orrery is perfect for a special occasion or a leisurely lunch, and stakes a fair claim to being one of Marylebones top restaurants.
Ideal for trying one of the world’s most celebrated, proudly Neapolitan pizzas…
Dubbed ‘The Best Pizza in the World’ and iconised in the film ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, L’antica is a superb, eminently affordable place for a swift, sprightly lunch or dinner.
Forget the unfortunate dispute that disrupted the opening of the first London site in Stoke Newington, the second branch in Baker Street is still proudly serving Neapolitan pizzas of the highest quality. If you’re looking for something that’s full of toppings, this isn’t the place. Here, less is more and the classics are done right.
One thing that perhaps isn’t traditional is their ‘Marita’ pizza a half’n’half (margherita and marinara) that’s one of their bestsellers. It does bloody work, though.
There are now outposts in Soho and Manchester, too, for those not keen to make the trek to Marylebone.
Ideal for schnitzel, spätzle and plenty of sweet treats…
Design by IDEAL image via Fischer’s Instagram
Another of our favourite restaurants in Marylebone, Fischer’s is a Viennese-inspired brasserie that transports diners to early 20th-century Austria. With its dark wood panelling, period artwork, and traditional uniforms worn by the staff, this cosy eatery exudes old-world charm. The menu features Austrian classics such as wiener schnitzel and spätzle, whilst the desserts and cakes are, unsurprisingly, the highlight.
Open all morning through night without a break in sight, Fischer’s is perhaps at its very best when dropping in for elevenses. An Austrian classic, the ‘Franz Joseph Kaiserschmarrn’, feels appropriate at this time; a chopped pancake with cherry compote satiates all kinds of cravings. For something more savoury but still within the realms of ‘brunch’, the Holstein Schnitzel with anchovy, capers and egg is ace, too.
When it comes to the sweet side of the menu, we’re huge fans of the ‘Coupe Liegeois’ made with vanilla and chocolate ice creams, whipped cream and bitter chocolate sauce. Alternatively, go for the rich, indulgent sacher torte with the obligatory mountain of whipped cream, here balanced out smoothly with the addition of layers of apricot jam. Either way, order an espresso to round things all off.
Or, come for a proper feast in the evening; the restaurant boasts a fine selection of Austrian wines and beers and plenty of hearty, meat-heavy dishes to go alongside.
Ideal for a light and invigorating Mexican spread in swanky surroundings…
Can’t get a reservation at Kol? Cavita is another beautifully designed Mexican restaurant whose ‘see and be seen’ backdrop fortunately never detracts from the excellent food on offer here. Be sure to try the divine pig’s head tamal and split the whole grilled octopus if you’re dining with a group, both full of textural intrigue and bursts of piquancy, the celebrated chef Adriana Cavita having a commendable lightness of touch and a wicked way with protein. It’s the perfect combination.
Ideal for pitch perfect fusion food, anchored in the Indian subcontinent…
Design by IDEAL image via Jikoni Instagram
Jikoni, simply meaning ‘kitchen’ in Swahili, is a cosy and colourful restaurant that celebrates the diverse culinary heritage of its owner, chef Ravinder Bhogal. The menu is inspired by her Indian, Kenyan, and British roots, resulting in a delightful fusion of flavours, and a mentality of ‘’cooking without borders’’.
Standout dishes include the iconic prawn toast scotch egg – as good as it sounds and then some – and a pressed, crisped shoulder of lamb with a house ras el hanout, served with flatbread. Oh, and the banana cake with miso butterscotch and Ovaltine kulfi is the one.
Jikoni’s Weekend Brunch, running from 11am to 3pm is a hoot; booking in advance for this one is very much recommended.
And this just announced: The Jikoni team are expanding later into 2026, with founders Ravinder Bhogal and Nadeem Lalani Nanjuwany set to open Karam’s, a South Asian vegetarian restaurant at the Brunswick Centre.
Idealfor handsome, honest British pub classics, enjoyed on a sunny terrace when the weather’s right…
Marylebone may not be especially known for its pubs, but The Grazing Goat is an exception. You know you’re in good hands when you see Coombeshead Farm bread and butter opening the festivities, and those hands also make a mean Scotch egg, its anchovy mayonnaise so salty it’s almost spicy, but in the best possible way. It’s giving devilled eggs, but with a difference.
Don’t stray from the snack section, where most of the best cooking is found; a plate of crispy lamb and black cabbage salsa – lightly fermented, sauerkraut-style – is the perfect accompaniment to another round of pints.
If you’ve come hungry, the pub does a mean pie, too. Currently, it’s an excellent chicken and bacon (well, guanciale) affair, the familiar gravy here substituted for a pungent Montgomery cheddar sauce. At £23, it’s a pretty premium pie, but it can comfortably feed two. The Sunday roast is also worth writing home about, but we’re writing online rather than to our folks, so for now we’ll leave it here…
With an outdoor terrace for sunny days, The Grazing Goat is perfect for post-work or pre-dinner drinks and bites when the weather warms up again. Mine’s a Doombar, please.
Ideal for a predictably idiosyncratic and delicious take on a Taiwanese dumpling house…
Another branch of BAO, another knockout restaurant that gets all the finer details just right. At this point, it’s tempting to ask; do these guys ever miss?
As has become the way with new BAO openings, there are points of difference and specialities here that set this outpost apart from the others across the city, from Battersea Power Station to Shoreditch and beyond. The Marylebone rendition of the all-conquering Taiwanese street food group, open ‘all day’ from 10am to midnight, focuses first and foremost on dumplings.
Unsurprisingly for a restaurant so dexterous with dough, they’re superb, with the mutton dumplings in chilli oil particularly pleasing, the body-odour hum of cumin anchoring everything in a pleasing mustiness. And if you don’t find that pleasing, we feel sorry for you…
…Also much trailed and most pleasing are the pan-fried beef dumplings, served as a set of five but arriving as a kind of homogenous single unit, its surface caramelised and its shredded beef interior hotter than the actual sun if you tuck in too soon. Allow them to cool a little and get stuck in, there are fewer things more texturally satisfying on the planet.
Of course, the eponymous headliners are all present and correct at BAO Mary, the classic version perhaps heavier on the peanut powder than normal, but as satisfying as ever nonetheless.
Ideal for Argentinian-influenced pizza that hits different…
From the team behind modern Argentinian grill Zoilo comes this intimate pizzeria that manages to feel both thoroughly modern and charmingly old school. Chef Diego Jacquet might be known for his Argentinian cooking at Zoilo, but Florencio represents a different passion – one born from his global travels and the Italian immigrant influences of his homeland, plus time spent in New York’s vibrant pizza scene.
The pizzas here start with a 48-hour fermented dough that yields a crust with proper integrity – chewy yet crisp, and robust enough to handle some weighty toppings. We didn’t know we needed Argentinian pizza in our life but the Pituca (at £16.90, it’s admittedly weighty on the wallet) changed our mind; earthy mushrooms and sharp parmesan sit atop a white base that allows both ingredients to really sing.
Meanwhile, the Stracciatella (£16.90), smattered with pools of creamy cheese over a fragrant marinara sauce, makes a strong case for simplicity. The Negroni (£9.90) here is a gold standard version, and is an excellent aperitivo obvs, while the wine list offers plenty of good options by the glass.
Evening sees the tiny space transformed by some seriously flattering lighting (your phone camera will definitely switch to night mode), making it an ideal spot for those seeking both sustenance and atmosphere. They operate Tuesday through Saturday, noon till 10pm – perfect for a leisurely lunch or dinner – but plan ahead for Sunday roast alternatives in the area as they’re closed Sundays and Mondays.
Try to snag a corner table and settle in until closing time, especially if you’re planning on getting the excellent banana split for dessert – a gloriously retro affair complete with chocolate chips and dulce de leche.
The wine list, curated by general manager Sebastien Guilleminault, focuses primarily on Italian and French bottles, though guests can also dip into Zoilo’s impressive Argentine cellar next door if they’re feeling curious. Either way, there’s plenty worth drinking, whether you’re after something by the glass or settling in for the full bottle experience. Either way, the hospitality is genuinely warm, and the pizzas are among the most interesting in the neighbourhood.
Ideal for New York-style pies that are worth the wait…
If the queue snaking (‘prowling’? Nah) down Paddington Street is anything to go by, Alley Cats has already established itself as one of Marylebone’s hottest tickets. This walk-in only spot channels pure NYC energy, from its exposed brick walls and chequered tablecloths to episodes of The Sopranos projected onto the wall.
The 14-inch pies here are properly thin and crispy – the kind you can fold into a perfect triangular pocket without the structure giving way. A classic marinara crowned with ice-cold – as it should be – stracciatella (£17) shows they can nail the basics with a keen eye on the finer details, while the vodka sauce option (also £17) offers a more indulgent, increasingly ubiquitous path. The latter, rich and creamy with just the right hit of booze and chilli heat, might have purists clutching their pearls, but it works gloriously well. If you’re feeling thirsty, canned Moth margaritas at £12 each make for a fitting, though bloody expensive, accompaniment.
Those crusts, chewy and characterful, deserve to be dipped in something – the scotch bonnet sauce provides a proper kick, while the ranch offers cooling relief. Actually, order both; you’ll want to alternate between them as you work your way around the circumference of your pie.
The room might be industrial in aesthetic, but there’s genuine warmth to the service, and the buzz of happy diners (when you can hear them over the general hubbub – it’s fucking loud in here) suggests this place is here for the long haul. Getting a table might require a bit of patience, but hey – good things come to those who wait. The good news is they’re open daily from noon to 11pm, so you can get your fix whether it’s a lazy weekend lunch or late-night slice you’re after.
Let’s park the Battersea/Clapham border debate once and for all, in favour of finding great food together and forgetting arbitrary quarrels about where one area starts and another begins. Instead, we’re here to break down barriers, borders andbread, all in the time it takes to wait for a train.
Whilst Clapham Junction might be the busiest train station in Europe, its restaurant scene is arguably a little less relentless, but you’ll still find plenty of great places to eat within walking distance of the station. So, without further ado, here are our picks on where to eat near Clapham Junction; the best restaurants near Clapham Junction.
Taverna Trastevere, St John’s Hill
Ideal for authentic Roman cuisine and traditional, crowd pleasing pasta dishes…
A five-minute walk up St John’s Hill from Clapham Junction, Taverna Trastevere brings a genuine slice of Rome to South London. Opened in 2019 by life-long friends Nicolas Vaporidis and Alessandro Grappelli, this split-level restaurant has quickly established itself as one of the area’s most authentic Italian dining spots. The interior is exactly what you want from a Roman restaurant – all warm wooden beams, terracotta walls, and soft lighting that makes everyone look like they’re in a Fellini film.
The menu reads like a greatest hits of Roman cuisine, with particular attention paid to the holy trinity of pasta dishes that define the Eternal City – carbonara, cacio e pepe, and amatriciana (we’re sorry, alla Gricia), which all clock in above £18. While that might seem steep for pasta, the quality more than justifies it. Under the guidance of Roman chef Ivano Paolucci, these classics are executed with impressive precision – the carbonara, in particular, is increasingly spoken about in lofty, hyperbolic terms, with a growing crowd of pasta aficionados and Tory TikTokers making the pilgrimage to SW11 to try it.
The antipasti selection shines – don’t miss the suppli alla Romana (£8), those perfectly crafted rice balls with a molten mozzarella centre that are a street food staple in Rome. The fritto misto (£14) here, confusingly, isn’t lovely, fried tiny fish and tentacles, but rather, various suppli variations and cacio e pepe croquettes that’ll have you fighting over the last bite. And then, admittedly, regretting doing so as a wave of heaviness hits you.
For mains, the saltimbocca is a standout, the veal escalope cooked sympathetically and generously perfumed with sage, while the pizza menu offers excellent Roman-style thin crust options. The wine list is thoughtfully Italian-focused – their house white, a fresh and juicy Trebbiano, and red, a crisp Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, both start at £6 per glass.
The restaurant oozes that warm, convivial atmosphere of a traditional Roman taverna, complete with outdoor seating perfect for summer dining. The service style matches this vibe – attentive but refreshingly unpretentious, with an all-Italian staff adding to the authentic experience.
Taverna Trastevere is open daily for lunch and dinner, making it equally suitable for a casual weekday pasta fix or a more elaborate weekend feast. While prices reflect the central London location and quality of ingredients (expect to pay around £40-50 per person for three courses with wine), the cooking’s unwavering commitment to Roman traditions makes it a worthy addition to the area’s dining scene.
Clapham Junction station and the surrounding area certainly isn’t short on supermarkets and cash machines, which feels like an odd way to start an article about the best restaurants in Battersea, but bear with us.
You’ll need both for Kaosarn, a Thai bring-your-own-booze, cash-only restaurant whose no-frills, no-frippery mentality extends to the food in the best possible way. Here, the flavours are bold and upfront, with a country-spanning menu of the classics sure to perk up even the weariest of train-traveller.
The restaurant’s Bangkok-style som tam was once named as one of Time Out’s best 100 dishes in London, and it certainly does the job. Order it alongside some grilled chicken (gai yang) and a basket of sticky rice (khao niao) and you’ve got an enlivening, uplifting Thai meal for less than £20.
Ideal for some of South London’s best Neapolitan pizza…
Pizzeria Pellone on Lavender Hill is something of a game of two halves. The first side of the menu is Franco Baresi style; austere, traditional and masterful in its mistake-free delivery. The latter feels somewhat inspired by Roberto Baggio; creative, joyful and exciting.
Enough of the football analogies; this is superb pizza, make no mistake, with authentic Neapolitan recipes here using Caputo flour, Gustarosso tomato sauce and Buffalo Mozzarella straight from Campania. That comes as no surprise; the family owns five Pizzeria Pellones in Naples, and their restaurants in the Motherland regularly receive plaudits.
That said, it’s in the Pizze Le Pizze Gourmet section of the menu where the real excitement lies; the white pizzas here are superb and the Calzone Fritto, heavy on the black pepper and punchy with housemade salami, is a cult classic.
Perhaps precede all of this with a trio of montanare classiche, that absurdly satisfying Naples streetfood snack of golden but greaseless dough (how do they do that?) topped with marinara sauce and parmesan. It’s such a good version here.
Considering the restaurant is just a fifteen-minute walk from Clapham Junction station and the pizzas take just a minute to cook in Pellone’s roaring hot wood-fired oven, if your train is delayed and you’re looking for a quick, delicious feed in the meantime, then this is the place to head. Or, they’ll deliver to the station; back of the net!
Ideal for an exemplary banh mi, one of the best we’ve had outside of Vietnam…
Looking for an even faster, equally as satisfying meal close to Clapham Junction, that can be assembled to-go within just a few minutes? Keen to pair that with one of the most silky and luxurious liquid pick-me-ups on the planet? If you answered in the affirmative, then it’s to Viet Caphe you should head.
Opened in 2024, these guys are already knocking out some of the best banh mi in the city alongside a small selection of other light Vietnamese lunchtime staples like bun cha and summer rolls.
Anyway, back to that banh mi, which comes in a rundown of around nine (and growing) versions, most of which revolve around pork. We enjoyed the crispy pork version, which was generously filled with fatty pork belly and crackling, coriander and pickles, with all the rich mouthfeel and piquant cut through that entails. A glorious, exemplary banh mi, and one of the best we’ve had outside of Vietnam. We can’t wait to go back and get stuck into their menu more comprehensively.
Right now, the restaurant is unlicensed, but they also do a fine Vietnamese iced coffee – strong, sweet and indulgent – that can also be taken away. Now that’s a train picnic your fellow passengers will be casting covetous glances at.
Just leave Clapham Junction at the St John Hill’s exit and head up that hill for five minutes. Look for the pastel pink building and block, italics capitals of VIET CAPHE, and know you’re in business.
Ideal for when you fancy Korean comfort food but can’t be arsed to trek to New Malden…
Hana, seven minutes up from Clapham Junction (turn left out of the station, not right), is a family-run Korean spot has been pleasing SW11 palates with faithfully rendered Korean comfort cooking since 2012. The 20-seat space might be small, but when the stone bowl bibimbap arrives hissing like an angry cat and its aroma beckons you in like a waving one, you’re know you’re among as many friends as you could possibly need.
The restaurant once had Michelin recognition (genuinely not sure why they don’t anymore; it’s as good as ever), though you wouldn’t know it from the prices. The family who run it named the place after their daughter Hannah (Hana means ‘one’ in Korean), and there’s something rather lovely about how they’ve stuck to traditional Korean cooking while making Battersea locals feel at home. Inside, it’s all dark wood furnishings, pretty hanging lamps, and service that knows when to chat and when to leave you to your soju. If you truly don’t feel like chatting, you can bury yourself deep in the bowels of the place, behind a translucent byeongpung, and, erm, bury yourself deep in a bowl from the place. That’s a sentence that really doesn’t work, but we’re leaving it in anyway…
The bossam (£16.50) arrives as slow-cooked pork belly with lettuce wraps. No fancy garnishes here; just meat that is tender and fat that is wobbly, ready to be wrapped up with their ferocious house kimchi. Their bulgogi gets its sweetness from fruit marinades, while the homemade Hana mandu are plump dumplings (hey, how about we start calling these guys ‘plumplings’? guys? GUYS?) that put Itsu’s efforts to shame.
But it’s the dolsot bibimbap that really shows what they’re about. That stone bowl comes out nuclear-hot, raw beef cooking as you mix everything together with house gochujang. At under fifteen quid, it’s the kind of dish that ruins you for the watered-down versions you’ll increasingly find on the high street. There’s a round of complimentary banchan too, just as it should be.
Most dishes hover around £10-15, portions are generous enough that you’ll waddle back to the station, and after 14 years in the same spot, they’ve clearly worked out what the neighbourhood wants. Closed on Mondays.
Ideal for soul-stirring South Indian food that will ruin your local brunch spot forever…
South Indian cooking has landed on Northcote Road with Tamila, the latest venture from the team behind north London favourites The Tamil Prince and The Tamil Crown. Since opening in October 2024, it’s quickly made an impact, not for its curries so much, but more for its brunch. Quickly, it’s become the kind of place that makes you question why you ever waited 45 minutes for mediocre eggs Benedict on a particularly ropey Sunday morning. That Gail’s a minute down the road? It’s not longer getting a look in…
Unlike its pub-dwelling siblings up north, Tamila takes a more casual approach. The space is simple – whitewashed walls, wooden tables, booth seating – but the aroma of spices blooming that drifts from the open kitchen brings all the ambience you need here. That, and the steady stream of dosas floating past your table that will have you flagging down the waiter before you’ve even taken your coat off. That sounds like we’re planning to wear those dosas. Come to think of it, they’d make good sleeves…
…Speaking of those dosas – they’re the real deal. The masala version comes as a golden-brown crisp scroll hiding spiced potato masala within, served alongside coconut chutney and sambar that you’ll want to ask for extra of. At £9, it’s also one of the best value breakfasts in the area. The medhu vadai, those savoury lentil doughnuts that could teach their sweet cousins a thing or two about depth of flavour, are another morning winner.
As day turns to evening, the kitchen becomes a different thing, but it’s still satisfying, generous grub that serves up enough intrigue to represent a decent alternative to the area’s more old school curry houses. The Thanjavur chicken curry brings complex, layered spicing and the Chettinad lamb curry carries enough punch to wake up even the weariest commuter. Their dhal is treated with the respect it deserves here – creamy, deeply flavoured, and perfect with their exemplary rotis.
The Gunpowder Margarita has been proving particularly popular with the always-thirsty Northcote Road crowd. If that’s a little bracing, there’s a house Tamila lager that does exactly what you want it to, and a concise wine list that won’t frighten the accountants, who you’ll be dining next to, most likely.
Such has been the success (this place boasts a healthy bottom line, we’d wager) of this south London outpost that a second Tamila has now opened in Kings Cross, and the original earned a Bib Gourmand in the 2026 Michelin Guide announcment. Now a third – and the largest yet – has just opened on Poland Street in Soho. But there’s something special about this Northcote Road spot. Tamila feels like it’s been here forever, even though it’s only just getting started.
On a street largely defined by mid-range chain eateries, Northcote Road’s best ‘neighbourhood’ restaurant is Osteria Antica Bologna, a warm and welcoming Italian which has been in the same spot for over two decades and does all of the simple, rustic things just right.
So, that’s freshly made pasta, ragus that taste like they’ve been bubbling since the restaurant opened, risotto that’s genuinely cooked to order (please allow for 20 minutes) and, if you’re feeling particularly ravenous, a Bistecca alla Fiorentina, that famous chargrilled T-bone steak beloved of Tuscany.
With affordable wine by the glass and a convivial atmosphere every night of the week (except Mondays, when it’s closed), it’s no wonder that Osteria Antica Bologna is such a hit with the locals.
The ideal neighbourhood restaurant and natural wine bar…
It’s the type of place that this corner of town has been crying out for; a natural wine bar that just happens to do deceptively simple, simply delicious things with seasonal British produce, ready to rival the steady stream of openings out East that seem to have perfected this concept.
Enter Ploussard, which ticks all of the boxes above and then some, all in a space that manages to be both austere but warm, the gentle, oscillating thrum of chatter and clinking classes soundtracking the sharing of plates and your own vital conversation.
Of those plates, the black pudding tempura with pear is as vibey and as delicious as it sounds, but try sharing one; it’s not possible. Even better – at their very best in fact – was a hulking, fist-sized scallop with a totally unnecessary but totally delicious chicken wing and smoked butter sauce. The two dishes actually worked beautifully in tandem, in fact – the ol’ black pudding and scallop combo bringing a whole new meaning to the sharing plates concept. Yours, as a pair, for £30 (though do be aware that the menu changes regularly, so these two may not be on right now).
Though it’s positioning itself as a neighbourhood bistro of sorts, in the mould of Paris’ bistronomy movement, this isn’t a place to just pop in for a quick glass of wine on your way home from work; Ploussard, named after a prized French red grape variety typically grown in the eastern region of Jura, is already packed out every night of the week (except Sundays, when the doors remain bolted).
That said, it’s much easier to simply stroll in on a weekday lunch, and relax into this (relatively) new Battersea gem. With several wines sold by the glass for just under a tenner, it’s a place we can see ourselves relaxing into rather a lot in 2026.
Ideal for modern French food with some global flourishes…
This creative counter-dining restaurant on Battersea Rise would be impossible to get into were it in Hackney or out west on Westbourne Grove.
As it stands, with this part of Clapham offering up a different type of dining scene, you can usually expect to get a table (or rather, bar stool) at fairly short notice at French chef Yoann Chevet’s brilliant restaurant.
Do so, and you’ll be rewarded with a no choice four-course menu for a bargain £65, which falls broadly under the ‘modern European’ bracket but with a few Asian flourishes – think open ravioli of braised beef with kimchi and tofu.
Don’t worry, you’re not being experimented on with ill-thought fusion food; dishes here are light, perfectly poised and full of flavour. A must visit if you’re in Battersea!
Ideal for family-cooked Vietnamese food rooted in the Red River Delta…
This spot on Lavender Hill was formerly home to Mien Tay, one of our favourite Vietnamese restaurants in the city. When it changed hands, we feared the worst, but Song Hong, its replacement, has carved out its own identity and earned its place on this list in the process.
Where Mien Tay drew from the south of Vietnam, Song Hong takes its name (and its recipes) from the Red River Delta up north, the region where the family who run it originates. And it really is a family affair; Thủy Mai and her husband do the cooking, their older children work the floor, and the whole operation radiates the kind of warmth you can’t fake. Décor remains pleasingly stripped back and functional, letting the food do the talking, in typical Vietnamese spirit. Oh, and it’s still BYOB (with a small corkage fee) and cash only. All together now: “Tram Phan Tram!” What’s not to love?
The menu covers plenty of ground, but it’s the less obvious dishes that reward the curious. The grilled quail is wonderfully burnished, the grilled squid with mustard greens even better, and the curried goat with galangal brings a fragrant, peppery heat that lingers well after the last spoonful. From Haiphong comes a fried fish vermicelli noodle soup, served with the full spread of shredded banana blossom, beansprouts, coriander, lime and chilli. The pho is solid too, if you’re after something more familiar, and at £10–15 a head before drinks, you’ll waddle home having spent less than you would on a round in most SW11 pubs.
The best fine dining option in the area, this Clapham stalwart run by the effervescent, proudly classical chef Adam Byatt has been given a new lease of life in recent years, it seems, via its increasing ubiquity on TopJaw, and Byatt’s downright educational cooking instructionals on Instagram, that have honestly been feeding our weeknight dinner inspiration for the past few months.
It’s been a landmark period for Byatt, even by his lofty standards. In early 2025, he was recognised with Michelin’s Mentor Chef Award – a nod to his role in nurturing talents like two-star chefs Tom Sellers and Angelo Sato – and last summer saw the opening of Brasserie Constance, his Thames-side brasserie at Fulham Pier, and it’s already been added to the Michelin Guide. As Trinity approaches its 20th anniversary this year, it’s clear that Byatt’s influence on London dining shows no sign of waning.
A Michelin star felt like it came late for Trinity in 2016, but boy was it well-deserved. This is not to say it wasn’t superb before the little red book finally recognised its exceptional celebration of British ingredients with flair and respect – but Michelin’s acknowledgement of Trinity as one of the best restaurants in London is pleasing nonetheless. The restaurant has a particular affinity with game, and a visit in grouse season is a must.
If fine dining isn’t your thing, chef Byatt also operates a more casual, small plates affair upstairs – suitably named Trinity Upstairs – where the cooking is as attentive and precise as its big brother down on the first floor, but at a more accessible price.
Ideal for proper Neapolitan pizza from an award-winning pizzaiolo…
Marco Fuso opened Renaissance Pizzeria at the Clapham Common end of Battersea Rise in late June 2025, bringing his considerable reputation to what’s been a notoriously difficult site. The Lecce-born pizzaiolo has spent years collecting international awards, running MFP Consultancy where he’s trained hundreds of professional pizza chefs across Europe and beyond, and developing his own professional-grade flour. Now he’s got his own restaurant, and the pizza lives up to the pedigree.
The dough uses Fuso’s proprietary flour blend and gets treated with the kind of obsessive attention that has won all those awards. Tender but structurally sound bases with the requisite puffed crusts arrive with a pleasing leopard-spotted char, the cornicione has genuine structure rather than just air, and toppings stay generous without drowning the whole thing in heartburn. The margherita demonstrates exactly why Fuso bothers with all this – San Marzano tomatoes, imported buffalo mozzarella, and that distinctive fresh olive oil he won’t shut up about. It works, and to our mind there’s no need to stray further into the menu when the classic is this good.
If you do wish to maraud through the menu, the Zucca Piccante shows what happens when someone who truly understands the form starts gently experimenting – a sweet and suave pumpkin sauce meeting Italian sausages and ‘nduja, with plenty of that extra virgin olive oil. It’s excellent, and will keep those ‘pizza is boring’ pricks at bay while you enjoy your margherita in peace.
The dining room aims for Renaissance-inspired elegance, which in practice means fairly restrained décor with playful touches – historical figures holding pizza slices, that sort of thing, and there’s a small terrace that fills quickly when the weather cooperates. The acoustics haven’t been sorted yet, so expect volume when it’s busy. Not to worry; Renaissance is hitting its stride quite nicely in this corner of Battersea, and things can only get better from here, we think.
Open Tuesday to Friday from 5pm, Saturday and Sunday from noon. Closed Mondays.
Ideal for classic Thai curries and regional specialities…
The second Thai restaurant on our list, and for good reason; could there be a better cuisine at reinvigorating a commuter who’s been worn out by the cut and thrust of the capital, all in the time it takes to wait for that connecting train to Epsom? We certainly don’t think so.
Rosa’s Thai has outposts all over London, with the restaurant gaining popularity for its affordable, punchy Thai dishes with origins from across The Kingdom. The Clapham branch has found a home on Northcote Road, and in a street largely defined by pizzas and burgers, the enlivening hit of chilli and smoke is – even if a little functional – most welcome.
Go for the stir-fry dishes, as Rosa has real woks and burners out back and that all-important ‘hei’ can be sensed on the plate. The chilli and basil stir fry is a very satisfying one plate wonder, akin to Bangkok’s beloved pad gra pao, but using Thai basil instead of the holy stuff. Regardless, it does the job.
The restaurant also focuses on regional specialities. We’re particularly fond of coming here for an order of chicken larb, papaya salad and a side of sticky rice which all hail from the Isaan province in North-East Thailand.
As their website boasts, the restaurant group serves 11’000 pad Thais a week. We’re a little embarrassed to admit just how many of that number were us.
Ideal for chicken shish, falafel and halloumi kebabs…
Excuse the name that calls to mind Thierry Henry suavely, sexily peddling a Renault Clio, and instead turn your attention to the gorgeous, keenly priced kebabs being produced at Bababoom, Battersea Rise’s premier Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant.
With the charcoal grill licking up flames from noon daily, we’d argue that Bababoom is best enjoyed at lunchtime, where one of London’s best deals is found; a properly massive, laden chicken shish, falafel or halloumi kebab and a drink (the frozen lemonade is ace) for just £10. Yep, ten pounds, and that drink can even be beer, which you’d likely be paying around a tenner for alone in some corners of the city. This one runs weekdays until 5pm.
And sure, there’s definitely a lurking suspicion that this place is run by some local toffs, but that inclusive pricing might suggest otherwise. Get involved!
For the ultimate grab and go meal just moments from Clapham Junction station, Prezzemolo & Vitale, a relatively recent addition to the area, has brought an authentic taste of Sicilian gastronomia culture to this little corner of south west London.
With shops already thriving in Chelsea, Notting Hill, Borough Market and Wimbledon, the Battersea branch of Prezzemolo & Vitale is housed in the revamped Arding & Hobbs building on St John’s Rd. This Sicilian deli-cum-cafe is stacked with a wide selection of premium Italian charcuterie, cheeses, pasta and olive oil, as well as some items you’ll struggle to find in your local Waitrose, such as guanciale and bottarga.
There’s also an impressive array of seasonal produce imported directly from Italy on a weekly basis – Marsala black tomatoes and Ribera oranges, stand up. So far, so do-it-yourself…
But for a train picnic, you’ll be properly set up here too, with the counter on your left as you enter the deli (still haven’t decided what to call this place!) well appointed with homemade Italian classics that eat incredibly well lukewarm.
Seeing as the gaff (still haven’t decided…) is Sicilian, the caponata is particularly good. A really good version actually, salty, sweet and sour, in that order, and so good lumped across the freshly baked focaccia that’s also sold here. The parmigiana di melanzane and beef lasagne look great, too. Next time, next time…
On top of all that, Prezzemolo & Vitale’s own brand of Italian ice cream, including esoteric flavours like Gianduja, Fior di Panna, and Tiramisu, is available here (or to go) for all the sugarheads out there. Unsurprisingly, the coffee here more than does the job, too.
Marylebone seems to have branded itself as a village in recent years, and to its credit, it actually feels like one. Though undoubtedly moneyed and honeyed, the neighbourhood has always resisted the homogenising pull of the chain hotel, favouring instead a collection of independents and design-led properties that feel more like staying with a well-connected friend than checking into a room.
The tree-lined streets, the Sunday farmers’ market, the independent shops on Chiltern Street and the High Street all add up to a part of London that wears its sophistication lightly. Its best hotels do the same: small in scale, strong on personality, run by people who care about the wallpaper and the cocktail list in equal measure; places where the owner personally chose the door handles and someone has thought about what records to leave by the turntable. If you’re in the neighbourhood for the weekend, and seeking somewhere with some character, are 5 of the best boutique hotels in Marylebone.
The Zetter Marylebone
Ideal for collectors, aesthetes, and anyone who appreciates a good fish finger sandwich…
The Zetter Marylebone is a 24-room Georgian townhouse on one of the neighbourhood’s quieter residential streets, and everything about it feels personal. The interiors are dense with antiques, dark leather and oriental rugs, and it’s furnished like a collection, not a catalogue.
That collector was designer Russell Sage, who spent three years sourcing 10,000 objects to fill the building, taking his cue from Sir John Soane’s Museum: the same magpie instinct, the same refusal to leave a surface bare. The lift is papered with vintage pages of Punch. Even the fire exit signs have been daubed over antique paintings. It’s the kind of place that could only be British, and couldn’t be anywhere but London.
The rooms range from compact Deluxe Doubles to the Junior Suites, each with their own layout. The one to book is Lear’s Loft: 45 square metres across the entire top floor, with a super king bed, its own staircase, a dressing room and a claw-footed bath on the roof terrace. Throughout the hotel, beds are by Hypnos, bathroom products by Verden, and every room has a BOSE or Marshall speaker.
The Parlour, on the ground floor, is a highly curated cocktail bar and all-day dining room. With its crimson walls, collections of bound books and grandfather clocks, it’s a gorgeous space to while away a few hours – the kind of room where you sink into the sofa and lose track of time. Come winter when the fire is roaring, it’s one of the best spots in London. The cocktail list balances the classics (a Vesper Martini at £16) with house signatures like the Apiary (Woodford Reserve bourbon, black bee honey, Amaro Averna, £16) and the Sloane Sling (Diplomático rum, Champagne cordial, pineapple, £20). It all feels pleasingly inventive without being showy.
The food leans into British classics – pork scratchings, sausage rolls with brown sauce, triple cooked chips with the chef’s own curry mayo; bar snacks good enough to ruin your dinner plans. The Cornish crab crumpet with Chapel & Swan smoked salmon is the one to order, though if you want something more substantial, the cheeseburger built on beef shin and bone marrow patties is hard to argue with. Don’t actually argue with it or you’ll be ushered to a more shadowy corner. Some say you can judge a hotel by its club sandwich; we’d argue that in England, the fish finger sandwich is the better measure, and the Zetter’s passes with flying colours; it’s gorgeous.
Afternoon tea (Wednesday to Sunday, £75 with a Newby’s teapot, £90 with Lanson) is traditional or vegan, with coronation chicken sandwiches, vanilla and buttermilk scones. We hope they never take the lemon drizzle cake or strawberry entremet off the menu. Breakfast is excellent, too.
The Zetter is one of those hotels that people come back to, and the group is expanding too, with a third London property due to open in April 2026 near the British Museum.
Ideal for a charming Regency escape with a love of cricket and colour…
This is where Firmdale Hotels started. Tim and Kit Kemp’s first opening, back when designer-led London townhouse hotels were still a new idea. It sits on the edge of Dorset Square, a Regency garden square that was the original site of Thomas Lord’s first cricket ground from 1787 until 1810, before Lord eventually relocated to what is now the current ground at St John’s Wood in 1814.
Kit Kemp has made something charming of that history rather than just nodding to it. Cricket bats – some signed by the likes of Sir Gary Sobers – are hung like artworks, wardrobe handles are miniature leather balls, and Victorian cricketers peer out from corridor walls and guest room alcoves. In the Drawing Room, bats fan across the mantelpiece alongside a gallery wall of cricketer portraits, and somehow none of it tips into theme pub territory. Painted in warm terracotta pink, with a fireplace, an honesty bar and views of the leafy square below, it’s one of our favourite spots in the hotel to settle in for an hour.
There are 38 rooms, every one individually designed – each its own colour world, with saturated walls, curtains that clash with the cushions and every element chosen to push the palette further rather than calm it down. They range from 10-square-metre singles to the Marylebone Room at 35 square metres, with soft blue linen walls, floor-to-ceiling library shelves and Kit Kemp’s signature oversized printed headboard. Granite bathrooms with walk-in showers are standard throughout, with RIKRAK, Kemp’s own bath product range, in every room.
Two Accessible Deluxe King rooms on the ground floor have wide doorways, emergency alarms and adapted bathrooms – a genuine consideration given how few period townhouse hotels can offer it. If you can, request a garden-facing room: several overlook the square directly, and in the morning light floods through the tall Regency windows.
The Potting Shed is where the cricket theme is pushed further. Cocktails are called Silly Midwicket, Body Liner and LBW, all at £15, and the restaurant is anchored by two Peter Rocklin paintings that draw on the square’s cricketing past. On the back wall, an art installation by ceramicist Martha Freud lines the room: hundreds of porcelain cups, each bearing a seemingly random word, which light up in sequence to spell out cricketing sayings. Her grandfather would probably have had something to say about the hotel’s obsession with bowled maidens and sticky wickets.
Food-wise, the restaurant does seasonal British cooking with a breezy confidence, with a ‘dish of the day’ at £25 including a glass of wine (Friday is beer-battered fish and chips, Saturday is the house burger) and a Sunday roast at £27. Afternoon tea is £40, or £52 with a glass of Rathfinny Rosé from Sussex.
Marylebone Tube is a two-minute walk. Baker Street is even closer.
Ideal for those who like their London hotel with a plot twist…
We’ve done our detective work on this one. Before it was a hotel, this was Bedford College for Women, established at the end of the 19th century in a row of Georgian buildings dating back to the 1790s. The aristocracy used to rent these houses for the London Season, swapping their country estates for a few months of balls, dinner parties and visits to Buckingham Palace. Now the four buildings on Chiltern Street house 118 rooms, a two-AA-rosette restaurant and a cocktail bar with a Sherlock Holmes theme that’s carried off with enough lightness that it feels like wit rather than fancy dress.
Sherlock Holmes was, famously, a terrible sleeper – three-day cocaine binges and violin solos at 3am are not conducive to a good night’s rest. Or so we’re told. Holmes Hotel does better. The beds are sumptuously comfortable, the kind even the most notorious insomniac would find hard to resist. If you do find yourself staring at the ceiling, the towering headboards are covered in dense passages from the Conan Doyle stories, which should do the trick faster than counting sheep. Should you really be of the same disposition as Holmes and restlessness drive you out into the corridors, each floor has its own framed riddle to solve, complete with surrounding artwork that doubles as clues.
The rooms to pay attention to are the Townhouse Loft Suites: 50 square metres over two floors, with a roll-top bath, separate rainfall shower, and a record player with a stack of LPs. It’s a mystery why they don’t have a curated in-room audiobook of the Holmes stories queued up and ready. The obvious immersive touch, and one that would complete the experience rather neatly. We solved this particular case by downloading one on Audible.
The interiors throughout mix original Georgian features with Tom Dixon and Muuto furniture, limited-edition prints from Nelly Duff Gallery, and throws by Simon Key Bertman. Bathroom products are Gilchrist & Soames in the rooms, Molton Brown in the suites.
Kitchen at Holmes is where the hotel really earns its keep. The menu has a strong Mediterranean and Middle Eastern pull: lamb kofta with tahini, labneh and pickled mushrooms; octopus with potatoes, chorizo and za’atar; monkfish wrapped in guanciale with parsley cream. We’re rather glad that the weekday menu doesn’t lean into the Holmes theme with cold suppers and uninspiring roasts. The cocktail menu however does. Don’t miss the Holmes Breakfast Martini with orange marmalade if you’re keen to get drunk on brand.
The gym, Piggy Doyle’s – named for Arthur Conan Doyle’s boxing nickname – is free for all guests around the clock, and worth a visit for the fit-out alone: NOHrD’s handcrafted wooden equipment, a leather-clad punching bag and atlas stones give it the feel of a Victorian boxing gymnasium rather than the usual hotel afterthought.
Baker Street Tube, with five lines, is a two-minute walk. This is also the street where Chiltern Firehouse stands, currently closed for restoration following a fire in February 2025, with an April 2027 reopening pencilled in.
Ideal for those who want a proper pub, a serious kitchen, and a bed upstairs…
The name is not an affectation. New Quebec Street sits on land where Lady Portman once grazed her goats, and the hotel’s own explanation of itself – a country pub stacked six floors above a quiet Marylebone backstreet – makes more sense when you know that.
The ground floor at number 6 is a proper pub, with open fireplaces, oak floors and huge sash windows. A terrace out front is one of the better spots in this part of London on a warm evening, tucked far enough from Oxford Street to feel like an entirely different city.
The food tells a different story to the surroundings, though. All meat comes from high-welfare UK farms via Walter Rose & Son in Wiltshire and Taste Tradition in North Yorkshire, both specialists in native rare breeds. Fish is day-boat from Cornwall. The flour is regeneratively grown by Wildfarmed. The sourdough is baked by Seven Seeded a few miles away. And Cubitt House has recently partnered with the Nevill Holt Estate in Leicestershire to rear their own free-range Hubbard chickens, slow-grown outdoors, and Tamworth pigs, a heritage breed raised entirely on natural feed and farm foraging for at least six months.
The menu that comes out of all this is a long way from a standard pub kitchen. Beef tartare with Montgomery Cheddar and dripping sourdough. Pan-fried Chalk Stream trout with Aleppo pepper. Iberico pork chop with roasted apple and rosemary. Angus steaks from flat iron at £31 to a porterhouse for two at £98. Seasonal oysters at £5 each. Yes, we realise we’re just breathlessly listing at this point, but doesn’t it sound good? On Sundays, the roast is served family style for tables of four or more at £30 a head, with choices including Angus beef rump with bone marrow and slow-roasted lamb leg with fresh mint sauce. It’s a lovely place to spend a Sunday afternoon, make no mistake.
Upstairs, eight rooms across three floors, each with Cotswold Company emperor and king-size beds and 100 Acres botanicals in the bathrooms. The interiors have a modern country-house feel – wooden panelling, sash windows, the occasional creak of floorboard that reminds you this is not a purpose-built hotel. Rooms look out over New Quebec Street, which is quiet enough to make the proximity to Oxford Street feel improbable.
Cubitt House runs eight pubs across London, several with rooms upstairs, and there’s experience behind the model. With only eight rooms here, weekends go fast.
Ideal for those who want big-hotel reliability without sacrificing boutique character…
The biggest hotel on this list is, in some respects, the hardest one to write about – not because there’s nothing to say, but because the challenge it sets itself is an unusual one. At 248 rooms, it has no right to feel personal. And yet…
The Marylebone sits between Welbeck Street and the pedestrianised cobbles of Marylebone Lane, and from the lobby onwards the design does something interesting with scale. The hotel’s own description of its public spaces – characterised by inviting nooks and crannies – undersells what that actually means in practice: rooms that fold into one another, each with its own atmosphere, none of them feeling like a hotel corridor with chairs in it.
That sensibility carries through to the bedrooms, which have had a recent refresh and feel more considered than a hotel of this size has any right to: bold-patterned wallpapers, mid-century furniture, marble-lined bathrooms, each room with its own character rather than the replicated neutrality that 248 rooms usually demands.
At the top end, The Harley and The Wimpole terrace suites (from £1,225) come with covered all-weather terraces, a fireplace and television built into the wall, slate and cedar wood décor – Scandi cabin logic applied to a central London rooftop. The Marylebone Suite steps it up further at £1,785.
The hotel operates two food and drink venues that could each hold their own without the hotel behind them. 108 Brasserie has its own entrance on the cobbles of Marylebone Lane, marked by brick-red frontage and a foliage-lined terrace that draws in neighbourhood regulars as reliably as hotel guests – modern European cooking with strong English anchors, from Devon crab crumpet to Black Angus steaks sourced from Surrey. The brasserie also makes its own 108 Gin with Hawkridge Distillery, infused with locally foraged botanicals and Irish honey from Cork, available exclusively here and worth ordering in a Martini before you look at anything else on the list.
The Cocktail Bar, reached through the hotel’s main entrance, is the more interesting operation, and the kind of bar that the denizens of Marylebone would talk about regardless of where it sat. The menu is built around local landmarks, each drink a compressed piece of neighbourhood history: a rum-and-Cognac punch after Dickens’ own recipe from his home on Devonshire Terrace; brandy and vermouth around John Lennon’s time at 34 Montagu Square; a five-rum blend nodding to the old condemned route from Newgate to the Tyburn gallows, when prisoners would stop at Marylebone inns for a final drink. There’s even a Sherlock Holmes cocktail – Redbreast whiskey and Del Maguey mezcal – which, given that Baker Street is a ten-minute walk away, feels like the bar earning its geography (we realise we’re getting a little repetitive in that respect).
Rooms start from £305. Guests get complimentary access to an on-site Third Space health club with an 18-metre pool, gym and spa – rare enough in central London that it genuinely changes the calculus for anyone staying more than a night.
The hotel has also partnered with Rebase Recovery, a subterranean wellness studio a short walk away on Welbeck Street, to create the Suite Health package: a two-day reset built around contrast therapy, infrared saunas, ice baths and deep-tissue massage, with recovery supplements and pressed juices waiting in the room on return. It starts from £1,115 per night including breakfast and treatments for two – not a casual add-on, but worth knowing about if the trip is as much about rest, relaxation and recovery as it is about a proximity to the city lights. Can’t we have both, you ask? In Marylebone, you most certainly can.
The term ‘nose blind’ has certainly entered the popular lexicon in recent years, whether that’s referring to a side effect of COVID-19, your colleague whose garlic bread habit has become an increasingly visible concern, or, most commonly, the aromas in your home that you can’t discern but your guests most certainly can.
Every home has certain smells, from laundry detergent to preferred cooking ingredients, and not all of these are unpleasant. Some, however, might be indicative of a serious, potentially dangerous issue that needs attending to. In these (and, frankly, most) cases, trying to cover up the smell isn’t enough. Instead, you need to go to the source of these 7 smells in your home you should never ignore.
Sewerage
Sewerage fumes don’t just smell bad, they can also be toxic and even flammable. The most obvious cause of sewerage smells is a blocked sewer; you’ll know if this is the case, because the smell will be coming from your drain.
Rather than this unwelcome intrusion into your bathroom and beyond being caused by overuse, as it were, sewer smells in your home are more often due to sewer gas coming from a rarely used toilet or sink.
This is caused by the p-trap drying out or potentially becoming clogged. Though the former can be fixed by simply running water through it regularly, responsive drainage experts will be able to help with the latter, removing any blockage safely and cleanly.
As the experts at PlumbingSell tell us, broken seals or burst pipes could be another cause, and fixing them will definitely require a plumber.
The odour of rotten eggs could be caused by a crate of forgotten eggs, sure, but it could also be down to a gas leak. A chemical called mercaptan that smells like rotten eggs is added to natural gas so that we can easily detect when there is a gas leak.
A gas leak is of course serious and requiring of urgent attention – natural gas is highly flammable and contains carbon monoxide which is highly toxic. If you suspect that there is a gas leak in your home, open as many windows as you can and then go outside before calling out an emergency gas engineer.
Burning
A burning smell is never a good sign unless you’ve just lit a barbie. If you’re not cooking anything, you may want to check electrical outlets around your home – smoke or scorch marks could be a sign that an outlet is damaged and that an electrical fire is imminent.
In such situations, your best option is to turn off the electrics at the mains and get an expert to take a look immediately. Experienced electricians will be able to identify the source of the problem and make the necessary repairs before things escalate.
Fishy Smells
Plastics used in some outlets and some cases of damaged wiring can produce an unpleasant fishy smell when overheated. If you haven’t left any fish out on the counter and you smell fish, consider checking each outlet in your home. This smell could be another early warning sign that an electrical fire is about to break out and you should call out an electrician.
Of course, if you’ve just enjoyed a fish supper, you might want to put that phone down.
Mould
Many of us know the distinctive musty smell of mould. Living around mould is not good for our respiratory health, so you should try to find the source as soon as you start to smell mould in your home.
Most mould is clearly visible on walls and ceilings, but sometimes our homes can contain hidden outbreaks in cupboards or behind appliances. Try to follow the smell to find the source so that you can get rid of the mould. There are anti-mould sprays you can use to get rid of the mould, as well as homemade solutions using either bleach or vinegar.
That said, it’s important to be aware that the cause of mould may be structural, potentially down to leaking pipes, rising damp, or rain seeping into your property through either a damaged roof or window frame. As we said, mould can have a detrimental impact on your health, so it’s essential you get it seen to. A professional mould removal service is your best bet, here.
Strong Chemical Smells
If you haven’t been using chemical products and you start smelling chemicals, this could be a concern. Such chemicals may be toxic to inhale, so it’s important to find the source.
Unusual chemical smells can have many sources – a common one being formaldehyde used in furniture. New furniture or furniture placed too close to a radiator may start to produce this smell. Open windows to air the room after buying new furniture or move the furniture away from radiators.
If it smells like something has died in your home, it’s possible that this may indeed be the case. Animals like mice or birds can get into homes where they may die and start to decompose. This smell can be very unpleasant and may attract a further pest intrusion; start looking behind sofas, up chimneys and under floorboards immediately!
The Bottom Line
Your home’s scent profile is something you become nose-blind to over time, but certain smells demand immediate attention rather than a scented candle. From the rotten egg odour that signals a potentially lethal gas leak to the fishy whiff of overheating electrics, these aren’t mere nuisances; they’re warnings.
The key takeaway? Never try to mask a persistent, unexplained smell. Track it to its source, ventilate the space, and call in the appropriate professional before a minor inconvenience becomes a major emergency.
Forget everything you thought you knew about London’s waterways. Those murky, forgotten channels snaking through the capital? The industrial relics gathering crisp packets and shopping trolleys? It’s time to look again.
London’s extensive canal network tells a different story entirely. These aren’t just remnants of the Industrial Revolution gathering dust and debris. They’re vibrant arteries of culture, gastronomy, and surprisingly good times, where narrowboats bob alongside penthouses and street art blooms on brick walls that have witnessed centuries of history.
So grab your most comfortable walking shoes, download a decent map app, and prepare to see London from an entirely different angle. Here’s how to spend an ideal day exploring the capital’s most scenic canal stretch, from Little Venice through to Angel, covering roughly 5 miles of towpath and city streets.
Start Your Journey At Little Venice
Begin where the Grand Union Canal meets the Regent’s Canal at Little Venice. Despite its rather grandiose moniker, sometimes attributed to poet Robert Browning, this triangular island where the waterways converge actually lives up to the hype.
Grab a flat white (other coffees are available) from Café Laville, which is perched alongside the canal with prime people-watching opportunities. Watch the narrowboats navigate the junction with the skill of seasoned London taxi drivers, and marvel at the floating gardens that put your windowsill herbs to shame. The Victorian terraces reflected in the water here are Instagram gold, but more importantly, they’ll give you a real sense of just how elegant London’s canals can be.
Book yourself onto one of the narrowboat trips that run from Little Venice to Camden Market. London Waterbus Company offers regular services that’ll have you gliding past the back gardens of millionaires and the loading bays of supermarkets with equal fascination. Alternatively, Jason’s Trip, the historic 1906 canal boat, normally operates April to October.
The 45-minute journey takes you through the heart of London at a pace that makes the Elizabeth Line look positively frantic. You’ll pass through the 272-yard Maida Hill Tunnel, built in 1816 and still doing sterling service, cruise past Regent’s Park where you can spot the aviary in London Zoo, and dock right at Camden Lock. It’s tourism, yes, but it’s also the most civilised way to appreciate just how extensive this network really is.
Explore Camden Market & Lock
Camden Market might be touristy enough to make genuine Londoners wince, but the lock itself is genuinely fascinating. Here the canal drops down towards King’s Cross, and you can watch the lock-keeper operate the Victorian mechanisms that still regulate water levels today, much as they did two centuries ago.
The market stalls spilling over towards the water create a unique atmosphere where canal boats and leather jacket vendors coexist in surprising harmony. Grab some street food from the Filipino truck that usually parks near the bridge, and find a spot along the towpath to watch the boats queuing for the lock like aquatic traffic at rush hour.
The stretch between Camden and King’s Cross offers some of London’s finest canal-side walking. The towpath here transforms from tourist territory into something altogether more authentic and more interesting. Industrial heritage meets modern regeneration as you pass under railway bridges decorated with murals that would cost thousands in a Shoreditch gallery.
Keep your eyes peeled for the Camley Street Natural Park, a two-acre nature reserve that feels like stepping into a nature documentary. Reed beds, willow trees, and more bird species than you’d expect in Zone 1 create an oasis that most Londoners don’t even know exists. The contrast between this green haven and the glass towers of King’s Cross beyond perfectly captures London’s ability to surprise.
Discover Coal Drops Yard
As you approach King’s Cross, the canal curves past Coal Drops Yard, a shopping and dining destination built into converted Victorian coal storage facilities. The industrial architecture here is spectacular, all soaring brick arches and iron girders, but it’s the way the development integrates with the canal that’s really clever.
Pop into El Pastor for excellent tacos, or treat yourself to something from the weekend artisan market. The outdoor seating areas overlook the canal, making this one of the few places in London where you can eat excellent food while watching narrowboats chug past laden with bicycles and geraniums.
Here’s where things get interesting, and where you’ll need to leave the towpath temporarily. The Islington Tunnel stretches for 960 yards under the borough, and while narrowboats can navigate it, there’s no pedestrian access through the tunnel itself. Instead, you’ll take a pleasant detour through some of Islington’s most characterful streets, following the signs that mark the tunnel’s route above ground.
The tunnel was hand-dug through London clay in the early 1800s, and boats still have to be ‘legged’ through by crew members lying on their backs and walking along the tunnel walls. This street-level walk gives you a real appreciation for the engineering feat happening beneath your feet, and you’ll emerge at the tunnel’s eastern end feeling like you’ve conquered a piece of Victorian London.
Stop For Lunch In Angel
The Angel area offers canal-side dining that ranges from gastropub classics to fine dining. The Narrowboat pub, although a Young’s, serves decent food in surroundings that embrace the nautical theme without going overboard.
For something more upmarket, book a table at Ottolenghi Islington at 287 Upper Street. While not directly canal-side, it’s close enough to count and the perfect spot to recharge. The walk from the towpath up to Upper Street also gives you a chance to appreciate how the canals integrate with London’s neighbourhoods rather than cutting through them.
From Victoria Park, the final stretch of towpath leads to Limehouse Basin, where the Regent’s Canal finally meets the Thames. It’s a satisfying moment: you’ve traced this waterway from its western junction at Little Venice all the way to the river, completing the full story of a canal built to connect these two points over 200 years ago.
The Thames is beautiful at dusk, and if you’ve timed your day well, this is where the light rewards you. Once you hit the river, you’re barely a mile from the Tower of London. A riverside walk west along the path brings you there in about 20 minutes, and a Tower of London tour makes for a fitting end to a day spent with London’s infrastructure through the ages. You’ve walked a route built to haul coal and timber across a growing city, and now you’re standing in a fortress that predates those canals by seven centuries. It puts the whole day into perspective.
Finish With A Drink On The River
After a day that’s taken you from one waterway to another, it only seems right to end it on the Thames itself. The stretch between the Tower and Tower Bridge is packed with riverside pubs and bars, and finding one with an outdoor terrace overlooking the water shouldn’t take long. The Dickens Inn at St Katharine Docks is tucked just east of the Tower in a converted 18th-century timber warehouse, with tables right on the marina. Or cross Tower Bridge to the south bank and grab a table at somewhere along Shad Thames, where old spice warehouses now house restaurants with views back across the river.
Either way, you’ll be sitting beside the Thames with a drink in hand, looking at a river that’s been the reason for London’s existence since the Romans showed up. Not a bad way to end a walk that started on a canal most Londoners forget is even there.
Essential Information
The full Little Venice to Tower of London route takes a full day including stops, so start early
The Little Venice to Angel stretch alone is roughly 5 miles; continuing to Limehouse adds another 4
Remember that the Islington Tunnel section requires walking through city streets, not along the towpath
Towpaths can be muddy after rain, so wear appropriate footwear
Most pubs and cafés along the route accept card payments
For detailed canal maps, try the Open Canal Map app or visit Canal & River Trust website
Best visited April-October for maximum daylight and minimal misery
The Bottom Line
London’s canals offer something increasingly rare in the capital: the chance to slow down and see the city as it actually is, rather than as a tourist attraction. Yes, you’ll encounter other walkers and the occasional tourist boat, but you’ll also discover hidden parks, stumble upon brilliant street art, and experience London at walking pace rather than Tube speed. It’s not the most efficient way to get across town, but it might just be the most rewarding. Sometimes the best journeys are the ones that take you somewhere unexpected.
Now that the evening’s drawing in, we’re off for some live music at one of London’s best jazz bars. Care to join us?
Karon has one of the most beautiful beaches in Phuket, three kilometres of white sand that never feels crowded even in high season, and golden, dappled sunsets that still stop you in your tracks even when you’ve seen a thousand of them.
You might expect dining to match. At first glance, it does not, and the options are dispiriting: waterfront seafood restaurants that double up as American diners, beach clubs where everyone is too busy preening to care about their supper, and a long stretch of Patak Road lined with places that all seem to serve the same laminated menu. You won’t go hungry, but it’s not quite what you came for on the world’s best island for eating.
But scratch the surface just a little and the picture changes. Hidden up the hill, a dine-on-water steakhouse and a tin-mining-themed dining room have turned a boutique hotel into an unlikely culinary outpost. Down side sois from Karon’s main drag – the one with Russian pharmacies, Nepalese tailors and Irish pubs – you’ll find Isaan som tam shacks and decades-old noodle shops feeding the people who actually live here.
There are a few really capable places to eat in and around Karon. You just have to know where to look. This is where to look; the best restaurants near Karon Beach, Phuket.
Tanuan Somtam
Ideal for fiery Isaan food set back from the tourist trail…
Sniffing out a good som tam restaurant in the higher ground of a Thai beach town requires a fair amount of intuition, the wisdom accrued from too many throbbing sweet carrot and cabbage versions, and obviously a little luck. Tanuan Somtam is Karon’s best spot for Isaan food, bar none. It might be its only Isaan spot worth your time, quite frankly.
Down a soi on Taina Road, a few minutes’ walk from the beach but a world away from anything aimed at tourists, all the tells of an excellent Isaan meal are here. Blue plastic tablecloths with Doraemon doing his thing. Grab-sponsored bunting and a Coke-branded cutlery caddy. A freestanding fridge you wrestle open to fetch a beer. And, of course, the pok pok pok pok pok that brings on a Pavlov in those who know.
Since you’re here, you might as well go all in, and the som tam pla raa is nicely funky and antagonistically hot. The grilled catfish laap is pasty and homogeneous, just how I like it. Crunchy, too, with big boulders of khao kua hefty enough to chip a tooth on.
A herbal gaeng om tastes like something made from whatever was growing out the back that morning – for better or for worse, it’s a bit of a lottery, which is half the fun. Grilled pork neck arrives with a jaew dipping sauce that carries smoked, round heat – not the performative chilli of tourist restaurants, but a slow, persistent burn that sits with you until the next day.
There is a second branch of Tanuan in Phuket’s Wichit district, which tells you the locals rate it. But you’ve already figured that out by the constant stream of grab drivers picking up pounded salads to go. Someone’s in for a good dinner tonight.
Nominally open every day from 9am to 9pm, but this varies on the whim of the family running the place. You’ll get change for 500 THB (£12.50) here for a huge spread for two.
Ideal for a perfectly wokked pad Thai at budget prices…
Pad Thai gets a rough deal from the culinary cognoscenti, dismissed as too sweet, too cloying, too familiar. This is unfair. A good pad Thai, cooked fast over high wok heat with the right balance of tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar, is objectively delicious. The Pad Thai Shop on the back road between Karon and Kata has been proving the point for years.
It is not much to look at, which, without wishing to labour the point, is reassuring. A corrugated roof, a yellow signboard half-obscured by plants, a Lonely Planet clipping that looks like a pirate’s map, and various prohibition signs taking aim at clearly one-off, incredibly specific infractions: no dogs in bathing suits allowed, that kind of thing.
To the left, you order at the counter. Behind, the wok station fires away – clak clak clak – and the food comes out when it’s ready, wrapped in banana leaf for takeaway or plated up if you’re staying.
Beyond the pad Thai, the guay tiew gai (chicken noodle soup, this one quite brooding and sweet) is excellent, and there are pots of crushed peanuts, dried chilli and tamarind on every table so you can fine tune your bowl to taste. No more blaming your pad Thai for being too sweet, then.
There’s a secondary operation dedicated to mango smoothies, freshly blitzed to order, which obviously hit the spot too. Most dishes hover around 60 baht, which is impressive value considering how popular this place is with tourists. It is always packed, and the crowd is a cross-section of Karon at its most democratic: stragglers off the beach, solo construction workers, Thai families, all eating the same thing at the same metal tables. Heaven, really.
Ideal for the best steak in Karon with the theatrics to match…
Hidden away up a steep hill at the southern end of Karon, the Avista Grande is the kind of hotel you wouldn’t find unless you were looking for it.
It’s worth making the effort. CHAR’D is its evening restaurant, set around a shallow pool in the hotel’s central courtyard where you take your shoes off and dine with your feet in the water. It sounds gimmicky. It is not. A breeze comes in from the sea, the water is cool, and there is something faintly illicit about paddling your feet in a place this polished.
CHAR’D centres everything around a Kopa charcoal grill oven, and the smoke carries across the courtyard before you have even opened the menu. Chef Nair has worked in hotel dining across the world, picking things up and absorbing the global palate along the way, and the menu leans Californian surf-and-turf as a result, with Phuket lobster and imported F1 wagyu cross sharing top billing.
The best thing on the menu is a straightforwardly delicious lobster bisque that shows off the kitchen’s judicious touch. In a rich, deep broth that doesn’t have a hint of the coppery note that plagues lesser versions, crisp bits of grilled lobster are sprinkled over the soup like croutons. It’s both grounding and decadent.
Crispy Phuket prawns with pineapple salsa and a shichimi dressing keep things carefree, as does splashing your dining companion with your feet. An Australian Black Angus ribeye (a cool 2000 THB – £50, ish) boasts wall-to-wall pink, perfect cuisson, and the Phuket seven-colour lobster, grilled whole with a crack of pepper, carries that same charcoal confidence. It arrives at the table in a box, wreathed in smoke with a disco light, somehow managing to land on the right side of fun. A Caesar salad finished tableside feels like the ideal accompaniment.
Chef Nair knows how to get the most out of these premium ingredients, no doubt about it, in a way lacking elsewhere in Karon. Despite the presentation – edible flowers, sparklers, disco lights – there’s an admirable restraint to his cooking.
Then, the shackles are off as crêpes suzette is flambéed tableside with Cointreau, flames licking up in the open air and setting fire to my assertion about admirable restraint. Joy ripples across the open-air courtyard, other diners turning at the fireworks with undisguised delight. I ponder getting caught up in the flames momentarily, and how there’s easy extinguishing within reach. Just dive in.
It is a ridiculous scene, and completely wonderful too. And then your phone falls through the table slats and into the water, and all you can do is laugh.
Ideal for exquisite views and a Sunday Bollywood brunch..
Portosino is the all-day dining restaurant at Avista Grande, the same hotel that houses CHAR’D, and it operates in a different register entirely. Where CHAR’D is theatre and fire, Portosino is the workhorse: breakfast buffet, lunch, dinner, seven days a week. The interior plays on Phuket’s tin-mining heritage with suspended rail tracks overhead, mine-style lamps and metal-framed partitions, and there is a dessert trolley styled as a mine cart that trundles past your table in charmingly ponderous fashion.
The menu here covers Thai, international and Indian, which sounds like a kitchen spreading itself too thin, but the Indian side of things is what sets Portosino apart from every other hotel restaurant on this stretch of coast. A dedicated ‘Grande Indian Menu’ runs from vegetable samosas and hara bhara kababs through to a lamb shank rogan josh and a Phuket giant tiger prawn moilee – a South Indian coconut curry using local prawns that bridges the gap between where you are and where the spices come from. Both curries are intricately seasoned and generously portioned, and clock in at around 500 to 700 THB, which is in the £12.50 to £15 region back home.
There is a Sunday Indian brunch with a DJ spinning Bollywood, and it has developed the kind of following that fills a hotel restaurant with people who do not stay at the hotel.
The Thai side of the menu is worth paying attention to as well. A dedicated Phuket Specialities section includes moo hong, pork belly stewed for four hours with garlic, peppercorns and coriander root, and Phuket phad mee Hokkien, a wok-fried yellow noodle dish with dark soy that traces its lineage to the Hokkien Chinese settlers who shaped the island’s food culture. These are dishes rooted in Phuket’s Baba Yaya Peranakan heritage, and are somewhat rarer in hotel dining rooms. The menu even comes with a page explaining the history, which reads like a kitchen that cares about where its recipes come from. It’s a nice touch.
Upstairs, the Dim Sun rooftop bar has stunning sunset views over the Andaman and a more contemporary small plates menu: crispy shrimp bao, crab and leek arancini with togarashi, Rajasthani tawa lamb chops. There is no dim sum on the menu.
Ideal for a reliable, easy-going dinner on Karon’s main drag…
Manow sits at the entrance to Diamond Cottage Resort on Karon Road, technically closer to Kata than Karon, though the distinction matters more on a map than it does on the ground.
Manow is a relatively new opening, and it feels like it. The place works in stages. The street-level bar is open to the street, lively without being loud and the kind of place that you’d happily spend hours people watching. Up a level, the main dining room is bright and well thought out, with a large illuminated tree as a centrepiece. It’s open and breezy, but elevated just enough from the road to give you a vantage point for watching the evening traffic of Karon drift past below. Higher still, an upper terrace does the quieter work, suiting a long dinner for two in a way the lower levels simply don’t.
The menu moves between Italian and Thai without fully committing to either, but that’s welcome when you’ve got a disparate crowd to satisfy, or a fussy squad around the dinner table. The bolognese here is textbook; rich and meaty. The burger is built well and stays structurally sound until the last bite. On a strip where decent food is rarer than it should be, both are worth remembering. There is live music most evenings, which is nicely pitched and not too intrusive.
Prices are mid-range, portions are large, and there’s cold beer, too. It is the kind of place you end up going back to because it does enough things well that you stop looking for alternatives. The recent renovation makes it the most pleasant perch on this drag by some distance.
Ideal for Roman pizza by the slice & aperitivo hour on the terrace…
Sure, it might technically be Kata, but who’s counting?
Named after Italy’s international dialling code, +39 has been serving Roman pizza alla pala from a small spot on Kata Road for a decade now, which makes it something of an institution by island standards. The Italian expat crowd that packs the place most evenings tells you everything you need to know about whether it is any good. They’re all perched on the handful of terrace seats out front, drinking Aperol spritz and telling you it’s good.
Alla pala is one of Rome’s native pizza styles: an oblong base baked directly on the oven floor, slid in on a long wooden paddle, with a high-hydration dough that produces a crust that is crisp on the outside and surprisingly airy within. The format here is closer to street food than sit-down restaurant. You choose your slices from a rotating selection behind the counter, from 130 baht, wait for them to be warmed through, and eat them at a table or take them to the beach. A three-slice mix at 400 baht is the smartest way to graze, and an aperitivo deal of one cocktail and two slices for 400 baht runs from 5pm to 8pm.
The selection changes as trays come in and out of the oven, but the speck e zucca is the one to time your visit around if you can: pumpkin, gorgonzola and scamorza on a crisp Roman base, smoky and sweet. The gricia carbonara with pancetta and pecorino is rich and salty and very much a glass-of-wine slice. Or, indeed, a cold Singha from the 7/11 across the way.
The majority of ingredients are imported from Italy, and the owner Virginia runs the place with the kind of pride in provenance that you feel the moment you walk in. This is the best pizza in Karon, no doubt, and one of our favourites on Phuket as a whole, in fact.
Ideal for sunset, clifftop drinks with your feet up…
A Blanket & A Pillow is not really a restaurant. It is a hillside cafe-bar built into the rocks between Karon and Kata, with bamboo terraces, bean bags, hammocks and swings cascading down a steep cliff to the sea. The name comes from a Thai-Chinese idiom about immigrants arriving with nothing but a blanket and a pillow. The Bunyawong family who run it started the place during Covid, building most of it themselves.
The food is secondary to the setting: Thai lunch boxes from 80 baht, spaghetti, cakes, smoothies. You order at the counter, get a buzzer, and find somewhere to sit. The point is the view. At sunset, looking out over the Andaman from one of the lower platforms with a cold drink in your hand, it is one of the best spots on this side of the island.
A few things to know: it is closed on Mondays, the kitchen shuts at 6pm, and it gets rammed with people taking photos from about 5pm onwards. Go earlier if you want (relatively speaking, of course) uninterrupted views.
‘Al Desko’. The ‘coffice’. The ‘meeting marathon’. ‘Deskercise’. Another ‘workation’. With the lines increasingly blurred between work and play, increasingly in favour of even more work, it can feel next to impossible to attend to the smaller tasks when at the office.
Yep, that’s the excuse we’re giving for a desk piled high with papers, empty crisp packets and random earbuds, when really, the cause might really be a dereliction of basic duty in terms of a daily tidy up.
The benefits of a tidy workspace are undeniable: the potential for increased productivity, reduced stress, and a clearer mind. The good news is that keeping your office clean doesn’t have to be a Herculean effort.
With that in mind, here are a few simple daily tasks that can help you effortlessly maintain a tidy desk and a tidy mind.
The Power Of Small, Consistent Actions
The key to a perpetually clean office lies in the power of small, consistent actions. By incorporating a few simple habits into your daily routine, you can prevent clutter from accumulating and keep your workspace in top shape. Here are some innovative and surprising ideas to help you achieve a tidy desk with minimal effort.
The Two-Minute Rule
One of the most effective ways to keep your desk tidy is to adopt the two-minute rule. If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately. This could include filing a document, throwing away rubbish, or putting away office supplies. By tackling these small tasks right away, you prevent them from piling up and creating clutter.
The End-of-Day Reset
Before you leave the office each day, spend just five minutes resetting your workspace. This involves clearing your desk of any papers, tidying up supplies, and wiping down surfaces. This simple routine ensures that you start each day with a clean and organised desk, setting a positive tone for the day ahead.
The One-In, One-Out Rule
To prevent your desk from becoming overcrowded, implement the one-in, one-out rule. For every new item you bring into your workspace, remove one item. This could apply to office supplies, personal items, or even digital files. This rule helps maintain a balance and prevents unnecessary clutter from accumulating.
The Weekly Declutter Session
Set aside 10-15 minutes each week for a quick declutter session. Use this time to go through your desk drawers, filing cabinets, and other storage areas. Get rid of items you no longer need, organise supplies, and ensure everything is in its proper place. Regular decluttering prevents clutter from building up and keeps your workspace functional.
The Digital Detox
Our virtual workspace can become just as cluttered as our physical one. Take a few minutes each day to organise your digital files, delete unnecessary emails, and clear your desktop. A tidy digital workspace can enhance your productivity and reduce mental clutter.
There’s only so much a daily desk tidy can achieve when the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed in a fortnight and the communal kitchen is developing its own ecosystem.
For the bigger jobs – deep-cleaning floors, sanitising shared spaces, keeping bathrooms presentable – it pays to bring in a commercial cleaning service. Outsourcing the heavy stuff means you can focus your five-minute end-of-day reset on your own patch, safe in the knowledge that someone else is handling the rest.
The Power Of Labels
Labelling your storage areas can be a game-changer for maintaining an organised office. Use labels for drawers, shelves, and containers to ensure everything has a designated place. This not only makes it easier to find items but also encourages you to put things back where they belong.
A Desk Drawer Organiser
Invest in a desk drawer organiser to keep your supplies neatly arranged. Use compartments to separate pens, paperclips, sticky notes, and other items. An organised drawer prevents supplies from becoming a jumbled mess and makes it easier to find what you need.
The Minimalist Approach
Adopting a minimalist approach to your workspace can significantly reduce clutter. Keep only the essentials on your desk and store the rest out of sight. A minimalist desk not only looks tidy but also promotes a sense of calm and focus.
Plant Power
Adding a small plant to your desk can have surprising benefits. Not only do plants (potentially) improve air quality, but they also create a sense of order and tranquillity. Choose a low-maintenance plant that requires minimal care, such as a succulent or a snake plant.
The Sticky Note Strategy
Instead of letting sticky notes pile up on your desk, use a designated board or wall space for them. This keeps your desk clear while still allowing you to keep important reminders and notes visible. A corkboard or whiteboard can be a great addition to your workspace for this purpose.
The Bottom Line
Maintaining a tidy desk and a tidy mind doesn’t have to be a time-consuming or overwhelming task. By incorporating these ingenious and surprising daily habits into your routine, you can effortlessly keep your office clean and organised. Remember, the key is consistency and small, manageable actions. With a tidy workspace, you’ll enjoy increased productivity, reduced stress, and a clearer mind, allowing you to focus on what truly matters.
Spring in the UK has a way of promising more than it delivers. You get one warm Saturday, buy a bag of charcoal, then spend the next three weekends staring at drizzle through the kitchen window, Googling whether charcoal goes mouldy.
The alternative is a short flight south, and the good news is that some of Europe’s most reliably sunny corners sit within a couple of hours of London. With Middle East airspace disruptions making long-haul travel slower, pricier and less predictable, short-haul has never looked more appealing. No complicated routing, no twelve-hour flights, and no need to plan months ahead. Most of these destinations are served by budget carriers running multiple flights a week, which means you can book on Tuesday and be eating lunch in the sun by Thursday.
Here are 7 places where spring sunshine is close to guaranteed, all reachable on a direct flight in around three hours or less.
The Algarve, Portugal
With over 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, the Algarve is statistically one of the sunniest places in Europe, and in April it delivers on that promise: daytime highs around 19-22°C, nine hours of sun a day, and very little rain. More importantly, the crowds that pack out the beaches in July and August simply aren’t there yet.
The stretch of coastline between Lagos and Tavira is where the Algarve earns its reputation. Sandstone cliffs drop into hidden coves, the water is a startling blue-green even in early spring, and the clifftop walking trails between Carvoeiro and Praia da Marinha are threaded with wildflowers from March onwards. The Seven Hanging Valleys coastal path is one of the finest short hikes in southern Europe, and in April you can walk it without passing more than a handful of people. The sea is still cold (around 17°C), so this is a sunbathing-and-walking trip rather than a swimming one, but that’s a fair trade for having the coastline largely to yourself.
Eating in the Algarve goes well beyond the grilled sardines that the region is famous for, though those are still excellent and absurdly cheap by UK standards. Look for cataplana, a copper-pot seafood stew native to the region, and percebes (goose barnacles, pulled from the rocks along the wild west coast and unlike anything else you’ll eat in Europe).
Faro’s waterfront and Lagos’s old town both have restaurants worth eating at in their own right, not just as fuel stops between beaches. Expect fresh fish cooked over charcoal, rice dishes loaded with clams and prawns, and local wines from the Algarve’s small but growing number of producers.
Flights from London take under three hours, with easyJet, BA, Ryanair, Jet2 and Wizz Air all running regular direct services.
Mallorca, Spain
Mallorca in spring bears almost no resemblance to its summer self. The package-holiday resorts along the south coast are still winding up for the season, but the interior of the island is at its best: the Serra de Tramuntana mountains green and laced with wildflowers, the roads busy with road cyclists who know this is the optimum window before the heat arrives.
The GR 221, the long-distance trail that runs through the Tramuntana from Pollença to Andratx, is spectacular in April. The section from Valldemossa to Deià winds through centuries-old olive groves and past dry-stone terraces with views down to the coast, and it ranks among the best day-walks anywhere in the Mediterranean. You don’t need to be a serious hiker to enjoy it, either. The villages along the way (Deià, Sóller, Fornalutx) are small and beautiful, with enough good restaurants and cafés to turn a walk into a full day out.
For something more dramatic, the drive out to Cap de Formentor at the island’s northeastern tip is one of the great European coastal roads, with sheer drops to the sea on both sides and views that stretch to Menorca on a clear day. The road ends at the Far de Formentor lighthouse, built in 1863 and perched 210 metres above the water. From mid-May the road is closed to private cars during the day, but in April you can drive the whole thing without restrictions.
Palma deserves more than a transit stop. The Santa Catalina neighbourhood has an exciting food and bar scene that’s developed rapidly over the past decade, the old town around the cathedral is handsome without being overly polished, and the Mercat de l’Olivar is the kind of covered market where you can eat your way through the morning on cured meats, local cheese, and fresh oysters. Accommodation is significantly cheaper than in summer, and you can fly from London in about two and a half hours with easyJet, BA, Jet2 and Ryanair.
For a city that most British visitors associate with the gateway to Marbella and the package-holiday strip, Málaga has built one of the strongest cultural offerings in southern Europe over the past fifteen years.
The Museo Picasso Málaga (housed in a 16th-century palace in the old town), a Centre Pompidou outpost (the first outside France), the Carmen Thyssen Museum, the CAC contemporary art centre, and dozens of smaller galleries have turned the city centre into something approaching an open-air museum district. The old town is compact enough to walk in an afternoon, the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro castle give you views across the port, and the restaurant scene has long since caught up with the cultural one, with 19 entries in the Michelin Guide including five one-starred restaurants.
April brings daytime temperatures around 20-22°C with eight or nine hours of sunshine, and the city has a street-level energy that the beach resorts further along the coast can lack. If you do want a beach, head east towards Nerja rather than west towards Marbella. The coastline is less developed, the water is cleaner, and Nerja itself, perched on a clifftop with views along the coast, is worth a day trip or an overnight stay.
Málaga also works as a base for exploring inland Andalusia. Ronda is about an hour and a half by car, Granada two hours, and both are at their best in spring before the summer heat makes sightseeing uncomfortable. Head the other direction along the coast and you hit Fuengirola, which has shed its package-holiday reputation and now has a strong food scene, particularly for seafood along the Paseo Marítimo. If you’re the type to rent a car and move around, Málaga gives you a range that a resort town can’t.
Direct flights from London take around two hours 45 minutes, with BA, easyJet, Ryanair and Jet2 all operating the route.
Marrakech, Morocco
In summer, Marrakech regularly pushes past 40°C, which turns the medina into something closer to an endurance event than a holiday. April is the window when the city is at its most liveable: daytime highs around 25-26°C, warm enough for long afternoons on riad rooftops, cool enough that you can actually enjoy walking through the souks without needing to retreat to the shade every twenty minutes.
The Jardin Majorelle is the headline attraction and worth the entrance fee, but the real pleasure of Marrakech is less structured than that: the orange trees and jasmine in riad courtyards, the bread being pulled from wood-fired ovens in the medina backstreets, the evening atmosphere around Jemaa el-Fna when the food stalls set up. The souk shopping is better when you’re not melting, too.
Spring is also the best window for getting out of the city. The Atlas Mountains are close enough to reach in under two hours by car, and the Ourika Valley is the most accessible route, with the drive up through terraced Berber villages and snow-capped peaks above offering a complete change of scenery. For something more ambitious, the drive over the Tizi n’Test pass, one of the most spectacular mountain roads in the world, takes you through the High Atlas and down towards the Souss Valley.
Riads are extraordinary value compared to equivalent boutique accommodation in Europe. A place with tiled courtyards, a plunge pool, and proper home cooking will cost a fraction of what a comparable hotel would run you in southern Spain or Italy. Before you book any last-minute holidays, it’s worth comparing riad prices across a few booking platforms, as rates can vary significantly for the same property. Direct flights from London take around three and a half hours with easyJet, BA and Ryanair.
Malta
Valletta is barely a kilometre across, but it contains more listed buildings per square metre than almost any other city in Europe. Baroque churches, Knights of St John fortifications, a grand harbour that turns gold in the late afternoon light: the Maltese capital punches absurdly above its weight for a place you can walk end to end in fifteen minutes. It won European Capital of Culture in 2018, and the investment that came with it, particularly in the restaurant and bar scene, has changed the character of the city in lasting ways.
In April, temperatures reach around 20°C with eleven hours of sunshine, and you can walk Valletta’s narrow streets without the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of summer. The restaurant scene has expanded fast, with several places doing serious work with Maltese ingredients: rabbit braised in wine, lampuki (dolphinfish), fresh ricotta, capers from Gozo. The wine is worth exploring too, particularly bottles made from indigenous grapes like Girgentina and Gellewza, which you won’t find anywhere else.
Beyond Valletta, the island is small enough to cover in a few days. The megalithic temples at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra predate the Egyptian pyramids by several centuries. Mdina, the old fortified capital in the centre of the island, is eerily atmospheric, all silent streets and heavy stone walls. And the ferry to Gozo takes half an hour and lands you on a much less developed island with good swimming, walking, and a pace of life that feels properly removed from the mainland.
Direct flights from London take just over three hours, with BA, easyJet, KM Malta Airlines and Jet2 all running services from Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted.
The Côte d’Azur, France
The French Riviera in spring, before the yachts arrive and the hotel prices triple, is one of the best-value cultural trips in Europe. The temperatures are milder than further south (around 17-19°C in April, rising into the low twenties by May), but the coast has a clarity and calm that the summer season tends to crowd out. The light is extraordinary, which is why Matisse and Bonnard painted here, and why the hilltop towns of the arrière-pays (Èze, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Mougins) look their best before the heat haze sets in.
Nice is the anchor. The old town is excellent for eating: socca from Chez Pipo, pissaladière from a market stall, seafood on the Cours Saleya. The art museums (MAMAC, the Matisse Museum, the Chagall Museum) are first-rate and rarely crowded in spring. Antibes has the Picasso Museum in the Château Grimaldi and a covered market that’s one of the best in Provence. And if you want to go walking, the Cap d’Antibes coastal path runs along the headland between rocky coves and Belle Époque villas, with views across to the Esterel mountains.
It’s not a beach holiday in April, the sea is still around 15-16°C, but for food, art, and coastal walking with the Mediterranean below you, it’s hard to argue with. Nice is under two hours from London with BA, easyJet and Ryanair.
Menorca, Spain
For a different kind of spring sun-seeking sojourn, Menorca’s UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status has kept the coastline largely free of the high-rise hotels and mega-resorts that line long stretches of the other Balearic islands. The result is an island where the beaches are backed by pine forest rather than apartment blocks, and where the development pressure that has reshaped much of the Spanish Mediterranean hasn’t taken hold in the same way.
In spring, before the summer visitors arrive, the island feels noticeably unhurried. April temperatures sit around 18-20°C, which is warm enough for comfortable days outdoors but not beach-swimming weather. What it is perfect for is walking sections of the Camí de Cavalls, the 185km coastal path that circles the entire island. You don’t need to do the whole thing. Individual stretches between the calas (coves) on the south coast are some of the most beautiful short walks in the Balearics, and in April you’ll often have the beaches entirely to yourself.
Ciutadella, on the western tip, is the prettier of the island’s two main towns: honey-coloured sandstone buildings, a harbour lined with excellent restaurants, and in spring a calm that tourist towns rarely hold onto once the season starts. Mahón, on the eastern end, has one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean and a gin distillery (Xoriguer) that’s been operating since the British occupation in the 18th century.
Menorca produces its own semi-soft, slightly tangy cheese (Mahón-Menorca), and Fornells on the north coast is the place to eat caldereta de langosta, a rich lobster stew that’s been the local speciality for generations. A growing number of small producers across the island are working with native ingredients in ways that reward anyone willing to eat beyond the harbour-front tourist menus.
Flights from London take around two and a half hours. EasyJet runs year-round services from Gatwick and Ryanair flies from Stansted, though Jet2 and BA add routes from May onwards, so availability in early spring is more limited than in summer.
The Bottom Line
The case for short-haul spring sun has never been stronger. Flight times are short, shoulder-season pricing keeps costs manageable, and the destinations on this list offer far more than just a sunlounger and a pool bar. You can be on a clifftop in the Algarve or eating grilled fish in a Maltese harbour three hours after leaving Gatwick. These are places that reward the kind of trip you can put together in a week’s notice, and spring is the window to see them at their best, before the summer crowds and the summer prices arrive.
You finished a brutal gym session, the endorphins are flowing, and you feel untouchable. But between the salt, the heat, the friction and the cortisol spike that comes with any high-intensity effort, your face has been through something closer to a stress test than a spa day. Most people towel off and carry on with their morning. And most people are getting the next five minutes completely wrong.
The post-workout window matters as much for your skin as it does for your muscles. Exercise can be one of the best things you do for your complexion – it boosts circulation, strengthens your immune response and supports the trillions of microorganisms that keep your skin balanced. But the way most of us handle the aftermath undoes a lot of that good work. Here are the mistakes worth correcting.
Rushing To Wash Your Face The Moment You Stop
The standard post-workout skincare advice is to wash your face as soon as you finish exercising. It sounds logical – you’re sweaty, so wash it off. But your skin is temporarily more permeable after exercise, thanks to increased blood flow and dilated pores, and reaching for a cleanser at this precise moment can strip an already-disrupted barrier even further.
A 2025 review in Microorganisms found that intensive exercise elevates sweat production, raises skin pH and increases mechanical friction, all of which shift the microbial composition of your skin. Hitting that freshly destabilised environment with a foaming cleanser is like pressure-washing a surface that’s already been sandblasted.
The better approach is to give your skin five to ten minutes to begin cooling naturally. Blot (don’t rub) with a clean towel if you need to. When you do cleanse, use lukewarm water and a gentle, low-pH skincare formula that lifts sweat and oil without taking your natural moisture with it. Dermatologist Tamia Harris-Tryon at UT Southwestern has put it simply: if the water is hot enough to clean your pots and pans of oil, it will strip the natural oils from your skin too.
Blaming Sweat For Your Breakouts When It’s Actually Cortisol
If you break out more during heavy training blocks, the instinct is to blame sweat and dirty gym equipment. But the more likely culprit is hormonal. High-intensity exercise triggers a cortisol spike, and cortisol stimulates your sebaceous glands to produce more oil, weakens collagen and elastin, and impairs your skin’s barrier function.
A 2018 study in Scientific Reports found that elevated cortisol in the skin’s outer layer directly correlated with deteriorated barrier function. So while you’re scrubbing your face raw trying to get rid of the sweat, the real problem is happening beneath the surface.
You can’t eliminate the cortisol response, nor would you want to – it’s part of how your body adapts to training. But you can support your skin through it. Products containing niacinamide help regulate the oil production that cortisol triggers, whilst ceramide-rich moisturisers replenish the epidermal lipids it depletes. If your skincare routine doesn’t account for what’s happening hormonally during a hard training block, you’re treating the symptom and missing the cause.
Having Nothing In Your Gym Bag For The Gap Between Finishing & Showering
There’s usually a lag between finishing your workout and actually being able to wash your face – you’re stretching, chatting, driving home, grabbing a coffee. During that window, the bacteria in your sweat are settling into your pores and the salt is drawing moisture out of your skin. Most people just leave their face to marinate until they get to a shower, which is one of the easiest mistakes to fix.
Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) spray is the answer, and it’s the most underrated product in post-workout skincare. Your white blood cells naturally produce this molecule to fight bacteria and reduce inflammation. In a spray, it does the same thing on the surface of your skin: antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and gentle enough that it won’t disrupt your microbiome.
Dermatologists are increasingly recommending it as a post-workout bridge – a spritz that neutralises bacteria, calms redness and supports your skin’s pH balance without requiring you to touch your face with gym hands. Keep a bottle next to your water bottle. It buys your skin valuable time.
Skipping Moisturiser Because Your Skin Already Feels Oily
This is one of the most common post-workout mistakes, especially among men, and it creates a vicious cycle. When you sweat, you lose minerals and electrolytes, and your skin’s moisture barrier takes a hit. Post-exercise, transepidermal water loss – the rate at which moisture escapes through your skin – increases measurably. Your face might feel oily, but what’s actually happening underneath is dehydration. And dehydrated skin compensates by producing even more oil, which leads to more congestion, which makes you even less inclined to moisturise. The cycle continues.
A lightweight, water-based moisturiser breaks that loop. It sinks in fast, doesn’t feel heavy, and gives your barrier the support it needs to stop overcompensating. If you’re training hard and frequently, look for products with hyaluronic acid to bind moisture and ceramides to rebuild the barrier. This isn’t an optional extra – it’s as fundamental to your skin’s recovery as protein is to your muscles.
Assuming You Don’t Need SPF After An Indoor Workout
Post-workout skin is temporarily more vulnerable to UV damage. You’ve just increased blood flow to the surface, cleared out your pores and thinned your barrier slightly through sweat and friction. Even the walk from the gym to your car counts. Up to 80% of UV rays penetrate cloud cover, and standard window glass blocks UVB but still lets through a significant amount of skin-ageing UVA. If you trained indoors and assume you’re covered, you’re not.
If the idea of applying thick sunscreen after getting clean fills you with dread, look for mineral or zinc-based formulas with a matte finish. Modern formulations are so light they feel like nothing. This is the single most effective anti-ageing step in any skincare routine, full stop, and skipping it after exercise – when your skin is at its most exposed – is the worst possible time to forget.
Stopping Your Skincare Routine At Your Chin
The neck and chest have thinner skin, fewer oil glands and are prime territory for sweat to pool during exercise. Yet most people stop everything at the jawline and then wonder why they’re dealing with irritation and breakouts on their neck and chest.
During a workout, sweat collects in the folds of the neck and across the décolletage, creating exactly the warm, damp conditions that bacteria thrive in. Tight workout clothes make it worse, trapping sweat against the skin for the duration of your session and well beyond it if you don’t change promptly.
If you’re cleansing, moisturising and applying SPF to your face but ignoring everything below it, you’re leaving the most vulnerable skin on your body completely unprotected. Take every product all the way down to the collarbone, and change out of damp gym kit as soon as you can.
The Bottom Line
None of these mistakes are catastrophic on their own, but stack them up over months and years of regular training and they add up to a complexion that’s working against you rather than with you.
The fixes are simple: wait a few minutes before cleansing, carry a hypochlorous acid spray for the in-between window, moisturise even when your skin feels oily, never skip SPF after a session, and take everything below the jawline. Five minutes of the right post-workout care is worth more than a twelve-step evening routine that ignores what your skin actually went through at 7am. How about that, then?
The island of Phuket is a place of wild, clashing contradiction. There’s the brash and bawdy Phuket depicted in popular culture, localised on Patong Beach, where you can buy anything, do anything and get yourself into all manner of scrapes, some very silly, some very serious; a microcosm of an image of Thailand we hope is soon confined to the past.
Then there is the striking natural beauty of the island, the forty pristine beaches and the serene, multicultural Old Town, with its colourful Sino Portuguese architecture, Chinese temples and shrines, and unique cuisine representative of this rich diversity.
Oh, the food; a truly glorious amalgamation of the island’s heritage and celebratory of its inherent contrasts, with Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean and Muslim influences abound. So, if you’re visiting Phuket, skip the sleaze and instead dive into a world of culinary curiosity; here’s where to eat in Phuket Old Town.
A word of warning: Phuket is arguably the breakfast capital of the world, and eating well here means setting an alarm. The island’s best dim sum, roti and kanom jin spots are heaving by 7am and sold out by mid-morning. Raya and One Chun are great for lunch, while Royd and Heh are more special occasion dinner options, though both open for lunch at weekends. Always check opening hours on Google before heading out, and have a backup in mind; many of these places close without warning from time to time.
Roti Taew Nam
In Phuket Old Town you’ll see (and hear!) skilled chefs slapping roti on street corners, some cooking over charcoal, some over gas flame. They’re served all day out of polystyrene boxes that seem to add to the seasoning for some inexplicable reason. But even better is an early morning in a sticky shophouse, where a traditional breakfast of roti with a small side bowl of heady, aromatic curry sauce goes down. Whether you add an over-easy egg is up to you. We do. Equally popular is a sweet version, with banana and condensed milk. The one constant is the flaky, layered pastry and crispness guaranteed by the chef’s commitment to cooking things to order.
Roti Taew Nam has been doing its thing for generations, and it remains one of the Old Town’s finest examples of the form. A meal where you utter “breakfast of champions” without a hint of irony. Enjoy with a sweet coffee and perhaps an extra order of mataba, a stuffed roti of shallots, chicken and aromatic spicing. Open only from 7am until midday, daily.
Roti and curry for breakfast not your thing (who are you)? Then it’s time to try Phuket’s other famous breakfast; kanom jin noodles. These thin fermented rice noodles, delicate and giving, are enjoyed all over Thailand, but in Phuket they’re most often taken in the early morning, served cold with a selection of small bowls containing all sorts of goodies.
Spicy curry sauces rich with coconut cream are omnipresent, but you’ll also find a generous amount of vegetables native to Southern Thailand too, such as bitter beans and man pu leaves.
Nom Jeen Phuket occupies a beautiful colonial style building around 1km northeast of the Old Town, and serves one of the finest versions on the island. Open from 7am until after lunch.
Right in the centre of town, Khanom Chin Pa Mai is another excellent place to get your kanom jin fix. The same cold rice noodles, the same spread of curries and sides, and the convenience of being slap bang in the Old Town itself.
With origins in China’s Fujian province, a bowl of hokkien noodles is the quintessential Phuket lunch. Egg noodles with a little bite and bounce are served over a rich, deep ‘gravy’ and, generally, seafood, pork and veggies. The optional soft boiled egg enriches further, and adding fish balls will certainly do no harm at all. The centrally located Mee Ton Poe has a fanatical following and is always busy with Thais and farangs alike. A surefire sign that they’re doing something right.
It sounds simple, perhaps even too simple, but Phuket’s khao man gai – chicken fat rice, essentially Thailand’s take on Hainanese chicken rice – is a brilliant example of how a few ingredients, cooked with care, can be so much more than the sum of its parts.
The chicken is poached and tender, every grain of rice is lightly graced with chicken fat, and alongside is a sauce of soy, ginger and chilli and a little chicken broth, too. After all the curries, it’s a real stomach settler, and is comforting, nourishing and most importantly, delicious.
Kota Khao Man Gai, a very brief stroll from Mee Ton Poe, arguably serves the island’s definitive version.
Raya opened in 1994, long before Phuket Old Town had become the dining destination it is today. Madam Rose’s family recipes have been served out of this grand old mansion on Dibuk Road ever since, and the restaurant’s success has spawned sister spots One Chun and Chomchan in Phuket, as well as a second Raya in Bangkok. Some regulars will tell you the quality has dipped slightly as the fame has grown, and that One Chun now edges it on the food, but Raya remains essential.
The moo hong – sweet, super tender pork belly – hails from Phuket but its flavour profile owes much to the Chinese settlers in the region. There’s tons of black pepper in the braise, as well as soy sauces both light and dark, and oyster sauce too. A big part of the restaurant group’s success is down to this amazing bowl, their version’s recipe a secret and such a fine take on a southern classic. You’ll see it on every table.
Named after the day its owner was born – ‘wan chan’ means Monday in Thai – One Chun is Raya’s sister restaurant, opened some fifteen years later by Madam Rose’s niece, Khun Prang. It occupies a heritage shophouse on Thepkrasattri Road, decked out with vintage radios, old clocks and black-and-white television sets; the retro decor is Khun Prang’s tribute to her grandmother, whose recipes still form the backbone of the menu. It’s a livelier, younger counterpart to Raya, with lower prices and a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Fresh crab is big news in Phuket, and the amount of the stuff in One Chun’s yellow crab curry feels downright philanthropic. In England, being this liberal with the crab would bankrupt a restaurant. Here, it’s standard. The gaeng som, served stylishly in a brass wok, is a textbook version, too.
Chuan Chim is one of Phuket’s oldest food shops, and has been feeding Phuket Town for over 70 years, the initial clientele entirely local, now the split closer to 50/50. The room on Montri Road is plain and the service is brisk, but the wok cooking is serious – everything to order, fast and smoky. Like One Chun, Phuket’s superb fresh crab features heavily; the crab and curry powder stir fry is the dish to order, but the deep-fried squid with garlic and pepper and the pad krapow are both strong. Cheap, too, though you’ll be footing a laundry bill after; every guest leaves thoroughly seasoned with charcoal here.
Not quite Old Town, but well worth the detour to East Chaofa Road. Around a third of Phuket’s population is Muslim, descended largely from Malay traders who crossed from Kedah and the peninsula, and their contribution to the island’s food is enormous; roti, massaman, satay and khao mok gai all come from this tradition. Roti Chaofa is one of its finest expressions. This Thai-Muslim roti shop has been open since the 1980s, getting through over 10kg of dough a day, each roti stretched thin on the grill in a style closer to Malaysian roti canai.
The Roti Chaofa sign is in Thai only; you can walk past it without knowing you’re there. But once you’re inside, it goes on for ages, a long, narrow dining room with a chaotic energy and humidity levels somehow even higher than the taxi we took here, the one with broken aircon.
It’s the curries that make enduring that heat an actual pleasure. The goat curry is extraordinary, rich, deeply spiced, the meat gnarly, gristly and perfect too. The chicken massaman is tangy and sweet, not like the cloying ones in fancier venues up the road. And the roti is the vessel for everything. On the way in, buy some of the fried chicken from the lady out front; she runs her own operation, separate from the restaurant, and it’s not to be missed. Wash it all down with one of their sweet milky coffees. Get there early; popular dishes sell out according to the mood of the room, it’s cash only, and they close by 1.30pm.
Por pia sod – fresh spring rolls – are one of the great Hokkien-style snacks of the Old Town. Soft rice paper is stuffed with braised pork, red pork, tofu and bean sprouts, then topped with a sweet and savoury sauce that ties the whole thing together. They’re cheap, they’re quick, and they’re the kind of thing you can eat three of before you’ve decided whether to sit down.
Lock Tien Food Court, Phuket’s oldest and most storied food court, is the place to try them. The spring roll stall here has been making them for generations, the recipe passed down through the family along with the rest of Lock Tien’s Hokkien specialities. The food court relocated from its original spot at the Dibuk-Yaowarat intersection to new premises on Bangkok Road in 2025, but the same family, the same recipes, and the same loyal crowd followed it south. Open 9am to 5pm daily.
A long-established kanom jin restaurant on Satun Road and one of the best places on the island to eat this dish. Mae Ting is a relative of the Pa Mai kanom jeen shop just down the same road (and just up this same article); between them, the family has been feeding this stretch for decades.
The format is classic: cold fermented rice noodles at the counter, a spread of curries to choose from (crab, chicken, fish belly, and for the brave, kaeng tai pla, a pungent fermented fish innard curry that’s pure Southern Thai) and a generous side platter of fresh vegetables – bitter beans, man pu leaves, long beans, pickled veg, sliced pineapple. The pastes and noodles are made fresh daily. The gravies are deliberately thin; it’s the vegetables that make the dish, and finding the right combination of leaves and pickles at your table is half the point. Get there before 9am for the best selection; past 10, ingredients start running out.
Phuket’s most famous dim sum restaurant, and a proper Old Town institution. Boonrat has been here for more than a century, four generations of the same family, the original recipes brought from mainland China and adapted over time to suit Phuket tastes.
The queues out front every morning speak volumes and it’s hard to walk past without joining, even before you know what you’re queuing for. Students fuelling up before school, old men reading newspapers over tea, whole families getting their morning fix; everyone’s here and it’s all democratic in the sense everyone has to wait in line longer than they’d expect
Boonrat Dim Sum at Hotel Verdigris
Once you’re through, choose your dishes from the steamer at the front that contains up to 50 different items daily, starting at around 13 baht a piece, sit down, and they bring them to your table. The dim sum is Thai-Chinese Phuket style rather than Hong Kong style: smaller, more delicate, with a distinctive thick, sweet and spicy tamarind dipping sauce – ‘nam choi’ – that marks the style. Go for the steamed pork and shrimp dumplings, the seaweed-wrapped minced pork, and the rice noodle rolls. The jok (Thai-style congee) is excellent too.
Opens as early as 5.30am and often sells out by mid-morning. There are now three branches; the original on Bangkok Road is the Old Town one.
A Phuket Town dim sum and breakfast spot on Vichit Songkram Road serving Thai-Chinese staples including dim sum, jok and a solid range of fried and steamed dishes. Less hectic than Boonrat and the staff speak good English, which helps at 7am when you’ve come to dust off the previous night’s excesses. Speaking of which, the real draw at Heng Heng is the bak kut teh – a brooding, peppery, herbal pork and mushroom broth earthy enough to match whatever state you arrive in. A good hangover has met its equal here.
Interestingly, the lovely Hotel Verdigris on Yaorawat Road (where these photos above were taken) includes those last three places in its unique, hugely impressive breakfast a la carte – dim sum from Boonrat, kanom jeen from Mae Ting, bak kut teh from Heng Heng – brought in by the staff each morning and laid out on a long table in a sunlit room.
It’s a wonderfully civilised way to eat your way through Phuket’s breakfast culture without having to put your make-up on and leave the building. Which, when considering that hangover from the last paragraph you’re nursing, makes this one sound even better.
Another strong dim sum option. Jejai does excellent steamed buns with a choice of eight fillings; fried crab roll is the standout. A bit further from the Old Town centre, near the bus station, but well worth seeking out, and actually a more pleasant place to chill and take your time over your impossibly cute kanom jeeb as a result.
There’s a display fridge of dim sum and a singular chicken feet soup out front. Simply take some tongs, select what you want and carry it back to your table. The server will tot up your bill at the end according to how many bowls are on your table. How simple is that??
A street food stall with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and all it makes is one thing: khanom a pong, a traditional Phuket coconut crepe. The family has in this spot for over 50 years, and it’s a credit to them that they’re not bored stiff yet. Perhaps they’re egged on by just how good the offcuts are here. The batter (rice flour, coconut milk, sugar, egg yolk, yeast) is cooked in tiny woks over charcoal, producing something crispy on the outside, soft and sweet and gooey within, and just five baht a piece. It’s probably the cheapest Michelin listed bite in the world.
A word of advice: eat these as soon as they’re cool enough. After even half an hour, they’ve lost their lustre. Fresh is best, baby!
Phuket’s best special occasion Thai restaurant, bar none. At Royd, Southern Thai food gets the fine dining treatment from chef Mond, a Phuket-born chef whose cooking draws on his family’s roots in the region and a serious classical training that he wears lightly. Tasting menus of six to eight courses, seasonal and local, served to just 20 people.
The food is technically ambitious but never clinical with it – this is spicy, sour, punchy southern Thai cooking that happens to arrive in formats you weren’t expecting. Royd is featured in the Michelin Guide (there are rumours of a star incoming), and Chef Mond won the Michelin Young Chef Award earlier this year. There’s so much more to come from this place.
Just next door is Toh Daeng. The Old Town sister restaurant of the fantastic Toh Daeng at Baan Ar Jor, a heritage mansion up at Mai Khao Beach where the family grows its own ingredients on the surrounding farmland.
This Dibuk Road outpost is a passion project of Khun Todd, the owner’s grandson, and carries the same striking dark red colour scheme (toh daeng means ‘red table’). The food draws from the family’s 100-year-old recipes, cooked with locally sourced, organic ingredients and boasting an undeniable freshness and verve, shown with most clarity in a simple stir-fry of cabbage, baby shrimp and fish sauce.
The crispy noodles with prawns in tamarind is a signature, and the asam pedas, a sour fish curry, riffs on Phuket’s relationship with Penang. It’s unlike anything else in town. The whole operation runs as a social enterprise: half the profits fund education, housing and healthcare for children in the family’s home community of Mai Khao. What’s not to love here?
The place for a late-night bowl of something fortifying in Phuket, Go Benz is a big open-air roadside canteen on Krabi Road just north of the Old Town centre that fills up before its 5pm opening time and stays packed until 1.30am.
As with the very best Thai street food places, it’s a microcosm of the neighbourhood; families having a jovial supper at 6, post-party crowds at midnight eking the last splashes of fun from the evening, delivery riders idling outside, couples in the first throes of romance trying to slurp impossibly slippery noodles seductively…
The thing to order is the kuay jab, scrolls of silky rolled rice noodle in a peppery, deeply porky bone broth that you will think about for days. It thinks about you for days, too, lingering on the t-shirt you wore to eat it. The khao tom haeng is the other signature, built from the same parts (crispy pork belly, minced pork, offal, fried garlic) but served over rice with the broth on the side. Either way, you’ll want to order a couple of supplementary rounds of crispy pork (moo krob) with sweet soy sauce before it sells out, which happens most nights. Closed Mondays.
Blue Elephant occupies the Phra Pitak Chinpracha Mansion, built in 1903 by a Chinese tin baron who made his fortune during Phuket’s mining boom and modelled the place on the grand houses of Penang. It sat empty and crumbling for decades before a two-year restoration, overseen by the Thai Fine Arts Department, turned it into what it is now: mustard-yellow Sino-Portuguese grandeur, Italian floor tiles, feng shui bones, banyan trees older than the building. Chef Nooror Somany Steppe, who founded the Blue Elephant chain in Brussels in the 1980s with her Belgian husband, runs the kitchen.
The Phuket branch has the strongest Peranakan focus of any in the group, developed over more than a decade with a local Peranakan association and Rajabhat Phuket University. The Peranakan tumee king mackerel, a fenugreek curry with turmeric sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, and the giam goi, an old Phuket street-style steamed crab dumpling with caramelised tamarind, are the right dishes to help you get lost in the heritage feel of the place. The cooking school, set in the old central courtyard, is well worth a morning of your time.
Proof that Phuket Old Town isn’t only about Thai food. La Gaetana is a tiny, family-run Italian on Phuket Road, just south of the Old Town centre, run by Gianni Ferrara and his Thai wife Chonticha. Gianni does the cooking, Chonticha runs the room, and between them they work every table, every night. The space has just six tables, sunflower yellow walls, old family photos and a blackboard of specials that changes nightly.
Gianni imports his ingredients from Italy and makes everything in-house: the pasta, the sourdough bread, the gelato, the limoncello. His fettuccine with crab meat in tomato sauce is a family recipe from Campania, and the cooking is rooted in that southern Italian tradition, though the blackboard specials roam further. The bottarga linguine, when it appears, is superb. If you can’t decide, ask Gianni; he’ll recommend a dish and pair a wine to it. He always gets it right. There’s a reason La Gaetana has survived a quarter of a century on an island where most Western restaurants last for so much less.
On Yaowarat Road, Heh is chef Oat Nattaphon Othanawathakij’s aim to bring Melbourne to the Andaman. After nearly a decade cooking in Australia, he opened here in 2019.
The cooking is contemporary Australian in spirit, built around whatever the Andaman’s fishermen bring in that day. Fish is dry-aged and processed in-house, and the short, frequently changing menu treats the catch with real intelligence. The charred broccoli with anchovy-miso sauce and crispy fish scales has become a signature, and the charcoal-grilled wagyu short ribs nod to his Melbourne years.
The room is minimal and unfussy, built around a century-old mangosteen tree that grows up through the middle of it. We’d love to say chef Oat forages from inside the dining room, which would be a unique concept, but sadly there was no mangosteen on the menu the last time we stopped by.
The Old Town’s best pizza by a country mile is served from a converted shophouse on Montri Road near the Clock Circle. Marni is the sister restaurant to Five Olives in Cherngtalay; the same team, the same contemporary Neapolitan dough, but a smaller, more focused room. Five indoor tables, a few more on the terrace, and a menu that sticks to pizza, a few pastas and wine.
The Neapolitan-style pizzas have a contemporary approach, with a cornicione so inflated it borders on theatrical and a centre that stays thin and pliable, all baked in a wood-fired oven. The truffle burrata prosciutto is the one most tables seem to order, and if you’re in a decadent mood, it hits the spot. Honestly, the margherita is better; perfect, in fact.
The wine list is more serious than you’d expect, with a decent natural showing. Marni has ranked in the 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific list for four consecutive years, placing 39th in 2026.
Sometimes, you just want a burger. There’s no shame in that, even in one of Thailand’s most fabulous food centres. At the Old Town’s eastern peripheries, Five Loaves has accrued a decade of experience, perfecting the humble hamburger and expanding to three more as a result. The original has a retro, rustic interior and it serves as a welcome pit stop when the cumulative heat of a day’s eating calls for a cold room and a plate of something familiar and filling.
The burgers use Australian beef, the buns are baked in-house with a slightly sweet, chewy texture, and you can build your own from beef, pork or chicken with a generous choice of toppings and sauces. The Infinity Burger, a double-patty stack of cheddar, bacon and a fried chicken nugget, is the crowd-pleaser. It’s the best burger in the Old Town, and our deviation from Thai food is now done. It all got a bit weird back there.
We hope you saved room for dessert and, more specifically, for Phuket’s first fried ice cream, and still the best. Su Chat has been operating in the Samkong neighbourhood since 1987, almost four decades of scooping coconut and egg ice cream, battering it and frying it to order. You choose your scoops and your toppings (sticky rice, red beans, sliced banana, Milo powder) and they assemble the lot. It’s not fancy, and the shopfront gives nothing away, but the fact that it’s lasted this long in a city with no shortage of competition tells you everything. A fitting final stop.
A Phuket original that’s since expanded to Bangkok, where it now draws hour-long queues on Banthat Thong Road. The concept is simple: shokupan, the pillowy Japanese milk bread, toasted with fresh butter until crisp on the outside and cloud-soft within, then diced, skewered and served with a choice of dipping sauces. There are 19 to pick from; the pandan with coconut milk custard, salted egg yolk custard and Hokkaido milk cream are the top three for a reason. Order a medium set, choose three dips and pair it with one of their flavoured milks (Thai tea, butterscotch and pink milk are all good).
O-aew is as close to a signature dessert as Phuket gets. Brought by the Hokkien Chinese settlers and found almost nowhere else in Thailand, it’s a soft, clear jelly made from the seeds of a fig tree, mixed with a little banana, sliced into rectangles and served over shaved ice with sweet syrup, red beans and black jelly.
The o-aew shop at 78 Dibuk Road has no English signboard but it’s all on display out front so ordering is easy. These guys make each bowl to order from real o-aew seeds rather than gelatin powder, and the result is cool, slippery, gently sweet and supremely refreshing in the afternoon heat. It costs next to nothing. There’s a reason every local knows this place.
We’ve all had that thought when passing a travel agency on the high street; with Skyscanner, Agoda et al, just how do they stay open?
Fair question. Booking a holiday in 2026 is straightforward enough: compare prices across a few tabs, read some reviews, click confirm. For a week in Tenerife or a long weekend in Lisbon, you probably don’t need anyone’s help. But there’s a surprisingly long list of situations where a travel agent earns their cut many times over, and knowing when to pick up the phone can save you real money, time and stress.
Complex, Multi-Stop Itineraries
The moment a trip involves more than two destinations, the logistics multiply fast. Internal flights, border crossings, visa requirements, transfer times, regional holidays that shut everything down: these are the things that catch DIY bookers out.
Take a three-week trip to Southeast Asia covering Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. You’ll need to factor in overnight trains versus budget flights, wet season timing for specific regions, and the fact that some border crossings are only open on certain days. A good agent already knows all of this, and more importantly, they know which connections actually work in practice, not just on paper.
Specialised & Niche Travel
This is where agents really prove their worth. Certain types of trip demand specific knowledge that booking platforms simply don’t offer. Safari holidays, expedition cruises, ski touring trips, religious pilgrimages, dietary-specific travel: these all benefit from someone who’s done the legwork.
If you’re planning a safari in Africa, an agent specialising in wildlife tourism will know which camps have the best guiding, when the migration passes through specific areas, and which permits you need to sort months in advance.
Travellers with specific dietary or religious requirements benefit just as much. As the specialists at Bespoke Kosher Travel tell us, hotels will often claim to cater for kosher or halal diets on their websites, but the reality on the ground can be very different. A niche agent will have already verified dining options, checked supervision standards and built things like Shabbat-friendly scheduling into the itinerary before you’ve even packed.
When Your Time Is Worth More Than The Savings
Here’s the calculation most people don’t make: if you spend 15 hours researching and booking a holiday that an agent could have put together in a single conversation, what’s that time actually worth to you? For anyone with a demanding job, a family, or both, the answer is usually a lot more than the agent’s fee.
AI travel planners have muddied the waters here. Tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI overviews will happily generate a day-by-day itinerary for you in seconds, but the results tend to be generic, occasionally outdated, and confidently wrong about details that matter: opening times, visa requirements, whether that hidden gem restaurant closed two years ago. They’re fine for initial inspiration, but trusting one to actually plan a trip you’re spending thousands on is a gamble most people shouldn’t take.
A good agent doesn’t just book what you ask for. They’ll push back, suggest alternatives you hadn’t considered, and draw on their own travel experience to flag things you’d only learn the hard way. That’s not a service you’ll get from an algorithm, and it’s certainly not one you’ll get from a chatbot that doesn’t know the difference between a hotel that’s highly rated and one that’s actually worth staying in.
Access To Rates & Perks You Can’t Get Directly
Agents with strong supplier relationships can unlock pricing, upgrades and extras that aren’t available through public-facing booking engines. This is particularly true in the luxury hotel space, where preferred partner programmes give agents access to complimentary breakfasts, spa credits, room upgrades and late checkouts as standard.
The margins here can be significant. On a £3,000 resort booking, the added extras an agent secures might be worth £500 or more, effectively making the trip cheaper than if you’d booked it yourself.
When Things Go Wrong
Flight cancellations, lost luggage, a hotel that looks nothing like the photos: these things happen, and they happen more often than the industry would like to admit. When you’ve booked everything yourself across five different platforms, you’re on your own. When you’ve booked through an agent, you’ve got someone whose job it is to fix the problem.
If your flight is cancelled due to bad weather, an agent can rebook you, sort alternative accommodation and advise on compensation, all while you’re standing in the arrivals hall trying to get your kids to stop crying.
Dietary, Accessibility & Other Specific Needs
This one is underappreciated. If you have specific requirements, whether that’s wheelchair accessibility, severe food allergies, halal or kosher dining, or travelling with medical equipment, an agent who understands these needs can verify arrangements directly with hotels and airlines in ways that online booking forms can’t.
Ticking a box marked special dietary requirements on a booking form and actually having those requirements met when you arrive are, unfortunately, two very different things.
When Is It Better To Book Things Yourself?
Plenty of the time, honestly. For a weekend city break or a single-destination beach holiday, you probably don’t need an agent. Booking platforms are well designed for simple trips, and if you enjoy the planning process, there’s no reason to outsource it.
Budget travellers will also usually do better on their own. Agents can’t match the savings you’ll find by being flexible with dates, stacking cashback offers, or grabbing last-minute deals. And if you’re the kind of person who has 47 browser tabs open comparing room rates, you’ll likely find the agent experience frustrating rather than freeing.
The rule of thumb: the simpler the trip, the less you need an agent. The more moving parts, niche requirements or high-value bookings involved, the more an agent earns their keep.
The Bottom Line
Travel agents aren’t relics of a pre-internet age. They’re specialists who add the most value precisely when a trip gets complicated, expensive or specific. For a straightforward holiday, book it yourself and save the fee. For anything involving multiple destinations, niche requirements, luxury properties or tight timelines, a good agent will almost certainly save you more than they cost.
No person is an island. But in an ideal world, we’d all have one. A kitchen island, that is…
Hmm. Perhaps that introduction didn’t quite function as we’d hoped, but if you’re looking to add functionality to your kitchen, then why not add a kitchen isla….you know where this is going, right?
Let’s start again. Kitchen islands bring improved efficiency, style and aesthetic intrigue to a kitchen, but choosing one to suit your unique needs and the specific measurements of the room can be a challenge. There are several things you need to consider, from size to style and, most importantly, function.
Here are 7 steps to choosing the IDEAL kitchen island for your home.
What Is The Island’s Function?
One of the first things you need to consider is function. Pose searching, existential questions…
What is the island’s purpose? Will it be strictly for dining, strictly for cooking, or a mix of both? Will it serve as an alternative to the dining room table? Which part of life’s story do you hope to write here?
If you plan to use your kitchen island primarily for cooking and prepping, plan for a bigger island. Appliances take up quite a bit of space – whether resting on the island or tucked beneath it – so factor in that extra room to fit everything in comfortably. If you’re installing a sink in the island, consider also installing a dishwasher right next to it for easy loading and unloading.
If the vibe is more aesthetic, for entertaining and casual use, the focus should fall more on seating and conviviality than size. The island should therefore be at a comfortable height for chairs, and should have a decent-sized overhang for knee space. Experts recommend that a minimum 30 centimetres of overhang is appropriate.
Considering Form & Size
The island’s function is one of the most important things to consider because it will dictate what type of island you choose. Once you have a better understanding of the purpose of your island, then you can drill down into other considerations. Form follows function, as they say…
As we mentioned, this is certainly a case where size does matter. If you plan to install appliances, you will need a bigger island; it’s as simple as that. If you’re only using it for entertaining or other casual purposes, a small kitchen island will work perfectly well in your kitchen.
Generally speaking, a kitchen island which is too big for the room as a whole makes the room an uncomfortable place to spend time, disrupting kitchen workflow and causing many a burnt dinner in the process. Err on the side of caution here.
Kitchen Island Styles
There are several styles to choose from when choosing or designing a kitchen island:
If you have a larger kitchen, an L-shaped island will give you enough space for both cooking/prep and dining or entertaining, wrapping around a corner to create distinct zones. Conversely, if your kitchen is L-shaped, then you’ll need to consider a pretty dainty island or the dynamics of the room will feel lopsided.
A U-shaped kitchen island takes that concept further, enclosing three sides to create something close to a dedicated cooking station. This style is well-suited to the budding chef in the family, as the efficiency of cooking is greatly increased, and it also lets a host who loves the limelight hold court as guests gather around.
A galley style island can be a little awkward to make work, but can end up making good use of space if proportioned correctly. This type of island is common in the modern and German kitchen style, in particular.
Furniture style islands are commonly found in eclectic, quirky kitchen design. They are usually the focal point and can be repurposed from old furniture.
Double-tiered kitchen islands are an excellent choice for multi-functional kitchens, when the cooking, eating and socialising all occurs in the same room. For parents trying to juggle dinner-prep and keeping an eye on the kids while they do their homework, a double-tier is the perfect design.
Extras & Add Ons
Will you be using your island only for cooking and entertaining, or will it also serve as a place for the kids to do homework and for you to work, too?
For cooking and prepping, kitchen island cabinets are a must. Island cabinets provide storage for your cookware and supplies, making the workflow of cooking in the space much more efficient.
If you have a large kitchen and your refrigerator is across the room, it may be worth installing an undercounter refrigerator for easy access to ingredients or drinks when entertaining. They certainly look the part, too, don’t you think?
Cooktops are also a great option if you’re using your island primarily for cooking and prepping. Just make sure that you have enough space to install an exhaust hood or vent, or things are going to get ssssssmokey.
Customise further, and consider adding a wine rack, open bookshelves, a hanging utensil rack or simply extra storage space. A kitchen island opens up the room to a wealth of new opportunities, and here, the world is your oyster. Now, where did I put that shuck?
Triangulate Your Layout
Many interior designers discuss kitchen layout in terms of triangulation, and this is worth considering with regard to your kitchen island. The three key ever-presents of the kitchen are the sink, refrigerator and stove. Without them, things simply wouldn’t function.With one of these three essential elements located on a kitchen island, the kitchen working triangle layout is created; the optimal layout favoured by kitchen designers. Doing so makes your kitchen both a dynamic space and naturally pleasing to the eye.
Illumination Stations
It’s important, too, to consider how you’re going to light your kitchen island.
Designer pendant lighting is the most popular choice, illuminating the workspace and drawing the eye to your kitchen island as a focal point aesthetically. Ideally, three matching lights, positioned in a row, would hang around three or four feet above the island, providing the best illumination and aesthetic appeal.
If you’re keen to change things up and do things differently, recessed lighting is a great option, since its source is concealed and you don’t have anything hanging directly over the work surface. For taller members of the family prone to banging their head on low hanging objects, recessed lighting would be a welcome alternative.
It’s also worth thinking about task lighting for the island’s underside; LED strip lights fitted beneath an overhang can provide a warm ambient glow for evening entertaining, while also making it easier to spot that rogue Lego brick on the kitchen floor. Whichever option you go for, think about how the lighting ties back to function; a prep-heavy island needs bright, focused illumination, while a social hub benefits from something a little softer and more atmospheric.
Choosing The Right Worktop Material
With the shape, size and extras nailed down, it’s time to think about what your island is actually made of. The worktop material you choose will have a big impact on how it looks, feels and holds up over time, so it pays to weigh up your options.
Natural stone like granite and marble brings a sense of weight and permanence; granite is tough, heat-resistant and relatively low-maintenance, while marble, for all its beauty, is softer and more prone to staining. Quartz offers a good middle ground, combining the look of natural stone with better stain resistance and no need for regular sealing.
For a warmer, more rustic feel, solid wood or butcher block works brilliantly, particularly if your kitchen leans towards a country or farmhouse style. Wood does require a bit more upkeep (regular oiling to keep it in good nick) but it develops a character over the years that stone simply can’t replicate. At the other end of the spectrum, stainless steel is the choice of professional kitchens for a reason: it’s hygienic, heat-proof and practically indestructible, though it will pick up fingerprints with use.
The key is to match the material to how you’ll actually use the island. If it’s going to take a daily battering from hot pans and sharp knives, durability should win out over looks.
Setting A Budget & Planning Installation
It’s easy to get carried away when planning a kitchen island. All those add-ons, materials and design flourishes can stack up faster than you’d expect, so setting a realistic budget early on will save you from some painful compromises further down the line.
Costs vary hugely depending on what you’re after. A simple freestanding or prefabricated unit can come in at a few hundred pounds, while a fully plumbed, custom-built island with integrated appliances and stone worktops can run well into the thousands. Be honest with yourself about what you need versus what you want, and get quotes early so the numbers don’t come as a nasty surprise.
Factor in installation costs, too, which are often underestimated. If your island requires plumbing for a sink, electrical work for a cooktop or ventilation for an extraction hood, those trades need to be costed and coordinated. Getting a professional to assess the space before you commit can save a good deal of time, money and frustration on installation day.
The Bottom Line
A kitchen island is one of those additions that, when done well, can genuinely change the way you use and enjoy your kitchen. The trick is to start with function and let everything else follow from there. Measure twice, budget honestly, and don’t be afraid to keep things simple; a well-chosen island doesn’t need to be the most expensive or elaborate option in the showroom, it just needs to work for your kitchen and your life.
