Great restaurants in or near Westminster, London

Westminster is basically the centre of London with 100s of restaurants in or nearby.
Can you be a bit more specific about where in Westminster? I’m guessing near the Houses of Parliament?
Also what kind of food are you interested in and what price range?

As a start it’s worth looking at the Time Out website for reviews. It’s reliable and up to date.

Some guidance on neighbourhood (not just 'Westminster') and cuisine/budget would be good. And are we talking lunch or dinner?

Assuming you do mean near the Houses of Parliament, and are looking for something smarter, I like Cinnamon Club: https://cinnamonclub.com/

We are staying in October and are open to anything that is local food. We love all kinds of food, especially seafood open to trying different things. Specifically, within walking distance of Westminster area. Do not want to overpay, but are open to any cost that we can review for our own budget. Yes near the house of parliament or Westminster Abbey would be great.

Not a restaurant but Strutton Ground market is near the Abbey and is popular with local office workers for lunch.

J Sheekey is a long-standing fish and seafood restaurant not far away on the edge of Covent Garden. https://j-sheekey.co.uk/menus/
Definitely more of a special occasion kind of place.

A good pub is always a good option, as much for the atmosphere as the food. The Two Chairmen in Old Queen St (near the Abbey) is good and I also like the Golden Lion in King St near St James' Square (not in Westminster but walkable, and worth it).

As mentioned, the city of Westminster is a very large area including Soho, Convent Garden, Bayswater, Paddington, Marylebone, etc. You mean the area around Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster abbey specifically.

The thing about that area is that it's the center of the UK government. It has tons of offices for various ministries, it has 10 downing street, the houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. James's Park, Buckingham Palace, a lot of land uses that aren't restaurants. I'm not saying there aren't restaurants in that specific area, but it's not where you go to find a great restaurant. And, you're going to find some of the restaurants near there to be very overpriced and targeted at fleecing tourists. It's like trying to find a great restaurant a short walk from the Washington monument in DC. One has to ask, why?

Just go to a Convent Garden, Soho, Fitzrovia, areas with lots of great restaurants instead.

+1 to what Piectrude is saying - because no-one really lives where you're looking at, restaurants are limited. Looking more in St James, for a nice smart restaurant with some good seafood, I'd recommend Milo's (Regent Street St James) - good Greek cuisine. Cheaper but still good there's Oshpaz (Uzbek), and Shoryu (Japanese). We stay in St James and these are go-tos for us.

Thank you everyone. We can definitely walk or take a taxi

To toss out some suggestions (all over central London):

• Regency Cafe, great cheap British breakfast food, warning often has long lines.
• Maison François
• Hoppers
• Imad’s Syrian Kitchen
• Plaza Khao Gaeng
• Berenjak
• Lore of the Land
• Salt Yard
• Chettinad Restaurant

many may be pretty expensive, but FYI
The 25 Essential Dishes to Eat in London

Six of the city’s top chefs came together to determine the most delicious and memorable plates in the British capital.

Few things.

1.) Define overpay. London isn’t inexpensive.

2.) It’s a 25 minute stroll up Whitehall into Chinatown to Joy King Lau.

https://joykinglau.co.uk/

3.) Or walk over to the Buckingham As pub for some tasty pub grub.

It's interesting to read a Londoner's comment that Westminster is in the "center" of London. It actually seems a bit far afield to me, but then we always stay in the City of London, which I guess Londoners don't regard as central.

This site is a perpetual education!

ETA:

many may be pretty expensive, but FYI
The 25 Essential Dishes to Eat in London

Six of the city’s top chefs came together to determine the most
delicious and memorable plates in the British capital.

15, 16 and 19 are the only dishes on this list of 25 that I'd consider putting into my mouth. I think most professional chefs have a different concept of what exemplifies deliciousness than the average consumer.

While some Londoners might argue about where the centre of London is specifically most would say it is in Westminster somewhere. The City of London is definitely too far east to be the centre.
I believe when distances are given on road signs etc Charing Cross is classed are the centre of London, so 40 miles to London is 40 miles to Charing Cross which I presume means it is the centre.

Charing Cross has indeed for some time been generally regarded as the centre point of London. I think now for Londoners if not for tourists the centre has crept steadily east over the last 20/30 years.
Of the NYT’s 25 top dishes/restaurants a significant portion are in the Eadt End, something which would never have happened 20 years ago. And for what it’s worth I would happily eat pretty much all of those dishes and have had similar over recent years, not just in London but in restaurants across the country. Fish and chips and roast dinners are far from the only fine foods you can eat in the UK.

Culturally London has moved East but the Charing Cross/Trafalgar Square area would still be considered Central London.

London is big so if you’re in the City of London then yes, Trafalgar Square is quite far away. But that doesn’t mean it’s not the notional centre!

On the BBC soap Eastenders (set in a version of East London that doesn’t really exist anymore) characters talk of going ‘up west’ when they’re heading into central London.

Related trivia that nobody has mentioned; distances on road signs are usually measured to the General Post Office in a particular town. It's Charing Cross in London though. Unrelated, but there's also a Charing Cross in Glasgow, at the top of Sauchiehall Street, where you can join the M8 motorway.

Going324 - thanks for that link! What a great list of both straightforwardly delicious and intriguingly new-to-me dishes!

There was only one to which I would have to say, “NO. JUST NO.” :-)

It’s in the #25 spot. It’s a pasta, and yet… “The intestine of an unweaned calf is carefully prepared to preserve the mother’s milk within and cooked in a simple sofrito of onions, garlic, tomato and guanciale before being served with rigatoni.”

GAH!!!!!!!!!

To build on what others have said regarding the centre of London, my understanding is that the "official" centre is the centre of the roundabout just south of Trafalgar Square, where there is a statue of Charles I on a horse. There is a plaque there to mark it and it says all distances in London are measured from there.

Volva, I am with you on that dish... I have seen it at a few other Italian restaurants as well and it always makes me a little sad! Tho either way, I don't eat beef/veal.

If you like gelato I would highly recommend Amorino Gelato. It is right near the Royal Mews and not far from Buckingham Palace. If you order a cone with 3 flavors they shape it into a lovely rose flower pattern. Amorino has many flavors to choose from and their gelato is creamy and delicious. This was a highlight for our family.