At the time of writing this list, there are 80 Michelin-starred restaurants in London. From haute-cuisine, fine-dining establishments to local-favourite wood-fired cooking and impeccable Indian restaurants, the width and breadth of the restaurants in that list is enormous, and the level is indicative of dining in London as a whole.
So what is a Michelin star, and what is the Michelin Guide? Well, the name isn't a coincidence: the Michelin Guide is a historic annual guide by French tyre manufacturer Michelin, whose founders decided to produce a guide for motorists looking to eat well on their travels in France. It quickly became a reference point for great restaurants following a more professional pivot in 1920, and has expanded throughout much of the world in the century or so since. One, two and three stars are awarded to the best restaurants, the Michelin Guide's Great Britain & Ireland edition ranks restaurants throughout the British Isles – and as the culinary capital of the UK, London makes up 80 of the total 187 starred venues as of 2024.
When it comes to three-Michelin-starred restaurants, London reigns supreme, with six of the total nine in the UK found in the capital, a number that increased by one in the 2024 Michelin Guide. Our two-star game is pretty strong, too, with 13 two-starred venues in London, from new-school recent additions like Da Terra to old-school haunts like Michel Roux Jr's Le Gavroche.
With a couple of notable exceptions, the list of two and three-starred venues in London tends to lean British and French in terms of personnel and cuisine. The one-starred venues, on the other hand, take in everything from Indian, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Mexican and more, and range from old-school destinations to recent openings that push the boundaries of cuisine in the capital.
Here, we list them all, from the towering three-starred venues to the dependable one-stars that have held onto their accolades for over a decade.
New one-Michelin-starred restaurants in London for 2024
Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay
The Savoy Hotel, Strand, WC2R 0EZ
Gordon Ramsay is no stranger to Michelin stars, but that doesn't mean this tiny little restaurant, secreted away within The Savoy, is any less deserving of a star. High quality cooking shows why the chef is still at the top of his game.
gordonramsayrestaurants.com/restaurant-1890
Akoko
21 Berners Street, W1T 3LP
Few restaurants were more deserving of their Michelin accolades this year than Akoko. Chef Ayo Adeyemi has been cooking up exceptional food that primarily draws upon the culinary influences of Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Dishes are elegant and full of flavour, while the earthen space is a joy to spend time in.
Aulis
16 St Anne's Court, W1F 0BF
Phew – speaking of deserving Michelin stars. It's crazy to think that Aulis has only just earned one. The London outpost of Simon Rogan's multi-star empire, the food at Aulis is faultless, while the chef's table experience is both intimate but fun. Head chef Charlie Tayler does an incredible job of interpreting Rogan's magic through a London lens. For those passionate about culinary arts, exploring chef jobs in London can offer a gateway to the vibrant culinary scene of the city. And who knows – one day you could end up working in a Michelin-starred restaurant yourself.
Chishuru
3 Great Titchfield Street, W1W 8AX
Adejoké Bakare did not have a traditional route into cooking which makes this star all the sweeter. Initially running supper clubs, she won a space in Brixton Village to open her first restaurant. Unsurprisingly, it quickly took off and earner her legions of fans. She closed that outpost last year to focus on finding a new location and refining her offering, and that she did. Reopening in Fitzrovia, the menu is an elevated approach to her original cooking that still stays true to what got her so much attention in the first place – perfectly balanced dishes that comef from the heart.
Dorian
105, 107 Talbot Road, W11 2AT
if you needed any more evidence that Notting Hill was back with a vengeance, let this be it. Dorian, at first glance, seems like your classic neighbourhood brasserie. But sit down and start eating the food and you realise this restaurant is so much more. Fine ingredients are treated with total care, and everything you eat just seems to have that intangible je ne sais quoi that separates it out from its peers.
Humble Chicken
54 Frith Street, W1D 4SJ
If ever a restaurant deserved their Michelin star it's Humble Chicken. Between Angelo Sato's magnetic cooking that ranges from vaguely yonic mussels to cartoonish bao buns and the naughtiest chicken liver pate and Aidan Glayzer-Monk who oversees the drinks list, deftly dancing between organic-leaning wines and a selection of interesting sakes, this is the kind of restaurant you find yourself returning to time and time again.
Humo
12 St George Street, W1S 2FB
Considering this a kitchen without electricity, where everything is cooked over fire, it's incredible how delicate and refined the dishes served at Humo are. A blend of head chef Miller Prada's Colombian heritage and the skills he picked up working alongside legendary Japanese chef Endo Kazutoshi, dishes are often given just the subtlest lick of the flame in order to let the exceptional ingredients do the talking.
Ormer
Flemings Mayfair, 7-12 Half Moon Street, W1J 7BH
Impeccably sourced ingredients, delicate plates of food and a suitably lengthy fine dining menu; Ormer has all the hallmarks of a classic Michelin shoe-in. Reopened in 2021 with chef Sofian Msetfi on the pans, the restaurant has only gone from strength to strength with this tried and true method.
Mountain
16-18 Beak Street, W1F 9RD
Essentially the already Michelin-starred Brat, but larger and in Soho, Mountain continues Tomos Parry's tradition of turning everything he touches to gold (or, at the very least, serious Michelin attention). And rightly so, too. Parry cooks up classic Basque-inspired dishes faultlessly, letting incredible meat and fish yield to the flame to allow their inherent flavour to shine.
Pavyllon
Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane, Hamilton Place, W1J 7DR
Considering this is chef Yannick Alléno's 16th Michelin star, it should come as no surprise that Pavyllon – opened inside the Four Seasons on Park Lane – quickly snapped one up. Jay Rayner described the food as 'lick-the-plate delicious', which is often not what you come to expect from dining of this level – I suppose there's a reason why those stars don't stop coming.
Sushi Kanesaka
45 Park Lane, W1K 1PN
Did you hear the one about the sushi restaurant charging £420 per person for omakase? Well, it's likely those prices are about to get even higher as Sushi Kanesaka was awarded its first Michelin star this year. If money is no object, this dinky 13-seater restaurant is one to make a beeline for.
New two-Michelin-starred restaurants in London for 2024
Brooklands
The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Place, SW1X 7HJ
Claude Bosi has earned a number of Michelin stars over his career and, most notably, has held onto two stars for Claude Bosi at Bibendum since 2017 – yes, that is the restaurant inside the Michelin headquarters. Location nepotism aside, it is unsurprising that such a decorated chef would jump to two stars immediately with his newest venture, especially given said restaurant holds the coveted rooftop spot of the long-awaited Peninsula Hotel in London.
Gymkhana
42 Albemarle Street, W1S 4JH
Every now and again a restaurant rising up in the Michelin rankings makes you let out a garbled 'finally'. This year, that restaurant was Gymkhana. Just one year after opening in 2013, everyone's favourite high-end Indian restaurant was awarded one Michelin star at the 2014 awards. Having held onto it ever since, and continued to cook some of the capital's most impressive food, it was high time that the second came along.
Trivet
36 Snowsfields, SE1 3SU
There are some restaurants in London that don't need to scream and shout about their presence. Reliably wonderful with scores of fans and consistently full tables without needing to be on the tip of everyone's tongues, they are arguably the eateries that truly make dining out in this wonderful city. Trivet is one of those. Owners Jonny Lake and Isa Bal are ex-Fat Duck and know a thing or two about impeccable service and food, something that has been abundantly obvious at Trivet since they opened their doors in 2019 – this second star just proves it.
New three-Michelin-starred restaurants in London for 2024
The Ledbury
127 Ledbury Road, W11 2AQ
Well, what a few years it has been for The Ledbury. The restaurant – which opened in 2005 – held two Michelin stars from 2010 until 2021 when Covid lockdowns forced its closure. Rising like a Phoenix out of the ashes in February 2022, it promptly regained both its stars at the 2023 awards, before earning the coveted third this year and joining just five other restaurants in London to have received the honour. It's safe to say the restaurant is back and better than ever.
Three-Michelin-starred restaurants in London
Core by Clare Smyth
92 Kensington Park Road, W11 2PN
Lamb braised carrot with sheep's milk yoghurt at Core by Clare Smyth
Isle of Mull scallop cooked over wood at Core by Clare Smyth
Pear and verbena Poire Williams sorbet at Core by Clare Smyth
Notting Hill's never been the same since Clare Smyth came to town.
Notting Hill's never been the same since Clare Smyth came to town.
The UK restaurant scene waited with bated breath for Clare Smyth’s first solo restaurant after spending years heading up the kitchen at the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsey in Chelsea. And to say she didn’t disappoint is a huge understatement, with Core in Notting Hill quickly setting out its stall as one of the best fine-dining destinations in the UK, let alone London, and winning two stars shortly after opening. In 2021 it was one of two restaurants to bag a third, which was much deserved: Smyth’s rigorous training and flawless French-accented technique is the perfect foil for utterly exceptional produce from the British Isles, like the iconic Charlotte potato with seaweed bearnaise. It’s not cheap, but the tasting menu is absolutely worth the price, in our humble opinion.
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
The Connaught Hotel, Carlos Place, W1K 2AL
Grouse Burnside Farm, ras el hanout, foie gras, chickpea, dates
Contemporary meets classic at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
The menu at Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
Black truffle, Périgord onion, barley, lardo di Colonnata
Black truffle, Périgord Jerusalem artichoke, Noir de Bigorre ham
Strawberry gariguette, olive oil, basil
Red Mullet, taggiasca olive, piquillo pepper, fennel, lemon
When the flagship restaurant at the iconic Connaught Hotel in London (which, incidentally, also plays host to the world’s most decorated bar) was awarded three Michelin stars in 2021, it felt not only like a victory for common sense, but also a timely reward for French chef Hélène Darroze, who alongside luminaries like Clare Smyth and Anne-Sophie Pic has blazed a spectacular trail in a historically male-dominated fine-dining scene, with Darroze and Pic both presiding over a multi-Michelin-starred restaurant empire spanning both France and the UK. A visit to Hélène Darroze is always an eye-opener when it comes to the elevation of traditional flavours and techniques into something stratospherically ambitious and incredibly refined, while the restaurant itself offers multiple dining spaces in addition to the dining room, including a beautiful chef’s table at the pass and a table for group dining hidden in the subterranean wine cellars.
Sketch Lecture Room & Library
9 Conduit Street, W1S 2XG
Yes, Sketch is really, really ridiculously good looking but the West London Instagram darling isn't just about the aesthetic
Yes, Sketch is really, really ridiculously good looking but the West London Instagram darling isn't just about the aesthetic
Yes, Sketch is really, really ridiculously good looking but the West London Instagram darling isn't just about the aesthetic
Yes, Sketch is really, really ridiculously good looking but the West London Instagram darling isn't just about the aesthetic
Over the years, the multi-venue Sketch has garnered a reputation for a few things. Firstly, for being the most expensive restaurant in London when it opened (an accolade it wore as a badge of honour); secondly, for those toilets (you’ve seen them on Instagram); and thirdly – and probably most importantly – for combining opulent décor, world-class service and truly excellent French-accented food from Pierre Gagnaire and his team in what’s one of the most memorable dining experiences in London. The Lecture Room & Library in particular has always been a hit with Michelin inspectors, but its recent jump from two stars to three has put it right up at the top of the most coveted London dining experiences. Expect tasteful dishes throughout the à la carte and tasting menus, with occasional North African influences thrown in. The bar downstairs is great for an aperitif, too.
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
68-69 Royal Hospital Road, SW3 4HP
Back in 1998, the hottest young chef in London announced his much-anticipated first solo venture. The 31-year-old Gordon Ramsay had worked in some of the best fine-dining restaurants in London and Paris, latterly marshalling 1990s favourite Aubergine to two Michelin stars by the time he set out on his own. Having acquired the former site of Pierre Koffmann’s three-Michelin-starred La Tante Claire on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea, critics expected big things from the rising star. He subsequently became the most famous chef on the planet. Ramsay himself may need little introduction, but his flagship restaurant is an altogether different beast. Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is an ode to classic French cuisine with a contemporary edge. It’s an exercise in restraint, finesse, and detail – virtues Ramsay himself learned from industry giants like Albert Roux and Guy Savoy – which extends from the elegantly composed dishes to the balletic service led by veteran maître d’ Jean-Claude Breton. The restaurant has held the highest Michelin accolade since 2001 and under the watchful eye of talented chef de cuisine Matt Abé looks set to do so for the foreseeable future.
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
The Dorchester Hotel, 53 Park Lane, W1K 1QA
Alain Ducasse is one of the personalities that truly spans generations of chefs, being a key figure in the early days of French fine dining in France and the UK, and someone countless chefs on both sides of the channel can cite as a key influence. While, yes, he may pretty much never actually be in the kitchen at this classic restaurant at the Dorchester hotel on Park Lane (a hard task when you operate 25 restaurants around the world), his team of chefs – led in the modern era by head chef Jean-Philippe Blondet – see to it that his inimitable style of classic French cuisine is upheld in what is an enduring fixture of the hotel dining scene in the capital. Food is reliably good, as you’d expect from a three-Michelin-starred hotel restaurant, but the service is something else entirely – so smooth and sleek you barely notice it, aside from the odd balletic moment when courses from the tasting menu are laid down at the table.
Two-Michelin-starred restaurants in London
Alex Dilling at Hotel Cafe Royal
10 Air Street, W1B 4DY
The culinary world held its breath to see where chef Alex Dilling would go following his departure from Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, having previously worked at The Greenhouse and, most notably, under the peerless Alain Ducasse. Lo and behold, just six months after opening, Dilling’s eponymous restaurant was awarded two stars in the 2023 Michelin Guide. It’s a fitting honour for Dilling’s brand of French-accented modern cuisine, which fuses his British and American upbringings together in hero dishes like clam chowder and hunter’s chicken, while the room is a throwback hotel restaurant vibe, all velvet curtains and white tablecloths. A lunch menu at £66 a person (at the time of writing) is a snip to experience it at an accessible price point, or there’s the seven-course tasting menu if you’re going all out.
Ikoyi
1 St James's Market, St. James's, SW1Y 4AH
Maureen M Evans
Maureen M Evans
Ikoyi is a love letter to learning and cosmopolitanism inasmuch as it is to owner and general manager Iré Hassan-Odukale’s native west Africa. The kitchens are helmed by Jeremy Chan who, at the tender age of 35, has made an indelible mark on London’s fine dining scene. Born in England, raised in Hong Kong and Canada, and educated at Princeton, Chan speaks French, Spanish, English, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese and even rudimentary Farsi, and will happily dive in to explain the nuances of Nigerian fish stock as compared to Japanese dashi, with a broad understanding of how culinary traditions hungrily feed into on another. The result are a number of dishes that have reached cult status amongst the British fooderati, including smoked jollof rice, ike jime trout and Gola peppercorn, and turbot and caramelised chicken wing. Together, Chan and Hassan-Odukale have created a restaurant worthy of the two Michelin stars awarded earlier in 2022 and the American Express One To Watch Award at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in Antwerp in 2021. Having successfully ported the concept to a bigger new location in 2022, Ikoyi retained its two stars in the 2023 guide.
The Clove Club
Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, EC1V 9LT
First starting its life as a fledgling supper club, founders Daniel Willis, Isaac Mchale and Johnny Smith have created something truly special inside the Shoreditch Town Hall.
Isaac McHale had built up quite a reputation by the time The Clove Club opened for business in March 2013. As one half of the British chef collective known as The Young Turks – alongside fellow culinary whizzkid James Lowe – he was known for knocking out exceptional dishes at East London institution The Ten Bells before service declined into something more akin to a house party once the plates had been cleared. It’s little wonder that diners rushed to help crowdfund his first venture. The Clove Club, located in the former Shoreditch Town Hall, is a little more grown up than McHale’s residency days. Here you’ll find modern British cuisine in all its splendour: refined plates celebrating the bounty of our island, with just a dash of irreverence. The signature pine-scented buttermilk fried chicken shows that The Clove Club hasn’t forgotten its humble origins, while dishes like raw scallop and black truffle show why Michelin doled out two stars for this contemporary hit.
A Wong
70 Wilton Road, SW1V 1DE
Andrew Wong launched his restaurant A Wong on the site that formerly housed his parents Cantonese restaurant, Kym. It quickly gained a cult following after opening in 2012, largely thanks to Wong’s peerless culinary skill and commitment to redefining what it means to eat Chinese food in London. It gained its first Michelin star in 2017, with the second following in 2021, making it the first Chinese restaurant outside of Asia to hold such an honour. Wong has worked closely with Dr. Mukta Das for many years, with her academic insight into the history of Chinese cuisine helping guide both the way that Wong cooks and the way he builds his menus. There are few chefs cooking how Wong does, and certainly no one else in England. This is intelligent, thoughtful food at its absolute best.
La Dame de Pic London
Four Seasons Hotel at Ten Trinity Square, EC3N 4AJ
Scallop at La Dame de Pic
Cristian Barnett
Wagyu beef at La Dame de Pic
Cristian Barnett
Lamb at La Dame de Pic
Cristian Barnett
Comfortably perched inside the Four Seasons hotel, La Dame de Pic is the epitome of French sophistication
Richard Waite
Comfortably perched inside the Four Seasons hotel, La Dame de Pic is the epitome of French sophistication
Richard Waite
Those who are fans of French fine dining in London must have been excited when news broke that chef Anne-Sophie Pic was opening her first restaurant outside of France. As the current generation of a ridiculously decorated family when it comes to restaurants (the Pic restaurant empire goes back to her grandfather’s first restaurant), Pic has overseen an expansion across France and into London while still retaining the proper haute-cuisine chops that’s seen her win eight Michelin stars and counting across five restaurants. La Dame de Pic London, at the beautiful Ten Trinity Square is a doozy, winning a star shortly after opening and adding another shortly after. It’s a great place to experience her style of cooking via à la carte or (our pick) the tasting menu – all rigorous French technique with beautiful and seemingly effortless creative flourishes.
Da Terra
Town Hall Hotel, 8 Patriot Square, E2 9NF
Feijoada, farofa, herb bouquet at Da Terra
Panzanella at Da Terra
Scallop, apple fennel at Da Terra
Avocado, burnt cream ice cream, oscietra caviar at Da Terra
Sorrel ice cream, raspberries, pistachio at Da Terra
Duck tortellini, nettles, whey at Da Terra
Langoustine vialone, nano risotto at Da Terra
Cocktails at Da Terra
Bar snacks at Da Terra
Restaurant interior at Da Terra
Restaurant interior at Da Terra
Restaurant interior at Da Terra
Restaurant interior at Da Terra
The bar at Da Terra
The bar at Da Terra
Chef Rafael Cagali had a job on his hands moving into the Town Hall Hotel in 2018, not because of a lack of quality on his part (his CV before opening Da Terra speaks for itself) but because any chef taking over the space would have to compete with the excellent reputations of the two previous restaurants that operated there, namely Lee Westcott’s excellent Typing Room and Nuno Mendes’s iconic Viajante. But that didn’t stop Cagali from opening with an exceptional, refined and ambitious tasting menu-focused offering that drew inspiration from his Italian and Brazilian heritage. As expected from a visit there in its infancy, a Michelin star was nabbed quickly after opening, and the awarding of a second star in 2020 was well deserved for one of the slickest and most creative restaurants in East London.
Restaurant Story
199 Tooley Street, SE1 2JX
View on Instagram
If you’re compiling a list of the most ambitious openings in London – or indeed the best tasting menus – it’d be remiss not to put chef Tom Sellers’ Restaurant Story near the very top of the list. Having chalked up experience under some of the world’s best chefs, Sellers opened Story with a clear mission statement: to serve his own brand of beautiful, exquisite fine-dining food via the medium of a richly detailed tasting menu built around core memories from his childhood. An example? A candle made from beef dripping served with the bread course, created to recall the flavours of the post-Sunday lunch beef dripping he loved as a kid growing up in Nottingham. A Michelin star followed the opening, which he held for years before finally adding a second – which felt long overdue by the time it was awarded – more recently.
Kitchen Table
70 Charlotte Street, W1T 4QG
With an early career working under genre-topping chefs including René Redzepi at Noma and Thomas Keller at Per Se, James Knappett was always going to be ambitious when it came to opening his own restaurant. That ambition was on the subtle side at first, though, with Kitchen Table’s first iteration being a tiny kitchen counter hidden inside his wife, sommelier and restaurateur Sandia Chang’s Bubbledogs. Following the closure of Bubbledogs post-pandemic, the couple seized the opportunity to expand Kitchen Table into the full space and create a culinary playground where a handful of diners per night experience a tasting menu experience that starts in a beautiful lounge and culminates in a larger and more opulent kitchen counter, watching Knappett and his team effortlessly prepare some truly outstanding dishes, with a multitude of ingredients and techniques on show and a focus on foraged food.
Claude Bosi at Bibendum
Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road, SW3 6RD
Caviar and duck gelee at Bibendum
Crab and elderflower jelly at Bibendum
Kid goat at Bibendum
Millefeuille at Bibendum
Vegetable dumplings at Bibendum
Even the snacks at Bibendum aren't as they seem
The ‘Surprise Tasting’ menu at Bibendum is... drum roll, please... a surprise
The ‘Surprise Tasting’ menu at Bibendum is... drum roll, please... a surprise
The ‘Surprise Tasting’ menu at Bibendum is... drum roll, please... a surprise
The ‘Surprise Tasting’ menu at Bibendum is... drum roll, please... a surprise
The ‘Surprise Tasting’ menu at Bibendum is... drum roll, please... a surprise
The ‘Surprise Tasting’ menu at Bibendum is... drum roll, please... a surprise
Claude Bosi is a cast-iron chef in the classic Gallic fashion. Big and barrel-chested, he knows his way around a brioche as much as he does a bivalve. Which makes it perfect that he’s taken over above the Michelin House on Chelsea’s Fulham Road, offering the iconic oyster bar his trademark treatment while launching a fine dining experience in the rooms above. His efforts upstairs earned him a brace of Michelin stars in quick succession. Oenophiles will be rewarded with a wine list that leans heavily into fine wine heavy hitters. Bosi’s cheffing takes traditional French technique, splices with international influences and creates magic with top-flight British provenance. Looking for a robust fine-dining experience with a chef that knows his way around the block? Claude Bosi at Bibendum doesn’t faff about.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA
Scallop and cucumber at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
John Blackwell
Chef Ashley Palmer Watts
John Blackwell
Frumenty at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
John Blackwell
Chocolate drops at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
John Blackwell
The main room of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
John Blackwell
'Meat fruit' at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
John Blackwell
Launched on the heels of Heston’s Feasts on Channel 4, the two Michelin-starred Dinner By Heston sees him at his most scholarly, mining Great British history from the Mediaeval to the Victorian to create modern takes on food that literally would have been fit for a king. Taking up residence in the flashy Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, he quickly created quite a stir – literally so in the case of his Tipsy Cake, which utilises a statement spit to spin-roast whole pineapples. This was followed by a slew of dishes that have become nothing short of iconic: Rice and Flesh and Hash of Snails being two of them. However, in a city where signature dishes are often a flash-in-the-pan quickly forgotten as the next trend waves from the horizon, one dish in particular has managed to hold its own. Meat Fruit, an act of subterfuge in which a chicken liver and foie parfait disguises itself as a perfectly formed and dimpled mandarin, has long been lauded as one of the capital’s most iconic dishes. However, the rest of the menu is just as appealing – it’s difficult to pin down an off note in Heston’s symphonic second outing.
One-Michelin-starred restaurants in London
Cycene
Blue Mountain School, 9 Chance Street, E2 7JB
Rebecca Dickson
Rebecca Dickson
Blue Mountain School has some pretty hot culinary kudos, having previously played host to the Michelin-starred Mãos, often billed as one of the city’s best and most interesting restaurants. Theo Clench, formerly executive chef at Akoko, opened Cycene in the space in late 2022 – to say they were big shoes to fill is putting it lightly. Unsurprisingly though, given Clench’s career, Cycene more than fit the bill, and now just a few months after opening it has the Michelin star to prove it. Elegant, refined dishes are served over a series of spaces, where proceedings kick off in the bar, before moving through the dining room and onto the kitchen, too. The transient nature of the meal adds an experiential element that brings things a cut above the rest. There is a sizable wine list and a wonderful pairing option, but the house also makes its own in-house ferments for a soft beverage pairing like no other.
Luca
88 St John Street, EC1M 4EH
Since opening in late 2016, Luca – the sister restaurant to the two-Michelin-starred Clove Club – has quietly asserted itself as one of the city’s best restaurants. Only going from strength to strength over the last seven years, what has been Michelin-level dining for a long time has finally been awarded this worthy accolade. The food is exceptional; deceptively simple yet highly impressive, and leaves you feeling satiated and distinctly happy as any good meal should. But it’s the service and the atmosphere that sets it a cut above the rest – to walk into Luca is to be welcomed like an old friend, even if you have never dined there before. Staff are warm, and the room is one of London’s sexiest – all candlelit, cosy corners and earthy tones. Many have tried to emulate Luca over the years, few have succeeded.
Restaurant St Barts
63 Bartholomew Close; EC1A 7BG
With Nest in Hackney and Fenn in Fulham, restaurateurs Luke Wasserman, Toby Neill and Johnnie Crowe aimed to serve up creative, contemporary tasting menus in neighbourhood spots – and swiftly received critical acclaim for their brand of modern British cuisine. With 2022 opening Restaurant St Barts, though, it’s fair to say their ambition was a restaurant that kicked things up a notch, feeling more like a destination restaurant than a neighbourhood one, and with a style of food and service that felt more than worthy of a star. That swiftly followed in the first Michelin Guide following its opening, rewarding head chef Kate Austen’s thoughtful, hyper-seasonal cooking. While Michelin still claim not to base the accolade on service or atmosphere, both are excellent, with snacks served in a plush lounge area before the rest of the meal.
Taku
36 Albemarle Street, W1S 4JE
London has a rich history of multi-Michelin-starred Japanese chefs opening concepts here – and for the most part, they’ve been superb reimaginings of their restaurants elsewhere, from Endo Kazutoshi’s Endo at the Rotunda to Yoshihiro Murata’s Tokimeite. Taku is the latest: from the first Japanese chef to win a Michelin star in Paris, Takuya Watanabe, it aims to celebrate the produce of the British Isles in a beautiful, artful menu of sushi, sashimi and more. The Japanese omakase concept is akin to a tasting menu, but usually changes daily depending on what’s available. A Michelin star in 2023’s guide highlights Watanabe’s effortless assimilation into the London scene, and is evidence that his debut London opening is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the city.
Behind
20 Sidworth Street, London E8 3SD
View on Instagram
Hidden quite literally behind London Fields, Behind is a fine dining restaurant that has flipped all traditional connotations associated with that term on their head. Chef Andy Beynon brings an inherent sense of informality to the feeling at Behind, with each dish delivered either by himself or a member of the kitchen team, and casual conversation regularly cropping up as they talk through the elements in each course. Crucially, however, the food is easily at one Michelin star level, if not more – and the team nabbed their first star after being open for just 12 cumulative days. We have no doubt it won’t be their last.
Benares
12a Berkeley Square, W1J 6BS
This is the kind of cooking that will quietly blow you away, in a space that drips with decadence (indoor pool decorated with floating flowers, anyone?). The kitchen team at Benares was given something of a refresh in 2020, bringing back many previous team members under the patronage of the recently returned Sameer Taneja, who worked at the restaurant for six years from 2012, and rejoined in 2019. His approach – which combines his classical French training with Indian flavours and cooking methods – obviously works, with the restaurant regaining its Michelin star in 2021.
Casa Fofo
158 Sandringham Road, E8 2HS
View on Instagram
Casa Fofo is almost exactly what you would expect when visiting a tasting menu restaurant in Hackney. Gone are the pomp and circumstance, replaced instead with convivial service and a unique tasting menu that combines chef Adolfo De Cecco’s Italian heritage with Asian flavours and techniques. There are no gels or foams or delicately piped sauces to be seen, instead you’ll get 90-day aged beef with wafer-thin slices of green tomato and a healthy puddle of jerusalem artichoke sauce, or noodles made from leftover sourdough bread, with a beef, crab and bread miso broth and fermented lemon drop chilli paste. See? Unique.
City Social
Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, EC2N 1HQ
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
The food is Michelin starred, the service is immaculate, and – located level 24 of Tower 42 – the vista of London at City Social is one that'll ingrained on your mind forever
Jason Atherton achieved lofty new heights with the launch of City Social (and also its launch party, where we spotted him hobnobbing with BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH). Situated on the 24th Floor of Tower 42 on The City’s Broadgate, the restaurant offers up exceptional Modern British cuisine alongside its sweeping panoramic views. The interior is cut to fit, with classic parquet flooring, yawningly deep leather booths and high-shine ceiling panels. The menus features the same detail-precision and flavour-centric approach that has won him fans since his days with Gordon Ramsay. City Social was one of the first City restaurants to herald a newfound soul and vigour to the financial district, as well as a Michelin star.
Club Gascon
57 West Smithfield, EC1A 9DS
London's best tasting menus – Club Gascon
Nathalie Toure
London's best tasting menus – Club Gascon
Nathalie Toure
London's best tasting menus – Club Gascon
Nathalie Toure
London's best tasting menus – Club Gascon
Nathalie Toure
London's best tasting menus – Club Gascon
Jean Cazals
London's best tasting menus – Club Gascon
Jean Cazals
Club Gascon has been a flagship for first-class French cooking in London for nearly 25 years. Chef and co-owner Pascal Aussignac cultivates a small garden at the rear of the neighbouring churchyard to grow vegetables and herbs for the restaurant’s seasonal menus.
Born in Toulouse, he also sources may ingredients from the area he grew up in – a place where charcuterie, cassoulet, armagnac, and ducks rule the roost. The Gascony foie gras is a must. Aussignac's business partner Vincent Labeyrie makes three visits a year to France to personally meet growers and hand select wines for the list, alongside his sommelier.
Cornerstone
3 Prince Edward Road, E9 5LX
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Having trained under Nathan Outlaw who has done to Cornwall’s Port Isaac what Rick Stein did to the colloquially named Padstein, it should come as no surprise that Tom Brown’s Cornerstone has a heavy seafood focus. It is his inventive flavour combinations (take, for example, cuttlefish ‘cacio e pepe’, or a crab bun with fennel kimchi and gooseberry housing) that earned the restaurant a Michelin star in 2021.
Evelyn’s Table
The Blue Posts, 28 Rupert Street, W1D 6DJ
The three brothers behind Evelyn’s Table – Luke, Nat and Theo Selby – all spent the formative years of their careers working predominantly at one, two or three Michelin starred restaurants. It should come as no surprise then that their first venture out on their own would be quick to receive a star not long after they took over this bolthole underneath the Palomar Group’s Blue Posts pub in Soho. Dishes are all underpinned by a Japanese element that comes from Luke’s time working in the country, and the menu – prepared right in front of your eyes at the 12-seat kitchen counter – consistently centres incredible produce, meat and seafood, letting the ingredients do the talking.
Frog by Adam Handling
34-35 Southampton Street, WC2E 7HG
BBQ mackerel, tartare, cucumber, lime yoghurt at Frog by Adam Handling
Bergamot, stout, miso, smoked earl grey at Frog by Adam Handling
Crab, kimchi, tart at Frog by Adam Handling
Lamb Wellington, carrot, mint at Frog by Adam Handling
Scallops, oyster, caviar at Frog by Adam Handling
Lobster, wagyu fat at Frog by Adam Handling
Adam Handling's flagship restaurant delivers just about everything you'd want from a restaurant in the taste department
Scottish chef Adam Handling has been well known to UK diners for a while thanks to his small but ambitious group of restaurants in London, Cornwall and Windsor and regular appearances on The Great British Menu, but he had to wait a while for his first Michelin star. In our opinion, it was well overdue by the time it arrived in 2022 for his flagship restaurant Frog by Adam Handling, which serves up creative and frequently sublime tasting and à la carte menus from a beautiful Covent Garden dining room. The full tasting menu is our suggestion, with contemporary flavour combinations and occasionally super-luxe dishes like the waffle with crème fraîche, caviar and maple syrup. The wine list is cracking, too.
Jamavar
8 Mount Street, W1K 3NF
Indian fine dining has been ascendant for some time, with the cuisine shedding its reputation as being strictly a fast-casual option, flexing some muscle, and demonstrating that it can touch the sky now just as it did in the days of Mughal emperors. Jamavar is one of the latest testaments to this, having won a Michelin star in 2022. Borrowing its name from the traditional Kashmiri lace scarves of the 16th century, the dining concept was battle-tested at the Leela Palace in Bangalore before touching down in Blighty in 2016. Chef Surender Mohan has carved out a name for the restaurant with a menu underpinned by Britain’s exceptional seasonal produce.
KOL
9 Seymour Street, W1H 7BA
KOL showcases the diversity of Mexican cuisine alongside the high quality of British produce. The earthy, minimalist, 56-cover dining room centres on a triple-tabled open-plan kitchen, where chefs toil and fuss over each dish, creating flavours as engaging as they are unique. Guests choose from either a five- or six-course tasting menu, with pairings of predominantly natural, central European wines (such as Slobodné's El Melon and Christian Tschida's TNT).
Dishes at KOL are intricately wrought and brazenly innovative: to awaken the palate, guests are served a bone broth imbued with wakame seaweed, habanero chilli and mezcal. Menu highlights include langoustine tacos served in sourdough tortillas with roast garlic, smoked chilli, sauerkraut and sea buckthorn, with a langoustine head steeped in sea buckthorn to squeeze over the taco as you would a lime.
Octopus tacos see the cephalopod marinated in kombucha and cooked in lamb fat, cut with scissors over tortillas and served with honeywort, chervil and Jerusalem artichokes. The downstairs area features an intimate chef’s table as well as the recently opened mezcal bar, headed up by award-winning bartender Maxim Schulte.
Amélie Vincent
KOL showcases the diversity of Mexican cuisine alongside the high quality of British produce. The earthy, minimalist, 56-cover dining room centres on a triple-tabled open-plan kitchen, where chefs toil and fuss over each dish, creating flavours as engaging as they are unique. Guests choose from either a five- or six-course tasting menu, with pairings of predominantly natural, central European wines (such as Slobodné's El Melon and Christian Tschida's TNT).
Dishes at KOL are intricately wrought and brazenly innovative: to awaken the palate, guests are served a bone broth imbued with wakame seaweed, habanero chilli and mezcal. Menu highlights include langoustine tacos served in sourdough tortillas with roast garlic, smoked chilli, sauerkraut and sea buckthorn, with a langoustine head steeped in sea buckthorn to squeeze over the taco as you would a lime.
Octopus tacos see the cephalopod marinated in kombucha and cooked in lamb fat, cut with scissors over tortillas and served with honeywort, chervil and Jerusalem artichokes. The downstairs area features an intimate chef’s table as well as the recently opened mezcal bar, headed up by award-winning bartender Maxim Schulte.
Amélie Vincent
KOL showcases the diversity of Mexican cuisine alongside the high quality of British produce. The earthy, minimalist, 56-cover dining room centres on a triple-tabled open-plan kitchen, where chefs toil and fuss over each dish, creating flavours as engaging as they are unique. Guests choose from either a five- or six-course tasting menu, with pairings of predominantly natural, central European wines (such as Slobodné's El Melon and Christian Tschida's TNT).
Dishes at KOL are intricately wrought and brazenly innovative: to awaken the palate, guests are served a bone broth imbued with wakame seaweed, habanero chilli and mezcal. Menu highlights include langoustine tacos served in sourdough tortillas with roast garlic, smoked chilli, sauerkraut and sea buckthorn, with a langoustine head steeped in sea buckthorn to squeeze over the taco as you would a lime.
Octopus tacos see the cephalopod marinated in kombucha and cooked in lamb fat, cut with scissors over tortillas and served with honeywort, chervil and Jerusalem artichokes. The downstairs area features an intimate chef’s table as well as the recently opened mezcal bar, headed up by award-winning bartender Maxim Schulte.
Amélie Vincent
What do you get if you view Mexican food through a British lens? Santiago Lastra’s KOL, that’s what. This inimitable restaurant produces the rich, vibrant flavours of Mexican food through solely utilising seasonal, British ingredients. This means an extra dose of culinary ingenuity such as partnering with a British cheesemaker to produce Oaxacan style cheese, pistachio mole instead of guacamole and foraged ingredients in place of traditional citrus flavours for that necessary dose of acidity. Paired with thoughtful, largely Eastern European wines and mezcals from around Mexico, it makes for a wholly unique dining experience, unlike anything else in London.
Muse
38 Groom Place, SW1X 7BA
As far as big-name chefs go in the UK, Tom Aikens is fairly up there. After a storied career that involves many formative London restaurants and stints on Great British Menu as both a competitor and a judge, Muse feels like something of a passion project for Aikens. Driven by nostalgia and inspired by his childhood, Muse builds each dish around pivotal moments from Aikens’ childhood and career, with family sitting close to the heart of every course. It is all served up in a wonderland-esque mews house in the heart of Belgravia – a fittingly intimate setting for the intention behind the restaurant.
Sollip
Unit 1, 8 Melior Street, SE1 3QP
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Tucked away behind the Shard and Guy’s Hospital in London Bridge, tasting menu venture Sollip has largely flown under the radar as a fine dining phenomenon, while on the other hand earning a hardcore coterie of devoted eaters. Launched by South Korean husband and wife team Woongchul Park and Bomee Ki, whole met while training at the Cordon Bleu in London and cut their teeth working at The Arts Club and The Ledbury respectively, as well as their own restaurant in Jeju Island, Sollip seamlessly merges the seemingly incongruous fusion of French and Korean cuisine. Experiencing classic Gallic baking such as gougeres interleaved with umami-rich flavours and Seoul-ful ingredients is something that you could only enjoy in a city such as London.
Wild Honey
8 Pall Mall, St. James's, SW1Y 5NG
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To borrow an American expression, it’s not Anthony Demetre’s first rodeo. The chef won his first Michelin star before Y2K when the Putney Bridge Restaurant scored one in 1999, then at his own restaurant Arbutus as chef-patron in 2006, then at his second, Wild Honey, in 2007. After a few tumultuous years for the hospitality industry (ahem, pandemic) which saw him closing many of his restaurants, he reopened Wild Honey St James in a jaw-droppingly beautiful room in the Sofitel Hotel in Pall Mall. So, it was with no surprise that he once again earned a Michelin star at the new iteration of the French bistro in 2022. Having broken ground as one of the first London chefs to advance casual fine dining, it’s heartening to see that his approach remains fresh as ever, and well-deserving of the accolades under its belt.
The Dysart Petersham
135 Petersham Road, TW10 7AA
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Sitting on the fringes of Richmond Park, The Dysart occupies a gorgeous building that dates back to the early 1900s and offers sweeping views of the greenery beyond. Family owned and operated, the restaurant itself is a supremely calming space, serving up impeccable, seasonal food in a space that seems to lower your heart rate the moment you step foot inside. Reading like a rolodex of some of the country’s best meat, fish and produce, the ever-changing tasting menu is a delight.
Umu Restaurant
14-16 Bruton Place, W1J 6LX
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The entrance to Umu Restaurant is a little like a metaphor for the dining experience: entirely unassuming, extremely beguiling, and more to it than meets the eye. Once you find the door and make it into this dinky restaurant, prepare to be blown away by some of the city’s best Japanese food. Expect a menu influenced by the cuisine of Kyoto but firmly anchored in British ingredients, with dishes like Cornish lobster with shichimi pepper and tofu miso bisque, and sake-cured Scottish langoustine with coral shuto.
Endo at The Rotunda
The Helios, 101 Wood Lane, W12 7FR
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Endo at Rotunda is one of the best Japanese restaurants in London. No ifs, no buts, no maybes
Sitting atop the former BBC TV Centre, the lights of London sparkling beyond and a cloud-like canopy above you would be enough to make any meal special. Add in the impeccable Japanese food of chef Endo Kazutoshi and you have a restaurant to remember. Set around a sweeping kitchen-table style setup, the meal is an interactive one. Watch chefs plate dishes with impeccable finesse in front of you, and have each course personally explained – considering there are 20 of them, that is a lot of one-on-one attention.
Brat
4 Redchurch Street, E1 6JL
Brat is one of the most well-respected restaurants in Shoreditch. It's not hard to see why
Brat is one of the most well-respected restaurants in Shoreditch. It's not hard to see why
Brat is one of the most well-respected restaurants in Shoreditch. It's not hard to see why
Brat is one of the most well-respected restaurants in Shoreditch. It's not hard to see why
Brat is one of the most well-respected restaurants in Shoreditch. It's not hard to see why
Brat is one of the most well-respected restaurants in Shoreditch. It's not hard to see why
Best restaurants Shoreditch – Brat
Nabbing a Michelin star just a few months after opening in 2018, Brat is a standout addition to the London dining scene that, four years after opening, continues to remain fully booked almost every day it’s open. This is a testament to a few things: it’s peerless, Basque-influenced cooking that sees practically everything on the menu licked by fire (yes, including the desserts), and its no frills, laid back approach to dining that makes a dinner here an immensely special experience without the pomp and circumstance.
Sabor
35-37 Heddon Street, W1B 4BR
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Barrafina first won its Michelin star while Nieves Barragán was executive head chef in 2013. She left in early 2017 to launch Sabor, which opened its doors in October 2017 and had already nabbed a Michelin star by 2018. This is a testament to Barragán’s defining approach to Spanish cooking, which has shaped what it means to eat the cuisine in London. The walk-in space downstairs serves up a predominantly tapas-focused menu, while the upstairs, bookable El Asador space focuses on slightly larger plates of specialties from the Galicia and Castile regions.
Above at HIDE
85 Piccadilly London, W1J 7NB
The first thing you’ll notice at Above at Hide once you’ve climbed *that* staircase are the floor-to-ceiling windows, offering views down Piccasilly and across Green Park. But they won’t keep your attention for long because Ollie Dabbous’ cooking takes centre stage here. Start with some theatrically plated snacks – gooseneck charcuterie wrapped around real feathers, anyone? – and a bread bowl to die for. The lardon and leek brioche is easily in top-ten carb moments. Assuming you’ll go for one of the tasting menus – it would be a real shame not to – the matching wine lists start with ‘Classic’ (£105) and range up to ‘Hedonistic’ (£545). The restaurant’s connection to its sister fine-wine emporium down the road is one of its many selling points. Sadly the column inches available here won’t allow us to do justice to the complete line-up of food or wine, but Dabbous’ signature dish – the ‘Nest Egg’ – has rapidly becoming an icon of the London fine-dining scene for good reason. Hide’s subterranean bar and the ground-floor brasserie are well worth a visit in their own right. But with Above at HIDE, Dabbous’ fine-dining experience lives up to its billing, going above – and beyond.
Elystan Street
43 Elystan Street, SW3 3NT
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After a long and decorated career behind the stoves, most chefs would probably step into something close to retirement upon leaving their two-Michelin-starred restaurant at age 50. But not Phil Howard. No – instead he opts to open up what is ostensibly a neighbourhood restaurant, but in reality is a perfectly considered, refined dining experience that serves up incredible food but sheds the seriousness that comes along with lengthy tasting menus. It is a testament to his skill, however, that even an attempt at a more ‘casual’ outpost still brings Michelin knocking, with a star quickly following. Those lucky Chelsea-ites.
The Ninth
22 Charlotte Street, W1T 2NB
The Ninth may sound a bit bland. But when you learn the first was Le Gavroche, the fifth was the Square, and the sixth was Capital under Éric Chavot, suddenly the ninth is sounding a little more tasty, right? With a career as distinguished as Jun Tanaka’s, you might expect his food to be fairly cheffy. But as The Ninth is the first restaurant he has actually owned, he’s free from any encumbrances; he’s making food exactly how he wants to. Tanaka was one of the first Michelin-quality chefs to really embrace street food in London. Although the fare at The Ninth could never be described as street food, the simplicity of some of the dishes and the sharing plates certainly reflects the ethos. Whatever you do, make sure you leave room for the pain perdu. This is essentially brioche that’s been soaked in crème Anglaise for 24 hours, then baked, glazed and scorched. It makes soufflé look like a sissy. The restaurant may be called The Ninth but the food is a solid ten out of ten.
Pied à Terre
34 Charlotte Street, W1T 2NH
The dining room at Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia
The dining room at Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia
White asparagus, samphire, bitter leaves and gem lettuce from Pied à Terre.
Dishes from Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia
Dishes from Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia
Dishes from Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia
The exterior at Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia
Pied à Terre hasn’t simply been around for 30 years for no reason. Established in 1991 by David Moore, the effervescent owner who is still likely to be the one greeting you on any given day, Pied à Terre has seen a number of big-name chefs grace its kitchen over the years, including Tom Aikens. While its Michelin star level may have ebbed and flowed – for a time it had two – the quality of the food has remained high over the years, even as chefs have come and gone. At the middle of it all remains Moore, ensuring the ship runs smoothly and developing an enviable shirt collection that will go down in sartorial history.
SOLA Soho
64 Dean Street, W1D 4QQ
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Those who’d grown accustomed to Spanish-American chef Victor Garvey’s authentic, modern tapas dishes at restaurants including Encant and Rambla may have been surprised when he closed the latter to open a modern Californian restaurant in its place. But Garvey’s work in Michelin-starred venues across the USA beforehand meant SOLA was always likely to be a hit, and it was confirmed with the awarding of a Michelin star almost immediately after opening in 2020. A choice of à la carte and tasting options aim to take diners on a tour of the USA’s most populous state, with hero dishes like langoustines flambéed on whisky on a hot rock proving surefire hits. A list of some of the best Californian wines to be found in London completes the experience.
Lyle’s
Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ
Lyle's is where to go for a real lunch to remember. A meal that your parents will bring up at every family barbecue, bat mitzvah, and funeral for the next decade to come.
Per-Anders Jorgensen
Lyle's is where to go for a real lunch to remember. A meal that your parents will bring up at every family barbecue, bat mitzvah, and funeral for the next decade to come.
Per-Anders Jorgensen
Lyle's is where to go for a real lunch to remember. A meal that your parents will bring up at every family barbecue, bat mitzvah, and funeral for the next decade to come.
Per-Anders Jorgensen
Lyle's is where to go for a real lunch to remember. A meal that your parents will bring up at every family barbecue, bat mitzvah, and funeral for the next decade to come.
Per-Anders Jorgensen
Lyle's is where to go for a real lunch to remember. A meal that your parents will bring up at every family barbecue, bat mitzvah, and funeral for the next decade to come.
Per-Anders Jorgensen
Lyle’s is just about drowning in present day dining buzzwords – seasonal, modern British, locally sourced, Scandi-designed. But make no mistake, this restaurant is no sheep – no, Lyle’s is an industry leader, helping to carve out a new space for what it means to eat English food. Dishes are, at first glance, deceptively simple. It’s only upon eating them when it all comes together: the intelligent flavour combinations and immense skill that goes into even the most simple of courses. Menus change often – sometimes daily – and serve as a checklist of the country’s most interesting produce, from the stuff you can get at your local greengrocer, to additions you can only obtain after a hard day of foraging.
Veeraswamy
Victory House, 99-101 Regent Street, W1B 4RS
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The oldest surviving Indian restaurant in London, Veeraswamy is not simply a restaurant, but a destination in its own right. A meal here is not just about what is on the plate, but about the decades of history held within the walls. The food, though, is worth a visit regardless, and the space is luxurious-yet-modern, a recent refurbishment bringing the space firmly into the present day, despite its anchoring in history. Food is bold yet refined, and the menu travels across different regions in India while still feeling cohesive and impressive.
The Harwood Arms
Walham Grove, SW6 1QP
The first and only pub in the capital to be awarded a Michelin star, The Harwood Arms is no sticky-floored boozer. No – this is a public house that takes food seriously. The daily menu echoes hints of classic British pub food, and you could in theory just come by for a pint and a venison scotch egg but it will probably be the best snack you've ever had in your life. But, just because you can get a sirloin steak here, does not mean it’s going to be equivalent to the steak and chips at your local. No – this is considered food well worth its Michelin attention. And that’s before we even get to the sunday roast – consistently voted one of London’s best, and guaranteed to cap off your weekend incredibly well.
The River Cafe
Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, W6 9HA
This is a restaurant that really needs no introduction. The River Cafe is a true London icon, sitting pretty on the shores of the Thames in Hammersmith since 1987. It has developed an international reputation for being one of the essential places to dine in London, thanks to its magical locale, warm service and supremely special food. The restaurant serves up no-frills Italian food, meaning ingredients and their quality are key. It’s this approach to cooking that revolutionised the restaurant scene in London and, to this day, the restaurant can be credited with launching the careers of some of the country’s most defining chefs.
La Trompette
3-7 Devonshire Road, W4 2EU
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Somehow remaining separate from frenzied conversations around London’s dining scene, and yet loved by all who live in it, ‘leafy’ Chiswick is where neighbourhood restaurants come to thrive. La Trompette is a perfect example of this: a tried and true spot that has held the same space since 2001, serving up elegant, refined fare to a selection of loyal and (usually) local diners. Winning a Michelin star in 2008, La Trompette is a grand dame, quietly turning out some of London’s most reliably lovely food.
St John Smithfield
26 St John Street, EC1M 4AY
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
London's best nose-to-tail restaurants – St. John
Few restaurants have had as global an impact on the dining scene as St John. Not simply an enduring restaurant within the London food scene, the restaurant has influenced menus around the world. Their bone marrow and parsley salad dish has been recreated everywhere from Los Angeles to Auckland and Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver and be almost single handedly attributed to the rise of offal on Euro-centric menus. Away from the restaurant’s culinary kudos, the fact that it remains consistently booked out and an enduring favourite of Londoners and visitors alike says all you need to know about the quality of the cooking, even three decades on.
Angler
South Place Hotel, 3 South Place, EC2M 2AF
Gariguette strawberry choux, white chocolate, baked strawberry ice cream, olive oil at Angler
Mackerel at Angler
Monkfish at Angler
Newlyn cod, new seasons garlic, Turkish morels, line-caught squid at Angler
PBC at Angler
Rabbit cannelloni, Scottish langoustine, black garlic, morels at Angler
Yorkshire rhubarb, brillat savrin cream, stem ginger, Greek basil at Angler
With a range of seafood caught fresh from British waters, Angler specialises in grilling, roasting and sautéing just about anything with gills
With a range of seafood caught fresh from British waters, Angler specialises in grilling, roasting and sautéing just about anything with gills
Angler is located on the 7th floor of the South Place Hotel in Moorgate – in the centre of business lunch district. The restaurant launched in 2012 and landed its first Michelin star within a year of opening. Executive chef Gary Foulkes joined back in 2016 and has helped it maintain it ever since. Foulkes has form: with stints at Michelin-starred Aubergine and two Michelin-starred restaurant The Square. From the art on the walls to that on your plate, it is one of the most elegant and tasteful restaurants you’ll find anywhere in London. The experience at Angler is so polished you can practically see your reflection in it. There are only 80 covers, so it’s a fairly intimate affair, but in the summer, it also offers alfresco lunch-time dining on the restaurant’s 40-seat, west-facing terrace. At the opposite end of the restaurant is a 14-seat semi-private room with views into the kitchen and an exclusive 'Chef View' Tasting Menu.
The Five Fields
8-9 Blacklands Terrace, SW3 2SP
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To operate a quality, produce-led restaurant in luxurious yet unassuming surrounds and manage to not only do well, but actively attract a loyal following and a Michelin star is a surprisingly difficult endeavour. And yet, The Five Fields in Chelsea has managed to do just that. The multi-course tasting menu sings with impeccable British ingredients and changes according to the seasons. No matter what time of year you visit, you can expect plate after plate of confident cooking and a wine list that is full of classic bottles with a few more interesting drops in the mix too.
Kitchen W8
11-13 Abingdon Road, W8 6AH
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Opened in 2009 by restaurateurs Phil Howard, formerly head chef and co-owner of The Square, and Rebecca Mascarenhas, of much-loved Barnes restaurant Sonny’s Kitchen, Kitchen W8 was always intended to serve as an elevated neighbourhood joint. And it did just that, with the experienced Mark Kempson helming the kitchen, until 2011 when it was awarded its first Michelin star – something that brought new attention and clientele to this little pocket of Kensington. The original trio are all still here – including Kempson – a testament to the kitchen’s enduring commitment to good food and service.
Trinity Restaurant
4 The Polygon, SW4 0JG
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While Clapham is something of a desert when it comes to good quality fine dining, Trinity has firmly taken that mantle and run with it, proving that Michelin stars can belong in this leafy pocket of London. It may still refer to itself as a ‘neigbourhood restaurant’ but this is cooking that would stand up in the centre of town just as much as it does in the burbs.
Galvin La Chapelle
5 Spital Square, E1 6DY
Chilled asparagus veloute, creme fraiche and chervil at Galvin La Chapelle
Apricot dessert at Galvin La Chapelle
Apple tarte tatin at Galvin La Chapelle
Tagine of Bresse pigeon, couscous, confit lemon and harissa sauce at Galvin La Chapelle
Valrhona chocolate pave, macerated cherries, caramelised white chocolate at Galvin La Chapelle
Cured Loch Duart salmon, fennel, avocado purée and ruby grapefruit at Galvin La Chapelle
Now here’s a restaurant in which every meal will feel like a special occasion – even if you’ve just popped in off the street. (Although good luck with that, the place will be reserved to the hilt.) Launched by the Galvin Brothers – the culinary equivalent of the Gallaghers minus the estrangement – Galvin La Chapelle won a Michelin star in 2011. Enjoy classic French food served in a truly magnificent setting: the building was formerly the gym of a Victorian girls’ school and the restaurant offers class with a capital C.
Chez Bruce
2 Bellevue Road, SW17 7EG
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Minimalist interiors? Check. Head chef who used to work at The Square? Check. South-west London postcode? Check! Chez Bruce hits all the one-star requirements and even has a loyal local following to boot. That’s not to detract from the restaurant’s incredible food which incorporates bold Mediterranean flavours through a refined and elegant lens. This is proper three-course dining at its best, so expect impressive starters, sizable mains and desserts that you simply insist on finding space for.
Amaya
Halkin Arcade, SW1X 8JT
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While London is hardly starved for good quality Indian restaurants, Amaya still manages to shine, even when up against worthy competition. An open kitchen runs down one side of the restaurant, adding a theatrical element to the meal, while the opulent, moodily lit space lets you know you’ve arrived somewhere special. Eschewing the concept of courses, food at Amaya is served as its cooked and is designed for sharing, a departure from the assumed process at Michelin starred restaurants, and a welcome one at that. Expect big flavours and exceptional cooking.
Petrus
1 Kinnerton Street, SW1X 8EA
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As far as defining restaurants in London go, you simply cannot overlook Petrus, which was perhaps one of the most significant fine dining restaurants of the early 2000s boom of them in the city. Opened by Gordon Ramsay, with Marcus Wareing as head chef, the restaurant became the site of the eventual well-publicised feud between the two. Ebbing and flowing in quality over the years, the fact that it has remained in existence is no smal feat. Food is classic but impressive, with a strong French lean.
Kai Mayfair
65 South Audley Street, W1K 2QU
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The first Chinese restaurant in London to be awarded a Michelin star, Kai Mayfair heralded a new way of perceiving Chinese food in London. Opened in 1993 by sport shooter Bernard Yeoh, the express intention of the restaurant was to change the wider view of what it meant to eat Chinese food in the UK, cooking it through the same fine-dining lens that had been gatekept by Euro-centric food for so long. 16 years later, in 2009, it was awarded a Michelin star, which it has retained ever since.
Murano
20 Queen Street, W1J 5PP
Angela Hartnett is something of a legend in the culinary world. With an incredibly decorated career that included a lengthy stint under Gordon Ramsay, Hartnett opened Murano in 2008. Her star has only risen since then, with the restaurant gaining a Michelin star and two subsequent Cafe Murano venues opening – a casual take on this, her grand dame. Her sophisticated Northern Italian food at Murano has earned her city-wide recognition and something of a cult following.
Pollen Street Social
8-10 Pollen Street, W1S 1NQ
While Jason Atherton is now a worldwide name, with restaurants in major cities around the globe, Pollen Street Social is where it all began for the chef. Opened in 2011, the restaurant quickly earned a Michelin star which it has quietly retained ever since. Over lockdown, the chef dedicated his time to reinventing the concept, giving the menu a modern overhaul while still staying true to the impeccable cooking that quite literally launched an empire.
Locanda Locatelli
8 Seymour Street, W1H 7JZ
Again with the restaurants who have held their Michelin stars since the early Noughties; Locanda Locatelli opened in 2002 and swiftly nabbed their first star the year after. Since then, while Italian restaurants have come and gone, this stalwart spot has remained, enticing locals and visitors alike with its impressive menu of exquisite food in chic, pared-back surroundings.
Portland
113 Great Portland Street, W1W 6QQ
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The pared down dining room and open kitchen at Portland hint towards a far more casual dining experience than you receive at this wonderful restaurant on the border between Fitzrovia and Marylebone. Opened with the intention of being a solid neighbourhood spot, the restaurant achieved that and so much more, unintentionally receiving a Michelin star less than a year after opening. This is, of course, due to the incredible, seasonal food the kitchen turns out that firmly puts provenance front and centre, but can also be attributed to the friendly service and ambitious wine list that spotlights some wonderful, affordable bottles.
Trishna
15-17 Blandford Street, W1U 3DG
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
The 6-course 'Taste of Trishna' menu is perhaps the best way we can think of to spend £70 in Marylebone
Trishna is where the JKS Group first drew Michelin blood. Looking back on it, the quaint little Keralan restaurant serving up superlative south Indian fine dining had all of the markings of the beginning of a thriving restaurant group. Food is reliably wonderful, pulling influences from the southwest coast of India, which mean seafood is undoubtedly a necessary addition to your order.
The Dining Room at the Goring
15 Beeston Place, SW1W 0JW
This is the kind of timeless, elegant restaurant that to a small percentage of the population is a daily lunch occurrence, and to the rest of us is a one-off decadence. There are no hints of trends or ‘fashionable’ dining here – although that’s not to mean the food isn’t wonderful, because it is. But it’s good in the way that it has been for years, and really, why fix what isn’t broken? To dine at The Goring is to slip away from the world for a little while – and it’s damn good fun – and tasty – while you do.
Quilon
41 Buckingham Gate, SW1E 6AF
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Located inside St James’s Court Hotel, Quilon is a stalwart of the London dining scene. The first South Indian restaurant in the world to win a Michelin star, the kitchen has been helmed by the same chef since 1999 – Sriram Alyur. Nine years later it was awarded the coveted Michelin star, an achievement it has retained ever since. The menu features a strong focus on seafood, but really everything is well worth a try. This is cooking that has stood the test of time – and is as good as ever.
The Ritz Restaurant
150 Piccadilly, St. James's, W1J 9BR
John Williams joined The Ritz restaurant in 2004, and quietly began building a kitchen that would go on to become one of the country’s best – quite literally. Awarded a Michelin star in 2016, it would be another 6 years before the buzz around The Ritz Restaurant reached a cacophonous roar – and it seems that time has finally come. Climbing forty places in the National Restaurant Awards list in just one year, Williams’ work is finally getting the credit it deserves, and The Ritz Restaurant is seen as a serious place to dine. It would be easy to have the food get lost in the space, so decadent are the interiors. But rather than let the room outshine what’s on the plate, Williams and his team rise to the occasion, matching the grandeur around you. It’s no mean feat, but it’s one they achieve year after year. Sitting at the end of a wonderful meal and having crepes suzette prepared for you tableside on a dinky little trolley is truly an unforgettable experience.
