‘Goodge Street’. There’s something faintly obscene-sounding about the word that we can’t quite put our finger on – not that we’d want to put our finger on it – but what’s even more obscene here, on this strip connecting Fitzrovia and Marylebone, are the options for a damn fine feed.
From Portuguese comfort food given the fine dining treatment to Peruvian plates full of verve and vitality, there’s something to satisfy just about `anyone in this part of town. If your pockets are sufficiently bulging, that is; this part of town gets pretty pricey. With that in mind, here’s where to eat near Goodge Street Station.
The Ninth, Charlotte Street
Ideal for laid-back, Michelin-starred, Mediterranean-inspired plates of breezy perfection…
There can’t be many more likeable London restaurants than The Ninth, whose Michelin star doesn’t get in the way of a laid back, generous dining experience that leaves you satisfied, satiated and not too skint, either.
Here, chef Jun Tanaka’s Mediterranean-inspired cooking is pleasingly unfussy, with dishes designed for sharing built around one or two expertly-sourced central characters. Don’t miss the crisp artichoke, its leaves all splayed out and pickable, and served with a verdant, pungent three-cornered leek aioli for dipping. Better still is the striking, oddly-photogenic turbot head, which arrives sitting on a rusty langoustine bisque that’s got proper, briny depth from a long roasting of the shells and heads. Roll up your sleeves, turn your spoon on its head, and burrow and furrow with the handle at all the delicious, gelatinous best bits of the fish. Gorgeous.
End, as just about everyone does here, with Tanaka’s signature pain perdu with tonka bean ice cream. A hefty block of custard-soaked brioche is fried in foaming butter until almost over-caramelised, its middle gooey and its edges crisp. It’s served with an ice cream so smooth it’s clearly had several rounds in the pacojet, the two plate-fellows both rich and indulgent but somehow light enough that the massive portion is gone in seconds. It’s got to be one of London’s most iconic sweet treats, and one we’ve wolfed down more times than we’re happy admitting (seven, if you’re asking).
This one needn’t be too damaging to your bank balance, either. The set lunch menu at the Ninth, running from Monday to Saturday and costing just £35 for three courses, is one of the best priced Michelin-starred meals in the capital. With several wines available by the glass for under a tenner (the Rosato di Toscana, at £9 a glass, pairs beautifully with the turbot head from two paragraphs previous), you really can’t go wrong.
Wesbite: theninthlondon.com
Address: 22 Charlotte St., London W1T 2NB
Lisboeta, Charlotte Street
Ideal for a celebration of the food of Lisbon, from its street food snacks to its sophisticated sharing dishes…
Lisboeta is a charming Portuguese restaurant that brings the essence of Lisbon to the heart of London. A noble aim indeed, and one in no more capable hands than those of chef patron Nuno Mendes, one of the city’s most acclaimed, beloved food figures.
Lisboeta is his love letter to the city he grew up in. This restaurant is more than just a place to eat; it’s an experience that celebrates the lifestyle, tradition, and emotion of belonging to Lisbon.
In a space set across three floors, you’ll find different styles of eating, embodying the dining culture woven into the very fabric of Lisbon life. At ground level, it’s a kitchen counter that overlooks the flickering of flames and the clatter of pans, ideal for a quick empada or bifana and glass of crisp Alvarinho, full of verve and minerality. Venture further up, and a sweeping staircase reveals a light and airy dining room with larger groups swooning over sharing plates of red prawn and cuttlefish rice. It’s properly rich and funky, even before you squeeze those rust coloured brains all over an already striking dish.
Wherever you pitch up and however stacked your squad depth, Mendes’s bacalhau à brás from the petiscos (small plates) section of the menu is pretty much obligatory. It’s a stunning version of a dish we didn’t know needed a reverent cheffy touch. Perhaps even more obligatory is the pork fat custard and port caramel dessert, which is genuinely, possibly, one of the best sweet dishes we’ve ever had. Wibbly and wobbly, savoury and sweet; this one’s got it all. We’ll say no more; just order it.
Do be aware that Lisboeta is closed on Sundays, so plan your visit accordingly.
Website: lisboeta.co.uk
Address: 30 Charlotte St., London W1T 2NG
Read: Where to eat the best seafood in Lisbon
Pahli Hill, Mortimer Street
Ideal for some of the finest regional Indian plates in London…
When you step into Pahli Hill’s warm wood, leather clad space just a moment from the throngs of Oxford Street, it’s only natural to breathe a sigh of relief. There’s a transportative quality to proceedings at this modern Indian restaurant, whether it’s in the tastefully done colourscape or the aroma of dried spices toasting in the kitchen that have wafted invitingly into the dining room.
Based around Bombay’s sociable ‘building societies’, there’s certainly a conviviality in the air, and on the plate there’s much to lift your mood further. We’re big fans of the set lunch menu, served from midday until 2:45pm, Tuesdays to Fridays, and seemingly designed to give weary shoppers a much needed blast of respite and rejuvenation. For just £32, you get yourself a three courses which is, really, so much more than that; each ‘course’ is a spread of complementary bites and bigger dishes.
The papadi chaat to start feels like a meal in itself, a riot of spicy, sweet and sour notes, and contrasting textures and temperatures. Each bite offers something different, from pomegranate seed pops of sharpness to herbal piquancy brought by coriander chutney, all anchored by soothing chickpeas and the papdi (crisp shards of wafer) itself. No wonder this dish earned head chef and owner Avinash Shashidhara a place at the 2023 Great British Menu banquet.
Follow this with a canteen-style thali of chicken, fish or vegetables with all the trimmings, and a spiced vanilla rice pudding, and sit and contemplate for a while if you do truly want to return to another Uniqlo this afternoon.
Website: pahlihillbandrabhai.com
Address: 79-81 Mortimer St, London W1W 7SJ
Roka, Charlotte Street
Ideal for sushi, sashimi and robatayaki, served in a high-end setting…
For contemporary Japanese cuisine that sits somewhere between the bling of Dubai’s sushi restaurants and the raucousness of Tokyo’s backstreet izakayas joints, Roka is the place to head if hunger strikes when you’re on Oxford Street 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 Oxford Circus 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 £105 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.
Address: 37 Charlotte St., London W1T 1RR, United Kingdom
Website: rokarestaurant.com
Lima, Rathbone Place
Ideal for colourful, contemporary Peruvian plates…
After a major refurb, Lima Fitzrovia has returned as a refreshed and revitalised version of its former Michelin-starred self. Last year, in celebration of its 10th birthday, the pioneering Peruvian restaurant welcomed its second decade with a new menu of bold, contemporary takes on Peru’s culinary culture and Lima’s modern influences.
Led by newly-appointed culinary director Roberto Sihuay, the menu masterfully blends Peruvian ingredients and cooking traditions with elements of Japanese (Nikkei) and Chinese (Chifa) cuisine.
The results are truly delightful, exemplified in dishes like the tuna Nikkei tartare whose shisho tempura brings added texture, and the grilled secreto Iberico resting atop purple potatoes, its run-off of juices softening those sometimes stubborn tubers into something rich and giving.
There’s also a vibrancy to the main room that was perhaps lacking in Lima’s previous incarnation, with an uncluttered sense of space and harmony now defining the dining here. The multicoloured woven lampshades flown in from Lima (the city) and the expansive skylight just add to that sense of air and elevation. For a country so famed for its altitudes, this feels an apt touch.
Read: The best Peruvian restaurants in London
Address: 31 Rathbone Pl, London W1T 1JH, United Kingdom
Website: limalondon.com
Berners Tavern, Berners Street
Ideal for upmarket Modern British fare, served in sophisticated surrounds…
Housed within the London EDITION Hotel, Berners Tavern isn’t – as the name suggests – really a pub at all, but rather, an opulent dining room that’s all high ceilings, twinkling chandeliers and booths designed for striking deals in.
Another Central London spot that falls under the watchful eye of restauranter Jason Atherton and headed up by experienced chef Poptelecan Ionut, the all-day a la carte menu at Berners Tavern showcases contemporary British cuisine via some of the best ingredients you’ll find in Albion.
So, that’s Orkney scallop, served raw in crudo form and allowed to do all the talking, Cumbrian Herdwick lamb that’s braised for 8 hours until it collapses under a mere click of the fingers, and the restaurant’s pride and joy, its selection of steaks sourced from Scotland’s revered Buccleuch Estate and char-grilled in a specialist Mibrasa oven and served with skin-on fries.
The winelist at Berners is a hefty, 40-odd page tome or largely Italian and French wines, though you’ll find some intrigue in the lower reaches; the Macedonian 2018 Ktima Ligas is particularly special, and at £95 a bottle (as opposed to its bottle shop price of around £45), it’s also an eminently reasonable mark-up – 100% is relatively unheard of in Central London.
Read: Where to find the best steak in London
Address: 10 Berners St, London W1T 3NP, United Kingdom
Website: bernerstavern.com
Hakkasan, Hanway Place
Ideal for dim sum and contemporary Cantonese cuisine…
The name ‘Hakkasan’ has become something of a byword in the capital for dimly-slit, ultra-slick Chinese fine-dining. Though it’s now expanded to 12 other locations worldwide (to, according to many, somewhat diminishing returns), it’s the original on Hanway Place that remains the flagship, boasting a Michelin star and the continued patronage of some of London’s wealthiest diners.
That lighting, though; we’re not sure if it’s sensual or stygian, or perhaps designed to obscure the third digit on some of the menu’s upper echelons. Either way, the food here is undeniably good, with Executive Head Chef Tong Chee Hwee’s dishes straddling innovation and tradition gracefully. For opulence that actually works, go for the two rounds of expertly realised Peking duck; the first with caviar, the second with a choice of either XO or black bean sauce (go with the latter), both coming with gossamer-thin pancakes.
The ‘Supreme’ dim sum set is another winner for those financially backed by a consortium or something, with lobster dumpling, XO scallop and prawn shui mai, Wagyu beef, and royal king crab dumplings all revealed when the treasured bamboo basket lid is lifted.
The cocktails are equally impressive, naturally, with the restaurant’s reverence of proper mixology and the most grand of descriptors both apparent. From the ‘Captivation’ side of the cocktail menu, you’re invited to ‘’succumb to magnetism, charm and beauty’’ of a Smoky Negroni where ‘’everything is at stake’’. Hey, I just came to have some dinner, not to be challenged to a fight-to-the-death with a drink…
Fortunately, the cocktail itself is bloody delicious, and almost worth its obscene price tag. There are quite honestly better places to drink in Central London, where you’ll get several beautifully crafted drinks for the price of one at Hakkasan, but that Negroni is pretty special.
It’s all in keeping with the restaurant’s sumptuous interior, make no mistake, designed by French designer Christian Liaigre and seamlessly blending modern aesthetics with traditional Chinese motifs. The carved wooden cage that serves as a dining space is a distinctive feature that has been replicated in other Hakkasan locations worldwide. You’ll always remember your first time, though…
Address: 8 Hanway Pl, London W1T 1HD, United Kingdom
Website: hakkasan.com
And with that, we’re stuffed.