Have you ever noticed how scents linger in your kitchen, both good and, erm, not so good? Last night’s roast turbot can quickly become tomorrow’s loitering odour, whilst lunchtime’s confit garlic on toast isn’t far from being tonight’s guest who’s outstayed their welcome.
And don’t get us started on the fruit bowl. Seemingly a still-life at first glance, flip that satsuma over and there’s mayhem lurking underneath.
Sometimes, homeowners can be inured to these lingering scents, noseblind to the stench that their kitchens are giving off. That’s why keeping your kitchen smelling fresh and clean preemptively and proactively is so important, particularly in these colder months when windows remain resolutely closed and ventilation is reduced. Anyway, here’s how to do just that.
Act Quickly
Let’s start with the absolute basics: the golden rule for preventing kitchen odours is to address spills and messes immediately. Wipe up that splattered tomato sauce whilst it’s still fresh, rather than letting it bake onto the hob during your next cooking session. The same goes for the inside of your microwave – that exploded pasta sauce might seem harmless now, but leave it a few days and you’ll have a pungent problem on your hands. A quick wipe-down after cooking takes seconds but saves you from a much bigger cleaning job (and lingering smells) later on.
Proper Ventilation
Though it’s perhaps best filed under the ‘cure’ rather than ‘prevention’ column, ensuring proper ventilation in your kitchen is the key to eliminating odours. Install a range hood or exhaust fan above your stove to capture and remove cooking fumes and smells. Make it a habit to turn on the fan or open windows while cooking to allow fresh air to circulate. Simples.
Don’t overlook your air vents themselves, which can accumulate dust, grease, and grime over time, reducing their efficiency and potentially contributing to stale air in your kitchen. Consider investing in quality air vent covers that are easy to remove and clean regularly. A quick wipe-down of these covers every few weeks will ensure your ventilation system is working at its best, allowing fresh air to flow freely and cooking odours to escape efficiently. It’s a small detail that can make a significant difference to your kitchen’s air quality.
Deep Cleaning
Regular deep cleaning is crucial for maintaining a fresh-smelling kitchen. Pay attention to the following areas, especially:
Appliances – Clean your oven, microwave, refrigerator, and dishwasher regularly to prevent food residue and spills from causing unpleasant odours. These kitchen appliance cleaning tips will offer more insight on that most thrilling of topics.
Countertops – Wipe down countertops with a mild detergent to remove any lingering food smells.
Sink & Drain – Keep your sink clean and free from food debris. Regularly flush your drain with boiling water and baking soda to prevent any build-up that can cause foul odours. We’ll dive a little deeper down this particular plughole a little later on, by the way.
Rubbish Bin – Empty your bin regularly and clean it thoroughly, inside and out, to avoid unpleasant smells, perhaps soaking the offending article in a mix of bleach and warm water every few days. Consider using bin bags with odour-absorbing properties, too.
Odour Absorbers
Utilise natural odour absorbers to neutralise unpleasant smells in your kitchen, which isn’t only more affordable than regular cleaning products, but is also better for both your health and the environment.
Baking Soda – Place an open box of baking soda in your fridge to absorb any lingering food odours. You can also sprinkle baking soda in your bin and sink to eliminate unwanted smells.
White Vinegar – Wipe down surfaces, such as countertops and cutting boards, with a solution of white vinegar and water to neutralise odours.
Coffee Grounds – Keep a small bowl of coffee grounds on your countertop to absorb strong smells, like fish or garlic.
Indoor Plants – Place indoor plants, such as popular culinary herbs or aromatic flowers, in your kitchen to add a natural fragrance and improve air quality. Plus, when you need a little rosemary, all you have to do is reach over and pluck!
Simmer Potpourri – Create a simmer potpourri by boiling a mixture of citrus peels, cinnamon sticks, and cloves in water. This will infuse your kitchen with a refreshing aroma.
One of the most common culprits behind a smelly kitchen is an unclean, clogged drain. Food particles, grease, and other waste can accumulate in your sink drain over time, causing foul odours to rise from your sink. Regular drain maintenance is crucial in keeping your kitchen smelling fresh.
It’s essential to avoid clogging your drain inadvertently if you’re to keep your kitchen smelling fresh. They recommend that to avoid clogging your kitchen sink and drains, you should always scrape food scraps into the trash or compost bin instead of letting them go down the sink. Regularly pour hot water or a mixture of hot water and vinegar down the drain to break down and flush away any buildup. To catch larger pieces of debris, consider installing a drain screen or strainer.
Finally, dispose of oils and other fats in a responsible manner, rather than pouring them down the sink hole (or in your toilet!). If not, you may well cause a fatberg to form, which can lead to some seriously smelly situations emanating from your drains.
Regularly Refresh Soft Furnishings
Fabrics in your kitchen – tea towels, oven gloves, curtains, and even chair cushions – are surprisingly effective at trapping cooking odours. Make it a habit to wash these items weekly, particularly tea towels which can harbour bacteria and develop that distinctive musty smell.
For curtains and cushion covers, a monthly wash should suffice, though if pets have been hanging around on them, make it significantly more regular. Between washes, hanging these items outside for a few hours can help freshen them naturally. If you’ve got a particularly pungent cooking session planned (we’re looking at you, fish curry), consider removing fabric items from the kitchen beforehand.
Mind Your Wooden Items
Wooden cutting boards, utensils, and countertops can absorb strong odours, particularly from onions, garlic, and raw meat. To keep these items fresh, rub them with half a lemon and coarse salt, scrubbing gently in circular motions. The citric acid helps neutralise odours whilst the salt acts as a gentle abrasive. Leave the mixture on for a few minutes before rinsing with warm water and drying thoroughly.
For particularly stubborn smells, create a paste of baking soda and water, apply it to the wooden surface, and let it sit overnight before rinsing. Regular oiling of wooden items with food-safe mineral oil will also help create a protective barrier against odour absorption.
The Bottom Line
A fresh-smelling kitchen will not only enhance your cooking experience but also make your entire home more inviting. Enjoy a pleasant, clean and green kitchen every day with these tips. We can’t wait to be invited round to your next dinner party!
Though Bath has long been associated with affluence and a certain tendency to the high-falutin, as well as it being one of the UK’s most attractive places for both domestic and international tourism, its restaurant scene has only recently begun to match the city’s fine reputation.
But over the past ten years or so, Bath’s culinary map has become populated with a string of restaurants where the cooking is confident, the prices are reasonable, and the vibes more in tune with what’s happening in London than perhaps any other city of its size here in the UK.
That said, amongst all the hip, happening openings, sometimes all you really want is a pizza. Should you be in Bath and wondering where to eat the best pizza, we’ve got you covered…
The Oven
Ideal for authentic canotto-style Neapolitan pizzas with the occasional twist on a topping…
This little corner of South West England isn’t too blessed with seriously good pizza options, so we’ll jump right in with The Oven, which is, in our minds, the premium pizza spot in the city.
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.
Ideal for romantic date nights over upscale Italian-American pizza…
Bath’s Bosco bills itself as being ‘inspired by the best pizzerias of Naples and New York’. Having spent plenty of time in the former, we’d venture that Bosco has little in common with the rustic restaurants of Dalle 500 Cupole.
The vibe here, with its marble counter seating, dark wood and brass, instead calls to mind a New York speakeasy.
The pizzas – the bit you’re here for, of course – land somewhere in between the two cities, boasting more structural integrity than a Neopolitan, sure, but also drier than a keenly adorned New Yorker. There’s a central wood-fired oven at play, and the resultant puffy crusts, blistered and burnished in all the right places, make for an eminently satisfying eating experience.
Indeed, on its day these are fine pizzas indeed, boasting premium ingredients imported from the markets of Milan and Rome. Owing to that tendency towards the dry we mentioned, the best pizzas to order here are those that are a little more fully loaded. A case in point is the excellent Calabria, which is hot from ‘nduja and lusciously, liberally anointed with both mascarpone and fior di latte. The tomato base and roasted red onions bring some much needed sweet piquancy. It’s a fine pizza; arguably the best in Bath, quite honestly.
Owing to the dimmed lights and hushed tones of the place, Bosco is one of the city’s most romantic spots for a date night. During the day, the courtyard, a perfect sunspot, thrums with activity, cheer and chatter. The excellent house negronis certainly do no harm whichever way you’re playing it.
Ideal for authentic New Haven-style pizzas from Bath’s cult bakery…
The ground floor at 59 Walcot Street has long been synonymous with some of Bath’s finest sourdough and cinnamon buns that inspire queues around the block and visits from abroad. But as the sun sets, this space undergoes something of a transformation, morphing from artisan bakery into pizzeria, where the same meticulous approach to grain and fermentation gets applied to 18-inch New Haven-style pies.
For the uninitiated, New Haven pizza – or ‘apizza’ as it’s known in the Connecticut vernacular – is all about the crust. Think thin, charred, and chewy, baked at blistering temperatures with a minimal hand on the toppings. It’s a style that relies heavily on ingredient quality, which is precisely where Landrace excels. They mill their own flour from British grains, mushrooms are wild and foraged locally, and they even commission their pepperoni from Westcombe, ensuring every element traces back to proper provenance.
The menu is refreshingly tight. The Little Rendezvous keeps things classic with San Marzano tomato, fior di latte, pecorino and oregano (£25), whilst The Paolo ups the ante with Westcombe pepperoni and grana padano (£35). The Funghi e Bacon – wild mushrooms, bacon, leeks, fior di latte, mushroom cream, rosemary and garlic oil – demonstrates how well this sturdy, wholesome dough handles richer toppings (£32). We’re sure by now you’re raising your eyebrows at those prices, but these are huge sharing pizzas, needing their own plinth to fit on the table and feeding two or three quite capably.
A word to the wise: if you’re dining as a group of four, consider ordering your pizzas sequentially rather than all at once. New Haven-style pizza really sings when it’s piping hot from the oven – that’s when the char and chew are at their best – so staggering your order means everyone gets to enjoy each pie at its optimal temperature and texture. You can order your pies half-and-half, incidentally, which adds to the fun. Anoint it all with the Landrace’s house-made hot honey – a blend of local summer honey and ring of fire chillies from a Bradford-on-Avon grower – is worth adding to absolutely everything.
Note that this isn’t a walk-in-and-grab-a-slice operation. Pizzas are sold whole to sit-down diners on a walk-in basis, though collection (you need to order in advance) is available, too. Either way, pair your pie with one of the organic lagers from Devon’s Gilt & Flint, or go for their rough and ready chilled Sangiovese from Tuscany. Finish up with the house tiramisu, which is ethereally light but somehow still structurally sound, and a damn fine way to end any meal.
This feels like pizza with a pedigree, and we love it.
Ideal for popular, approachable pies in historic Victorian railway surroundings…
Housed in the historic Green Park station – now populated with a whole host of great independent traders – comes Bath Pizza Co., a simple, walk-up to the window affair that happens to sling some of the best pizzas in town.
The now-closed landmark that houses these excellent pizzas boasts an elaborate Victorian railway glass roof, offering shelter from the elements when the semi-alfresco nature of the dining here is threatened by rain. They even have massive heaters for those feeling the cold during winter. That said, when the sun is shining, there’s nowhere more pleasant to eat in Bath.
In case there’s any danger of you forgetting the history of your illustrious surrounds, you’ll find Bath Pizza Co. right next to the old ticketing hall, though dining carriage fare this ain’t.
Instead, these guys were not only National Pizza Awards finalists in 2021, but were also named the ‘Independent Pizza Restaurant of the Year’ by the Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Association (PAPA), the only formal trade body in the UK representing the Italian food and drink industry.
That’s some serious pizza pedigree, but you’ll be pleased to hear that this is a casual dining spot, with no bookings required. Get yourself a drink from the next door Brasserie Bar and settle in for a great pizza with a side order of history!
Address: Green Park Station, 2-3 Westmoreland Station Rd, Bath BA1 1JB
Ideal for digestible, dietary-friendly pizza bases…
Dough Pizza, close to Bath’s historic Pulteney Bridge, offers a different proposition to the traditional pizzas (or rather, bases) so far installed on our list, in that it’s a customisable affair, allowing diners to choose from a variety of inventive, inclusive doughs, including hemp, seaweed, turmeric and a gluten-free option, all of which appear on the ‘Specials’ section of the menu.
A family-run operation with roots in Puglia, the pizzaiolo here is Emiliano Tunno, a man with pedigree in inventive pizzeria openings across the world, and a mission to make pizzas accessible to all, regardless of their dietary requirements or preferences. We just love the V for Vegan, which sees a khorasan wheat dough topped with vegan cheese, beetroot ‘carpaccio’, courgettes and capers. It’s wonderful.
For a quick, grab-and-go lunch, the pucce – a type of warm southern Italian sourdough bap – are excellent here, too. Divided into regions, our favourite is the Sorrento, which features grilled peppers, aubergines and courgettes, fior di latte mozzarella and rocket. Just delicious.
You’ll find a second branch on Kingsmead Square.
Address: 14-16 The Corridor, Bath BA1 5AP, United Kingdom
Address: 9 Kingsmead Square, Bath BA1 2AB, United Kingdom
Ideal for casual pizza and pints in a classic pub garden…
We end our tour of the best pizzas in Bath in the garden of the Bell Inn, enjoying a slice from what is quite possibly the smallest pizzeria on the planet.
Run (or should that be ridden?) by Angel Ganev, this portable pizzeria sees the budding pizzaiolo pull a miniature oven across the city, delivering pizzas to the hungry masses. Currently stationed at Walcot Street’s Bell Inn, flavours are refined and simple (we imagine there’s not much fridge space for more elaborate toppings!), with the sobrasidita a particular favourite in the IDEAL office. We always add some sliced jalapenos – you should, too!
Pair it with a pint of the pub’s excellent, CAMRA-approved real ale, and settle in for an evening of good drinking and eating.
Address: 103 Walcot St, Bath BA1 5BW, United Kingdom
Ideal for reliable, wallet-friendly sourdough pizzas with a little railway arch ambiance…
The curved iron walls and exposed brick of Bath Spa station’s railway arches now house Franco Manca, where the rumble of trains overhead adds to, rather than detracts from, the space’s raw appeal. Yes, it’s a chain. And yes, an ever-accelerating omnipresence has lead to a kind of standardisation where the standard is noticeably lower than the Brixton Market days of 2008, when their first site’s dedication to faithfully Neapolitan pizza helped kick-start London’s pizza renaissance. But this is still a decent pizza, and one at a remarkably good price-point in today’s economy.
The setup here is stripped back – both in decor and menu. Seven pizzas plus a specials board might seem sparse, but that focus helps keep costs down. Their sourdough bases, proved for 20 hours and fired at 450 degrees in their hulking Neapolitan ovens, have a distinctive tang that’s impossible to fake. The resulting pizzas sport those telltale charred bubbles that pizza geeks obsess over, while remaining light enough that you won’t need to be rolled out the door.
At £6.95 for their most basic pizza, the prices feel like they’ve time-travelled from 2010. The no. 2, their margherita (upgrade to buffalo mozzarella for £3 if you’re feeling flush), proves they can do the classics well, even if it isn’t the finest pizza you’ll ever eat. They get a touch more experimental; Franco’s Favourite features an Amatriciana sauce base, crispy pancetta and pecorino romano D.O.P, and is enjoyably salty.
The terrace in Brunel Square might even catch the evening sun, while you keep one eye on your train and one on the pizzaioli spinning dough.
The Real Italian Pizza Co: A short stroll from the historic Roman Baths, this compact, family-run pizzeria probably won’t give you the best pizza of your life, but if it’s pizza you’re craving (you are; that’s why you’re here) and you can’t get a seat at another restaurant on a tourist-filled day in Bath, then The Real Italian pizza Co will do the job.
Open since 2007, the British-Italian ownership duo of Timothy Coffey and Francesca Addabbo aimed to showcase the pizzas of Addabbo’s childhood in Italy; crisp, light and satisfying.
Image via The Real Italian Co
16 years on, we think it’s safe to say they more or less succeeded in their mission, with a second Real Italian Pizza Co. now open in nearby Cardiff. Try their take on a Full English Breakfast in pizza form (yes, really), which sees Italian sausage, bacon, mushrooms and a fried egg sitting atop the restaurant’s signature tomato sauce and naturally leavened, quick-fired dough. Thankfully, no baked beans make it onto this one.
And if, somehow, you’ve still got room for another course or two, do check out Upstairs at the Landrace, which is only a short walk from all of our selections here (and, indeed, above one of them!), and a brilliant restaurant indeed.
Bristol’s restaurant scene is rightly revered, with Michelin-starred restaurants rubbing shoulders with thriving food markets, and top tapas bars found housed in shipping containers, all with access to some of Britain’s finest produce, right on the city’s doorstep. It’s a heady mix, indeed.
No wonder Bristol was in 2022 named as one of the world’s top 20 food destinations by Travel Mag. It should come as no surprise, then, that the city is home to some mighty fine pizzas, and today, we’re exploring the very best of them.
So, without further ado, here’s our guide on where to find the best pizza in Bristol.
Bertha’s, Wapping Wharf
Ideal for sustainability-focused pizzas with playful, unconventional combinations…
Though Bertha’s opened its doors in Wapping Wharf in August of 2016, the journey of Bertha’s to a fully fledged pizzeria began much earlier, in 2010, as a street food operation serving pizzas from a converted yellow Land Rover to the hungry masses of food festivals and other local events.
Fast forward 13 years, and the pizzeria sits proudly at The Old Gaol Stables at the top of Gaol Ferry Steps, slinging dozens of delicious sourdough pizzas every day. It’s a hugely welcoming place, with co-owner Kate Faragher describing Bertha’s as a friendly neighborhood restaurant that aims to serve simple, affordable food and support local, sustainable producers. What more could you want?
If you think pineapple doesn’t belong on a pizza and you’re a traditionalist to the core, then you’re in for a delicious shock. The playful flavour creators at Bertha go for combinations that you won’t find at your traditional pizzeria and the specials board here is always exciting; think smoked haddock pizza or even a topping featuring sweet and giving peaches.
They also feed vegans very, very well and, again, it’s to the special boards the plant-based pizza lovers among us should turn. On our last visit, spiced roasted beetroot and feta became best friends – the perfect balance of sweet and salty all in one bite.
That said, we’re especially big fans of the Meat & Heat pizza here, which sees the ever trendy chilli honey drizzled over a pepperoni pizza, the spiced, cured sausage made using Gloucester Old Spot; it’s just divine, though you might want to pack a few Rennie for afters.
Pair this one (the pizza, not the antacid tablet) with a lazy, hazy Keller Pils lager from local brewers Lost & Grounded and you’ve got yourself a meal of yeasty deliciousness.
Can’t make it to the restaurant? They have their own frozen range that is stocked in delis, butchers, farmshops and more across Bristol. These restaurant-grade frozen pizzas are an authentic taste of Bertha’s – that’s a proper sourdough base and premium ingredients – just finished in your oven, not theirs.
Ideal for refined ‘Britalian’ pizzettas and takeaway pizzas from intimate neighbourhood restaurant…
Sonny Stores, a family-run restaurant in Bristol serving what’s come to be called ‘Britalian’ food by some, opened its doors during the turbulent times of September 2020. Founded by husband and wife team Mary Glynn and Pegs Quinn, the business was initially conceived as a lockdown delivery-only pizza service called The Lockdown Pizza Company. And what great pizzas they were…
As the national lockdown came to an end, Sonny Stores evolved with the aim of becoming a welcoming space for the community to enjoy a delicious range of seasonal Italian food, made using quality British ingredients. With Mary’s background in hospitality and events management and Pegs’ experience in cooking, particularly Italian cuisine, they have successfully established Sonny Stores as a hugely popular casual dining destination in suburban Southville.
Though the building itself may be intimate, it houses a genuinely superlative dining experience, with dishes crafted by a talented team led by head chef Peg who is a River Café alumnus. Michelin recognition may well soon follow.
That deep, implicit understanding of both Italian food and the art of open-hearted hospitality is apparent in the crowd pleasing pizzetta sold at Sonny Stores. These dinky, dinghy shaped things boast the puffiest of crusts, the most blistered of surfaces, and the most straightforward but well-considered toppings, whether that’s a simple marinara topped with Don Bocarte Cantabrian anchovies, or a provolone ‘rarebit’ pizzetta topped with an egg yolk for extra ooze. Just delicious.
As with Flour and Ash, Bristol-phile Jay Rayner has enjoyed eating here, saying that ‘’they get things absolutely right’’. They most certainly do, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for this most beloved of Bristol neighbourhood restaurants.
And this just in: Sonny Stores (as per an announcement on their Instagram account) has just revealed that you can order their beloved, larger takeaway pizzas on Uber Eats from The Hatch. Our favourite is Tuscan sausage with burnt onions.
Brislington’s got itself a proper Neapolitan pizzeria, on a barren stretch of residential road that doesn’t exactly feel like it needs one. Scrap that – Birchwood Road feels like just the kind of place for it. L’oro di Napoli does the southern Italian thing without any fuss – puffy crusts with the requisite char, imported ingredients that meet the ol’ AVPN criteria, and a vibe both in the room and on the plate that isn’t trying too hard. With pizza this good, they don’t really need to.
The arancini make a good start if you’re hungry, stuffed with Neapolitan ragù and provola and as heavy as a newborn. Pizza-wise, the Margherita (not bad value at £13) is genuinely all you need, a pitch-perfect version of a classic that no trendier pizzeria in the centre of town could improve on. Now autumn is here, we’re big fans of the salsiccia e friarielli, too – the classic pizza pairing of Italian sausage with Neapolitan broccoli rabe that’s pleasingly hearty on bleaker nights. It’s as close as you’ll get to eating on a chilly Naples evening without the flight.
If you’re feeling flush, fancy or simply curious, the pistachio pizza has pistachio pesto, pistachio mortadella, and crushed pistachios for a cool £18.15 – subtle it ain’t. Dessert-y, it is. Most importantly, it’s delicious. They do fried pizza too, which isn’t something you see everywhere. Ricotta, mozzarella, and your choice of salami or ham, all wrapped up and fried, coming out hot and tasting like a donut. Bliss.
L’oro di Napoli is neighbourhood pizza without pretension, delivered with absolute faith in the ability of the pizzaiolo, the quality of the ingredients, and the universal appeal of authentic pizza. Turn up, eat, leave happy – sometimes, that’s all you need.
Bristol’s latest pizza obsession comes from two chefs who visited over 50 pizzerias across London, Rome, and New York before opening their doors. Rapha Purslow Persighetti and Alberto Noriega Bellissimo (formerly of Pizzarova, which appears a little later on this list, and Grano Kitchen, respectively) have brought something different to Old Market: proper New York-style pizza by the slice.
Since opening in late 2024, Gigi’s has rapidly gained a devoted following. Their sourdough bases are both thin and structurally sound (no floppy tips here), whilst toppings showcase precision without pretension. The pepperoni with hot honey has become a firm favourite, though the Cacio e Pepe runs it close for top billing.
The stripped-back interior features industrial touches and sleek seating that feel effortless rather than studied. It’s walk-ins only, reinforcing the unpretentious neighbourhood joint atmosphere. The New York influence extends beyond just the pizza style—there’s something distinctly NYC about the whole operation, from the confident simplicity of the menu to the bustling energy of service. Sure, you’ll have to turn a blind eye to the hoards of vloggers gurning into their phones about this being the UK’s best pizza in the world, but it’s worth it for a slice of the good stuff.
Ideal for stonebaked pizzas in a BYO-friendly suburban spot…
Something of a thought experiment before we continue; if your local Bristol pizzeria isn’t run by a married couple, then is it a Bristol pizzeria at all?
And so to A Cappella, a popular Wells Road pizzeria run by Paul Stewart and his wife Jennifer. Together, they serve simple, stonebaked pizzas, with the majority of ingredients sourced from Milan and Naples.
Open since 2007 (making it the oldest pizzeria on our list), A Cappella is a little out of the way in Totterdown, but it’s worth making the trip south of the Avon to try the excellent pizza here. So good, in fact, that it’s won several awards, including a prestigious Gold at the PAPA Awards in 2019, an industry celebration of the finest pizza and pasta in the country.
We wouldn’t be surprised if the adjudicators had sampled the Glissandro before awarding that Gold star, with the pizza managing to dexterously juggle the piquant flavours of capers and sundried tomatoes with aplomb, smoothing out those rougher edges with the addition of caramelised onions; an inspired move.
With pizzas available in both medium (12 inches) and large (14) and never topping £15, this is a great place to head with a friend, the option to BYO only making the experience more affordable and affable.
Ideal for pizzas that bridge New York and Naples styles in elegant surroundings…
Drawing inspiration from both New York and Naples, Bosco Pizzeria in Bristol slings out wood-fired pizzas that deftly manage to straddle both the puffy edges of a Neapolitan dough with the crisper base of its American cousin across the pond.
Opened in 2014 on Whiteladies Road with a second following in Clifton Village, Bosco has also expanded to Cheltenham and Bath, the latter’s Milsom Place opening in August of 2021 winning the ‘Best New Restaurant’ award at the Crescent Club awards just a year later.
Images via Bosco
Bosco’s founder, Miles Johnson, was inspired by holidays to Italy and the ingredient-led clarity of Italian cooking and the culture of family dining, and that passion is reflected in the beautiful simplicity of the pizzas, whether that’s the signature Bosco, which is topped with fior di latte, tomato, olive oil and basil, or our favourite order here, the Carciofi, a glorious combination of wood fired artichokes, taleggio and green olive.
The cicchetti – essentially Venetian street food snacks – are great too; don’t miss out on the polpette, whose slow cooked tomato sauce boasts excellent depth of flavour.
Ideal for locally-sourced sourdough pizzas across multiple buzzing locations…
What began in 2013 as a converted Land Rover Defender slinging sourdough pizzas at the south-west’s many, many great festivals has evolved into one of Bristol’s most nimble pizzerias, now with four locations across the city, all heaving and all happy places to spend some time. The formula is as straightforward as any great pizza should me: handmade sourdough bases topped with carefully sourced ingredients from the South West’s finest producers.
Each outpost – whether it’s the buzzing Gloucester Road spot (our go-to), the central Park Street location, the neighbourhood North Street branch, or the elegant Whiteladies Road restaurant – maintains the same commitment to quality that founder Alex Corbett established with that first mobile pizza oven.
Their monthly ‘Ours’ specials demonstrate this dedication perfectly. The current offering (£14.50) showcases their knack for innovative flavour combinations: Glastonbury fior di latte (they’re quite specific about their cheese sourcing), fennel ‘sausage’ from local plant pioneers Simplicity, cavolo nero, and a bright lemon and herb aioli, all finished with crispy onions. It’s a masterclass in balancing textures and flavours, and without any meat in sight.
The drinks list reflects the same locavore philosophy, featuring Bristol Beer Factory’s excellent range, Iford’s craft ciders, and even a bespoke Citrucello (£36 a bottle, so bring a squad) created in collaboration with Circumstance Distillery – perfect for that post-pizza digestif.
The customisation options are an expansive, paradox-of-choice inducing thing – with over 20 toppings available at £1.50-£2.50 each, from Somerset buffalo mozzarella to guindilla chillies, allowing diners to craft their perfect pie. Though with house creations like their Ham, Mushroom & Pineapple pizza (£14) – featuring roast ham, chestnut mushrooms, and their house-made pineapple and chipotle jam – you might be better off trusting the experts.
The town’s cherished park is one sprawling space to stand a little while within – it’s good to feel humbled from time to time – and a sighting of its most famous residents, those proud, marauding deers, is the kind of thing tha’ll have you briefly forgetting the state of your Slack Channel ‘till Monday.
Look up, and you might see parakeets flying above, whistling Hey Joe as they glide to nearby Kew Gardens. You could stroll there from Richmond Park, too, cutting through The Quadrant and checking out Richmond’s boutique shops and laid back pubs as you do so.
At Kew Gardens, find solace in the world-renowned botanical collections, whether you’re sweating it out in Temperate House, the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world, sniffing blossoms in the Japanese Garden, or sashaying through the canopy of ancient trees that makes up the Treetop Walkway.
It’s suddenly struck us that, for a day that’s meant to be all about R’n’R (Richmond and Royal Botanic Gardens, of course), we’ve done a hell of a lot of walking here, and have built up something of an appetite in the process. Fortunately, Richmond is – unsurprisingly for a place of famed affluence and retreat – blessed with some excellent restaurants to satisfy that hunger of yours.
With that in mind, here’s our rundown of the best restaurants in Richmond, London.
The Dysart Petersham
Ideal for precise, hyper-seasonal fine dining…
We’ve come out swinging in our rundown of where to eat in Richmond, at a Michelin-starred joint, no less; The Dysart in Petersham.
Sitting pretty (real damn pretty) at the gates of Richmond Park in a beautifully restored, century-old Arts and Craft building, look for the distinctive half-timbering on this former pub’s facade as you approach. It’s a sight that promises a meal of keen seasonality and precise cooking the closer you get.
This family-owned restaurant embraces its rich heritage through the meticulous restoration of oak furnishings and a commitment to aesthetic simplicity, both in the dining room and on the plate. Under the stewardship of head chef and former Roux scholar Kenneth Culhane, The Dysart offers a highly seasonal menu characterised by a natural ethos and the use of impeccably sourced ingredients.
Though rooted in classical French cooking, there’s a few Far Eastern flourishes here that keep things feeling fresh, whether that’s in the ginger and makrut lime leaf-infused champagne sauce that accompanies an expertly cooked, comprehensively charred fillet of sea bream, or the Vietnamese dressing (essentially a nuoc cham) that lifted a tartare of scallop and razor clam to new heights.
That said, and perhaps not the most natural progression from a couple of dishes of citrus-spiked seafood, the best dish we had on a recent visit was also the most classical; a remarkably good oxtail risotto that used seven-year aged Acquerello carnaroli rice.
This is a dish that has clearly benefited from the kiss of ol’ father time (hmm, that sounds creepy) – our server told us the oxtail had been marinating in red wine for 3 (!) weeks (!), before being gently roasted for another 12 hours, its marrow giving back to the braising liquor, which is then used to bind the shredded oxtail. What a dish this was, and only given more punch by a little pickled chilli.
These are the kind of flourishes that make The Dysart not only one of Richmond’s best restaurants, but also one of London’s finest. With a wine list that has won AA’s ‘Notable Wine List Award’ for the last two years in a row, and a managing director Barny Taylor who reliably works the floor with an attentive touch, this is such a welcoming place to settle into.
The restaurant occupies the old Restaurant 109 site on Kew Road, five minutes from Richmond station. McClements, who previously ran the Ma Cuisine group across South West London, has built Mignonette around a simple premise: excellent French cooking shouldn’t cost the earth. He’s proved the point with keenly priced, handsomely plated weekday lunches at two courses for £20 or three for £23, while Sunday lunch stretches to £29 and £32 respectively – still exceptional value for cooking of this calibre.
The menus here focus on cheaper cuts done with respect and a fair amount of intuitive cooking, just as it should be. McClements’ take on Pierre Koffmann’s legendary stuffed pig’s trotter – slow-braised and caramelised, served with Ibérico ham and sauce gribiche – costs just £12, the same laughably low price as the ox cheek bordelaise and the matured entrecôte steak tartare with duck fat brioche.
McClements has a judicious hand with shellfish, too. A recent highlight was a deeply caramelised Orkney scallop with truffle and sake beurre blanc. It was, remarkably, just £12.95. It seems a little formulaic to keep mentioning the price, but it’s just such good value, especially for this city, in this part of town.
Orkney scallop with truffle
You can drink well without thinking about the price, too. The wine list is resolutely French, as you’d hope, and starts with Crémant de Bourgogne at £8.50 a glass. It features natural wines alongside more traditional bottles for those who like a bit of funk. Cocktails are all £11. It’s quite easy to get quite pissed in here, admittedly.
The dining room is small and tables sit close together, so noise builds quickly once the restaurant fills up, but that’s all part of the charm. There’s no background music, which means conversations compete with each other when all 30 seats are occupied. If you’re after something more private, the downstairs room seats up to 35 for group bookings.
Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday, lunch only on Sunday. Closed Mondays.
…but we’re glad we did eventually leave, as Richmond has much more to offer restaurant-wise than just the excellent Dysart.
Located a pani puri’s throw (or, you know, a two minute walk – you don’t have to waste good food) from Richmond station and Richmond Theatre, Cinnamon Bazaar is a transportative kind of place, its vibrant (AI has pretty much ruined that word for us, but it’s essential here) palette of pinks and greens calling to mind the multisensory overload of India’s bazaars to joyous effect. You’ll too be asking where they bought their cushions from by the end of the meal, we have no doubt…
The follow-up to acclaimed chef Vivek Singh’s Covent Garden restaurant, which has been Michelin-recognised for seven years now, the second coming of Cinnamon Bazaar is every bit as good as the first, its peaceful Richmond location feeling really well judged when we visited on a Sunday evening, batteries low and in need of a lift.
Boy, did it provide one, with an opener of India’s most loved street food, chaat, doing exactly what they’re ‘sposed to; hit every taste receptor on the tongue and induce those wide, knowing eyes across a dinner table. The pani puri, in particular, is a gold-standard version, its gossamer-thin shell giving way to a comforting tangle of spiced chickpea and potato, and rich, tart tamarind. It’s rapturous, and were it not for the lovely dkhola chat also on our table, almost impossible not to order a second round.
The menu at Cinnamon Bazaar, crafted by Singh and his head chef Rakesh Singh, pledges a mix of traditional Indian street food dishes and bigger plates that might be billed ‘fusion’ in less loving hands than our own. In the cold, clammy hands of Gregg Wallace, it might even be held up as ‘confusion’ before a creepy cackle.
In reality, the flourishes of British comfort cooking on the Cinnamon Bazaar menu make perfect sense, the mission to serve food inspired by the marketplaces that lie on the various trading routes connecting the empires of the Old World emphatically realised in a spicy, piquant ox cheek vindaloo with masala mash and, even more so, in the signature lamb rogan josh shepherd’s pie, which is rich and elegantly spiced. Though both might feel a bruising in the wrong hands, they are expertly judged and surprisingly light here. Good news, as it leaves enough room for the Peshwari naan, floral and cardamom-rich, and the silky lemon rice.
Two superb desserts seal the deal. The first, a mango and pistachio kulfi, further affirms that there are very capable hands in the kitchen who are keen to execute things with a light but precise touch. The rasmalai tres leches – a light and airy sponge cake, soaked in sweet milk table side – is even better. If you can resist diving in, wait a few minutes for the cake to soak up that heady, perfumed milk; it’s heavenly.
For our next visit, the restaurant’s High Chai caught our eye – that is, a pan-Indian riff on afternoon tea. Pitched at £27.50 a person (a steal) including a pot of the finest Jing tea, the offer includes three rounds of chaat, a riff on a fish finger sandwich (yes please), a kadhai chicken spring roll, and a trio of sweet treats. All of this seems to fit the restaurant’s trump cards to a tee. Next time, next time…
Ideal for produce-driven Italian food sat amongst jasmine and bougainvillaea…
Sustainable, seasonal food is the name of the game at the Petersham Nurseries Café, now in its third decade. Run by the Boglione Family, the restaurant’s ethos is deeply rooted in the slow food movement, celebrating traditional methods of growing quality ingredients. It sources its organically-grown produce from Haye Farm in Devon, ensuring the highest quality foundations for its dishes.
The greenhouse setting, complete with its eclectic blend of Indian artwork, giant vases filled with striking bouquets, and the ambient scents of jasmine and bougainvillaea, creates an intimate environment full of hidden corners and foliage-covered canopies for a little intimacy. The walls are adorned with artworks from Francesco Boglione’s personal collection, adding a subtle touch of artistic flair to the curated alfresco dining experience.
It sets the scene for a meal that promises to soothe and replenish with its organic, produce-driven Italian menu and refined, quasi-spiritual surroundings. Rather than just another strapline, that commitment to sustainability is the real deal; the Petersham Nurseries Café (not really a cafe, we should add) is one of only four in London to hold a Michelin Green Star. The other three, if you’re asking? Mayfair’s Apricity, the City’s St. Barts and the trailblazing Silo over in Hackney Wick.
With the mission and – to be honest – clientele so cloying it makes you sneeze (might just be our hayfever, though), there’s a danger that the food here might be something of an afterthought. Fortunately, the plates of peak British produce complemented by speciality ingredients sourced from Italy are on-point.
So, that’s tortelli with aubergine, tomato, burrata, inspired by the Campanian classic parmigiana di melanzane, followed by blushing lamb rump with corno pepper, cumin yoghurt and a harissa jus, pulling influences from the Middle East as much as Italy, but in succinct, summery fashion.
Heavenly stuff but heaven doesn’t come cheap; two courses are a whopping £70, three are £80. No wine clocks in under £30 a bottle, though there is a very drinkable, faintly floral 2022 Grüner Veltliner for £9 a glass. Perhaps we’ll have just the one…
It could be argued that The Victoria is Richmond Park’s ‘local’, owing to its all-things-to-all-people posture and position. A versatile pub-cum-restaurant that caters to a diverse clientele, it’s just a five minute walk from the park’s Sheen Gate and into East Sheen, which has become something of a gastronomic destination of late, mainly for the next two dinners we’ll be having on this list.
The vibe at The Victoria strikes a perfect balance between cosy and sophisticated, attracting a motley crowd – some in wellies, some in heels, some in Bodux – as a result. The menu, crafted by celeb chef and former Michelin-star holder Paul Merrett, features a robust selection of dishes that straddle traditional pub British classics and more Mediterranean-leaning dishes.
Conveniently close to Mortlake station, The Victoria is easily accessible for those on a day trip out west, and families will appreciate the large enclosed playground, allowing children to play while parents relax with a glass of wine (25 wines on the menu are available by the glass, which is commendable) or one of the cask ales from the well-stocked bar. Indeed, the conservatory overlooking the terrace is a perfect spot for a long, leisurely lunch with one eye on the kids and the other on your pint of boiled prawns with Marie Rose sauce.
Of note, the Sunday roasts here bring the crowds in, and are great value at around the £20 mark.
Ideal for London’s best Indian food, all in the most suburban of settings…
A 15 minute walk north of Richmond Park in sleepy North Sheen isn’t necessarily where you’d expect to find the best Indian food in London. But in this incongruous, unassuming spot on Upper Richmond Road, sandwiched between Sophie’s Dressmaking Atelier and Topps Tiles, we’ve had the finest dahl makhani this side of Ludhiana, a version so superior to the famous Dishoom one that it’s laughable. No wonder this place has been praised in the nationals, with both Jay Rayner and Tom Parker Bowles lauding its quality.
Perhaps we should be surprised; Black Salt is the sister restaurant of the boy Hayler’s beloved Dastaan, and the chefs have previous in some of the city’s most acclaimed Indian kitchens, with two having met at Gymkhana and a third with time at Jamavar under their belt. Together with the owners Sanjay Patel and Simeron Lily, a father and daughter team, that’s some serious pedigree.
To be fair, it makes sense that the restaurant has flourished in this well-heeled neighbourhood since it opened in 2021; Black Salt delivers a fine balance of high-quality Indian cuisine in a relaxed and inviting atmosphere, with keenly priced dishes that don’t stray above the mid-teens. For the complexity at work in the saffron prawn curry, redolent with cardamom, clove and nutmeg, and tempered with coconut milk, those prices represent a bargain.
The pork cheek vindaloo is similarly complex. Not the bruising version that will have you biting down on the bathroom windowsill the morning after, it’s instead a rather delicate affair; tart and tangy, its chilli heat only revealing itself when you’re wiping the bowl clean with a fistful of the excellent roti.
However you play it, the cute, bulbous samosas with mint and tamarind chutney are obligatory. What pastry it is – just the right side of chalky and so flakey we’re still finding remnants in the folds of our jeans weeks after visiting.
Anyway, end with the absurdly good pistachio kulfi, knock back a couple of big bottles of Cobra, and wish that this place was your neighbourhood curry house.
And you’re looking for further bargains, then Black Salt does a ‘2 for £20’ menu Tuesdays to Sundays between 5pm and 6pm. During this magic hour, you get a snack, a curry, the chef’s choice of vegetable dish, steamed rice and your choice of naan or roti. All for just twenty notes.
Ideal for highly rated Neapolitan pizza from one of the world’s most exciting pizzaiolo…
We accept that it’s a little tedious to open with talk of the sister restaurant somewhere that’s not Richmondfor the second time in as many entries, but the Napoli On The Road mothership in Chiswick definitely needs mentioning here.
Named as the best pizzeria in Europe (outside of Italy) on the Italo-centric and increasingly influential 50 Top Pizza Europe list, and as the 5th best in the world in September 2025’s global ceremony, Napoli On The Road is the obsessive, floury work of Michele Pascarella, a celebrated pizzaiolo who began his London journey with a mobile Ape Piaggio, delighting the city with wood-fired pizzas in pub car parks before laying down roots with his first bricks-and-mortar establishment on Devonshire Road.
Pascarella earned the prestigious accolade of Global Pizza Maker of the Year 2023, a testament to his mastery of correct form and structure. And whilst the inaugural Chiswick branch is one that garners all of the attention, this only means that the second outpost in Richmond is a little easier to actually book.
And book you should; these are exceptional pizzas, whether you order a simple, perfect margherita from the ‘classiche’ section of the menu, or you go for something a little more playful from the part billed as chef Pascarella’s ‘Signatures’.
The Cheesewick (not yet given a Richmond twist) is particularly good, a five cheese affair with ricotta, fior di latte, stracciatella, crispy parmesan chips and blue Stilton. If that sounds like an umami overload, it gets even punchier; there’s a piennolo cherry tomato (from Vesuvius) jam to tie everything together. It might sound a lot, but boy is it good, the chef’s highly digestible dough ensuring things don’t get too much. Even further joy is found in the pizza fritta here, if you’ve got room – the double pepperoni number with hot honey is profound.
Best of all though, and back to the classiche section in a cyclical kind of style deserving of pizza, Napoli on the Road’s We’re On Fire is, genuinely, one of the best pizzas we have ever had, in London, Naples or anywhere else in the world. Its sauce sees nduja mixed subtly and seamlessly with a covering of tomato until emulsified – an inspired touch as, all too often, nduja can make a pizza incredibly greasy. Then, dotted across the surface of the pizza, ice cold buffalo stracciatella soothes the rough edges of the nduja, rounding off the tomato’s acidity for good measure. It’s inspired and just so delicious.
The house red, the Greco Di Tufo Oltre DOCG Bellaria from Campania, drinkable and light, is the perfect foil to these fine pizzas. Whatever you do, do end with the pear and ricotta torte; a Naples classic that we always order if we see it on a menu. At Napoli On The Road, it’s the best version we’ve ever had.
*This just in: Napoli on the Road has revealed plans for its highly anticipated Soho flagship at 140 Wardour Street. The ambitious 100-cover venue will offer à la carte options on the ground floor while making history downstairs with London’s inaugural pizza tasting menu – a six-course Neapolitan fine dining journey exploring innovative techniques and regional flavours, paired with wines from Campania.
Opening before the end of the year, this remarkable evolution from the team’s humble beginnings with a three-wheeled Piaggio Ape marks a pivotal moment for London’s thriving pizza landscape, delivering world-renowned Neapolitan expertise directly to the West End.*
Ideal for elevated riverside dining with serious gastropub credentials just beyond Richmond…
Perched on the banks of the Thames in leafy Barnes, just beyond Richmond’s well-trodden restaurant scene, The Waterman’s Arms delivers that rare combination that makes a gastropub truly special: food you’d cross town for in a setting that feels warmly familiar from the moment you step inside.
This historic 1850s riverside pub has undergone something of a renaissance since September 2023, when Patty & Bun founder Joe Grossmann (a Barnes local himself) took the helm. Rather than bringing his burger empire to SW13, Grossmann enlisted Sam Andrews, previously of The Camberwell Arms and Ducksoup, to craft a menu that feels both comforting and considered.
The two-floor space strikes the perfect balance between polished and lived-in, but it’s the first-floor terrace that’s the real prize, offering panoramic Thames views that transform a simple meal into something rather special.
The seasonally-driven menu is built around whatever’s best at market. Small plates deliver big flavours: the curried scallop has rapidly become a signature, while the aubergine with merguez and yoghurt demonstrates the kitchen’s deft hand with seasonal produce.
Where The Waterman’s truly excels is with its commitment to all things porcine. The pork collar with pig skin ragu is something of a revelation, balancing fatty, chewy edges with tender meat in a sauce so rich and slightly sweet that you’ll guard it jealously from fellow diners. For the ultimate Sunday lunch experience, their porchetta with pickled nectarine features impeccable crackling and a blush-pink centre that locals now plan their weekends around.
The Sunday offering forgoes traditional roasts in favour of theatrical sharing centrepieces, the lamb shoulder with mint sauce an absolute belter. Whatever you order, the chips are non-negotiable: crunchy, crumbly and consistently cited as among London’s finest.
Drinks maintain the high standard, with Forest Road beers on draught alongside Estrella Galicia. The wine list spans accessible to aspirational, with several options under £30. It’s a mere two-minute walk from Barnes Bridge station, or a pleasant 30-minute riverside stroll from Hammersmith if you’re feeling energetic.
Across the road from Richmond station and right next door to the aforementioned Cinnamon Bazaar if you’re on something of a restaurant bender, Bacco Ristorante Italiano (to give it its full title) is a family-run Italian joint that eschews contemporary affectations in favour of something decidedly more old school.
So, that’s a big, warmhearted welcome from owner Stefano, generous, sauce-heavy portions of all the good stuff, and rounds of gratis limoncello once you’re on first name terms with your waiter. Which, as usually happens, isn’t long after you’ve sat down…
The restaurant takes great pride in the fact that all the essentials – the focaccia, the ciabatta, the pasta – are homemade. Though the head chef here, Luca, is proudly Piedmontese, the menu at Bacco isn’t fiercely regional, and you’ll find dishes from across Italy on the menu. That said, a couple of Piedmont classics are indeed some of the highlights, with the vitello tonnato a particularly luxurious version of a classic.
The pasta dishes centered around seafood are exceptional, too. Linguine frutti di mare sees fresh pasta tossed until silky with prawns, clam and calamari, all those briny juices adding heft to a tomato-spiked sauce. Lovely stuff, but even better is the seafood risotto, which is precision-made and texturally perfect. The compass point mussel placement can’t even knock this one off its stride.
Presentation on some of the dishes can be a little kitsch, sure – think parmesan tuiles moulded into pasta bowls, zigzags of balsamic reduction and syrupy chocolate sauce, and a fish platter that sees fillets served in neat stacks on a board – but it’s all part of the charm. It certainly does no harm that those fillets are expertly fried, crisp skin, tender flakes and all.
As you’d hope from a restaurant named after the God of Wine, the chiefly Italian wine list is extensive, ranging from small producers to well-known vineyards. And with plenty of terrace seating for the warmer months (andterrace heating for colder ones), all the ingredients are very much in place for a hearty, family-style meal. Cin Cin!
Ideal for an opulent seafood feast, champagne, oysters and all…
Whittaker Avenue’s sprawling Revolution Bar site never quite felt in keeping with the vibe of Richmond residents, and it’s hard to imagine the status-obsessed folk of this affluent London district necking a shot of Sambuca and belting out Don’t Stop Believin’ on a Tuesday night.
Nope, line caught fish and lines of fish scale are more the thing ‘round these parts, so it should come as little surprise that the absurdly opulent second coming of Mayfair seafood institution Scott’s has fitted in perfectly over in residential Richmond.
Set against the scenic backdrop of Richmond’s riverside, Scott’s exudes luxury, positively glowing gold as you approach. Inside, you could imagine a little bacchanalia going down against the sturdy silver columns or in the crushed moss allure banquettes. There are, of course, crystal chandeliers to swing from…
…Sorry to disappoint, but we’ve only come for seafood, and under the guidance of head chef Tom Fraser, the confident fish cooking that made the original Scott’s so popular is all present and correct here. Sidle up to the oyster bar for a few freshly shucked ones and some fizz, or take a table and order a the Dover sole, grilled whole or done in the Meunière style. Either way, it’s cooked expertly until it slips off the bone in satisfying, graceful fillets with just the nudge of a knife. Yours for £48.
Indeed, even in today’s economy, prices are large here, with starters in their late teens and mains resolutely not dipping below £30. It’s a special occasion kind of place, that’s for sure. Even so, it’s pretty wild that you won’t find a single bottle of wine on the menu for under £37. Phew.
In fact, everything is kinda massivehere, with the restaurant accommodating up to 600 guests. Booking is still recommended for the most sought after perches, such as the second floor terrace that overlooks the Thames. For those not in thrall to all things fish, there’s also three or four meat dishes on the a la carte, and a dedicated vegetarian menu, too.
If it’s your kind of thing to have a wandering piano soundtrack when sucking the head juices out of grilled Atlantic prawns, then check out the live jazz performances every Wednesday evening from 7:30pm to 10pm.
Ideal for great value Lebanese street food in an intimate setting…
Tucked away on George Street, just down the road from Richmond station, Beirut Street Kitchen brings an authentic slice of Lebanon to Richmond, proving that good things really do come in small packages. This compact two-floor eatery might be modest in size, but it packs a mighty punch when it comes to flavour and atmosphere.
The story here is one of passion and heritage – founders Layla and Tariq have transformed this 460-square-foot space into something that genuinely captures the spirit of a Beirut souk. The ground floor is dominated by the theatre of the open oven, where flatbreads are rolled and baked to order, their aroma filling the intimate space. Upstairs, a cosy dining room features a carefully considered design of terracotta, clean white tiles and warmly-coloured accents that manage to feel both contemporary and traditional.
The menu is refreshingly focused and remarkably good value. Build-your-own wraps and bowls form the heart of the offering – a steal at under a tenner – where you can pair your choice of succulent chicken shawarma, expertly spiced lamb kofta, or some of the best falafel we’ve had in London (properly crisp on the outside, herbaceous and fluffy within). The sides deserve equal attention: a silky hummus and particularly good moutabal, its smoky aubergine depth lifting everything it touches, are essential additions to any order.
Don’t skip the halloumi fries – they’re a perfect example of how simple food, done well, can be extraordinary. The house-made lemonade provides the perfect foil to all that savoury richness, though the traditional jallab with its date molasses and rose water is perhaps even more refreshing on a warm day.
For dessert, the baklava strikes that perfect balance between honey-sweet and nutty that makes this Middle Eastern classic so addictive. It’s best enjoyed with a pot of fresh mint tea on their small but pleasant outdoor seating area, watching Richmond life unfold. With most dishes hovering around the £3-7 mark, this is some of the best value authentic Middle Eastern cuisine you’ll find in West London.
Do be aware that this is a brunch to early dinner operation, with opening hours running from 10am to 6pm daily, and an hour’s later start on Sundays.
Ideal for a taste of Brittany by the Richmond riverside…
Another gem on the Richmond riverside, Chez Lindsay is a welcome thing here; a lowkey independent joint in an area often dominated by chain restaurants.
As you approach Chez Lindsay, it’s immediately clear what you’re getting yourself in for; a chalkboard with the simple mission statement of ‘crêperie’ hangs above the entrance, and tricolore bunting flaps gayly in the wind.
All promises are delivered once you’ve crossed that thoroughfare into Richmond’s own tribute to Brittany, with a dedicated galette menu – those buckwheat pancakes that the region is famous for – as well as a broader a la carte made up of country-spanning French classics.
We’re here for the former, and, perhaps predictably, the Complète – the absolute classic galette of egg, cheese and ham. It’s an exemplary version, and when paired with a crisp, gently cloudy Kerisac, there are few places we’d rather spend a Saturday lunch.
You know what? We think we might just stay here a while…
Ideal for artisanal Italian gelato that’s worth queuing for…
Not a restaurant, we realise, but it’s nice to end of something sweet, don’t you think?
Since opening in 2005, Gelateria Danieli has become a Richmond institution. Positioned on Brewers Lane overlooking Richmond Green, this gelato shop is run by husband-and-wife team Carlo and Bridget, who’ve mastered proper Italian gelato technique.
Their display case showcases around twenty flavours at any time. The classics are impeccably executed, but it’s their speciality combinations that really shine. The Crema Siciliana speaks of Carlo’s Sicilian heritage, whilst the pistachio is a properly nutty affair rather than that artificial marzipan backnote lesser gelaterias rely on. The texture throughout is gloriously smooth and dense, with that characteristic Italian kinda-chewy (chewy…is that the right word?) elasticity that marks out proper gelato from regular ice cream.
Their sorbets are a revelation – the chocolate sorbet is remarkably creamy despite being dairy-free. Pricing reflects quality: a single scoop is £4, two £5.50, three £7, or four £8.50. The affogato, at £5, offers a slice of Italian coffee culture at its finest.
The shop has gained additional fame as having appeared in the background of Ted Lasso scenes a couple of times, but don’t let that fool you – this isn’t a tourist trap trading on TV fame. This is simply exceptional gelato. On summer weekends, the queue often stretches down Brewers Lane, but it’s worth the wait.
Don’t miss their second location, Danieli on the Green, just down the lane. From Easter until summer’s end, you can enjoy their gelato alongside chocolates and sweets. Come October, it transforms into a chocolate lover’s paradise through to Easter.
Disembark at London’s Liverpool Street Station and the bright and bustle of the big city can at first overwhelm. People jostle and shimmy, police vans congregate, and all the buses come at once, defying both attempts to cross the road casually and a certain London saying. It’s bedlam out here, make no mistake.
Sure, you could retreat back into a station once known as the Dark Cathedral, taking refuge under its atrium vaulting, the golden arches of McDonalds or in a box of Krispy Kremes, but to do so would be to miss out on all the fantastic restaurants just a short stroll from Liverpool Street.
So, pull yourself together, engage your appetite, shoulders back and smash it; here’s where to eat near Liverpool Street Station, our favourite restaurants in Bishopgate and Liverpool Street.
Three Uncles, Devonshire Row
The ideal place to enjoy traditional roast Cantonese meats over rice…
After that flustered introduction, who’s going to firmly but fairly tell us to get a grip? Not one, not two, but three of our favourite uncles, that’s who.
So, it’s to Three Uncles we’re heading first (leave the station, cross Bishopsgate, pass the Bull and Last on your left, and you’re pretty much there) which celebrates traditional roast Cantonese meats over rice.
Just the ticket after a train journey, whether you’ve come from Cambridge or Tottenham Court Road, you’ll see slabs of crispy pork and whole roast ducks hanging over the counter at this modest shop, making it hard not to order both. Fortunately, the ‘any two meats over rice’ (complete with iron-rich, steamed pak choi) offer is as generous as you like, and a steal in the City for just £11.75.
Grab a stool at one of the two outside tables and watch the world go by, or head back to Liverpool Street Station for your departing train; you’ll be the envy of the whole carriage.
Needing little in the way of introduction, Fergus Henderson’s St. John Bread & Wine is arguably even better than the Smithfield mothership, with the stark, ascetic interiors, stark, ascetic plates, warm hospitality, and yes, plenty of offal, all present and correct here.
Whilst you won’t always find the bone marrow and parsley salad on the menu at Bread and Wine (grilled sardines often stand in), there’s plenty of nourishing, generous dishes to get very excited about. We’re often found stalking Commercial Street, waiting for the doors to swing open at noon; a Bread & Wine kedgeree, a chilled glass of St. John Blanc, and a big ol’ plateful of warm madelines… Could it be the best ‘brunch’ in all of London? We certainly think so.
Stay for lunch, for a dish of upmost simplicity; a whole roast quail with a little jelly, or grilled red mullet with a fennel salad. Upfront, straightforward, and all the more delicious for it.
And if you can’t wait ‘till midday, the restaurant’s iconic bacon sarnie is available for takeaway only between 9am and 11am. Be prepared to queue.
Ideal for some seriously sensational Sri Lankan food…
In the new, long-teased development of Norton Folgate, on pretty, cobbled Blossom Street, recently opened Kolamba East is positioned as the sophisticated, slightly more premium sibling of the acclaimed Soho restaurant Kolamba. Whilst it’s only been open for a little under a year, the restaurant is already on form, and is a great option for a spicy, invigorating feast close to Liverpool Street.
Introduced to the London dining scene by husband and wife duo Eroshan and Aushi Meewella in 2019, Kolamba was conceived from their memories of growing up in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo and the incredible food of the city.
Kolamba settled into Soho fast, earning several rave reviews in the national press. The announcement of a second act with loftier ambitions, then, piqued our interest something substantial, so we’re alighting at Liverpool Street once again, and heading five minutes down the road to the second outpost.
What first strikes you is the design here. Kolamba East is one handsome building, its 90-cover dining room a homogenous, harmonious single entity. Designed in partnership with Annie Harrison of FARE INC, it’s all plush booth seating, an attractive central bar, and some truly gorgeous lanterns, the latter of which cast a blanket of warming sepia over the whole space. It’s a beautifully designed room and one that really feels like you’re travelling on a private jet, for some reason.
Roasted Pineapple
When you come back down to earth, fold yourself into plates of Sri Lankan ‘homecooking’ with a few flashes of finesse from executive chef Imran Mansuri and team, perfectly exemplified in the string hopper king prawn biryani, which comes with a small jug of intensely flavoured, delicately spiced shellfish stock. Pour that jug over the tangle of thread like noodles, squeeze the prawn brains into the mix, and muddle; inside, it’s heady, oceanic alchemy. Alongside, and whatever you do, order the roasted pineapple; it’s one of the best things we’ve eaten this year.
If you prefer your conversations to be conducted in hushed, reverent tones, you might be better off seeking shelter elsewhere. But if you’re looking for one of the best restaurants close to Liverpool Street Station, however, you’ve found it here.
Because Manteca, the ‘Britalian’ restaurant from chefs Chris Leach and David Carter, is a brimming, boisterous affair, and impossibly hard to book since moving to its permanent location in Shoreditch last year.
Named by Time Out London as the second best restaurant in the city, and receiving a slew of fawning national reviews, the nose-to-tail small plates here are as satisfying as they come, the energy both in the dining room and on the plate totally irresistible.
Whilst the brown crab caico e pepe is arguably the restaurant’s most talked about dish, it’s the pig head fritti that truly had us cooing. Or should that be ‘oinking’? Served alongside a burnt apple purée, Sunday lunch this ain’t. Rather, it’s a refined, deeply savoury bite, offset perfectly by the purée.
Equally fine when it’s on the menu is the tortellini in brudo, the pasta parcels filled with a mortadella mixture that’s both light and umami-heavy. The broth glistens, the tortellini bounces, and everything feels right with the world.
Speaking of Sunday lunches, incidentally, Manteca observes the lord’s day in true Bolognese fashion, with a celebratory lasagna verde (here, using belted galloway beef and rarebreed saddleback pork), all finished in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven. Only available on the Sabbath, it’s a worthy match to a more traditional Sunday roast in the city.
Anyway, Manteca truly is a class act, and somewhere you’ll want to return to again and again (and that’s coming through a writer who has now made their way through the entire menu here!).
By some estimates, there are around 50’000 Portuguese nationals living in London, with the majority living in South Lambeth, the city’s so-called ‘Little Portugal’, and, more specifically, Stockwell, which is home to the biggest concentration of Portuguese outside of the Motherland.
Unsurprisingly, then, that to eat great Portuguese food in London, it’s wise to head into SW9. That said, north of the river, in the rather bromidic surrounds of Finsbury Avenue Square, some of the best Portuguese food we’ve ever had – Lisbon, London or anywhere – is being served at Bar Douro City.
In a dining room that might better be described as a particularly well-appointed corridor, with intricate blue-and-white azulejos-tiles lining one wall, and a bar and open kitchen on the other. From here, a procession of generous, gutsy Portuguese small plates are served with the kind of flourish that whisks you far away from the soulless City and to somewhere altogether more sincere.
Start with the croquetes de alheira – circular croquettes filled with a sharp, spicy smoked sausage and topped with a dab of aioli that hit all the right notes with your first crisp glass of Super Bock, the only beer you need here. An exemplary bacalhau à brás pulls off that delicate balancing act that only the best versions do, of being both crunchy and creamy, its top end seasoning moreish rather than parching, as long as you’ve another Super Bock to hand.
From the larger ‘land’ based dishes, the secretos de porco preto alentejano (grilled black pig) is a highlight, the highly prized cut from around the pig’s shoulder served blushing pink and beautifully marbled. The accompanying Montanheira salad features segments of orange that lift and cleanse. This has got to be one of the best dishes you’ll eat close to Liverpool Street Station, and well worth delaying your train for.
Round things off, naturally, with a pastel de nata. Bar Douro’s is served with a cinnamon ice cream which at first feels superfluous, but is so well made – smooth and rich rather than dusty – that you have to remove your purist hat and succumb.
Bar Douro is also one of the best places in London for large groups, its dining room able to accommodate 16 people with a sharing menu that clocks in at just £40. Woof.
JKS Restaurants – the group behind Gymkhama, Sabor, and Trishna – runs this Indian barbecue and beer hall in a former banking hall opposite Liverpool Street station. And they run it with a certain chaotic precision, make no mistake. The space holds 240 covers across two floors, with ceiling fans, colonial-era fittings, and multiple screens showing live sports, and it gets rowdy. But that doesn’t mean you’re left checking your watch as you wait for your sizzling lamb chops. Quite the opposite; things happen smoothly here, but with enough kinetic energy to keep things interesting.
The menu divides between small plates – Punjabi vegetable samosas, goat belly vindaloo samosas, Indo-Chinese chilli paneer lettuce cups – and larger grills and kebabs meant for sharing. Tandoori lamb chops come as half or full rack, methi chicken chops arrive with fenugreek marinade, and the mixed grill sizzler serves two with guinea fowl, lamb chops, and prawns. Biryanis are substantial: dum beef shin and bone marrow serves two, as does the tawa prawn version. The wood oven turns out dishes like Sikandari kid goat shoulder with lacha paratha, and wood-roasted sea bream pollichathu, and the whole place smells like smoke. Alongside, the house IPA is brewed in Bermondsey specifically for the restaurant, designed to work with the char and spice coming off the sigri grill and tandoor. It’s the only drink you need here.
Monday nights bring a curry club thali for £30 per person: chicken tikka butter masala or paneer butter masala, house daal, garlic naan, rice, and a Cobra lager. Saturdays offer a sports menu with two hours of free-flowing Cobra, Tanqueray gin cocktails, and Paul John Nirvana whisky drinks for £25, alongside a £35 feast that includes a chicken tikka club sandwich and mixed grill pilau. When major cricket or rugby fixtures are on, expect the room to shift from restaurant to sports bar – tables book out early and the atmosphere gets considerably louder. It’s all part of the fun.
Open Monday to Saturday from midday until half past ten, closed Sundays.
A Yiddish term of endearment akin to ‘sweetheart’, this vegetarian restaurant on the peripheries of Spitalfields takes inspiration from the cafe and casual dining scene in Tel Aviv. Put simply, Bubala is as charming as they come.
Whilst at lunch the menu is a la carte, at dinnertime it’s a set menu only affair, which at £38 per person isn’t necessarily cheap, until you see just how much you get for that figure; with over ten courses, this certainly isn’t a meal for watching yours.
Whether you’re here for lunch or dinner, the brown butter hummus is essential (and all present and correct on the Bubala Knows Best evening set). But the headlining act for us is the fennel with saffron caramel and rose harissa, whose impossibly heady top notes are smoothed and sedated by a piquant yet cooling yoghurt. Just superb.
Ideal for cinnamon, spice and all food ridiculously nice…
Fittingly located in the historic East India Company spice warehouse and just a two minute walk from Liverpool Street, Cinnamon Kitchen is the perfect spot to escape the hustle and bustle of the City.
With Chef Vivek Singh at the helm, the restaurant and all-weather covered terrace serves his signature modern Indian cuisine with the best of British ingredients for lunch and dinner. The restaurant also does one of London’s spiciest dishes – the perfect way to dust yourself down after a long day, we think.
Ideal for sophisticated all-day dining in the heart of The City…
Nestled in the heart of London’s historic/soulless Square Mile, this European restaurant pays homage to its much-loved forefather, The Wolseley, by retaining the ‘all-day’ offering intrinsic to its DNA, with food served in one way or another from 7am to 11pm, daily (except Sundays, which ends at 5pm) – pretty useful if you’ve missed your train and need somewhere to pitch up for a while, we think.
The ‘City’ version of this much cherished restaurant is a place where British (and London) heritage meets contemporary broadly-French cuisine, creating a dining experience that’s both casual and elegant, glamorous but grounded.
Upon entering, you’ll be greeted by the graceful design details of the interior, which was once a bank and later a department store before being transformed into the capacious dining room you’re just about to settle into. Of course, twinkling, meandering jazz plays at just the right volume…
With the scene set, it’s time to tuck in, and the menu at The Wolseley City is a continent-spanning rundown of European classics. The snails done in the Bourguignonne-style, as in, swimming in plenty of garlic and herb butter, with a lick of pastis to liven them, are particularly good. Pack chewing gum for that onward train journey.
Even better – the highlight, in fact – is a tranche of turbot ‘Grenobloise’. Here, the pearlescent, expertly cooked fish arrives positively bathed in a lemon-spiked brown butter, capers dotted across its surface. You’ll want a side of frites with this one. Sure, £44.50 for a fairly small piece of fish – king of the sea or otherwise – might feel pretty extortionate, but the place is heaving with boorish bankers who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the price tag, so fair fucks. Veal sweetbreads, all crisp exteriors and buttery centres, are served with a pleasingly light soubise sauce and pleasingly rich veal bone reduction, creating a ying and yang effect that complements those butch yet delicate offaly bits perfectly.
Desserts are decent, too, the apple strudel with a strident calvados chantilly cream hitting all the markers you want from your sweet course – caramelised sugar, giving fruit, and a soothing but boozy cream. Lovely stuff.
Located just a stone’s throw away from Monument Station, The Wolseley City is an accessible place to dine, making it the ideal choice for those looking for a grand dining experience without venturing too far from Liverpool Street.
Ideal for Indian small plates that pack heat and flavour…
Duck down Artillery Lane (sadly no relation to the whole Gunpowder thing; the restaurant is named after a famous spice mix), and you’ll find Gunpowder holding court in a tight space that feels like someone’s front room in terms of the cheek-to-jowl nature of things.
Five minutes from Liverpool Street Station, this tiny space has been buzzing with interest since day one, the room enveloped in a thick miasma of blooming spices that promises a good meal before you’ve even had the chance to get properly across the menu. These days you can actually book a table (a recent change from their famous no-bookings policy), though they do still keep some spots for walk-ins. Sure, you might be practically sitting on your neighbour’s lap, but nobody seems to mind when the food starts arriving. Hey, you might even enjoy that kind of close proximity…
The spicy venison and vermicelli doughnut sounds like something dreamt up after too many pints, but it works brilliantly. The meat’s been spiced judiciously, and the doughnut is light and grease-free, adding richness that’ll have you licking your fingers without shame (perhaps avoid doing so whilst looking into your neighbour’s eyes, though). Order the Gunpowder chaat for contrast – these crispy Norfolk potato fingers come dressed in yoghurt and tamarind, creating the kind of sweet-sour-spicy balance that the subcontinent does so well.
It’d be madness to stop after snacks. Instead, go for the grilled pork ribs arrive lacquered in a crimson Nagaland glaze that’s got a pleasing punch. These aren’t your Sunday pub ribs – they’re sticky, funky, and hot enough to make you grateful for the lassi you’ve almost knocked over several times. Speaking of heat, approach the bhel puri with caution if you’re spice-sensitive. What looks like an innocent puffed rice salad will absolutely blow your head off, though in the most delicious way possible.
The intimate space still creates a buzzy, energetic vibe, even if queues have been reduced by the new allowance for reservations. Perfect for a pre-train feast or a lunch that’s anything but boring.
A fair amount of scepticism existed about the opening of the juggernaut Italian ‘marketplace’ Eataly just moments from Liverpool Street Station, and the first to land here in the UK.
Did we really need a sprawling food court and Italian deli in London, when affordable pasta joints were proliferating faster than the time it takes to boil some freshly rolled angel hair? Would the self-proclaimed premium ingredients appeal to a British market often more concerned with convenience than quality? Was a whopping 42’000 square feet of eating, shopping and learning strictly necessary?
Four years in, and it turns out we did and it was. With over 5’000 food products and 2’000 wines – the largest collection in London – all under one roof, including some seriously good charcuterie, cheeses, and sweet stuff (the cannoli here is ace), Eataly has thus far been a massive success.
It’s also a great place to spend an afternoon, with samples, tastings and trials all available at the various retailers. Just make sure you bring a large bag and a larger credit limit; it’s impossible to leave this place empty handed!
There’s also decent pasta and pizza in Eataly’s three dedicated restaurants, for those looking to take a load off for a while.
The ideal destination for some of the best hand-pulled noodles in the Capital…
If you prefer your noodz hand-pulled rather than pasta machine rolled, then over on Commercial Street you’ll find one of the very best restaurants near Liverpool Street Station; Xi’an Biang Biang Noodles.
A sister restaurant to the much celebrated Xi’an Impression, one of our favourite places to eat in Highbury and Islington, the food is equally as good here. Visually akin to a canteen, all white walls and clinical lighting, and with straightforward service to match, the food is anything but impersonal; noodles have just the right amount of bite and spring, sauces (and subsequently, shirts) are slicked with chilli oil, and garlic lingers for days after dining here.
For those looking for somewhere to eat near Covent Garden, some good news; Xi’an Biang Biang Noodles will open their second branch here later in the year.
Spitalfields Market has a slicker, smoother feel than some of the more cobbled together markets in the city, but that’s not to its detriment at all. It’s large, covered (great for sheltering from the ever present London rain) and has a great variety of the good stuff, both in stall and fully-realised- restaurant form.
Indeed, there are plenty of Spitalfields restaurants to choose from and the much renowned Galvin Brothers have two places here if parking your bottom and taking your time is more your thing. If snacking, shopping and switching cuisines does it for you, then Smokoloko, The Duck Truck and Ebby’s are particular favourites.
Sure, Shoryu Ramen may be pretty ubiquitous by now, with the chain boasting 9 London outposts, as well as more across the UK, but that shouldn’t detract from the quality of the milky thick, rich, heavily porcine tonkotsu broth that has become the restaurant’s signature.
Founded by Tak Tokumine, a Fukuoka city native who might bleed bone broth if you cut him open with a Nakiri knife (weird image), the aim when opening Shoryu was simple; to bring the unique flavour of Fukuoka’s Hakata tonkutsu ramen, hard to find outside of Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, to London and beyond.
A noble aim indeed and one that has been embraced by ramen-loving Londoners. At the glass-fronted Shoreditch branch, a brisk 10 minute walk from the station, in a rather functional space, the usual lofty standards remain; the char siu barbecue pork is as tender as ever, the 12-hour broth is so enriched with pork fat it’s become opaque, and the dappling of chilli oil across its surface brings a curious sort of respite.
It’s bloody fantastic, though perhaps not one for your lunch break; your white shirt is sure to get splattered and your energy levels may well be tanked. Best save this glorious bowl for after work, we think.
Idealfor regional Thai dishes and fruity cocktails that still both pack a punch…
The boozy and brilliant Som Saa has been such a foodie fixture since its Shoreditch opening back in the heady days of 2016 that it’s easy to forget how groundbreaking the restaurant felt at the time.
A wildly successful pop-up that became a crowd-funded bricks and mortar restaurant, Som Saa’s introduction to the world was one of regional Thai food that wasn’t only liberal with the chilli, but also didn’t hold back on the cuisine’s funkier elements. Shrimp paste, fermented fish sauce and entrails, fresh durian and more all made an appearance on the big sharing tables that defined Som Saa’s convivial, cacophonous vibe.
Fast forward to 2025 and the whole of London suddenly feels conversant in the difference between Isaan’s pla raa and Sai Buru’s nahm bu du, with the city’s capsaicin tolerance at an all time high, and some of Som Saa’s more unfamiliar dishes now very much part of the fabric of food culture here.
Much recent focus has been placed on Som Saa founders Andy Oliver and Mark Dobbie’s new Southern Thai joint Kolae over in Borough Market, but back at the mothership on Commercial Street, the whole deep-fried seabass is still as crisp and herbal as ever, the rotating cast of som tam still pounded to order each and every time, and the coconut cream for the restaurant’s excellent curries is still getting freshly pressed daily.
It’s a labour of love that bears delicious fruit in a current red curry of crispy tofu and Thai basil, a thick, fresh and fragrant affair that undulates gently with the smoky background note of a complex dried red chilli paste. Equally good is the menu stalwart of stir-fried to order seasonal greens, with black cabbage, asparagus and mushrooms boasting huge amounts of wok hei.
This is a place where you’ll want to come for a full sharing spread. Indeed, each dish’s interplay with its neighbour feels just as important as its flavour profile when standing alone. Som Saa’s ‘tem toh’ menu is designed with this interaction and balance in mind; a spread of 5 or 6 complementary dishes, plus rice and dessert, is priced for £40 per person.
A couple of the restaurant’s signature cocktails (mine’s the Siam Sling – a long, floral number flavoured with Thai basil and makrut lime – if you’re asking) sees that sharing menu on its way beautifully.
*Following a fire at the restaurant in early May, Som Saa is now up and running once again. Rejoice!*
Finsbury Park station sees close to 10 million passengers a year, most of them racing through to somewhere else. Arsenal matches, Victoria Line connections, the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow; this Victorian terminus has too often been about getting people places rather than coaxing them to tap out and explore.
Which makes the current restaurant scene all the more surprising. Within ten minutes’ walk of the station, you’ll find one of only a clutch of Uyghur restaurants in the entire UK, a gastropub where getting a table is a tough old business, and a Kurdish bakery selling three naan for a pound-fifty.
Actually, perhaps that isn’t so surprising. The mix reflects the area’s particularly diverse demographics. Turkish and Kurdish families have been here since the 1970s, joined more recently by Syrian refugees and young chefs who’ve worked out that the rent’s cheaper than Hackney and the customers less exhausting than Shoreditch.
We’ve spent the last few months eating our way around Finsbury Park, to bring you this selection of some great places to eat within walking distance of the station. Here are the best restaurants near Finsbury Park.
Dotori, Stroud Green Road
Ideal for when you want brilliant Korean-Japanese fusion and you came carrying cash…
Dotori operates like a restaurant from 1995: cash only, no bookings, closes when the food runs out. In the age of OpenTable and contactless everything, this should be annoying. Instead, the tiny space next to Finsbury Park station fills every night with people who’ve learned to play by its rules.
The bibimbap comes in a stone pot hot enough to cause actual injury, the bottom layer of rice developing that crucial crust while you mix everything together with one of those thin metal spoons that burns your fingers. Their bulgogi beef has the sweet-savoury thing down cold, while the Korean fried chicken could make you reconsider your position on every other deep-fried item you’ve ever eaten in your life.
Downstairs there’s basement seating that feels accidentally discovered rather than designed, the kind of space where you drink Hite beer from the bottle and share tables with strangers because there’s nowhere else to sit. Down here or up there, the sushi is better than it has any right to be in a place that also serves kimchi jjigae, each piece cut with the kind of precision that suggests someone trained somewhere serious before ending up in this little corner of Finsbury Park.
Just remember the cash thing. There’s a Tesco with an ATM across the road, and yes, the person behind you in the queue made the same mistake. The lack of a card machine isn’t quirky inefficiency; it’s a business decision that keeps prices low and taxmen confused. At £30-40 per person for enough food to also have a really good takeaway lunch the next day, neither you nor they will complain.
Ideal for a cheeseburger that ruins all other cheeseburgers, and so much more besides…
Ed McIlroy and Jamie Allan from Four Legs took over this corner pub with what seemed like a simple plan: serve good food without any nonsense. They delivered on (and continue to deliver on) that plan with precision.
The Dexter cheeseburger is the headliner, and at £13 has since become the kind of thing people cross London for; a construction of aged beef and melted Comté that maintains structural integrity despite your best efforts to destroy it. Various national restaurant critics have waxed lyrical about this burger for good reason; it’s fantastic.
Images via @the.plimsoll
But focusing on the burger misses what makes The Plimsoll special. The menu changes based on what McIlroy fancies cooking and what’s good in the daily deliveries. That might mean dover sole Grenobloise one week, pigeon bhuna the next. There’s a confidence here that comes from chefs who’ve stopped trying to prove anything – the plaudits and full tables encouraging them forward, unconstrained by place and time. The wine list stays reasonable enough, with several bottles in the £30 region, but this is a pub, so it’s pints all the way for us.
The problem (if you like to gatekeep, we suppose) is that everyone knows about it now. Tables turn every 90 minutes, and getting a reservation requires forward planning and, even then, a fair amount of waiting. That said, the bar takes walk-ins, which means you might get lucky if you’re willing to eat at 5:30pm on a Tuesday. The food’s good enough to justify the compromise.
The Victorian pub bones remain intact, which is to say it looks like a pub, sounds like a pub, and smells faintly of centuries of spilled beer and more recent burger fat that’s dripped onto the floor. They haven’t tried to turn it into something it’s not, which in the current climate of proliferating, standardised gastropubs counts as radical.
Ideal for Spanish-accented seafood in what used to be a 1970s chippie…
The same team behind The Plimsoll has done it again, this time converting a former fish and chip shop into one of 2024’s most talked-about openings. Last year, Ed McIlroy and the Four Legs crew from just a paragraph previous took over the old chippie and turned it into something that looks exactly like a fish and chip shop – which somehow makes it feel more like a backstreet San Sebastián pintxos bar than any expensive refit ever could.
The original emerald frontage remains, the chequerboard floor’s still there (worn, not battered), and church pews have been bolted to walls as makeshift perches. The front operates as a standing-only bar where customers spill onto the pavement with Estrellas at £2.50 and vermouth on tap for £4.20. The back room takes bookings for those wanting proper seats, though Tollington’s energy is decidedly vertical rather than seated. Either way, you’re here for Spanish-inflected seafood that changes with what the boats (and vans – we aren’t a seaside city, after all) bring in.
The chips bravas have become the signature – fat, hand-cut potatoes crisped in beef dripping, then buried under salsa brava and aggressive amounts of aioli. It’s the kind of dish that honours both the building’s chippy past and its Iberian present without being particularly precious about either. They’re an ever-present on a daily-changing menu that might include piri piri John Dory, battered cod cheeks with alioli, or sardines bitter and smoky off the plancha. Whatever’s written on the board that day has been thought through, sure, but also scrawled on hurriedly, and there’s a kind of responsive, reactive, cooking cocinado-a-pedido energy to the plates that feels fresh and vital.
The wet rice dishes are a keen focus of the larger plates, and the team claim (half-correctly) that they inspired half of London’s current menu trends. We wouldn’t blame a few places a little further into town for paying homage to the seafood rice here – it’s that good.
McIlroy’s reputation from The Plimsoll means Tollington’s was packed before it even opened properly, which is either annoying or validating depending on whether you managed to get in. The crowd includes people who’ve queued before service starts, resigned to the fact that walk-ins mean standing with a plate balanced on a ledge, and the savvy few who knew to book well ahead for the scant few tables out back.
Small plates range from £8 to £16, making it possible to eat properly without spending stupidly. The cooking’s ambitious but the atmosphere’s determinedly casual – spinning fans overhead, abstract prints on yolk-yellow walls, industrial tubs of salt lining the shelves. They’re not trying to be cool, which obviously makes it extremely cool.
Open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, for lunch on Sunday, and closed on Mondays.
Ideal for discovering the distinct flavours and techniques of Syrian cuisine…
The family who run Palmyra’s Kitchen fled Syria with their recipes, their memories, and the clothes they could carry. Now they serve some of the best Levantine food in the country from this stone-walled space opposite the Picturehouse Cinema.
Fruit is used deftly in savoury dishes to glorious effect: pomegranate molasses in the muhammara, dates stuffed into kibbeh, dried apricots turning up in lamb stews. It all leads to a light, bright eating experience that’s just so satisfying. The chicken shawarma is a particular joy; the meat comes charred at the edges but stays uniform and juicy within (an impressive feat considering Syrian shawarma tends to only use white meat), wrapped in structurally sound flatbread that doesn’t fall apart after two bites, despite it being saturated with pleasingly astringent toum.
The mezze showcases the kitchen’s deft touch most aptly. Each dish tastes distinct rather than like variations on tahini and olive oil. The baba ganoush has actual smoke flavour rather than just liquid smoke sadness. The fattoush uses sumac like it means it, not just as colourful garnish. It’s all incredibly fulfilling stuff.
The family who run the place possess that particular brand of Middle Eastern hospitality that makes you feel simultaneously like royalty and their favourite nephew. They’ll remember your order after three visits, ask about your mother after five, and by visit ten you’ll find yourself invited to their daughter’s graduation (it was a wonderful day, by the way). This is neighbourhood dining at its finest.
Open daily from noon to 2am, with outdoor seating that works eight months of the year if you’re layered up and optimistic, Palmyra’s inclusivity and warm welcome has made us loyal regulars.
Ideal for eating Uyghur cuisine at one of London’s very few regional spots…
Uyghur food sits somewhere between Chinese and Central Asian, which is to say it’s like nothing else you’ve eaten. Dilara, run by Abdul and Rose Axmu who fled Xinjiang, is one of just a handful of restaurants in London serving it.
The hand-pulled noodles get made to order, each strand stretched with a confident dexterity that creates just the right texture – firm, pliable, but tender, too. They come in a lagman soup that uses cumin, coriander seed and caraway, but tastes wholly distinct. The big plate chicken lives up to its name, enough food for a couple who have come hungry, the sauce building heat gradually rather than attacking immediately.
The lamb skewers show what makes Uyghur cooking special. Dry-rubbed with cumin and chilli before meeting charcoal, they develop a crust that concentrates the flavour into something almost mineral, and a little funky too. Order more than you think you need; everyone does eventually anyway.
The restaurant packs tables like orderly Tetris blocks, acoustics ebb and flow with unpredictably, and you’ll leave smelling of the grill. None of this matters. In fact, it’s all part of the fun. Hot Dinners called it a place of pilgrimage, which sounds excessive until you’ve eaten here.
Giacco’s owner Leo named his 20-seat wine bar after his grandfather, gets weekly shipments from his mother in Florence, and deploys generations-old family recipes on an almost-illegible chalkboard menu. If that sounds too cute, too contrived, the food will convince you otherwise.
The cheese and charcuterie boards feature imported items selected by Leo’s family in Italy, mortadella with the fat content of butter, pecorino with serious funk, ‘nduja that undulates with chilli heat just right…
…but it’s in the fresh pasta dishes, all scrawled on that daily changing chalkboard, that Giacco’s excels. Here you might find a tuna Genovese-style with tagliatelle, plump little parcels of ricotta, sage and Amalfi lemon, and thick cut pappardelle with confit duck ragu and crispy onions. It’s gorgeous stuff; roughly hewn, homestyle cooking that makes all of those marbled ‘pasta bars’ in Central feel a bit bland and silly.
The wine list focuses on small batch Italian producers with broadly biodynamic leanings, with some French bottles thrown in for variety. There’s plenty available by the glass, and with a plate of that pasta and a slice of homemade tart (an almond and plum number the last time we visited), you can enjoy an eminently satisfying meal for under £50. Cheers to that!
Tuesday to Sunday, hours vary with Leo’s mood and the weather.
Ideal for understanding that good bread doesn’t need to cost more than bus fare…
Three naan for £1.50. We could stop there and Baban’s Naan would be worthy of a place in our rundown of where to eat near Finsbury Park station. Because in a country where coffee costs £4.50, this Kurdish bakery’s freshly baked naan, coming from the tandoor with blackened bubbles and char marks, feels like it’s free.
But to chunter on only about value would do a disservice to the quality of the cooking here. Everything gets made fresh, which means waiting just a little. Queues inevitably snake out the door at lunch. The Kurdish kebab wrap at £5 is an absolute steal, generous with grilled lamb and vegetables, yet digestible. There’s a falafel version too that’s equally good.
You can choose your naan from an impressive range – everything from sesame, garlic, and zaatar to cheese and barley varieties. Their peshwari naan is perhaps the best in town, a pillowy delight with a generous filling of coconut, almonds, mango pulp, and rose water that strikes the perfect balance between sweet and fragrant.
Those two are the most accoutrement-heavy and expensive (relatively speaking, of course) offerings – the rest is ‘just’ naan. Plain, flavoured with zaatar, sesame, chilli or garlic. The simplicity is refreshing, the flavours fresh and to-the-point, the value undeniable.
The crowd includes local workers who’ve done the maths, students stretching loans, and food obsessives making special trips, the latter encouraged, perhaps, by a glowing review in the Independent during COVID times. Everyone waits without complaint, understanding they’re about to eat better than people paying five times as much.
Open seven days a week, 10am to 8pm. Miss it and you’re stuck with supermarket sandwiches, contemplating where your life went wrong.
Ideal for Turkish hospitality without the three-hour flight…
Now in its third decade, Petek has been feeding Finsbury Park meat grilled over charcoal with the kind of consistency and great value that builds devotees. Count us among them…
The mixed shish is the highlight here, with lamb, chicken and kofte on a bed of rice that’s absorbed enough meat juice to be indecent, its own saffron-scented perfume standing up to that mixed meat run-off and creating something wholly new.
The lunch deal brings two courses for £18.50, the kind of pricing that makes you check the date on the menu. They’re playing the long game: lunch leads to dinner, dinner leads to weekly visits, weekly visits lead to loyalty. Everybody wins.
Little touches matter here. Warm pita with olives appears without asking. They’ll swap rice for bulgur if you ask. Turkish Delight comes with the bill, because you haven’t already eaten enough. And the seasoning is always spot on, whether you’re on the Adana lamb beyti or the falafel and helim wrap.
The family running it make each table feel like the only one that matters, even when the place fills with Arsenal fans in various states of emotion, the proposition the same whether you’re Saka or a Sunday league substitute.
Open noon to 11pm daily, with the kind of reliability that’s increasingly rare.
Ideal for breakfast, bargain lunches and BYO dinners…
Frank’s Canteen occupies a somewhat liminal space between café and restaurant without existing in an identity crisis. Eggs Benedict (on a Dusty Knuckle muffin, no less) for breakfast, duck confit for dinner, both executed with equal conviction.
The prix fixe lunch at £21 including wine, Monday to Friday, makes you wonder what the catch is. The catch is the dining room’s small enough to hear every word of neighbouring conversations, though that’s a potential new friendship rather than a problem.
Wednesday evenings bring BYO with no corkage, basically free money in London terms, and there’s happy hours between 4 and 6pm, which means half price drinks and snacks (the mutton croquettes are superb). They also do a happy hours sub – recently stuffed with beef cheek croquette, apple jam, roquito and gouda cheese sauce – that’s big enough to share, so come with someone who appreciates a good sandwich and get them to cut it in half. The cooking has the flavours turned up loud enough to matter, which means nothing tastes like you could’ve just made it at home. It’s all pitched so perfectly.
Opening at 7:30am suggests optimism about human nature, but the shakshuka has enough fire to wake anyone. In the evening, steamed halibut, cockles and courgette is picture perfect, fine-dining worthy, and gives more than enough reason to linger. You know what? We might stick around for dessert…
With a shiny new stop on the Elizabeth Line cementing its status as a TFL headlining act, Tottenham Court Road is now the eminent focal point for those wanting easy access to Soho, Covent Garden and Fitzrovia.
But heavy is the head that wears the crown. Peckish passengers, starving shoppers and hungry day-trippers (yep, alliteration has failed us there) might just find that Tottenham Court Road station is a victim of its own success in terms of decent options of where to eat nearby.
Instead, leave the station blinking into the light, and you’ll be met with a string of Burger Kings, itsus, Le Pain Quotidiens and LEONs. At least if you’re after a big bag of American Candy with a side of tax fraud, you’ll be more than adequately served.
That’s not to say there aren’t fantastic places to eat within a rock’s throw of Tottenham Court Road Station; you just have to know where to look. We’ve done that looking for you; here’s where to eat near Tottenham Court Road and the best restaurants near its station.
Akoko, Berners Street
Ideal for trying one of London’s most exciting, thought-provoking tasting menus…
Just a stone’s throw away from Tottenham Court Road Station, Akoko offers a full tasting menu that showcases some of the very best of West African cuisine in the capital. This Michelin-starred restaurant is the result of years of hard work by founder Aji Akokomi and, more recently, executive chef Mutaro Balde, who have poured their hearts into creating a dining experience that honours tradition while pushing the boundaries of culinary creativity.
Akokomi has said that his aim in the city is to “change the perception of African food as we know it”, and it feels like Akoko is going from strength to strength, shedding its early, inevitable comparisons to Ikoyi and growing into a stellar culinary force in its own right (with a tasting menu a third of the price!).
The dining room itself is one of the most tasteful, calming places you’ll ever have the pleasure of spending a couple of hours in, all mahogany and terracotta shades, and gorgeous ceramics inspired by acclaimed Nigerian potter Ladi Kwali that you’d be shit scared of chipping if you didn’t feel so soothed by the space.
Art by contemporary Nigerian artist Niyi Olagunju hangs on the wall, and there’s a pleasingly reverberant buzz for a place of this calibre, the enveloping smell of smoke greeting you at the door before the suave service shows you to your seat. Once installed, you might be tempted to skip the wine (the ‘cheapest’ bottle here tops £60) and instead order a cocktail or two.
At Akoko, the ethos is all about blending innovation with live fire cooking, umami, and a broad range of spices. The chefs expertly craft a diverse range of dishes using the freshest seasonal British ingredients paired with African spices, resulting in a culturally resonant and distinctly exceptional dining experience.
Nestled in one of those gorgeous bowls, the moi moi with mackerel and a sweet, spicy vatapá is extraordinary, the moi moi itself as smooth as silk but with that all-important bounce, the usual stew here a vibrant orange puree, rich with coconut milk and boasting real depth via ground peanuts and cashews. It’s magic, possessing almost laughable depth and more layers than a metamorphic rock. That’s just one course of a ten-strong tasting menu that will set you back £125 – not bad value in this part of town.
There’s also a shorter lunch menu, for £65, which builds to a crescendo of braised, pressed short rib, and, of course, a smokey, sublime jollof rice. Whichever way you play it, end with Akoko’s take on the Old Fashioned, here flavoured with plantain and feeling so right under the dimmed lights of the dining room, and reflect on a thoughtful and ultimately delicious evening at one of London’s hottest new restaurants.
Ideal for a taste of refined yet traditional Modern African cuisine in Central London…
There really is one restaurant that stands out as, not only one of the best places to eat near Tottenham Court Road, but arguably our favourite restaurant opening of recent times in London; chef Joké Bakare’s Chishuru.
Open for just two years in its current guise, Chishuru has already won a Michelin-star for its modern take on West African cuisine, making Bakare the first black female chef in the UK to earn this prestigious accolade. It’s richly, royally deserved, and testament to a menu of complex, creative, deeply satisfying dishes.
The name ‘Chishuru’ itself means “the hush that descends when you’re enjoying a meal”, and whilst the compact dining room here certainly isn’t suspended in silent reverence, there’s an agreeably laid back vibe to proceedings, with service attentive but not overbearing, all of which helps focus fall on Bakare’s extraordinary cooking.
Assertive but perfectly balanced spicing – not only from chilli but a whole host of peppers, some rasping, some floral – is the narrative thread that ties the whole thing together. Starting with rice and coconut balls stuffed with a heady tangle of braised mutton and lightened with a taut green chilli sauce, and ending with a final savoury dish of grilled mutton cutlet with uziza seed sauce, there’s an almost poetic circular nature to the menu, that uziza seed sauce something of a callback to the uziza leaves that have graced a perfectly poised pepper soup from earlier in the meal. The everpresent ‘side plate’ of jollof rice, grilled plantain and house pickles help things feel even more cohesive.
There’s no danger of going off-piste in your ordering, mind. Chishuru is a set menu only affair, a journey through Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba cuisines priced at £105 for dinner, and £50 for lunch. That, my friends, would be a bargain anywhere in the capital, but for somewhere so central, it represents a serious steal, and kept commendably the same price for the best part of year now, all in the face or rising inflation.
There was also a wine pairing available for £68 (again, decent value in this part of town) the last time we ate here, which is a smart move, as these dishes boast a complexity that requires careful complementing.
Already arguably our favourite restaurant in London, Chishuru is the place to eat near Tottenham Court Road. Do remember to book in advance – getting a primetime table is becoming increasingly difficult. Not that we’re complaining; there’s nowhere more deserving.
Ideal for an ever-changing line-up of the best and brightest chefs from across the globe…
If you’ve already eaten the length and breadth of Tottenham Court Road and are feeling somewhat uninspired, then perhaps the ever rotating cast of chefs and cuisines at Carousel will have you returning to dine in Central London again?
A unique dining concept on the eastern outskirts of Marylebone, Carousel is part restaurant, part creative hub. Each week, from Tuesday to Saturday, a new guest chef takes over the kitchen, with the restaurant introducing some of the brightest young talents from across the world to the hungry punters of Charlotte Street.
November’s lineup brings the usual eclectic mix. Right now through the 14th, Parzival chef Gal Ben-Moshe is cooking – this marks the first preview of his new Prague venture after he handed back his Michelin star at Berlin’s Prism. Following him is Thomasina Miers (11th-14th), Wahaca’s co-founder, who’s previewing recipes from her latest book Mexican Table alongside updated versions of dishes that made her restaurant group a success.
Mid-month (18th-22nd) sees Ash Valenzuela-Heeger taking over. The Riverine Rabbit chef patron recently collected Michelin’s young chef award, and her Birmingham restaurant holds a Bib Gourmand. She’s built a serious following in Stirchley for plates that blend South African heritage with British ingredients – expect things like ex-dairy beef paired with maitake and Wiltshire truffle.
Diego Gutierrez rounds out November (25th-29th), arriving from Lima with credentials from some serious kitchens – Noma, Azurmendi, and El Celler de Can Roca among them. He’s doing his own spin on Peruvian cooking, updating classics with contemporary technique.
December’s already sorted too, with Tokyo’s Lokanta (2nd-13th) bringing their Turkish-Japanese hybrid cooking to Charlotte Street. Expect fire-based preparations like shrimp tarhana soup with smoked chilli pickles, or mussel dolma finished with tarama sauce – properly memorable stuff.
In addition to the main dining area, Carousel also hosts art exhibitions, workshops, and live performances, making it a true cultural destination. For those wishing to try as wide a variety of cuisines and chef’s styles as possible, Carousel is a great option – but book fast, as these residencies tend to sell out quickly.
A little more of a walk than the other entries on our list (a whopping 10 minutes!), but well worth the trek, tucked away in Neal’s Yard you’ll find one of London’s prettiest and most colourful streets. You’ll also find one of London’s most fabulous brunches.
At The Barbary Next Door, a cosy, candlelit spot (yep, even in the daytime) with just ten seats, a nourishing, soulful North African breakfast is served from 10:30am from Thursdays through Sundays, perfectly setting you up for a day of shopping and strolling.
The four cheese bourekas, brown egg, tomato and zhug is a thing of nourishing, piquant beauty, but if you’re after something lighter, the restaurant’s berries with tahini, greek yoghurt and date molasses is as velvety and satisfying as it comes.
Its raucous elder sibling The Barbary, which is just next door (duh) is a wonderful spot for lunch or dinner, too, boasting intoxicating Berber-style flavours, all served up around horseshoe-style seating. Expect a shot of two of their Lebanese style Arak to be offered, often on the house.
Boasting intoxicating Berber-style flavours in an atmosphere that, quite frankly, is easy to get carried away in, the Arak flows almost as freely as the house hummus, here enlivened with a piquant tatbila source, all scorched green chilli, garlic and lemon juice. Grab a sesame and nigella seed glazed flatbread and dredge on through.
From the larger plates section of the menu, titled a-la-esh (‘on the fire’), you’ll find dishes from ‘land’, ‘sea’, and ‘earth’, the bulk of which fall in the latter camp. The jaffa-style cauliflower is a real highlight, arriving as charred golden florets positively bathing in a garlic and lemon sauce.
Try to resist ordering the smoked octopus labneh alongside it – three words that jump out from any menu, that’s for sure. Here, a buxom tentacle that’s been kissed by the grill hits the counter curled around a tumble of chickpeas and herbs, their bed a particularly perky, bright white labneh (the strained yoghurt that rarely isn’t part of the Levantine table). A class dish, this one.
All of this is served up around horseshoe-style seating with plenty of on-the-house shots being poured for patrons, whether long loyal or uninitiated. Those who haven’t been before are certain to return, we think.
A second branch in Notting Hil is equally as compelling.
Ideal for deceptively simple, seasonal European cooking that changes weekly…
Just a brief hop, skip and a stroll from Tottenham Court Road Station lands you on Store Street, where Anna Tobias and the 40 Maltby Street crew have been doing their deceptively simple thing since late 2020. What started as a lockdown takeaway deli operation has grown into one of Bloomsbury’s most reliably satisfying restaurants, though you’d never know it from the unassuming frontage. That humble vibe is all part of the charm, of course.
The space itself is actually pretty large once you’re inside. There’s counter dining up front, tables scattered across the first floor’s pretty tiles, a smaller dining room at the back, and more seats downstairs by the kitchen. On sunny days, the small terrace out front fills up fast (real fast; there’s just four always-unsteady tables) with people who’ve figured out that this is one of the best spots in the area for a long, lazy lunch.
Tobias, who cut her teeth at Rochelle Canteen and the River Cafe, brings a similar sensibility here. She just has a knack for making simple-sounding dishes sing. The menu changes every week to keep pace with the seasons, and while descriptions might read straightforward – prosaic, even – on paper, what arrives at your table tastes essential somehow. Snacks like a glossy egg mayonnaise with a lovely cross of salted anchovy draped over the top set the tone. Even more austere, a collection of random cubes of Parmigiano Reggiano might feel a little odd to kick-off, but there’s a hell of a lot of the stuff for £6, and with a crisp glass of Léo Dirringer’s Grain de Sable Riesling, you’ll find gloriously effortless pairing.
The larger plates follow suit; straightforward in composition, big on satisfying flavour. Fish – often poached to perfection – might come bathed in a pitch-perfect sauce vierge, meat dishes arrive pink and judiciously seasoned, and accompanying vegetables are cooked with care and attention, retaining a bite when they need to, but also being braised until collapsing when that’s what the dish demands. Because we’re all a little tired of al dente everything, aren’t we?
Back to that wine list. It’s one that has a similar breadth to the OG on Maltby Street and the same sole focus on non-intervention wines, with bottles starting at £39. The team here know their stuff and will steer you toward something interesting without any of the usual wine bar pretension.
Bookings at Cafe Deco are for two-hour slots, which feels about right for the pace of service here. It’s not rushed, but it’s not languorous either. Staff know what they’re doing without making a song and dance about it, and there’s a relaxed confidence to the whole operation that makes you want to settle in and order another bottle. You know what? We might do just that…
Ideal for world-conquering Taiwanese soup dumplings in London’s most iconic brutalist building…
Din Tai Fung at London’s iconic Centre Point building is, in the all-conquering restaurant group’s own words, “a world first”. Though the formula here is pretty much the same as the other 169 outposts globally, we think they’re referring to the cocktail bar that’s connected to the restaurant. Here, you can settle into powder pink banquet seating, order a signature cocktail (you’ve a choice of three, a ‘din’, a ‘tai’ or a ‘fung’), and admire the views of a bustling Tottenham Court Road below. Or, in another world first for the company, they might be referencing the presence of private dining rooms in the restaurant.
Either way, we’re not here for the vibes; we’re here for the xiao long bao soup dumplings. At Din Tai Fung Centrepoint, they are as meticulously prepared as ever, the standard 18 folds intact and tangible, the piping hot soup spilling out of the dumplings and burning the mouths of those not yet conversant in the essential step of first piercing their wrappers and catching the soup in a loitering, lingering spoon. You only get burned once…
…Push on through the pain, as this isn’t only about the signature pork xiao long bao; the prawn and pork shao mai dumplings are arguably even better – fatty, bouncy and pert in all the right places. End with a salted egg yolk custard lava bun, burn your mouth again on its dusty, salty-sweet goodness, and seek solace in a soothing bubble tea. The caramel milk one is particularly good.
Ideal for unfussy dishes of seasonal British fare and arguably the best wine list in the country…
If you’re looking for where to eat near Tottenham Court Road, then you’ll find one of it just a three minute walk from the station.
A proper ‘restaurant’ follow-up to the fantastic Noble Rot wine bar on Lamb’s Conduit Street, where its older sibling was focused on small plates to complement big drops, Noble Rot Soho is a proudly three course affair, with a superb set lunch menu costing just £24. You won’t find better value anywhere in Central London.
Of course, you can veer off-piste and into the a la carte menu proper if you don’t want to be confined to the set menu. Start with the pork, rabbit and prune terrine – as good as it sounds – and follow with the restaurant’s sharing roast chicken with morels and vin jaune, which has already earnt iconic status with London’s culinary cognoscenti, and serves three generously for £90.
Combine those hearty, satisfying dishes with arguably the best wine list in the country, and Noble Rot Soho is without doubt one of the best restaurants close to Tottenham Court Road station.
Ideal for a veritable feast of global cuisines under one roof…
Speaking of trying as much as you can manage all under one roof, it’s been pretty impossible to miss the buzz surrounding the JKS-backed Arcade Food Hall since its opening in April of 2022.
Housed in the Centre Point building on New Oxford Street, and just a few second’s stroll from Tottenham Court Road station, Arcade Food Hall offers a veritable feast of global cuisines, with 8 restaurant concepts currently operating here, and a fully-fledged Southern Thai joint on the mezzanine above the communal dining area.
That Southern Thai restaurant is Plaza Khao Gaeng is superb, doing some of the most faithfully composed, fiery food from The Kingdom anywhere in London. Though much has been written about the fearsome chilli levels on display here, it’s the vivacity of the ingredients that really shine through. The coconut cream in the massaman and chicken curries tastes freshly pressed (a labour intensive process that’s rare to find in the capital), the sour curry sparkles with garcinia fruit as opposed to just lime and tamarind, the khua kling’s green peppercorns bring rasping heat alongside the undulating presence of various fresh and dried chillies. It’s magic. Our only complaint? More elbow room on the tables, please!
Speaking of finding room, if you’ve somehow managed to save stomach space for seconds, then on the floor below there’s sushi, smash burgers, shawarma and more.
Post-office diners beware; no starched white shirt is safe from the enthusiastic slurping of soup and noodle that Laksamania encourages. Or rather, that Laksamania demands…
Offering one of the best value quick meals in Central London, there’s a decent selection of laksa here, none of which top the £20 mark and all of which are a generous size for a pit-stop and a re-fuel near Tottenham Court Road.
Here, the soup is simmered for 8 hours or so, resulting in a decent level of complexity difficult to find in this part of London (though, a little further afield, both Normah’s and Bugis Street Brasserie do an arguably superior version).
Our go-to order? The Melaka curry laksa, which in the Nyonya tradition delivers a hot and sour one-two punch, the former asserted by the addition of sambal. A carefully positioned napkin (or bring-your-own bib) is pretty much essential, here.
There are other things than Laksa on the menu. Think generously portioned plates of wonton char siu lo mein and sticks of satay that come with a deep and earthy peanut sauce.
Ideal for exciting Peruvian plates of colour and precision…
If you’re wondering where to eat close to Tottenham Court Road Station, then a simple five minute stroll will deposit you on Rathbone Place and at Lima, a restaurant doing punchy Peruvian plates without too much fuss or frippery.
Ideal for when steak and chips is on the night’s agenda…
You’d be hard pressed to find a decent steak for under £30 in the centre of London. Which is what makes Flat Iron (a two minute walk from Tottenham Court Road Station) all the more remarkable; a properly good product, slowly reared and generously marbled, cooked to perfection, for just £15.
Yep, you read that right; £15. You’d pay similar for a smoothie along Oxford Street. Interestingly, when we first published this piece back in 2022, the steak was £14. It’s only gone up by a quid in three years, which is an impressive commitment to the mission here.
It’s the simplicity of the proposition here that’s so appealing; there’s only one steak (though there are a couple of specials) on the menu – ‘The Flat Iron’ – alongside chips, green salad, and a selection of sauces. There’s no danger of getting gripped by the paradox of choice, which in the hustle and bustle of Central London, is very welcome indeed.
And get this; a bottle of rustic but drinkable Italian Rosso is £23. You could say that their motto ‘’great steak for everyone’’ might even sell Flat Iron short!
Ideal for relaxed Michelin-starred Mediterranean-influenced dining…
Michelin-starred dining doesn’t come more laid-back than at The Ninth, just a few minutes’ walk from Tottenham Court Road. That’s not to say the Mediterranean-inspired plates aren’t worthy of a star; chef Jun Tanaka’s cooking is as poised and precise as you like, with the restaurant’s rabbit lasagna earning cult status soon after opening in 2016.
If it’s on, order it, as the chefs at The Ninth have a wicked way with pasta. If not, anything from that section of the menu is guaranteed to wow you. Save room for the restaurant’s signature pain perdu, and you’re going to leave satisfied. You’ll also be grateful that Tottenham Court Road Station is on hand to whisk you home.
Speaking of signatures, the restaurant recent celebrated its ninth year, offering a special nine-year anniversary menu, a nostalgic journey through their nine years here on Charlotte Street, featuring six classic dishes voted for by regulars. On that menu, oxtail croquettes, grilled turbot with cockles and vin jaune sauce, and, of course, that pain perdu, all feature. It was marvellous.
Ideal for for contemporary Japanese cuisinethat seems to fuse Dubai and Tokyo…
Roka is the place to head if hunger strikes when you’re on Tottenham Court Road and you’re willing to part with a pretty penny.
Specialising in robatayaki (charcoal-grilled) dishes and featuring a central robata grill, Roka Charlotte Street has been open since 2004, with three subsequent branches following in the two decades since.
Still, it’s to the mothership (incidentally the closest to Tottenham Court Road of the four outposts) that we head for premium Japanese and British ingredients grilled with precision, so the smoke and char complements rather than overpowers.
You wouldn’t, after all, want to fork out £100 on a portion of tokujou wagyu only for it to arrive decimated by the flame. Fear not; this one hits the table barked but blushing, glazed with a piquant wasabi ponzu and finished with whispers of finely sliced spring onion. The black cod, marinated in yuzu before getting kissed by the coals, is even better, with a properly caramelised crust given way to flakes of pearlescent flesh.
The chefs here don’t spend all their time wrestling with errant bricks of bincho-tan, however. There’s also an extensive menu of sushi and sashimi, and a tasting menu that combines the raw menu with the grilled. Yours for £88 per person.
Though Roka doesn’t feature in London’s Michelin Guide, it does boast 3 AA Rosettes, considered to be roughly equivalent to a star.
Ideal for a contemporary take on the food of Sri Lanka…
Sure, we could veer off Tottenham Court Road in search of Sri Lankan food and find ourselves within a few short, erm, hops of Hoppers. Here, we’d be confident of a fine feed indeed.
But in our view, Central London’s best spot for gorgeously spiced, contemporary takes on the food of Sri Lanka is within the brutalist confines of Paradise Soho. Since opening in 2019, Paradise has been quietly doing its own thing, known for its gorgeously spiced contemporary takes on classic dishes and self-proclaimed fiery accent.
Following a major refurbishment in the spring of 2024, Paradise has evolved into something even more ambitious – a refined, contemporary interpretation of Sinhalese cuisine that feels both deeply rooted in tradition yet boldly innovative.
Set within brutalist-inspired interiors that pay homage to celebrated Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, the restaurant now offers a carefully orchestrated seven-course menu (£72) that showcases both Sri Lankan and British produce. Diners can choose between three different menu paths: Land + Sea, Sea + Veg, or Veg + Plant, each offering a distinct journey through modern Sri Lankan flavours, seen through (as is de riguer right now in London) something of a British lens.
The experience begins with a vibrant lacto-fermented Kentish raspberry rasam brightened with lime leaf oil, before moving on to their now-signature hand-chopped raw mutton roll tartare – a clever deconstruction of the classic short eat (and once signature dish here). Seafood features prominently in two of the menu options, with standout dishes including seared hand-dived Orkney scallop served with a native lobster and riesling kiri-hodi, preserved wild garlic oil, and coconut kiri-bath. It’s all bloody gorgeous, quite frankly.
The drinks offering has been updated too, with Head Bartender Anna Krawiec collaborating with the team behind Three Sheets London. The cocktail list leans heavily on Ceylon arrack – try their take on the Negroni, expertly balanced with thuna-paha spices and Little Blanc vermouth. The natural wine list, curated by GM Nick Hann, focuses on sustainable and organic producers, with particularly strong selections from the Loire Valley and Austria.
Paradise’s new format runs Tuesday through Saturday for dinner, with a single Saturday lunch service. While the £65 price point for the tasting menu (with optional £49 wine pairing) represents a step up from its previous incarnation, the level of cooking, innovation and premium ingredients more than justifies the cost. This is modern Sri Lankan cuisine pushing into exciting new territory.
We end, conversely, with perhaps our favourite place to eat breakfast in the whole of London, and certainly the best breakfast close to Tottenham Court Road; at Koya.
Opening at 10am, seven days a week, the restaurant specialises in udon noodle and rice dishes, with austere menu descriptions belying the masterful preparation and technique involved in these nourishing dishes. This is soul food, make no mistake, and ideal for kicking off a day’s shopping along Oxford Street.
The must-order for breakfast? It’s got to be Koya’s version of kedgeree, which is simply divine. Or, how about the divinely simple kama tama; udon noodles with egg, soy sauce and spring onion? That will set you up for whatever the day brings.
Balham is a place difficult to define. Though your office BFF has moved there to escape Clapham – it’s not what it used to be – and residents of Tooting start to feel homesick as soon as they cross the A214, this area once deemed ‘’up and coming’’ still doesn’t feel like it’s quite come up.
That’s not to say that Balham, with feet planted in both Wandsworth and Lambeth, struggles with its identity. There’s a good buzz about the place, with great transport links into both the city and out to the ‘burbs bringing in a young, upwardly mobile demographic.
More still come to eat, drink and make merry. We’re here to focus on the former today, and explore the area with fork and knife firmly in hand. Here are the best places to eat in Balham, South London.
Milk
Ideal for South London’s best brunch…
Has a London district truly arrived unless its premier brunch joint takes great pleasure in experimenting on its residents?
The menu at Milk, a beloved Balham breakfast institution since 2012, feels wilfully obtuse – does anyone really need to be negotiating dehydrated miso, zero waste barista milk snaps, and nutzilla first thing in the morning?
Fortunately, the plates plonked down here don’t take these frivolous descriptions too literally. Instead, Milk’s brunch dishes are poised, playful and perfectly formed, with a lightness of touch that belies the menu’s verbosity.
If you’ve had a long night on the sticky tiles of Infernos, then the must-order here is certainly the Convict (nope, us neither), which features a pork patty of premium Gloucester old spot, streaky bacon, scrambled egg and a secret hangover sauce, all crammed lovingly between the halves of a toasted muffin. Sure, this is a supercharged Sausage and Egg McMuffin, but we love it.
For those with a sweet tooth, the Nutzilla French Toast is a weekday smash – a huge wedge of housemade brioche, tonkabean chantilly cream, macerated strawberries and a miso and white chocolate caramel. It’s as insanely decadent as it sounds, though do be aware it’s not on at the weekend. And this just in; the brunch sweet treat has just had an wintery upgrade with clementines. The perfect excuse to go back, we think.
Also of note, at the weekends Milk always has a seasonally changing special of wonderfully light buckwheat pancakes in various flavours. These are pretty plates, make no mistake, and ones that always come with a perfect rocher of something creamy. Recent favourites have included honey roast Spanish figs, dark chocolate ganache tart, fig mascarpone and honey lace tuile.
Or, a gorgeous version featuring bang-in-season macerated Mirabelle Plums, a beetroot Eton Mess, English berry compote, white chocolate soil and strawberry crisps. Neither are nearly as confused as they sound! In fact, they’re vivid expressions of British hyperseasonality, all in the form of brunch.
Now, go and have yourself a lie down; you deserve it.
Address: 20 Bedford Hill, London SW12 9RG, United Kingdom
Freak Scene
On the increasingly enjoyable Go To Food Podcast, a recent episode had Michel Roux Jr. praising the Balham restaurant Freak Scene for its young, energetic service, and excellent food.
And whilst the word ‘freak’ has forever been tarnished by P Diddy, we took that podcast recommendation as a cue to go check it out on an otherwise wet and windy Tuesday night. We’re so glad we did; the place rocks.
Genuinely, rocks; the music is deafening in here, but wear some earplugs, ignore chef Michel trying to meet your eye from across the room, and get stuck into plates of pan-Asian maximalism, all designed by ex-Nobu chef and Kurobuta founder Scott Hallsworth, who has a wicked way with big, bold flavours.
He deploys umami and acidity in basically everything. Sure, it’s all dialled up to eleven and nuance isn’t part of the vernacular here, but if you’re in need of a kick about the chops in Balham on an evening that’s otherwise tending towards the tedious, you’ll certainly find it here.
Originally started as a pop-up in Farringdon, Freak Scene has evolved into a two-restaurant operation, the first in Parsons Green, and this second branch arriving in Balham earlier this year. The space itself is intimate, with a mix of tightly-packed, curiously clothed tables upstairs and a quieter, more sultry basement area below which is, again, compact. In other words; don’t expect to just rock up here and get a table straight away – booking in advance is definitely recommended.
The interior’s are idiosyncratic, to say the least. The walls are mostly bare white brick, except for two pieces of art; one, a neon dude astride a massive chilli. And the second, a large mural depicting an octopus seemingly in the throes of a DMT breakthrough.
Skip the sushi and go for the small plates, followed by a couple of larger ones from the robata grill; this is where Freak Scene shines (sound a bit like Sean Connery saying that). From the former, start with the fried baby Shetland squid with a piquant jalapeno dip, before moving on to the wood-fired poussin with spicy lemon garlic sauce, both of which are excellent. The duck red curry with doughnut bao buns certainly aren’t to be missed, either.
If you’re keen to get properly across the menu, then the best time to visit is during their “Tight Ass Tuesdays” evenings, where diners can enjoy a 7-course sharing menu for just £40 per person. Bargain.
Ideal for intricately spiced, always generous Nepalese food…
We can’t be sure quite when this Balham stalwart lost the word ‘Diner’ from its name; the transition to the more prosaic Gurkha’s was as seamless as yours from Balham’s Overground to under.
But the change does make sense; Gurkha’s, open since 2004, isn’t really a diner at all, instead knocking out Nepalese dishes full of flavour and heart, all in a room defined by starched white tablecloths, a keen sense of grandeur, and the odd nod to the eponymous soldiers’ role in the British Army during the Second World War.
Another favourite of the legendary chef Michel Roux Jr. (who lives in the area), this is Nepalese cooking with a sense of occasion. The intricately plaited momo cha that grace just about every table here looking like a choir singing ‘ooooooh’ is a case in point, with these famous dumplings having just the right amount of bounce and plenty of delicious fatty minced lamb within.
Image via Gurkhas Balham
That’s all offset with a spicy tomato and sesame dipping sauce that’s both familiar and alluring, and all presented in a swipes-and-splodges style that would’ve been more home a couple of decades prior… In the best possible way of course.
There are some excellent curries at Gurkha’s, too, all designed to be mopped up with the restaurant’s superb bread – the guliyo roti, sweet with raisins and toasted nuts, is perfect for pulling through the rich, nuanced sauces.
For something more assertive, mayur lamb – a piquant, mouth-puckering curry given zip and zest by tamarind and lemon – is properly sour and properly spicy, and calls out for several ice cold Khukuris. It’s an addictive combination.
Ideal for flexing your foodie credentials in some style…
Chez Bruce isn’t technically in Balham. It’s a pleasant 15-minute stroll away to Wandsworth Common, or one quick stop on the Southern train if you’re feeling lazy. But when it’s the closest Michelin star to Balham and this damn good – this damn reliable – we’re claiming it as an honorary local.
This a place you’d be proud to call your ‘neighbourhood restaurant’ wherever you lived in the world. Here Bruce Poole and business partner Nigel Platts-Martin have been quietly, diligently going about their business since 1995, occupying the hallowed ground where a young Marco Pierre White once (many times, we’d wager) made Gordon Ramsay cry at Harvey’s. These days, it’s less shouty chef drama and more what they modestly call “polished home cooking” – which is like calling a Ferrari “quite a nice car”, in all honesty.
Poole, who started cooking professionally in his mid-twenties at Bibendum, has spent three decades perfecting his craft while actively avoiding the telly chef circus. You won’t have seen him on Saturday Kitchen (even though the studios are just around the corner). Nor will he have been pontificating on Masterchef. Instead, the focus falls on these amazing dishes, in this thoroughly chilled, welcoming space. Together with head chef Matt Christmas, they’ve created something refreshingly unpretentious – no foam, no tweezers, no dishes that require a lengthy explanation on the correct order in which to consume them. Just brilliant food with a loosely French Mediterranean leaning.
You’ve probably guessed by now that this isn’t a small plates, “everything comes out of the kitchen when it’s ready” affair. Instead, it’s a straight-up three courses for £95 situation, with circular plates gently placed on white tablecloths. Sometimes, this is very much what you want. On a recent visit, an exquisite cold roast pork tonnato with crackling was the dish of the day, though that acclaim had stiff competition from an excellent main of blushing Devonshire duck breast, a crisp pastilla of its leg (confit, of course), pickled cherries and foie gras. There’s always such judicious balance to the dishes here, both in terms of acidity and texture, and that duck dish exemplified this in spades.
Always, always save room for the cheese board (£10 supplement). They take it very seriously indeed, which in restaurant speak means it’s basically a religious experience. We’re talking perfectly ripe French treasures that fill the room with their perfume, served with the right accompaniments and at the correct temperature.
The three-course lunch at £47.50 (weekdays only) is genuinely one of London’s great dining deals – Michelin-starred cooking for the price of a mediocre meal in Clapham.
Ideal for a rambunctious, vivacious flavour of Italian hospitality…
Bucci made headlines in 2018 for its apparent historic links to Italian organised crime, but there’s nothing criminal about the cooking (sorry) at this fine neighbourhood restaurant.
Whether you’re dropping in for a quick bowl of the restaurant’s spaghetti al pomodoro (which clocks in at under a tenner) and a glass of house red, or you’re seeking primi, secondi and the rest, you’ll receive the same warm welcome from the vivacious Luigi, all open arms and complementary limoncello. Who can argue with that?
Be warned; Buccis sure do pack them in, and if you’re one of those diners who likes to complain about the acoustics, this one probably isn’t for you. But if you relish the rolling boil of a dining room in full song, then you’ll feel very much at home here.
Make yourself heard over the clamour and clatter and assertively order the restaurant’s fritto misto, which is fried to order and arrives as light as you like. Follow that with saltimbocca alla Romana – the beloved Roman dish of breaded, fried veal escalope with sage – and then a big ol’ block of tiramisu because it’s that kind of place, and you’ll leave Bucci with your ears ringing but an itch very much scratched.
As with the three restaurants that have preceded this one on our list, Bucci boasts a couple of terrace tables ideal for a spot of alfresco dining, something that seems to be mandatory for Balham eateries on the main drag.
Not at all of them, though, will you find the same atmosphere and great food that you do at Bucci. The restaurant claims to be Balham’s longest running, and long may it continue.
Address: 195 Balham High Rd, London SW12 9BE, United Kingdom
Burning Rose
Ideal for Kingdom-spanning, fully-flavoured Thai food from an Aussie chef with some serious pedigree…
Burning Rose is an open and amiable Thai joint just a stone’s throw (or, in their own words, 8 seconds) from Balham Station that’s making all the right noises about its cooking from the Kingdom.
Originally conceived as a Deliveroo-only affair serving locked-down Londoners during COVID, Burning Rose expanded into a restaurant-proper in June of 2021. In late 2024, we briefly mourned its closure when some chefs decamped to Central London’s Long Chim, but we’re thrilled to report it has now reopened with renewed vigour and a menu quite similar to its beloved previous iteration.
An early highlight on the new menu is a carefully composed Royal Thai snack of miang, a tumble of treats including crab, deep fried shallots and toasted shredded coconut, served on a ‘betel’ leaf and all pulled together with a galangal-forward caramel. It’s that ‘sweet/sour/salty/spicy’ thing John Torode might mention every time Thai is served on Masterchef, all in one bite. The reopened menu also features playful galloping horses – sweet and savoury pork and prawn bites atop pineapple – and those addictive wings marinated in fish sauce and palm sugar, coated in Sriracha caramel.
You could, of course, order all three of them. You should, in fact. Wash these three down with a few Beer Lao (surely the finest of the South East Asian lagers?) and you’re good to go.
Also sweet but very much worth your while is the Burning Rose’s signature pad Thai. In their own words (and words we very much agree with), it’s hard to find truly great pad Thai in London. But Burning Rose does a killer version – a perfectly textured tangle with all the requisite flavours represented, including that all important wok hei. You only have to see the chefs tossing and flipping the woks with dexterity to know it’s going to be good. The kitchen has also introduced some regional curries like the Isan chicken with a pla ra-spiked broth, as well as a fine pad grapao with holy basil and wok-fried egg.
Though perhaps the flavour profile at Burning Rose leans a little too heavily on the sweet side of the spectrum on certain dishes for our taste, there’s no denying that this is one of the best restaurants in Balham, and a great place to get your Thai fix south of the river.
If we lived in the area, we’d certainly be calling this one our local. *dials estate agent*
Ideal for organic wines by the glass and London-conquering pizza, all without leaving your seat…
Named after owner Niall Penlington’s grandfather, Henny’s opened in 2023 after starting life as a bottle shop in Tooting Market back in 2017. Penlington funded the whole thing himself (his words: “blood, sweat and credit cards”), creating this small wine bar just south of Balham tube station, recognisable by its unassuming green awning.
The focus here is on organic, biodynamic and vegan wines, with a weekly rotating selection that favours smaller producers and gets punters drinking differently. This isn’t the sort of wine bar where you’ll find pages of bottles gathering dust; instead, there’s maybe a dozen options on at any given time, curated to be genuinely interesting rather than exhaustive. It’s an inclusive affair; glasses start at £5.50, bottles from £20, which feels more than fair for wine of this quality in this part of town.
The space itself is compact – there’s a sea-green tiled bar up front, half a dozen tables at the back, and a curved mustard booth in the corner for larger groups or dates who prefer a bit of privacy. During the day it functions as a café, serving coffee for those working from laptops. Come evening, the atmosphere shifts, with after-work drinkers settling in for wines of the week opposite the art deco mirror, or trying something orange and hand-harvested at the back.
For food, there are bar snacks like truffled nuts and oversized olives that release too much brine when you bite into them. Better still, Henny’s has partnered with Yard Sale Pizza, which has its own branch just down Bedford Hill. This means you can order their excellent wood-fired sourdough pizzas (made with 48-hour fermented dough) directly to your table at Henny’s without having to shift from your seat.
Back to the booze. There are a couple of draught beers for the wine-averse and three cocktails on rotation (expect things like Negroni Sbagliato and French 75), but the wine’s the main event. Penlington has worked in the industry for years and knows his stuff, but there’s no snobbery here. The emphasis is on making good wine approachable, with that weekly rotation giving regulars a reason to keep coming back rather than settling into the same old Savvies.
No bookings, so just turn up. Quieter before 8pm if you’re after a solo drink; busier afterwards if you want atmosphere.
Fans of Netflix’s divisive, charming Somebody Feed Phil will know that the best fish in chips in London are found south of the river. Indeed, Ken’s Fish Bar, where restaurant critic Jay Rayner takes Phil on Season 3, Episode 3, is only a couple of miles east of Balham, over in Herne Hill.
Such is the quality of the south London chippy that you won’t even have to hop on the 155 out of Balham if you’re keen to have a damn good fish and chips in this neck of the woods. Just up the road and within walking distance, there’s Moxie’s Fish Bar, and even closer, you’ll find Seascape Fish Bar and Ocean Fish Bar, all three of which do an expertly realised chippy tea for around a tenner.
If you’re looking to sit and luxuriate a little longer in the experience, however, then it’s the Seventeen Fish & Chips you should head. With its white tiled walls, grainy wooden tables, and plank floors illuminated by dangling lights, there’s a charming, clinical vibe to proceedings in the dining room, which is kind of what you want from your chippy, don’t you think?
On the menu, the usual suspects of cod, haddock and plaice are deep-fried to a rich golden hue, the chips are just the right side of soggy, and the saveloys, Pieminister pies and vinegary sides are all present and correct.
Seventeen is licensed too, with Camden Hells, Red Stripe and a couple of other lagers sold here. That’s our dreary Tuesday evening sorted then.
The Balham outpost of Taro is the sixth brand of this mini-chain, its ‘everyday’ Japanese food offering and overwhelmingly extensive menu seemingly catnip to busy Londoners who still care about flavour.
This restaurant, which once operated as a café, has retained its dark walls and one massive stretch of green leather banquette seating, but now has some sake bottles adorning the open shelves, making it feel like a very narrow pub or, you know, an izakaya that’s making the best of a small space, as they do in the motherland.
The menu sprawls to over a dozen pages, with sushi, ramen, stir fries, yakitori and more all making an appearance. Ordering a little erratically can quickly add up. It’s best, then, to pitch up at lunch and order a bento box, which is remarkably good value at around the £10 mark. For that half sheet, you’ll get a generous helping of teriyaki chicken, salmon or duck, all glazed beautifully with rice, mixed salad, edamame and miso soup. For just a couple of quid more, the sushi bento boasts two rolls, two nigiri, and several slices of freshly cut salmon sashimi. Lovely stuff.
Though not quite our favourite ramen in town, Taro certainly do a fine bowl of the good stuff, the pork ramen replete with three massive slices of tender, fatty chashu, and a thin, revitalising soya broth. Yours for just £11.90. Throw in a glass or two of dry, chilled Ozeki sake to cut through the spice, and you’ve got yourself one of Balham’s best lunches. Kanpai!
Ideal for trying one of London’s most cherished curry houses…
Okay, we admit that we’re stepping just a few hundred metres out of Balham for our final restaurant entry, but we had to end our list on a high, and Lahore Karahi, Tooting’s cherished Pakistani curry house (in reality, more of a canteen) definitely provides the necessary endorphin rush.
Not that we’re complaining about the simple surrounds in which you can get stuck into a vast array of chops, chaat, kebabs, dhal, biriyani and the rest. Serving up the good stuff since 1995, this place is a South London rites of passage for a reason; it’s just the place to eat heaps of keenly priced, keenly spiced food, and is absolutely hopping every night of the week.
Yep, that’s right; every night, and every day too actually, as Lahore Karahi opens from 10am to midnight daily, with what we can only assume is an industrial-sized kitchen out back cooking up massive vats of their famous chicken tikka masala karahi and mutton dopiaza.
Sure, the service here might be a little haphazard and the elbow room scant, but that all adds to the charm of the place. Oh, and it’s BYO, too. What’s not to love?
Address: 1 Tooting High St, London SW17 0SN, United Kingdom
Room for one more? Haul yourself over to the Tooting Broadway next, hop on the Northern Line, and head to these great restaurants near London Waterloo. You know you want to!
Scotland, and more specifically the second city Glasgow, is enjoying something of a moment, restaurant-wise.There have been a slew of positive reviews in the national press recently, and 2025’s Michelin reveal was even held here, cementing Glasgow’s reputation as a heavy hitter where culinary culture is concerned.
The city’s residents didn’t need the Big Red Guide to confirm this. They already know that Glasgow is alive with creativity and imagination, as well as a surrounding larder that seemingly makes it difficult to cook a bad dish.
But beyond the accolades, what makes Glasgow’s dining scene particularly compelling is its unwavering commitment to quality, creativity, and a genuine hospitality, all reflective of the city as a whole.
If you’re visiting the city and pulling into Glasgow Central, firstly, can we assume that you’re a millionaire? Those train tickets don’t come cheap. But more importantly, we guess you’re looking for a great feed the moment you alight. If so, then you’ve come to the right place; here are the best restaurants near Glasgow Central.
Margo
Ideal for contemporary Scottish dining with a neighbourhood bistro feel…
Five minutes’ walk from Glasgow Central, Margo opened in late 2024 on Miller Street as the latest addition to Scoop Restaurants, the acclaimed hospitality group behind Ox and Finch, Ka Pao, and now also Sebb’s. While its siblings each have more singular identities, Margo plays faster and looser, with a broad mission to showcase Scottish ingredients via European techniques. Mission accomplished, and then some.
The restaurant recently earned a prestigious Bib Gourmand in the 2025 Michelin Guide, with inspectors praising its “bustling, efficiently run restaurant that’s deservedly popular thanks to its great buzz and flavour-packed, generously priced dishes.” They’re right, you know.
The 36-cover space is intimate but not cloying—sage green banquettes, white-washed brick walls and wooden floors create a breezy backdrop, and Chef Amie Rae (formerly of The Gannet and Alchemilla) leads a focused, quietly confident team in the open kitchen.
The menu changes seasonally, though certain standout dishes have become mainstays. The Margo beef tartare, keenly priced just shy of a tenner, demands attention—hand-chopped bavette comes with a grilled onion salad that brings sweetness and smoke, crispy potato shards for texture, and a generous swoosh of crème fraîche that harmonises the elements. It’s a sign of Rae’s deft touch with seasoning, letting the clean, mineral notes of the hand-chopped beef take centre stage.
You’d be mad to stop there, and the chipsticks with taramasalata (£6) feel like the perfect supporting act to that tartare. Here, an ingenious hybrid between pomme rösti, hash brown and panisse is topped with silky smoked cod roe taramasalata and house-made furikake. Meant for sharing, you might regret that decision after tasting them.
For special occasions, the 600g sirloin on the bone (£50) makes a statement. It’s finished with either ‘sauce Margo’ or their interpretation of café de Paris butter, the latter slowly melting over the perfectly pink beef, seasoning as it disperses. It’s quite the sight, and it eats damn well too.
The wine list features low-intervention bottles from small European producers alongside classic regions. The front-of-house team, led by co-owner Julie Dunn, achieves that rare balance of knowledge without intimidation—you’ll get thoughtful recommendations whether spending £30 or £300. Or, go for a house cocktail, which employ innovative techniques like fat-washing and carbonation. Crowd favourites including Frozen Martinis and a distinctive Yoghurt Punch both killer.
Whichever way you play it, finish with the bare bones chocolate nemesis and vanilla ice cream—a dense, flourless cake highlighting single-origin Guatemalan chocolate from local maker Bare Bones, recently featured on Rick Stein’s Food Stories, no less.
In Glasgow’s increasingly confident dining scene, Margo represents a particular strain of modern Scottish restaurant—technically impressive while remaining approachable, ambitious without arrogance, rooted in Glasgow while drawing inspiration from beyond.
Ideal for vinyl vibes, boozy slushies and big-flavoured small plates…
Beneath Margo in a subterranean brick vault on Miller Street, Sebb’s marks the newest addition to the Scoop Restaurants group. Open only half a year, the name ‘Sebb’s’ is an anagram of ‘Sixty-Eight Basement Bar,’ neatly reflecting its location beneath Margo at 68 Miller Street. We find that super satisfying, we’re not going to lie.
Drawing inspiration from European vinyl bars, this venue blends industrial and retro elements—burgundy tiles, red leather booths and that distinctive arched brickwork ceiling illuminated by neon lighting. A DJ spins records in the corner, though the music never drowns conversation.
Head straight for the alcoholic slushies (£8), worlds apart from the sugary concoctions of yours and my youth. The strawberry margarita strikes a remarkable balance between fresh strawberry, quality tequila and lime—delivering a nostalgic frozen sensation with sophisticated flavour. The Miami Vice combines strawberry margarita and piña colada into a glorious two-tone creation. Yep, they love strawberries.
The open kitchen, headed by Danny Carruthers (ex-Brian Maule at Chardon d’Or, with short stints at Le Gavroche and Lyle’s), focuses on cooking over fire, the central charcoal grill thoroughly seasoning the place with smoke.
The much photographed DC’s Texan Hot Link (£9) isn’t just an Insta-perfect plate — it’s a juicy, substantial sausage with just enough heat, served with ‘gold sauce,’ bread and those all-important butter pickles. Lamb skewers (£7 a pop) arrive blistered and burnished from the grill, a little gnarly and with enough chew to reveal pastoral flavours a plenty. A creamy garlic labneh sees the skewers on their way. Plant-based options hit the mark too —the grilled cauliflower with hummus, rayu and pine nuts is a lot of fun for under a tenner.
All great plates, but what sets Sebb’s apart is its ability to deliver both big night-out energy and genuinely good food, with inclusive opening hours of midday to midnight seven days a week ensuring a diverse crowd and plenty of good cheer.
Ideal for Italian provisions, weekend brunch and house-made pasta…
Giovanni Eusebi opened this Park Road deli in 2006, drawing on his Lazio roots and decades importing Italian products. It’s a 20-minute walk or short bus ride from Glasgow Central, but the journey rewards you with one of the city’s finest Italian alimentari. Imported salumi, aged cheeses, house-made pasta, artisan olive oils and carefully curated wines fill every shelf and counter, with a 30-cover dining space at one end if you’re tempted to hang around.
The weekend brunch menu showcases their strengths. The focaccia with Eusebi porchetta features Stobbs Farm belly of pork with giardiniera, fennel relish and skinny fries, and is as good as it sounds. Their Italian royale takes a different approach, with house-made Italian sausage patty from Stobbs farm, a puck of croissant (yep, it’s great), hot honey, burrata and rocket. The sourdough pinsa panino with braised Aberdeen Angus short rib comes with parmesan and pepper aioli, mozzarella, and pickled cucumber. Most sandwiches sit in the high teens, but their quality and generosity warrant that premium billing.
Evening brings their Pastificio section to the fore, where pasta is made daily, hand rolled and bronze cut. The West Coast crab ravioli with pickled seaweed and butter sauce is the priciest pasta option, though simpler plates like paccheri pomodoro with basil, Calabrian chilli and rosemary pangrattato start from under twenty quid. Their fettucine cacio e pepe with winter truffle, an indulgent take on a Roman favourite, falls somewhere in between.
Mains generally range from the low twenties to late thirties. From the grill, the 30-day aged McCaskie’s sirloin comes medium rare with fries and béarnaise, but the Scottish pork chop offers is even better. It’s cured 10 days by farmer Tom Wilkinson, served with sweet roasted apple, brown butter jus, mustard seed and tarragon; a combination of flavours that has always made sense for a reaosn.
The wine list focuses on small Italian producers, particularly natural wines from Lazio, Campania and Sicily. Their Cucielo vermouth collection is showcased in four negroni variations, all around a tenner, developed with the award-winning Scottish vermouth producer.
You can stock up on San Daniele prosciutto or handmade tortellini during the day, then return for dinner, which is a rather pleasant thing to do. After a decade in Glasgow, the Eusebi family has built something that genuinely bridges Italian tradition and Scottish ingredients.
Ideal for zero-waste Italian with fermentation wizardry…
In Glasgow’s atmospheric Cathedral Precinct, Celentano’s occupies the ground floor of historic Cathedral House, a striking 19th-century baronial-style building with a fascinating past— it once housed released female prisoners from Duke Street Prison. With views of the city’s gothic Necropolis, the food has some work to do to live up to the setting.
Husband-wife team Dean and Anna Parker launched the restaurant in summer 2021, and hit their stride fast in the most testing of climates, winning a Bib Gourmand just a year later. Perhaps that’s not a massive surprise; Parker built his reputation in London heading acclaimed restaurants Darby’s, Sorella and The Dairy (RIP), while Anna’s background lies in fashion and design.
The name Celentano’s reflects their Italian honeymoon journey from Florence to the Amalfi Coast, when the singer-songwriter Adriano Celentano seemed to be soundtracking the entire jaunt. The menu spans Italy with similar breadth, evolving seasonally and with sustainability at its core. Drawing from his time at The Dairy in particular, Parker employs fermentation, preserving and curing to maximise ingredients and minimise waste. Their environmental commitment extends beyond cooking—biodynamic wines on tap reduce glass waste, herbs and vegetables grow in their restaurant garden, and they keep bees nearby.
Start with smoked cod doughnuts —airy morsels filled with cod cream and topped with zingy house-made kimchi—or the now-famous lasagne fritti, crumbed pucks of fried pasta containing porcini bechamel and tangy Corra Linn sheep’s milk cheese. Technically precise and a touch playful, both clock it at under a fiver.
From the larger courses, on a recent visit the agnolotti with shaved artichoke stood out. Equally compelling was the linguine with cuttlefish ragu, black olive and tarragon—a deep, inky tangle that thrummed with saline depth. For secondi, the whole grilled bream is a worthy centrepiece. Perfectly cooked with skin on the verge of crackling, it exemplifies Dean’s philosophy of respectful simplicity with superior ingredients.
Their affogato is a winner if you’ve got a mind for the sweet stuff. On our last visit, a malted barley gelato, chocolate mousse and cold brew coffee was a clever reimagining of the Italian classic, each element supercharged. Back to the beginning, and you’ll want to start with a house negroni, made with the restaurants homemade vermouth. For non-drinkers, Celentano’s house kombucha is ace.
One of the best places to dine near Glasgow Central, Celantanos represents a homecoming success story of London culinary talent returning to Glasgow (a trend begun with Rosie Healey at Alchemilla in 2018) and exemplifies the city’s increasingly confident dining scene. Here, technical expertise meets warm hospitality, honouring Italian traditions while establishing its own identity. We’ll be back, time and time again.
Ideal for elegant Scottish plates in a grand Exchange Square setting…
Occupying the ground floor of the impressive Western Club building in Royal Exchange Square, Glaschu (Gaelic for ‘Glasgow’, no less) sits just minutes from Glasgow Central. It’s a dining space that exudes understated elegance – muted beige tones complemented by grand green pillars that has you worried you’re just about to drop serious money on a meal.
Fear not. Chef Graeme Brown’s isn’t quite as expensive as its esteemed surroundings imply. Dishes like scallops with celeriac, apple and hazelnut, or lobster ravioli with cep puree and lobster bisque both hover around the £20, whilst the substantial 35-day aged beef fillet with ox cheek and ale suet pudding is £45, sure, but it’s enough to send you home happy without absolute need for starter or dessert. To get a more thorough overview of Brown’s cooking, there’s a tasting menu too, priced at £75 or £125 with drinks pairing.
It’s on the Hump Day that Glaschu becomes particularly appealing. To get you through the rest of the week, ‘Wellington Wednesdays’ present two pinpoint beef Wellingtons with golden thick-cut chips, tender carrots and rich red wine jus, plus a bottle of wine for £90 per couple.
The cocktail list reflects the restaurant’s appreciation for Glasgow’s history and architecture. The Marochetti blends limoncello, Malfy Italian gin, basil and lemon juice—named after the Italian-born architect who designed the Duke of Wellington statue, while the Barrowlands with Roku gin, Lillet Blanc, salt and seaweed pays homage to the iconic East End venue.
If all of that sounds a little high falutin, then you’ll be interested to hear that Glaschu has recently expanded by opening MAISON by Glaschu in Princes Square on Buchanan Street, a French-inspired bar and restaurant offering a slightly more casual dining experience.
Ideal for a bright, airy spot serving global-Scottish fusion from dawn till dusk..
Inside the new AC by Marriott hotel on John Street, just a short walk from Glasgow Central, Hazel forms part of the ambitious £100 million Love Loan development. Named after the hazel branch in Glasgow’s original coat of arms, the restaurant brings a contemporary dining option to a rapidly evolving district.
The 100-seat venue boasts a bright, Scandi-chic interior with a striking faux hazel tree as its centerpiece, plus bird-shaped lights and fish sculptures nodding to the city’s emblem. It’s all a bit much, visually, but as floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the space in natural light on Glasgow’s sunnier days, it’s also kinda irresistible.
Don’t let the obviously AI-written social media posts put you off (“Dine, unwind, and escape the rush of the city in a setting where nature and urban elegance coexist beautifully…”). Rest assuredrealchefs—very good chefs—work in the kitchen, seeing to the sprawling five different menus with admirable consistency.
The lunch menu reels in nearby office workers, offering expertly executed classics like eggs Benedict with yielding yolks, alongside global sandwiches including Cuban, Reuben, steak baguette, and a smoked salmon and lox bagel featuring Scottish salmon. The evening menu gets heartier, with dishes like roast haunch of venison with potato gratin, puy lentils and rosemary jus, or pan-roasted hake with hispi cabbage and lemon hollandaise. For those seeking special deals, Chateaubriand Thursday offers excellent value at £60 for two.
Wash it all down with a signature Hazel 75 cocktail, developed in partnership with local Crossbill gin distillery, and feel very satisfied with your lot, at least for the evening.
Ideal for South Indian spice with a gluten-free guarantee..
On the first floor of a building in Glasgow’s buzzy Merchant City district, Dakhin opened in 2004 as Scotland’s first South Indian restaurant. Two decades on and what makes this restaurant truly unique remains the same; it’s the UK’s only acclaimed South Indian restaurant serving 100% gluten-free food. Yep, a rare thing here; all dishes are prepared without gluten, nuts, peanuts, sesame, celery, lupin, molluscs and sulphites, making it an unrivalled destination for diners with dietary restrictions.
It’s a beautiful room to step into, whatever your dietaries. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook busy Candleriggs, and exposed brick, a slatted wooden ceiling with hanging greenery, and an illuminated bar create a welcoming space where diners can observe the chefs at work.
Begin with their famed dosas—thin rice and lentil crepes spanning three feet long, and perfect for sharing. These arrive with various fillings and come with sambhar (spiced lentil soup) and coconut chutney. The paper dosa particularly impresses, its crisp, golden-brown form dramatically draped across the plate. In fact, it’s a great place to stay in the vegan lane, as South Indian cuisine inherently celebrates plant-based cooking.
That said, there’s plenty of protein getting treated right here, too. Creative section titles like ‘The Ocean’s Lure’, ‘Treats of Lamb’, and ‘Pick of The Poultry’ suggest spliffs are being smoked in the kitchen, but they only serve to focus diners’ attention on regional specialties from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. The former section provides some real treats – the yetti masala (jumbo tiger prawns in a thick, complex sauce) and meen moilee (Scottish monkfish stewed with coconut milk) both hit the spot.
Lunchtime visitors should consider the £15 Thali – superb value, indeed.
Ideal for Japanese food in minimalist, light-filled surroundings…
Operating since 2007 on Sauchiehall Street near Charing Cross, Nanakusa (named after the seven edible wild herbs of spring eaten in Japan for their health benefits) has established itself as a real standout in Glasgow’s limited Japanese dining scene.
Despite an unassuming wood-panelled frontage, the interior surprises with its spaciousness—an ornately corniced high ceiling, a bar near the entrance, and a mezzanine create distinct zones. Minimalist design elements and large panels of ever-changing light create a distinctly Japanese mood that casts just the right light on the elegant plates here.
Nanakusa excels with one-bowl wonders, including the una don—grilled eel, fluffy egg, onions and seaweed coated in their secret eel sauce. Their katsu curry deserves its reputation, available with chicken, king prawn, duck or tempura. For warming comfort, the Nanakusa spicy noodle soup features ramen noodles in spicy chili broth topped with your protein of choice.
The fried items particularly shine. Try the kani karaage—soft shell crab that elevates the concept of Japanese fried chicken – and the yasai tempura of seasonal vegetables in light, crisp batter demonstrating the kitchen’s technical prowess.
With its proximity to entertainment venues like the King’s Theatre, CCA, and Nice’n’Sleazy, Nanakusa sits perfectly for pre-show dining, with efficient service and food that won’t keep repeating on you at your show.
Ideal for Neapolitan pizza perfection in industrial-chic surroundings…
When Paesano opened on Miller Street in 2015, it revolutionised Glasgow’s pizza scene by becoming the first restaurant to bring traditional Napoletana pizza to the city. Its popularity has only grown in the decade since, with Glaswegians drawn to the pizzeria’s unwavering commitment to time-honored methods and top-quality ingredients.
The expansive dining room exhibits industrial-chic style—exposed ceiling pipes, pendant lighting, wooden tables, and school desk-style chairs create the backdrop. The open kitchen offers the usual theatrical Neapolitan entertainment, as skilled pizzaiolos spin and flip dough before loading it into wood-fired ovens imported directly from Naples that reach a searing 500°C.
The dough here is as digestible as it comes, undergoing 24-hour proofing and resulting in a base that’s ethereally light. The menu remains refreshingly concise. Pizzas start at just £7.90 for a basic tomato sugo with garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil, while the classic Margherita is less than a tenner, too. More elaborate options like the spicy Ventricina and Nduja sausage or spinach and ricotta with smoked scamorza cheese still won’t have your accountant in too much of a fluster, both priced keenly at £13.50.
Despite its popularity, Paesano maintains a strict no-reservations policy, though efficient service ensures you rarely wait long. Its democratic, sprawling opening hours (12pm to 10:30pm Sunday to Thursday, and until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays) in keeping with Neapolitan traditions, ensures that queue is always moving.
Following its 2024 acquisition by Di Maggio’s Restaurant Group, Paesano is expanding with a new Shawlands location at the former Di Maggio’s site on Pollokshaws Road. This represents the first step in DRG’s plans to roll out the brand more widely across Scotland and beyond. We just hope the high standards we’ve come to know aren’t affected by saturation.
Ideal for Scottish cuisine opposite the Theatre Royal…
On Hope Street directly opposite the Theatre Royal and just minutes from Glasgow Central, Ardnamurchan brings the distinctive flavors of Scotland’s western peninsula to the city. Opened in 2017 following a £400,000 renovation of the former Trader Joe’s bar, the restaurant takes its name from the Gaelic ‘Àird nam Murchan’ meaning ‘headland of the great seas’.
The smart interior makes nods to Scottish heritage—stag antlers, whisky barrels, and subtle touches of tweed—that would veer off into cliché in lesser hands, but here it feels well judged.
Sourcing artisan products from the Highlands and Islands forms the foundation of Ardnamurchan’s philosophy. The venison comes directly from the Ardnamurchan Estate where deer roam free, fish and shellfish arrive fresh from Scotland’s west coast waters, and the beef (and whisky) hails from Speyside.
Main courses include Ardnamurchan Estate braised wild venison stew slow-cooked in red wine with mushrooms and mashed potato, and grilled Isle of Skye landed langoustines with confit garlic emulsion. The Ardnamurchan Grill section presents 45-day dry-hung Speyside steaks alongside wild venison fillet from the estate.
The Market Menu offers excellent value at around £11.95 for two courses (pre-theatre), with à la carte main courses ranging from approximately £16-£30. The restaurant is dog-friendly with limited bookable tables available upon request.
Ideal for creative 100% vegan food and live performance in a Mackintosh building…
Approaching its 20th year in central Glasgow, Stereo occupies a beautiful Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed building tucked away on Renfield Lane, just minutes from Glasgow Central. This multi-purpose venue functions as a dedicated vegan bar and kitchen during the day and transforms into a performance space in the evenings.
The upper ground floor contains the main bar and restaurant area, benefiting from abundant natural light. As night falls, the music volume rises, though the vibe remains welcoming rather than overwhelming.
Stereo’s 100% vegan menu presents creative plant-based cooking that shifts seasonally. Small plates (which hover in the £7 or £8 region) include standouts like salt and chilli enoki mushrooms with gochujang and miso ketchup, buffalo cauliflower coated in craft beer batter, and Silesian potato dumplings topped with gremolata, crispy capers and dill oil.
Open seven days a week, from noon to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, the kitchen closes at 9pm daily.
Ideal for Japanese noodles and sushi near Glasgow Central…
On Queen Street just a short walk from both Glasgow Central and Queen Street stations, Maki & Ramen brings the tastes of Japan to the heart of the city. This Glasgow outpost of the popular chain which originated in Edinburgh has quickly found its audience among the city’s Japanese food enthusiasts, who can’t get enough of the place. Fortunately, Maki & Ramen recently opened their third Glasgow location on Byres Road, with CEO Teddy Lee targeting 30 sites by 2027. Wowzer.
Still, it’s in the Queen Street location that we seem to always find ourselves. As the name suggests, Maki & Ramen specialises in two key areas of Japanese cuisine. Their sushi lineup includes expertly crafted maki rolls, nigiri, and sashimi, all prepared with fresh ingredients and precise technique. The ramen selection presents rich, slow-simmered broths in various styles, from the classic tonkotsu (pork) to miso and shoyu (soy sauce) bases, each with handmade noodles and various toppings.
The restaurant produces their own 8-hour slow-cooked broth and handmade noodles in their Edinburgh factory, ensuring consistency across all locations. They’ve also launched a charitable initiative at their Glasgow branches: every Wednesday from 4-8pm, they donate £1 to the Glasgow Care Foundation for each ramen dish sold.
The ‘Queen of the Dolomites’ is preparing to reclaim its Olympic glory. Cortina d’Ampezzo will co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics alongside Milan during February, exactly 70 years after it first hosted the Games in 1956.
With women’s alpine skiing, curling, and sliding sports taking place against the backdrop of UNESCO-listed peaks, Cortina offers visitors the chance to witness world-class athletic competition whilst exploring one of Italy’s most glamorous mountain destinations.
When To Visit
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics runs from 6th to 22nd of February, and will see Cortina at its busiest and most expensive, but also its most electric. If you’re primarily interested in the atmosphere rather than attending specific events, consider arriving before or immediately after the Games, when accommodation may be more available and prices slightly lower.
The Paralympic Winter Games follow from 6th to 15th of March, hosting Paralympic alpine skiing, wheelchair curling, and Paralympic snowboarding. This period typically sees fewer crowds than the Olympics whilst still maintaining the excitement of world-class competition.
For those seeking a quieter Cortina experience, January or late March offer good skiing conditions with fewer visitors, though you’ll miss the unique energy of the Olympic fortnight.
Getting There From The UK
The most practical route to Cortina d’Ampezzo starts with a flight to Venice Marco Polo Airport, which has direct connections from London Heathrow, Gatwick, and London City. From Venice, you’re just two hours from the alpine drama of the Dolomites.
Several options connect the airport to Cortina. The Cortina Express and ATVO buses run direct services, with journey times between two and three hours and fares from around £9 when booked in advance. FlixBus also operates this route, typically departing several times daily. For those preferring a more straightforward journey, transfers to Cortina or Milan provide door-to-door service, particularly convenient if you’re arriving with skiing equipment or travelling during the busy Olympic period.
Alternatively, you could fly into Verona, Treviso, or even Innsbruck in Austria, though Venice remains the most popular gateway with the best connections to Cortina. If you’re planning to explore the wider Dolomites region, hiring a car offers the greatest flexibility, though parking in Cortina’s town centre can be challenging during peak season.
Watching Olympic Events
Cortina will host some of the Games’ most thrilling competitions. The legendary Olympia delle Tofane slope, regularly featured in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, will stage women’s alpine skiing events including downhill and super-G races. The Olympic Ice Stadium, originally built for the 1956 Games, will host curling competitions. Meanwhile, the newly constructed Sliding Centre will be the venue for bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge events, reviving Cortina’s long-standing tradition in these sports.
Tickets are exclusively digital and available through the official Milano Cortina 2026 platform. With venues spread across the region, planning your Olympic schedule in advance is essential. Shuttle services will connect major sites to the various competition venues, with park-and-ride schemes operating for those driving.
Even if you’re not attending Olympic events, Cortina’s skiing credentials are impeccable. The resort boasts 120 kilometres of pistes across three main areas: Faloria-Cristallo, Tofana, and Lagazuoi-Cinque Torri. From gentle nursery slopes to hair-raising World Cup runs, there’s terrain for every ability level.
The Tofana area offers the easiest slopes, perfect for beginners and intermediates, with the Socrepes piste being particularly popular for those building confidence. More experienced skiers should head to Faloria, where red and black runs dominate, or venture to the Lagazuoi-Cinque Torri area, where the distinctive rock towers create one of the Dolomites’ most photogenic skiing experiences.
Cortina is part of the Dolomiti Superski network, giving you access to 1,200 kilometres of pistes across the region if you’re keen to explore beyond Cortina itself. Multiple ski schools and rental shops throughout town make getting kitted out straightforward, though booking equipment hire in advance during the Olympic period is advisable.
Winter activities in Cortina extend well beyond skiing. Dog sledding experiences at Peziè de Parù Alpine Farm in nearby Pocol let you drive your own team of huskies through snow-covered forests after a brief training session, offering a 30-minute excursion through otherwise inaccessible mountain scenery.
Snowshoeing provides a quieter way to experience the Dolomites’ winter magic, with numerous trails winding through pristine woodland and offering spectacular mountain views. The legendary Tre Cime di Lavaredo peaks are accessible via snowshoe, though this requires more stamina and proper equipment.
Fat biking and ice climbing have grown in popularity for those seeking different thrills. The Alpine Guides office in the town centre can arrange both activities, ensuring you’re properly equipped and accompanied by professionals who know the terrain.
Dining & Après-Ski
Cortina’s dining scene seamlessly blends Austrian and Venetian influences, creating a distinctive Ampezzo cuisine. Local specialties include casunziei (ravioli filled with spinach or beetroot, served with butter and poppy seeds), chenedi (Tyrolean-style dumplings), and gulasch süppe (Hungarian-inspired meat soup). Potatoes all’ampezzana – slices of boiled potato sautéed with onion and speck – appear as a side dish on most menus.
For upscale dining, several restaurants have earned recognition for their creative approaches to regional cuisine. Tivoli, located in a traditional Alpine house outside the centre on the road to Falzarego Pass, skilfully combines local traditions with modern techniques and offers panoramic terrace views. The restaurant holds a Michelin star and is run by chef Graziano Prest. In the town centre, Ra Stua at Hotel Ciasa Lorenzi serves exceptional beef in a warmly elegant atmosphere.
More casual options include Al Passetto, popular with both locals and visitors for well-priced pizzas and traditional dishes. Hacker Pschorr Haus offers Tyrolean specialties and good-value meals in a central location. For pizza by the slice, Ampezzo Pizza in Piazzale delle Poste provides quick sustenance between activities.
The après-ski scene ranges from sophisticated cocktails at the Crystal lounge bar in the Cristallo Resort to the livelier atmosphere at Chalet Tofane in Socrepes, where a professional DJ set and Champagne accompany views of the slopes. The tradition here, as throughout the Alps, is to arrive still wearing your ski boots – though sloppy behaviour remains firmly discouraged.
Shopping & Strolling
Corso Italia, Cortina’s pedestrian main street, has been the town’s beating heart since its emergence as an international resort. Designer boutiques from Prada, Moncler, and Armani share space with artisan shops, interior design showrooms, and jewellery stores. Window shopping here doubles as people-watching, particularly during the peak weeks around Christmas and New Year when Cortina’s glamorous reputation is on full display.
Even if you’re not planning any major purchases, the street’s Alpine architecture and mountain backdrop make for pleasant wandering between meals or after a day on the slopes. Small cafés and bars provide spots to rest with an espresso or aperitivo whilst watching the parade of well-heeled visitors and locals.
Where To Stay
Accommodation in Cortina spans from grand five-star hotels to cosy family-run guesthouses, though options don’t come cheap given the resort’s exclusivity. The Grand Hotel Savoia Cortina d’Ampezzo, a Radisson Collection property fresh from a huge renovation in 2021, represents the pinnacle of luxury with its spa facilities and elegant rooms overlooking the Dolomites. Hotel de Len offers four-star comfort in the town centre with convenient access to the Faloria cable car.
For better value, consider staying slightly outside the centre. Camina Suite & Spa, north of town, provides four-star amenities with its own ski shuttle service. Three-star options like Ciasa Vervei in Pocol or Baita Fraina offer more affordable rates whilst maintaining good standards. Those on tighter budgets might look at San Vito di Cadore, 11 kilometres south, where hotels like the Fiori Dolomites Experience Hotel provide quality accommodation at lower prices.
During the Olympic period, booking well in advance is essential. Many properties require minimum stays of three to five nights, and those with private parking should be prioritised if you’re driving, as town centre parking is extremely limited.
Know Before You Go
Cortina sits at 1,226 metres altitude, surrounded by peaks that create a spectacular natural amphitheatre. February temperatures typically hover between -5°C and 5°C, though sunshine is common given the town’s position in a wide valley. Pack accordingly: layered clothing, proper winter boots, and sun protection are all essential.
The town itself is compact and walkable, though free shuttle buses connect the centre to various ski lifts and outlying areas. During the Olympics, additional transport services will operate to accommodate the influx of visitors, though expect busy periods and plan extra time for travel between venues.
Language won’t pose major barriers – English is widely spoken in hotels, restaurants, and ski facilities, reflecting Cortina’s long history as an international destination. That said, learning a few Italian phrases never hurts and is always appreciated.
The Olympic Legacy
This isn’t Cortina’s first Olympic rodeo. The 1956 Winter Games marked a turning point for the town, establishing its reputation as a premier ski destination and demonstrating that major sporting events could be successfully hosted in the Alps. Those Games were the first Winter Olympics broadcast on television, bringing Cortina’s dramatic mountain scenery into living rooms worldwide.
Now, 70 years later, the town aims to enhance its infrastructure whilst preserving the authentic Alpine character that makes it special. The challenge of hosting the 2026 Games has prompted significant renovation work throughout town, from updated ski facilities to improved road connections. Some visitors in 2024 and 2025 have reported construction disruption, so it’s worth checking current conditions before finalising travel plans.
The hope is that these investments will benefit both residents and visitors long after the Olympic cauldron is extinguished, cementing Cortina’s position as not just a witness to history, but an active participant in shaping it.
In an era where the carousel of fast fashion spins ever faster, the allure of cheap, trendy clothing can be difficult to resist. Yet, as the environmental and ethical implications of this industry become increasingly apparent, a growing number of us are seeking a more sustainable sartorial path.
For the thirty-something man, this often means curating a capsule wardrobe—a compact, versatile collection of garments that transcend the ebb and flow of fleeting trends.
The Philosophy Behind A Capsule Wardrobe
The concept of a capsule wardrobe is not new, but it has gained traction in recent years as a counter-movement to the excesses of fast fashion. The idea is simple: select a limited number of quality pieces that can be mixed and matched to create a variety of outfits for any occasion. This approach not only simplifies the daily decision of what to wear but also promotes a more thoughtful and ethical consumption of clothing.
The Cornerstones Of A Thirty-Something Man’s Capsule Wardrobe
Crafting the ideal capsule wardrobe is a personal journey, but there are certain staples that serve as the foundation for any well-dressed man in his thirties. These pieces should be timeless, well-made, and versatile enough to be dressed up or down.
The Tailored Blazer
A well-fitted blazer is indispensable. Opt for a classic navy or charcoal gray that can be paired with trousers for a formal look or with jeans for a smart-casual vibe. A blazer crafted from high-quality wool will stand the test of time and serve you well through countless occasions.
A leather jacket is a timeless and versatile addition to any thirty-something man’s capsule wardrobe. Opt for a classic style like a biker or bomber jacket in high-quality leather, such as full-grain or top-grain, to ensure durability and a refined look. Its ability to add an edge to any outfit while remaining sophisticated makes it an essential piece that transcends trends and seasons.
The Crisp White Shirt
Nothing beats the simplicity and elegance of a crisp white shirt. It’s the ultimate chameleon piece, equally at home in the boardroom or at a weekend brunch. Invest in a shirt with a good collar structure and made from breathable cotton.
The Perfect Pair Of Denim Jeans
A pair of dark, straight-leg jeans is a must-have. They can be dressed up with a blazer and brogues or worn casually with a t-shirt and trainers. Look for a pair without distressing or embellishments to ensure longevity in style and wear.
Versatile Knitwear
A quality piece of knitwear, such as a crew neck jumper in merino wool or cashmere, or even a kilt, adds texture and warmth to an outfit. Neutral colours like grey, navy, or camel offer maximum versatility.
The Durable Overcoat
A classic overcoat in wool will protect you from the elements and add an instant touch of sophistication to your ensemble. A camel or dark coloured coat can be effortlessly styled with both casual and formal wear.
Basic Tees & Polos
Quality t-shirts in black, white, and grey, along with a brief but more vibrant selection of men’s polos, are versatile pieces for layering or wearing on their own during warmer months.
Reliable Footwear
Footwear anchors your wardrobe, so it’s essential to have options. A pair of brown leather brogues, black Oxfords for formal occasions, and white leather trainers for casual days are all you need to cover your bases.
Smart Trousers
A pair of tailored trousers in a neutral shade like grey or navy will serve you well. They can be paired with a shirt and blazer for work or with a casual jumper for a relaxed look.
An Essential Pair Of Chinos
No capsule wardrobe would be complete without a pair of chinos. They strike the perfect balance between casual and formal, making them an incredibly versatile addition. Opt for a classic fit in a neutral colour such as beige, navy, or olive. Chinos can be paired with a blazer for a business casual look or with a t-shirt for a laid-back weekend style.
A Tracksuit
For laid-back days, a tracksuit is ideal. Pair the bottoms with that white t-shirt one day, and your jeans with the sweater the next. Or go full on tracksuit another for an effortlessly put together look.
All-Season Accessories
Accessories are the final touch. A leather belt, a classic watch, a few ties, and a selection of socks are sufficient. If you’re embracing pre-owned jewellery (and you should be), a vintage signet ring or cufflinks can add character without breaking the bank.
A well-chosen scarf and a pair of sunglasses will round off your wardrobe for all seasons.
The Benefits Of A Capsule Wardrobe
The advantages of adopting a capsule wardrobe are manifold. Not only does it promote a more sustainable lifestyle, but it also saves time and reduces stress when getting dressed. It encourages investment in high-quality pieces that last longer, thus saving money in the long run. Moreover, it helps in honing a personal style that is both refined and distinctive.
The Bottom Line
Embracing a capsule, somewhat seasonless wardrobe can be a liberating experience. It’s about quality over quantity, style over fashion, and sustainability over disposability. For the thirty-something man looking to refine his style and make a positive impact on the world, building a capsule wardrobe is an excellent step. It’s a commitment to thoughtful consumption, a nod to personal style, and a farewell to the relentless cycle of fast fashion.
Known affectionately for decades as London’s curry corridor, in the past few years Tooting has evolved into one of the capital’s most exciting food destinations, all while keeping its South Asian culinary heritage firmly at its heart.
This South London neighbourhood – famously crowned one of the world’s coolest by Lonely Planet – now draws food pilgrims from across the capital with its intoxicating mix of 30-year-old Pakistani institutions, Aussie brunches and cutting-edge Filipino BBQ joints.
The transformation hasn’t erased Tooting’s culinary soul just yet. While gentrification threatens to push property prices further skyward, the area’s significant South Asian population ensures incredible curries remain thebeating heart of this evolving food scene. From £20 Sri Lankan feasts to award-winning tasting menus, these are the essential dining experiences that make Tooting unmissable. Here are the best restaurants in Tooting.
Apollo Banana Leaf
Ideal for Sri Lankan feasting on a budget…
This Sri Lankan institution occupies what can only be described as a community centre crossed with a particularly exuberant wedding reception. And how damn good does that sound? Technicolour mountain murals compete with disco lights for your attention, while the BYOB policy (no corkage) keeps the atmosphere properly convivial and costs wonderfully minimal.
The food here is serious business, despite the party-ready surroundings. Their mutton kothu roti – that glorious mess of chopped flatbread stir-fried with spiced lamb – arrives as a steaming heap of carby, meaty joy that’ll have you questioning why you ever bothered spending twenty notes on that pappardelle and ragu ten minutes up the road. The crab masala comes in a heady sauce thrumming with brown crab meat, the white meat still in the claws and requiring both commitment and plenty of napkins, while those crispy mutton rolls at £1.50 each make perfect sense as a starter, a side, or honestly, a snack for the journey home. Or, you know, all three…
Don’t stop there. The £9.50 king prawn curry delivers maximum flavour for minimal outlay, though be warned: when they mark something with a single chilli icon, they mean it’s hot. This is heat that builds and builds, the kind that has you reaching for another Kingfisher while swearing you’ll order mild next time. You won’t.
And in a final commitment to obscene value – in this city, in this economy – there’s a set lunch from Fridays to Sundays, and a set dinner Sunday to Thursday for just £8.99 and £9.99 respectively. Getting change for a tenner, that includes four huge dishes, including dosa and biryani. These guys want to feed you, and there’s no point trying to resist it.
Ideal for legendary Pakistani curries in a no-nonsense setting…
This family-run corner restaurant has been part of Tooting’s fabric since John Major was Prime Minister, and they’ve spent those decades perfecting their craft. Forget what you might have read elsewhere – the real draw here is the nihari. This overnight-cooked beef stew arrives rich and deeply spiced, the meat almost disappearing into the sauce, it’s broken down so thoroughly. It’s the sort of dish that was traditionally eaten by Mughal nobility after morning prayers, now democratised for South London at £13.95.
The dining room is simple but attractive – think bright strip lighting and tightly packed tables in clean lines. Downstairs, it’s a canteen-like and upstairs it looks a bit like a Premier Inn on steroids. But this is a restaurant, not a showroom, and when your mixed grill delivers meat that’s been charred, burnished and rendered gnarly by the tandoor, aesthetics become irrelevant.
Their beef chapli kebabs are another must order on a menu full of them – these Pashtun-style patties come studded with coriander seeds and crushed chillies, the kind of thing that’s hard to find done properly outside Pakistan or Afghanistan. At Lahore Karahi, it’s just a queue to get at them, rather than a flight.
The fact they’re open from 10am for traditional Pakistani breakfast (halva, chana and puri) shows they’re serious about feeding the community, not chasing trends. BYOB keeps things affordable at £2 per person corkage, though don’t plan on lingering over your bottle – tables turn fast here, with a queue often forming by 7pm on weekends. That’s all part of the Lahore Karahi experience.
Ideal for modern Filipino cooking that respects its roots…
After years of successful pop-ups, former Gordon Ramsay chef Rex De Guzman finally opened this permanent Filipino spot in November 2024, and Tooting’s dining scene is all the better for it. The pork sisig has become their calling card – it arrives on a cast iron plate hot enough to continue cooking at the table, creating the kind of theatre that would have everyone in the room looking over enviously, had they not already ordered it, too. It’s a riot of crispy pork, onions and chillies that gets even more appealing as it sizzles away in front of you.
The name means ‘point point’ in Tagalog, referring to how Filipinos traditionally order from street stalls by pointing at what they want. But while the name nods to street food culture, the execution here aims to show off De Guzman’s fine dining background. The chicken inasal – marinated for 24 hours before hitting the grill – is a gorgeous mix of blistered surface and brined tenderness within – its vinegar-based sawsawan sauce provides the perfect acidic counterpoint to cut through the richness. Both these hero dishes clock in at £12, which is pretty wild for the quality, quite frankly.
Ginger and bagoong (Filipino shrimp paste) marinated chicken wings are absurdly satisfying, only needing a cheek of lime to see them on their way, whilst their soy and garlic glazed charred aubergine has become something of a signature, the aubergine fudgy and giving, the glaze packing plenty of umami punch.
The rum-heavy cocktails feel appropriately tropical without descending into tiki bar cliché. All in all, Turo Turo has fast become one of Tooting’s best places to eat, and we can’t wait to go back and get across the grilled skewers in more depth and detail.
Ideal for Taiwanese soul food with a side of family history…
Frank Yeung named this place for his father, and that family connection runs through everything from the recipes to the service at Daddy Bao. The shiitake mushroom baos have become a thing of local legend among London’s vegetarians – salty-sweet and pleasingly bouncy. They arrive in an intimate space decorated with dark wood, red lanterns and jade accents that creates the right mood for date night without trying too hard.
The slow-braised pork belly bao remains the bestseller for good reason. The meat comes lacquered in a hoisin-style glaze. It’s then topped with crushed peanuts and fresh herbs that add texture and brightness to each bite. But it’s worth venturing beyond the baos – the three cups chicken showcases the Taiwanese talent for balance, aromatic with Thai basil and hitting that sweet-savoury-boozy sweet spot that defines the dish when done with precision.
The weekend bottomless brunch is big news in Tooting, though the small size means booking ahead is essential unless you fancy joining a queue that snakes all the way into Balham. August 2024 saw them expand downstairs with Good Measure, an underground cocktail bar open Thursday through Saturday that serves Taiwanese-inspired drinks. The ambition shows they’re not content to rest on their bao laurels – this is a restaurant that keeps pushing.
Ideal for discovering what happens when fine dining meets market dining…
You’ll find Smoke & Salt on a residential drag of Tooting High Street, where a string of restaurants, barbers, cafes and grocers begins to thin out, and terraced housing takes their place. The location might seem unlikely for a restaurant that’s got recognition from both the Good Food Guide and Michelin Guide, but chef Aaron Webster makes it work.
The five or seven-course menu (£59 or £70) changes with the seasons but consistently delivers dishes that wouldn’t look out of place in restaurants charging twice the price. Flavours combinations are bold and surprising, whether that’s in the rhubarb kosho that brings vigour to a neat little slab of chalk stream trout, or the smoked mussel chimichurri and fennel caesar salad that bless a seemingly humble poached chicken with a suave, punchy richness.
This is cooking that takes calculated risks without forgetting the basic rule of restaurants: make it taste good. The wine list follows suit, leaning into natural wines and less obvious choices – think Austrian orange wine, chilled South African pinotage, or organic Spanish xarel-lo rather than the usual suspects. With glasses starting at £7, you can afford to be adventurous.
Ideal for Pashtun cooking that demands your full attention…
This cash-only Pashtun restaurant operates at a frequency that borders on controlled chaos. The downstairs dining room is 50% counter, 100% kinetic energy – staff squeeze past tables balancing enormous Afghan naans on hooks, flames shoot from karahis, and the air hangs thick with smoke from the grill. Walking past at dinner time, you’ll see the queue forming outside, people pointing at the takeaway menu whilst simultaneously counting cash.
The chapli kebabs are essential – deep-fried beef patties studded with coriander seeds and crushed chillies that arrive with enough structural integrity to be almost aerodynamic, but so juicy and perfectly spiced that resistance is futile. Order two, not one. Order three in fact. The lamb karahi comes straight from a still-smouldering wok (the vessel is the karahi), its tomato-based sauce hitting sweet tangs and ginger notes that feel light and luxurious. The naans are genuinely absurd in scale – pillowcase-sized flatbreads that need their own custom stands.
But the real theatre happens upstairs. Pre-order the lamb sajji at least two days in advance, and you’ll be ushered into private dining rooms where shoes come off, cushions line the floor and there’s the thick patina of lamb fat across all surfaces. The whole lamb – roughly 15kg – arrives in a trough atop a mountain of kabli pulao, pink and tender throughout. It’s best attacked with hands, and mess is not just accepted but encouraged.
Namak Mandi isn’t licensed and doesn’t allow BYOB, but when you’re wrestling with a small animal in a curtained room, alcohol feels beside the point – you’ve got enough on your plate.
Three decades in the same spot might make some restaurants complacent, but this Keralan specialist recently emerged from a refurbishment looking fresh while keeping the cooking that made its reputation consistent. The new look features cream walls, soft lighting and classical Indo-European portraits of Indian musicians – a contemporary setting that matches the sophistication of what has always come out of the kitchen.
The masala dosas here are genuinely comedic in scale, arriving like giant golden scrolls that could double as sleeping bags, stuffed with perfectly spiced potato filling. But size isn’t everything – it’s the execution that counts. The dosa itself shatters at first bite before giving way to a slight sour chew, and the sambar and chutneys provide the traditional accompaniments done right.
The kitchen’s real skill shows in dishes like the lamb madras, which has a heat that builds gradually, undulates further, all while maintaining complex spicing that reveals itself as the chilli heat subsides.
That said, as a Keralan restaurant, their specialities really shine in dishes like the fish molee or Kerala parotta. Their vegetable avial might sound humble on paper – mixed vegetables with coconut and curry leaves – but it achieves a satisfying kind of harmony. Just when you think you’ve had too much sweetness, aromatic notes roll into town. Once it’s all starting to feel a bit too heady, spice and sweetness takes over once again. It’s incredibly skilful seasoning.
Unlike many Tooting spots, they’re fully licensed, with a wine list that sensibly focuses on bottles with enough structure to stand up to the spicing. There are beers too, of course.
Ideal for pretending you’re in a Bordeaux backstreet bistro…
From the team behind another popular Tooting spot, Little Taperia, comes this French bistro that’s cherished for one dish in particular: the £18.95 flat iron steak with bordelaise sauce, beef-dripping chips and crispy shallots. It sounds simple because it is simple – but that’s exactly why it’s so hard to get right. They nail it every time. The steak arrives perfectly rested, the sauce tastes like actual wine reduction rather than something from a packet, and those beef-dripping chips have the ideal ratio of crispy outside to fluffy inside. And, it’s less than twenty quid! There’s something of a recurring theme going on here: you can eat very well in Tooting without going broke.
The space hits all the bistro notes you’d expect – exposed brick, intimate lighting, closely packed tables that would have you accidentally joining your neighbour’s conversation if everyone wasn’t so focused on their food. The sheltered outdoor seating becomes hot property the moment the sun shows its face, filled with people who’ve learned that booking ahead beats hovering hopefully with a glass of wine.
The wine list leans French, obviously, with some genuine bargains if you know what to look for, though the house red does the job when you’re really here for the beef. This is straightforward, satisfying French cooking that remembers the point is to feed people well, without fuss or frippery.
Ideal for Australian-style brunch that earns its queues…
From the team behind Balham’s absurdly popular Milk, Juliet’s has achieved the kind of devoted following that has weekend warriors setting alarms to beat the queues. The pistachio slice with yuzu icing has many adoring fans but it’s not the only highlight from a menu where every dish reads like someone’s hungover fever dream of breakfast excess but somehow works brilliantly.
The menu goes big on brunch creativity – think fermented chilli butter çilbir, shrimp patty buns, and that famous espresso hollandaise on their ‘Young Betty’ variations, which are essentially delicious creative bits over sourdough toast. Sure, every plate looks ready for its Instagram close-up, but more importantly, the food tastes as good as it looks.
The fit-out screams Melbourne-meets-South London: exposed brick, retro 70s bubble lettering, and a sun-trap garden that becomes a small war zone for tables come Saturday morning. The weekend queues snake down Mitcham Road like they’re giving away free houses, but people wait because they know it’s worth losing half a morning for.
Prices reflect the ambition – expect to pay £15-20 for most mains – but in a world of soggy full Englishes and sad smashed avocado, Juliet’s is proof that brunch can be worth getting excited about. Just don’t expect to walk straight in at 11am on a Saturday.
Ideal for faithful yard cooking with a sound system soundtrack…
This husband-and-wife operation in Tooting’s Broadway Market brings yard shop vibes to SW17, complete with steel drums out front where jerk chicken meets its smoky destiny. The interior goes all-in on the Caribbean theme – reggae posters, bright colours, sound system on point – but this isn’t some sanitised chain version of island culture. This is the real deal, run by people who know the difference between authentic jerk seasoning and the stuff that comes in a bottle from Saino’s.
The jerk chicken justifies the hype, arriving properly charred after its 24-hour marinade bath. This is jerk with the requisite layers – sweet from the scotch bonnets, aromatic from the allspice, with heat that builds slowly then stays with you. The curry goat is equally accomplished, the meat tender enough to fall off the bone but still having a pleasing structural integrity, swimming in a sauce that suggests someone’s grandmother is in the kitchen passing down secrets. Even the shrimp rundown – prawns cooked in coconut milk until they’re sweet and tender – shows what happens when simple dishes get proper respect.
Weekend bottomless brunches have become the stuff of Tooting legend, largely thanks to their ‘Iron Strong’ rum punch that lives up to its name. At £12.50 a full ‘box meal’ of jerk chicken, gravy, a side and sauce, this is remarkably good value. Just don’t wear white – between the jerk sauce and the curry, this is food that demands full commitment. And maybe a few extra napkins!
If not, no worries. With the basics hopefully mastered, we thought we’d delve a little deeper into the wonderful and complicated world of Japanese etiquette. One thing we’ve learnt on various trips to the country is that manners matter. So much so, in fact, that the word has been adopted into Japanese vocabulary as ‘mana’.
This is an umbrella term used to describe all manner (sorry) of appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in the country, all of which we’ll explain further today. With that in mind, here are 16 essential etiquette tips for your first trip to Japan.
To Tip Or Not To Tip?
Tipping variations are confusing all over the world, but in Japan, they’re super complicated. The rules of saving face apply to tips, with many staff politely turning them down. But sometimes, especially in larger cities, a token of generosity will be warmly received. Confused? Yep, us too.
Generally speaking, it’s better to play it safe and don’t tip. In Japan, good service is a standard expectation and is not rewarded with tips. Offering a tip can actually be seen as offensive, as it may imply that the service staff relies on extra incentives to do their job well. Instead, express your gratitude with a heartfelt “arigatou gozaimasu” (thank you very much).
Cash Is King
While the world moves towards cashless transactions, Japan still has a strong cash culture, especially in smaller towns and businesses. Always carry sufficient cash with you, and when handing over money or receiving it, use both hands and give a slight bow—it’s a sign of respect.
Navigating The Language Barrier
Here’s the truth: outside Tokyo’s main drags and Osaka’s tourist centre, English is about as common as a quiet pachinko parlour. Even in the big cities, you’ll find yourself mime-acting your way through izakayas and pointing desperately at picture menus like a toddler with limited motor skills.
The good news? Most Japanese people will make a genuine effort to help when you’re struggling, often pulling out translation apps or drawing maps. But relying entirely on others gets exhausting, and frankly, learning a few phrases shows basic respect for the place you’re visiting.
Download Google Translate before you land—the camera function that translates text in real time is genuinely brilliant for menus and signs. Pocket wifi or a local SIM card isn’t optional; it’s essential. A phrasebook works when your phone dies, which it will, probably while you’re lost in a residential neighbourhood trying to find your Airbnb.
For business trips or extended stays where you’ll encounter formal documents, contracts, or professional correspondence, authentic Japanese translators can provide the accuracy and cultural context that apps simply can’t match.
On the flip side, if you’re planning more than a quick holiday, a few sessions with a tutor will save you from the daily frustration of not knowing how to ask where the toilet is.Even basic competence makes everything easier, from ordering food to navigating situations where you need to overcome the language barrier with more nuance.
Don’t Blow Your Nose In Public
In the ‘west’ it’s generally considered rude to sniff and snuffle, with fellow commuters, diners, shoppers and the rest quietly imploring you to blow your nose and keep the noise down. But in Japan, the opposite is true; it’s considered rude to blow your nose in public. So, if you are suffering from a runny one, run to a private place to clear it up.
In Japan, bowing is more than a mere formality; it’s a deeply ingrained social custom. The act of bowing ranges from a small nod of the head to a deep bend at the waist, depending on the situation. As a visitor, you’re not expected to know the intricate rules, but a polite inclination of the head when greeting or thanking someone is a sign of respect that will be appreciated.
Greeting bow, respect bow, highest respect bow; learn them all and when each is appropriate. And deliver them with frequency and enthusiasm. Of course, some leeway will be granted for not knowing when or how to execute the perfect bow, as you’re a foreigner and not in tune with local customs. But, being able to judge a situation and its necessary gesture will earn you some serious brownie points. As a general rule, a curved back is to be avoided; a straight one is very much encouraged.
Shoes Off, Please!
Speaking of manners, let’s talk about shoes. Leaving your shoes on when entering someone’s house is disrespectful; in fact, you’ll always see a full shoe rack outside the domestic door. The gesture is appropriate on two levels; firstly, it literally keeps the floor clean; secondly, it denotes respect for your host.
Slippers are often provided for indoor use, but remember to switch back to your shoes when stepping onto a tatami mat, as these are to be tread upon only in socks or bare feet.
Respect The Queue
Us Brits have a reputation for queuing, and doing it well. However the Japanese take the act of queuing to a whole different level, waiting in perfectly formed lines for everything – some even say it’s an art form. I think we agree. Even at rush hour, you won’t see people pushing, cutting the queues or breaking rank. When you see a long line snaking around the block, don’t even think about saving someone a spot. It’s frowned upon.
Photography With Permission
Japan offers a wealth of photogenic scenes, from the neon lights and street food bites of Tokyo to the serene beauty of Kyoto’s temples. However, always ask for permission before taking photos of people or private property. In some places, photography is strictly forbidden, so look out for signs or ask if you’re unsure.
Speak Quietly In Public
The Japanese are mindfully aware that they share public spaces with other people and therefore everyone should be comfortable. Keep your voice down in public spaces and whatever you do, don’t use your phone on trains or buses. Any rowdiness or behaviour which disturbs the zen-like calm of the public space is to be avoided. While initially difficult to restrain yourself, you’ll come to appreciate the quiet calm.
Don’t Walk & Eat
Smashing back a sausage roll on the way to the tube stop is as natural to us Londoners as lions to the savannah, but in Japan, people don’t walk and eat. This is all down to having respect for food, with the distraction of moving your legs while eating considered too casual a relationship with the meal. Taking a seat to eat shows proper respect for the cook, and the grower of ingredients, farmer of protein and so on; an attitude we are really on board with.
Handling Chopsticks With Care
Chopsticks are the primary utensils in Japan, and using them correctly is a mark of good manners. Some key points to remember include not sticking your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice (as this resembles a funeral rite), not passing food directly from your chopsticks to someone else’s (another funeral custom), and placing them on the chopstick rest when not in use.
Slurp Away
Noodles in Japan are gooood. And sometimes you’ll be enjoying them with such gusto that you’ll realise you’ve been slurping noisily. Fear not for causing offence though, as slurping your noodles is totally acceptable in Japan.
Encouraged even, it’s a sign that you’ve appreciated your meal, and, running with the same theme, it’s also totally acceptable to drink soup straight out of the bowl. Just don’t do it while moving, or things will get messy, both practically and philosophically.
Be Mindful Of Mealtime Manners
Aside from the chopsticks and the slurping, there are some other pointers involving Japanese mealtime etiquette that you should know.
A dance of tradition and respect, before beginning to eat it’s customary to say “itadakimasu” (I humbly receive), expressing gratitude for the food. During the meal, hold the rice bowl in your hand and lift it towards your mouth, which is considered polite. It’s also important to try a bit of every dish if you’re served a set meal, as this shows appreciation for the chef’s efforts.
After you’ve finished eating, signal your satisfaction by placing all your dishes back how they were at the start of the meal and saying “gochisousama deshita” (thank you for the feast).
Navigate Onsen Etiquette
A visit to an onsen, or hot spring bath, is a must when in Japan, but it comes with its own set of rules. Before entering the communal bath, you must wash and rinse your body thoroughly at the provided shower stations. This cleansing ritual ensures that the bathwater remains clean for everyone.
Tattoos are traditionally associated with the yakuza (Japanese mafia) and can be frowned upon in onsens; however, some places now offer stickers to cover small tattoos or have become more lenient towards tourists with tattoos. Remember, the onsen is a place for quiet relaxation, so keep conversations at a whisper and soak in the tranquillity along with the rejuvenating waters.
Handling Refuse
Japan is known for its cleanliness, and you’ll rarely find litter bins on the streets. This is because the Japanese take responsibility for their own rubbish, often carrying it with them until they find a place to dispose of it properly. Follow suit to keep Japan tidy.
Two Hands Are Better Than One
When receiving a business card or gift, as well as giving an item of importance, always use two hands to indicate respect and care, both for the product and person. To not do this is to show a lackadaisical attitude to the country, its customs and citizens. And that’s not why you got to the end of this article, now is it?
From safety-pinned punks to polished socialites, the King’s Road has witnessed quite the transformation. This historic Chelsea thoroughfare, originally carved out as Charles II’s private route to Kew, has seen London’s cultural tides ebb and flow – from the swinging sixties and Vivienne Westwood’s anarchic spirit to today’s more polished incarnation, where aestheticians have replaced the aesthetes and, erm… Can’t think of any more snappy lines. That’s a shame.
Anyway, today’s King’s Road is a different beast from that of yesteryear, but it’s still an undeniably great place to hang out, and to eat. Between the gleaming shopfronts and beneath the striped awnings, you’ll find restaurants that may not break culinary boundaries, admittedly, but deliver exactly what their well-heeled clientele desires. And quite often, what us folk less of heel are craving, too…
Whether you’re in a contemporary Mexican mezcal joint or traditional Lyonnaise bouchons, the people-watching remains Olympic-grade, though these days you’re more likely to spot a clean-eating influencer than a punk icon. There were no good old days, and all that.
Anyway, we’re here to keep our eyes firmly on the plate, and all while strictly swerving any mention of that TV show; here’s our pick of the best restaurants on and around the King’s Road.
The Cadogan Arms
Ideal for when you want pub classics given a little extra sheen…
The Cadogan Arms embodies the ideal of a modern Chelsea pub – all gleaming wood panels, lovingly restored stained glass windows and plush velvet seating that make you fear for the bill when you’re only one pint in. But don’t let the polished appearance fool you; at its heart, this is still very much a genuine boozer, just one that happens to serve exceptional food.
When acclaimed, ubiquitous restaurant group JKS took over, they brought much-needed clarity and class to both the food program and the room here. The pub’s extensive 2021 renovation revealed original architectural treasures like the elaborate corniced ceiling and backlit stained-glass bar, while chef James Knappett (of two-Michelin-starred Kitchen Table) was enlisted to oversee the menu, the kitchen here delivering consistently outstanding pub classics without any efforts to ‘elevate’ or ‘refine’ them.
The Sunday roast is a big draw here – the sharing board for three (which could easily feed six) comes with a rich bone marrow sauce that could transform even a leathery old slab of roast beef into something truly memorable. And leathery old slab this roast beef ain’t. Equally impressive is their gold-standard beef Wellington, accompanied by a clotted cream mash so indulgent it’s worth having a heart attack for. Fortunately, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is just round the corner.
Ideal for pretending you’ve escaped Chelsea to a backstreet in Lyon…
One of increasingly prolific chef Claude Bosi’s more casual ventures, Joséphine feels like it’s been lifted straight from a charming backstreet in Lyon, self-identifying as a ‘bouchon’ – the name given to traditional Lyonnaise restaurants serving hearty, ingredient-focused cuisine. Burgundy leather banquettes, flickering taper candles and crisp white tablecloths create an atmosphere that’s a little pastiche, perhaps, but also transportive and refreshingly unpretentious.
There are no hushed, reverent tones here, that’s for sure – more guttural sighs of satisfaction at dishes rendered in all manner brown shades – but that’s not to say that the menu doesn’t deliver Lyon’s culinary heritage with remarkable finesse. A deeply savoury onion soup, silken calf’s sweetbreads with seasonal morels, and an intensely boozy rum baba that comes soaked enough to genuinely get you pissed, all hit the high notes. A big log of andouillette, served with mustard sauce, keeps things funky.
The house wine here follows the traditional ‘by the metre’ approach – you only pay for what you drink from the bottle, which feels refreshingly honest in this postcode. Or, predictably dangerous, depending on what kind of drinker you are.
The weekday lunch and early evening set menu (two/three courses for £24.50/£29.50) is notably good value.
Ideal for exclusive Catalan cooking close to Sloan Square…
Chelsea Barracks is a strange place for a restaurant. A 10-minute stroll from Kings Road’s eastern end at Sloane Square, it’s not the first place you’d expect to find soulful Catalan cooking.
The restaurant’s presence here is explained by a vast £959 million project (nothing should cost that much) that has repurposed the 150-year-old former military base. Representing one of the priciest real estate transactions in UK history, the 12.8-acre grounds have been turned into a fortress of unparalleled private luxury, comprising flats with multi-million-pound price tags. Within this gilded sanctuary, The Campaner now serves as the central dining destination.
Open all day, from 11am ‘till late at the weekends (and from midday through 10pm during the week), there’s a concern that The Campaner is essentially a canteen for the incredibly wealthy, but they’ve certainly chosen an attractive place to hang, you’ve got to concede.
The architectural stunner – designed by Ben Pentreath, who drew inspiration from Sir Christopher Wren’s stable buildings at the neighbouring Chelsea Hospital—features soaring vaulted brick ceilings and double-height windows that flood the space with natural light. The restaurant’s name (meaning ‘bell ringer’ in Catalan) is a fitting nod to both its proximity to the Grade II-listed Garrison Chapel and its ambition to become the beating heart of this reimagined neighbourhood.
The restaurant marks the first international venture for Barcelona restaurant royalty Los Reyes del Mango (‘The Mango Kings’), a group that has achieved near-cult status in the city. The menu aims to reflects Agreda’s philosophy of ‘honest and simple cuisine with a Catalan soul’, beautifully executed with seasonal British produce. Start with their pan con tomate – that deceivingly simple Spanish staple where quality ingredients have nowhere to hide. Here, it’s rendered with a correctly restrained application sweet, ripe tomatoes, a whisper of garlic, and exceptional olive oil.
Iberian ham croquettes deliver that perfect contrast between crisp and oozing, deeply savoury interior, while the charred endives with Olavidia cheese and beetroot cream offer a sublime study in bitter-sweet-creamy balance. Perhaps most interesting is the chargrilled aubergine paired with manchego cheese, sobrasada de Mallorca and black treacle – a dish of remarkable depth that demonstrates this kitchen’s deft hand with the seasoning. It’s salty, sure, but spicy and sweet too, with the aubergine’s smoky fudginess pulling it all together. It’s very good indeed.
Main courses are designed for sharing, with the grilled octopus deserving special attention – cooked in the restaurant’s Josper grill with the kind of precision that only comes from true understanding of heat and timing. We’ve had too many bullet-tough octopus tentacles in our time, but this one arrives tender and bouncy, its ‘come hither’ gesture well and truly merited.
The headliner is without doubt the Catalan socarrat with red prawns, the eponymous crust of caramelised rice supporting plump, sweet prawns that taste emphatically of the sea. It’s a flavour that feels just right as the sun pours in through those massive windows, and everyone around you sports absolutely perfect tans.
Intent on chasing the sun, we retire to the restaurant’s gorgeous wraparound terrace for dessert, a particularly cheesy Basque cheesecake and a rough and ready berry mille-feuille that eats much better than it looks. Out here, life feels worlds away from the city’s frenetic pace, despite being just minutes from Sloane Square. It’s pretty blissful.
Back inside, and for those seeking a more clandestine experience (deals that no one quite understands are definitely struck down here), head beneath the restaurant to The Clandesti, their speakeasy-style cocktail bar bathed in warm terracotta tones. Here, mixologists craft artistic concoctions inspired by Catalan masters like Dalí and Miró – the Dream Shell cocktail topped with a toasted marshmallow proves particularly Instagram-worthy (rather defeating the point of the clandestine part, admittedly). Like its parent restaurant above, the bar manages to transport a slice of Barcelona to SW1 without descending into caricature. You know what? We think we might just stay here a while…
Ideal for Aegean-inspired dishes in Chelsea’s most obtusely photogenic dining room…
From the Pachamama group (who previously ran Peruvian seafood spot Chicama from this same King’s Road address), Bottarga channels the spirit of summers spent island-hopping across the Aegean. Every element feels considered here – from the Greek mythology-themed artwork dotting the uneven plaster walls to the eclectic crockery sourced from antique markets. The space became Instagram catnip earlier this year, quite the achievement given how dimly lit it is, with candlelight casting shadows that make photos look pretty poxy, quite honestly.
Executive chef Tzoulio Loulai brings his Greek upbringing to bear on a menu designed for sharing, though certain dishes demand protection from greedy dining companions. The bottarga orzo arrives rich with XO oil and generous shavings of the restaurant’s namesake ingredient – cured fish roe that brings umami depth and a proper hit of the sea. Lamb belly shows serious technique, the meat rendered sticky-sweet with Greek Easter spices whilst maintaining structural crispness and something approaching tender, which is a mean feat. The sides work too; confit ratte potatoes come slicked in burnt butter with roasted garlic aioli, quietly dominating the table despite everyone’s best intentions.
The heated, covered terrace offers year-round alfresco dining and proves easier to book than the dimly lit interior, where the atmosphere skews date-night territory. Desserts arrive in portions that test your commitment – the chocolate burnt cheesecake is particularly formidable, though the Ozempic-faithful simply push it around the plate. That’s fair enough, actually; share it between two and you’ll still struggle through the final bites.
Wine leans Mediterranean, cocktails take playful turns, and the staff strike that balance between attentive and relaxed.
Ideal for tasting the Sussex countryside without leaving SW3…
The Gladwin brothers bring their farm-to-fork philosophy to life at this rustic-chic spot, sourcing produce directly from their family’s Nutbourne vineyard and farm in Sussex, where youngest brother Gregory still works as a farmer.
The eclectic menu at Rabbit changes constantly to reflect what’s hyper (rather than quarterly) seasonal, with the small plates and keen pricing encouraging exploration – try the mushroom marmite eclairs and the beef heart skewers with port glaze. Both are excellent.
Rabbit’s ‘Farm To Fork’ set lunch (two courses for £22, three for £25) offers laughably good value in this part of town. It runs from Tuesday through Friday.
In a discreet corner just off the King’s Road, chef Anna Haugh’s elegant cooking has found a home here, bringing a taste of contemporary Ireland to Chelsea. The intimate dining room — with its gorgeous quilted armchairs, green-and-cream walls and statement mirrors — provides a splendid backdrop for sophisticated dishes that showcase the best of Irish produce while incorporating classical European techniques.
Menu highlights include Clonakilty black pudding wrapped in crispy potato, butter-poached turbot with Irish dulse seaweed, and sirloin of Irish beef with a beef stuffed boxty, something of a Haugh signature. Yep, that feels like a lot of beef, but when the product is this good, it’s worth celebrating, don’t you think?
Speaking of celebrating, Head Sommelier at Myrtle Katarzyna Kostrzewska has curated an impressive global winelist that perfectly complements Anna Haugh’s Irish-influenced cuisine. Beyond the expected French heavyweights, you’ll find gems from Greece, Hungary, and even Peru. Particularly noteworthy is Anna’s own signature wine range, created in partnership with Vino Hero from the South of France – each bottle featuring a QR code linking to recipes she’s designed specifically to pair with that wine.
Ideal for Indian seafood in tranquil townhouse surroundings…
Chef Rohit Ghai’s first solo venture occupies a beautiful townhouse just off the King’s Road, where mint-green walls and floral accents create an atmosphere that feels quite grand, even round these parts.
The kitchen displays remarkable prowess with its contemporary Indian seafood cooking, especially — a pleasingly light sea bass curry comes generously adorned with plump mussels, its sauce luxurious and sweet via freshly-pressed coconut cream. Or, stone bass is crowned with crispy squid, sitting atop well-seasoned squid ink rice. Yep, they love using seafood as a garnish here. We’re certainly not complaining…
That’s not to say that the vision is myopic here. Comprehensive dietary options include separate vegan, halal, gluten-free, nut-free and dairy-free menus. The wine list features several interesting by-the-glass options that are designed to pair beautifully with spiced dishes.
For first-timers, the ‘Expedition’ tasting menus offer the most complete experience, though the set lunch menu provides a more accessible introduction to Ghai’s cooking.
Ideal for buoyant Mexican flavours and a boisterous dining room energy…
This recent arrival brings fresh energy to the King’s Road, named for the Mayan moon goddess and making an immediate impression with striking interiors, including a dramatic mural by Mexican artist Rafael Uriegas.
Here, chef Ximena Gayosso Gonzalez crafts dishes of genuine finesse here, from yellowfin tuna tostadas brought to life with whisper-thin Granny Smith apple (there are some sharp knives in this kitchen) to robata-grilled plates that showcase an admirable command of elemental cooking methods.
The bar, overseen by ex-Cavita bartender Manuel Lema, houses one of Europe’s most extensive collections of agave spirits, featuring rare mezcals and tequilas seldom seen in London. Monday night live music sessions have swiftly become a neighbourhood favourite, drawing a fashionable crowd that keeps the place buzzing well into the evening.
Ideal for garden dining whatever the British weather throws at you…
You could easily miss this place, tucked away as it is just behind Chelsea Green (no, the celebrated wrestler isn’t a permanent fixture here – we mean the park). But to pass over Stanley’s would be to miss its unique brand of countryside enchantment, with its covered, heated courtyard that somehow manages to feel magical regardless of London’s meteorological mood swings. Proper ‘secret garden’ territory, this one…
On the plate, head chef Tomas Kolkus eschews culinary gymnastics in favour of a concise, seasonally shifting menu that lets quality British produce speak for itself. We’re all about the beef tartare crumpet with oyster emulsion and horseradish, which sounds like it could go awry in the wrong hands, but here, it’s wonderfully indulgent and perfectly balanced. Doubts assuaged, order the onglet steak with Jerusalem artichoke next, another dish that needs careful cooking to realise its potential. Rest assured; chef Kolkus knows what he’s doing.
Wine lovers will appreciate the unexpectedly reasonable glass pours (several at £6.50 – practically happy hour prices for this postcode), while their spicy margaritas pack a proper punch. The locals have caught on – the restaurant has developed a fiercely loyal Chelsea following who return as much for the boozing as for the food.
Ideal for experiencing a Michelin star without the stuffiness…
Often referred to as ‘the chef’s chef’, Phil Howard has achieved something surprisingly rare (and that’s not just the quail, served pink) at Elystan Street – creating a restaurant that feels both special occasion-worthy and comfortably unpretentious. The dining room, with its considered lighting and deep Chesterfield booths, is a peaceful place to settle into, while the front-of-house team navigates that elusive sweet spot between warmth and professionalism impeccably.
Howard’s cooking demonstrates an almost musical understanding of flavour and a poet’s knack for menu writing – calf’s sweetbreads arrive beneath a shower of toasted almonds and poppy seeds, pig’s head terrine is bolstered by a pitch-perfect sauce gribiche, while his seasonal game dishes reveal why he’s considered one of Britain’s most accomplished chefs. The kitchen doesn’t chase trends or Instagram moments; it simply delivers technically flawless food. And sometimes (all the time), that’s exactly what you want from your dinner.
Or your lunch, as there’s a set lunch (and early evening) menu here that’s pitched generously at three courses for £45; this is fine value for food of this calibre and relaxed precision. That the restaurant earned its Michelin star within a year of opening surprises precisely no one who’s eaten here, and the fact that the brigade is referred to as the ‘E Street Band’ on the socials keeps us coming back, we can’t lie.
Ideal for seafood obsessives who appreciate proper technique…
Half retail fishmonger, half dining destination, this Pavilion Road gem brings something genuinely distinctive to Chelsea’s restaurant landscape. Tucked down a charming mews off Sloane Square, the space undergoes a nightly metamorphosis – premium fish counter by day transforms into an intimate 12-seat chef’s table experience as dusk falls.
Executive chef Leandro Carreira approaches seafood with the reverence of a true believer. Some fish arrive at table fresh from the morning’s catch, while others undergo a dutiful dry-aging process that concentrates flavor – particularly fascinating with fatty specimens like sea bass or tuna. The daily-changing menu responds to whatever the tides have delivered, though the focus primarily falls on raw preparations – salmon is served as sashimi, dry-aged sea bream simply sliced and garnished with blood orange, a tiger prawn gently unfolds over vinegared rice, nigiri-style.
Images via @The-Sea-The-Sea
Timing matters here – early evening visits coincide with the venue’s transition, allowing you to witness its evolution while taking advantage of rather excellent oyster happy hour prices. The cocktail list leans appropriately toward the maritime, with several options featuring seaweed-infused spirits.
Ideal for suave food at the ‘unfashionable’ end of King’s Road…
There’s something deeply satisfying about Medlar’s location at the far reaches of the King’s Road – as if to say that true quality need not cluster in the fashionable heart of things. This independent restaurant delivers sophisticated cooking without unnecessary theatrics in a dining room where white tablecloths and large windows (thrown open during summer) create an atmosphere of calm refinement.
The partnership between chef Joe Mercer Nairne and front-of-house David O’Connor produces that rare restaurant alchemy – flawless food matched with intuitive service. Their signature crab raviolo with brown shrimps and leek fondue has resisted removal from the menu for good reason, inspiring near-revolt when they once attempted to retire it. The kitchen has a wicked way with offal, too; on a recent visit, a dish of chargrilled calf’s liver with sherry vinegar caramel was exceptional. Ditto a beautiful roast grouse served in that heady, hazy late summer period, accompanied by a parfait of its liver and game chips. Phwoar.
The cheeseboard is one of London’s most notable. From the winelist, look beyond the obvious bottles to discover genuine bargains lurking among lesser-known regions.
Last year, the team opened Cornus in Belgravia to rave reviews. It’s already won a Michelin star.
Ideal for a culinary journey through Portuguese-influenced cuisines…
This intimate venue offers something genuinely distinctive in terms of London’s restaurant scene – an exploration of the diverse flavours found across Portuguese-speaking regions worldwide. Husband-wife team Simon Mullins (Salt Yard founder) and Isabel Almeida Da Silva draw inspiration from multiple continents, so Goan curry might appear alongside Mozambican piri piri chicken or Brazilian moqueca with Macanese specialities.
Image via voltadomar.co.uk/David Robson
Since relocating from Covent Garden to Draycott Avenue, they’ve added a private dining room and heated terrace. Their exclusively Portuguese wine list emphasises small producers and low-intervention approaches – a refreshing departure from typical London offerings.
First-time visitors should consider the weekday set menus, while regulars return for signature dishes like grilled prawns ‘Laurentina’ and Iberico pork bafassa with turmeric potatoes – perfect expressions of the diverse culinary connections across Portuguese-speaking regions.
Ideal for authentic New York slices with The Sopranos on the wall…
Following the runaway success of their Marylebone original, this King’s Road outpost continues Alley Cats’ unapologetic embrace of NYC pizza culture. Checkered tablecloths and Sopranos episodes projected onto exposed brick create the perfect backdrop for what might be London’s most convincing New York-style pizza.
Head chef Francesco Macri approaches dough with the correct devotion, and his 14-inch pies emerge with textbook char, crispness and distinctive chew. The deceptively simple marinara proves that restraint often trumps complexity, while the halal pepperoni has rapidly developed its own Chelsea following.
Securing one of the wooden booths requires strategic timing – weekday evenings offer better odds. The bar programme focuses on quality essentials – craft beer, natural wines, and precise spicy margaritas. Don’t overlook their house chilli sauce, which elevates even basic slices to memorable heights.
Ideal for thin-crust Roman pizza worth staying up late for…
While London’s pizza scene worships at either the Neapolitan or New York altar, Marta celebrates Rome’s distinct pizza tradition. From L’Artigiano’s former Fulham Road premises, the kitchen follows strict Roman methodology – each pizza hand-rolled with a traditional Mattarello pin, creating characteristically thin, crispy bases that emerge perfectly blistered from their Valoriani oven.
The standout Focaccio di Marta sandwiches Stracchino cheese and truffle honey between whisper-thin crispy layers, while the Crostino Cotto achieves perfect harmony between tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto cotto and basil. Don’t be shy to ask for any extras on your pizza to make it ‘just right’ for you; the chefs here will happily oblige.
images via @marta.chelsea
Night owls take note: their late weekend hours (open until midnight Friday and Saturday) make Marta a rare post-theatre option in a neighbourhood not known for burning the midnight, chilli-infused oil.
You know what they say about the grass always being greener on the other side? Well, when you’re casting covetous gazes across the Irish Sea towards the Emerald Isle, that old saying becomes very literal indeed.
Famed for its verdant landscapes and rolling green hills, Ireland is arguably the finest destination for Londoners looking for a long weekend away. But with a decent pint of Guinness, some fine Irish food and plenty of trad music on our doorstep, if you’re looking to enjoy Irish culture in the capital, then rest assured; you can do that, too.
With that in mind, here are 7 ways to be transported to Ireland without leaving London.
Visit The London Irish Centre
The London Irish Centre is an established charity, community hub and cultural centre in Camden that has been a major point for the Irish community in London since 1954. Here, you can engage with the centre’s incredible Irish culture and heritage activity programme, which includes talks and discussions on Irish history, film screenings, Irish language lessons, Irish folk singing classes and Sean Nós dance classes.
The centre also hosts regular evenings of live traditional Irish music and has commissioned works by Irish poets and artists displayed across the site. At the London Irish Centre, you’ll also find the O’Donovan Library, which contains more than 7,000 works unique to the Irish cultural experience. There’s even a small shop selling snacks beloved of Ireland, like Tayto crisps, McDonnells curry sauce and many more delights!
If you’re keen to immerse yourself in the Irish experience in a more thoughtful way than throwing back a few pints of Guinness, then it’s here you should head. An amazing place doing valuable work in the community.
Eat At A Restaurant Celebrating Irish Food
London boasts some excellent restaurants specialising in traditional Irish dishes, as well as a few following in the footsteps of Dublin’s increasingly impressive fine dining scene, putting a modern twist on some of Ireland’s beloved family recipes.
We have to start at Daffodil Mulligan, chef Richard Corrigan’s ode to premium Irish produce on Old Street. Opening in 2019, diners can enjoy Irish oysters, incredible soda bread, and some of the best beef in London, with prime sirloin from Tipperary offering serious depth of flavour.
Or, why not try Myrtle, named after the matriarch of modern Irish cuisine, Myrtle Allen, and run by chef Anna Haugh, who you might have seen on Saturday Kitchen and Masterchef. Here, you can enjoy tasting menus featuring refined takes on Irish classics like boxty and boiled bacon with cabbage.
Finish up at Homeboy in Islington, a cocktail bar that prides itself on its modern Irish hospitality. At the bar, you can sample premium Irish whiskey, indulge in a delicious take on an Irish coffee or simply enjoy a perfectly poured pint of Guinness.
Guinness chocolate sponge truffle with Irish buttered Fudge from Myrtle
Go To The Kiln Theatre
If you’ve not yet had your fill of performance at the London Irish Centre, then head to the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn. The area is nicknamed ‘Ireland’s 33rd County’ due to its large Irish population (the highest in the city), and although the theatre shows everything from contemporary drama to film screenings, it’s also become an influential showcase for Irish theatre.
The theatre regularly features Irish plays and hosts events celebrating Irish culture, including exhibitions on Irish heritage in Kilburn. Check what’s on to see the latest Irish-themed performances and cultural events.
Learn Irish Dancing
Irish dance is a highly energetic, rhythmic discipline that’s gained fans across the world with its ebullience and intricacy. Though Irish dance and its four most common forms – step dancing, set dancing, sean-nós and céilí – takes years to master, there are several Irish dance schools located across London if you’re keen to give it a go.
London hosts several major Irish cultural festivals throughout the year. The city’s St Patrick’s Day Festival in March is one of the biggest outside Ireland, featuring a spectacular parade from Hyde Park through Trafalgar Square to Whitehall, plus music, dance, food and family activities.
In late October, the Return to London Town Festival celebrates London’s annual Festival of Traditional Irish Music, Song and Dance, bringing together musicians and dancers for a weekend of performances and workshops.
For film enthusiasts, the Irish Film Festival London takes place each November, showcasing the latest Irish cinema, documentaries and animation with filmmaker Q&As and industry events.
Find Some Trad Music
Ireland’s musical legacy is hugely influential all over the world, with U2, Enya, the Cranberries, Sinéad O’Connor, Hozier and so many more hailing from the Emerald Isle. But it’s Irish folk and trad music that we’re particularly enamoured with; the use of harp, fiddle, flute and pipes so atmospheric and downright beautiful.
You can find Irish trad music being played live across London. Here are some of the best pubs with regular sessions:
• Sir Colin Campbell in Kilburn has live traditional Irish music every Saturday and Sunday evening, making it one of the few London pubs to feature a live band every single weekend.
• The Antelope in Tooting hosts Irish music every Sunday afternoon from 3pm-5pm, perfect if you’re looking for something that doesn’t stretch late into the night.
• The Lamb on Holloway Road keeps the spirit of the road’s Irish heritage alive with Wraggle Taggle, led by Mick O’Connor, playing traditional Irish sessions every Tuesday evening from 8:30pm.
Many of these venues also show major Irish sporting events like GAA matches and Six Nations rugby, too.
Enjoy The Emerald Isle From Your Sofa
You can even engage with Irish culture from the comfort of your sofa. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s YouTube channel features ‘An Irish Night In’, a brilliant watch delving deep into Irish food, music, storytelling and more.
Lately we’ve also been enjoying Irish language learning through apps like Duolingo, ideal if you’re keen to have some fun whilst picking up some Irish phrases.
Many Irish cultural organisations also offer online events and virtual tours, making Irish culture accessible from anywhere.And with that, we’re off to actual Ireland for a long weekend. Sláinte!
