Inspired by the army mess bars of India, Brigadiers at Bloomberg Arcade in the City is a sprawling, gloriously loud Indian barbecue restaurant spread across several rooms of red leather booths, polished mahogany and gold detail. The live fire cooking is excellent, with tandoori lamb chops and beef shin biryani among the standouts, and the whole place doubles as one of London's best sports bars, with pool tables, whisky vending machines and cocktails on tap making it as much a destination for a big night out as a serious dinner.
A Grade I listed pub sitting right on the water's edge in Greenwich, the Trafalgar Tavern has been welcoming Londoners since 1837. Its Georgian bay windows frame sweeping views of the Thames, while inside, walls lined with naval paintings and maritime artefacts give the place an atmosphere that few London pubs can match. The menu leans into classic British cooking, and is especially delicious enjoyed outside on the cobbled terrace in the Summer.
Hidden above a bustling café on Portobello Road, the Fat Badger is one of Notting Hill's best kept secrets. The dining room feels like a country farmhouse transported to West London, with wood panelling, candlelight and the warm scent of beeswax setting the mood for an intimate evening. Head chef George Williams, who honed his craft at the River Café, serves a seasonal British set menu that changes daily and is as unfussy as it is delicious.
Hidden in the ground floor of an art deco block of flats in St John's Wood, Oslo Court is one of London's most joyfully eccentric dining institutions. Serving generous French classics in a room of pink tablecloths, silver service and old world charm that hasn't changed since 1982. Order the Crepes Suzette for dessert and watch as the waiter flambés them at your table, a theatrical flourish that sums up everything wonderful about this gloriously unapologetic place.
A Westminster institution since 1946, the Regency Cafe is the definitive London caff: original art deco tiles, Formica tables and a full English breakfast that draws everyone from builders to politicians. Its distinctive black tiled exterior and no nonsense charm have made it one of the most filmed cafes in Britain, but the real draw is still a proper fry up at a very honest price.
Moored on the Regent's Canal in Paddington Basin, the Cheese Barge is exactly what it sounds like and all the better for it: a beautifully designed double decker vessel dedicated entirely to the very best of British and Irish cheese. The seasonal menu is genuinely inventive, from the curried cheese curds with chilli honey to a whole baked Baron Bigod, and on a sunny day the open top deck is one of the more unusual and enjoyable places to eat in London.
London's premier Mexican churreria, tucked just off Covent Garden, Aguamiel does one thing and does it brilliantly: freshly made churros, cooked to order and served with your choice of dulce de leche, chocolate or condensed milk. Founded by chef Bernardo Pro, who trained in high end kitchens in California and Paris, everything on the menu is made in house, right down to the horchata and the spiced Mexican hot chocolate that is absolutely the right thing to order alongside.
Claiming to be the oldest riverside pub in London, the Prospect of Whitby in Wapping has been drawing drinkers to the banks of the Thames since 1520, back when it was known as the Devil's Tavern and counted smugglers, pirates and the notorious Hanging Judge Jeffreys among its regulars. The original flagstone floor, rare pewter topped bar and a wooden gallows overlooking the river make it one of the most atmospheric pubs in the city, and the balcony views of the Thames are as good today as they were when Turner and Whistler came here to paint them.
Tucked inside the Grade II listed Battersea Power Station, Control Room B is one of the most visually striking bars in London, built around the building's original 1950s control desks, switch dials and switchgear racks, all meticulously restored and frozen in time. By day it's a relaxed spot for coffee and champagne overlooking the vast Turbine Hall; by night it transforms into an intimate cocktail bar with a menu of inventive, electricity themed drinks that match the extraordinary setting.
Set inside Sir George Gilbert Scott's spectacular Gothic Revival dining room at St Pancras, Hawksmoor's newest London restaurant is one of the grandest places in the city to eat a steak. The double height ceilings, ornate Victorian detailing and Hawksmoor's signature parquet floors make for a genuinely breathtaking room, and the adjoining Martini Bar, with its soaring ceilings and terrace, is arguably even more impressive and well worth arriving early for.
The only Chinese restaurant outside Asia to hold two Michelin stars, A. Wong on Wilton Road is chef Andrew Wong's extraordinary love letter to the full breadth of Chinese culinary history. By night the Collections of China tasting menu takes you through 30 dishes and 3,000 years of regional cooking in a single sitting, with standouts including the inside out xiao long bao filled with ginger vinegar foam and the iconic steamed duck yolk custard bun; at lunch, the dim sum menu is equally exceptional and considerably easier to get a table for.
Founded by New Yorker chef Gabe "Papo" Gomez and his wife Georgia, Papo's Bagels is now settled into a railway arch on Amhurst Road and is widely regarded as the best bagel in London. Every bagel is hand rolled each morning, with a properly crisp crust and dense, chewy interior that is the real thing. The classic combination of oak smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, onion and tomato is the one to order. Get there early as they sell out.
Housed in a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse on Conduit Street that was once Christian Dior's London atelier, Sketch is one of Mayfair's most spectacular and deliberately hard to categorise destinations. Created by restaurateur Mourad Mazouz and French chef Pierre Gagnaire, it spans five wildly different spaces, from the forest-filled Glade and the golden Gallery to the three Michelin starred Lecture Room and Library upstairs, all united by an obsession with art, design and theatre. The egg shaped pod toilets alone are worth the visit.
A Michelin Bib Gourmand holder just a short walk from Charing Cross, Bancone is one of London's finest pasta restaurants, with every strand and sheet made by hand on site each day. The long counter overlooking the open kitchen is the best seat in the house, and the signature silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter and confit egg yolk is the dish that keeps people coming back.
Look for the pillarbox red door on Clerkenwell Green, take the lift to the fourth floor and pull back the velvet curtain to find one of London's most atmospheric dining rooms, set in the former judges' dining room of an 18th century courthouse. The deliberately distressed walls, flickering candlelight, giant arched windows and rooftop terraces with their own fireplaces make it one of the most romantic restaurants in the city, with a seasonally driven Mediterranean menu to match the setting.
Tucked inside the Langham Hotel on Regent Street and set in a former banking hall with soaring ceilings, the Wigmore is a modern British pub with a distinctly luxurious edge, its menu overseen by Michel Roux Jr. The food elevates classic pub fare without losing sight of what makes it comforting in the first place, and the signature XXL stovetop three cheese and mustard toastie, made with Montgomery Cheddar, Ogleshield and Raclette and served under a cast iron bacon press, is one of the finest things you can eat in London for the price.
Dishoom's more relaxed, bar-forward sibling, Permit Room opened its first London outpost on Portobello Road in 2025, housed in the former Portobello Road Distillery. Named after the drinking dens that sprang up in Bombay after prohibition was lifted in the 1970s, it serves all-day Bombay-inspired small plates, smoky grills and Dishoom classics alongside inventive cocktails and resident DJs, with the walls covered in art and two boutique hotel rooms upstairs for those who want to make a proper night of it.
A buzzy NYC-style pizzeria, Alley Cats does one thing and does it brilliantly: big, crispy, foldable 14-inch New York pies with a light, crackly base that stands apart from the city's sea of Neapolitan spots. The gingham tablecloths, exposed concrete walls and open kitchen nail the borough vibe, and the vodka pizza, a riff on penne alla vodka, is the one to order.
This small taqueria on Stoke Newington High Street is widely considered the best place for tacos in London. The hand made flour tortillas set it apart from the city's corn dominant taco scene, and the slow cooked beef barbacoa, served simply with raw onion, coriander and a drizzle of salsa roja, is the one dish that keeps people queuing. Arrive early as popular fillings sell out and no reservations are taken.
The passion project of Mexican-born chef Sandra Bello and her partner Erik "Smokey" Bautista, Homies on Donkeys started life as a market stall in Walthamstow before finding a permanent home in a graffiti-filled, hip-hop-soundtracked space on Leytonstone High Road. The tacos are inventive and boldly flavoured, mixing classic Mexican ingredients with unexpected local twists, cutlery is not offered and the refried beans are legendary.
Tucked into Queen's Yard in Hackney Wick, Howling Hops is home to the UK's first dedicated tank bar, where every pint is poured fresh and unfiltered straight from the gleaming steel vats behind the bar. The result is beer that tastes noticeably fresher and more flavourful than anything from a keg or can, and with new brews rotating weekly across a range of styles, it is one of the best places in London to drink craft beer at its source.
A tiny ten-seater counter restaurant tucked into Queen's Yard by the canal in Hackney Wick, Lucia's is one of the most exciting spots in London for open-fire Mexican cooking. There are no reservations so you put your name down at the door and head to Howling Hops next door while you wait, but once you're perched at the bar in front of the glowing charcoal grill with a mezcal paloma in hand and a plate of beef barbacoa tacos on the way, it's absolutely worth it.
Founded by Ashley Chipchase as a lockdown pop-up and now permanently settled at Bow Wharf by Victoria Park, Mexican Seoul is a lively, award-winning Korean-Mexican taco bar with the energy of the best house party in East London. The fusion, which originates from California, works brilliantly here, with gochujang-glazed wings, beef bulgogi tacos and elote corn ribs dusted with pecorino and chilli all fighting for the title of best thing on the menu. The wings have won 15 awards at Wing Fest, and one bite in you'll understand why.
London's largest Asian food hall, Bang Bang Oriental sits on the Edgware Road in Colindale and packs nearly 30 specialist food kiosks into 32,000 square feet, spanning everything from Cantonese roast duck and Korean bibimbap to Indian street food, Japanese ramen, Filipino grilled pork and Taiwanese bubble tea. The format is simple: grab a table, split up, and work your way around the stalls. Worth the trip out to Zone 4 for any serious fan of Asian food.
