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.
Website: threeuncles.co.uk
Address: 12 Devonshire Row, London EC2M 4RH
St. John Bread & Wine, Commercial Street
Ideal for traditional British fare from one of the UK’s most celebrated chefs...
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.
Read: The best places for a bacon sandwich in London
Website: stjohnrestaurant.com
Address: 94-96 Commercial St, London E1 6LZ
Kolamba East, Blossom Street
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 three months, 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.
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.
You can read our full review of Kolamba here.
Address:: 12 Blossom St, London E1 6PL
Website: kolamba.co.uk
Som Saa, Commercial Street
Ideal for 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 2024 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.
Address: 43A Commercial St, London E1 6BD
Website: somsaa.com
Manteca, Curtain Road
Ideal for Britalian food with a nose-to-tail ethos…
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!).
Website: mantecarestaurant.co.uk
Address: 49-51 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3PT
Bar Douro City, Finsbury Avenue
Ideal for Portuguese small-plates specialists…
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.
Website: bardouro.co.uk
Address: Unit 3, 1 Finsbury Ave, London EC2M 2PF
Bubala, Commercial Street
A darling place ideal for playful Middle Eastern sharing plates…
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.
Website: bubala.co.uk
Address: 65 Commercial St, London E1 6BD
Cinnamon Kitchen City, Devonshire Square
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.
Website: cinnamon-kitchen.com
Address: 9 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4YL
The Wolseley City, King William Street
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.
Website: thewolseleycity.com
Address: 68 King William St, London EC4N 7HR
José Pizarro, Broadgate
Ideal for top tapas and terrific times…
Extremaduran chef and London legend José Pizarro’s Broadgate Circle iteration of his string of beloved tapas bars is perhaps our favourite of the lot. In a bright and bustling room (or, even better if the weather allows, the open terrace), defined by swinging legs of jamón ibérico, the small plates come thick and fast, with an emphasis on the latter.
Yep, the pace here may feel a little frantic – perhaps due to the restaurant’s location in the heart of London’s business district and the pressing necessity for a speedy lunch – but there’s no denying the quality of the food, with Pizarro’s (not sure we’re quite on first name terms yet) signature daily changing croquettes here as voluptuous and umami-laden as ever.
The mini-burgers, exclusive to this branch of the chef and restaurateur’s empire, are exquisite, too. They’ve gone fully gordito here, with a gossamer-thin slice of acclaimed 5J presa jamón replacing bacon, and a generous wedge of gently melted manchego the cheese element. Of course, an almost-aggressive aioli has muscled in between the buns. It’s great.
Perhaps best of all, though, is the restaurant’s bottomless brunch, with freeflow cava, croquettes and a fair few slices of 5J presa thrown in for good measure. Ending late in typically Spanish style (can it be called brunch at 5pm? Who cares?), we’ll catch you there next Saturday if you dare.
Website: josepizarro.com
Address: 36 Broadgate, London EC2M 1QS
Eataly, Bishopgate
The ideal shopping destination for Italian food lovers in London…
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?
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.
Website: eataly.co.uk
Address: 135 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 3YD
Xi’an Biang Biang Noodles, Commercial Street
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.
Address: 62 Commercial St, London E1 7AL
Spitalfields, Brushfield Street
Ideal for lots of choice under one roof…
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.
Website: spitalfields.co.uk
Address: 56 Brushfield St, London E1 6AA
Shoryu Ramen, Broadgate
Ideal for regional ramen that nourishes the soul…
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 Liverpool Street branch, just seconds 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.
Website: shoryuramen.com
Address: 33 Broadgate, London EC2M 2QS
And whilst you’re in the area, why not check out our tips on the best places to eat near Shoreditch High Street Station. Thank the god lord for TFL!