Must try Restaurants in London

Dishoom, Punjab, Ikoyi, Dragon Inn ( Richmond ), Padella in Shoreditch…..

And to help you research try looking at this webite:
https://london.eater.com/maps/best-london-restaurants-eater-38

We were in London last week and really enjoyed our lunch at Dishoom. We ate at the Covent Garden location. The food was really good and we are fans of small plates/sharing restaurants so we can try a lot of different things.

In Borough Market, I always go to La Tua Pasta for a delicious and filling lunch. Lots of different pasta and sauce options.

For dinner, The Clove Club. I have been twice (2017 and last week) and it's amazing. We did the tasting menu with the wine pairing, and it was chef's kiss. I recommend sitting in the dining room and seeing some of the chefs at work in the kitchen. It is definitely expensive, but for us, it was worth every penny.

Poppies Fish and Chips. I don’t care if it is the best or if I really need to go to the seashore and buy from a ‘real chippie’, it’s very good and the Soho location is in the historic 2i’s coffee bar building with lots of British music history.

I make a point to eat at The Cheese Bar as often as possible--they have a couple of locations but I have only been to the one at Camden Market. I love cheese, especially British cheese, and they do variations on grilled cheese, fondue, raclette, cheese boards, etc.

We love Portrait at the National Portrait Gallery for lunch and are hoping when the museum opens in June that the restaurant is as good as it was before closing in 2020. It has fabulous views over Trafalgar Square, a great menu, and feels like a secret gem. Another spot we like is a cocktail in the Winter Garden at Rules. It feels like a calm oasis in that part of town. We're returning in a couple weeks to The Barbary Next Door in Neal's Yard. Postage stamp of a place, very relaxed atmosphere, fantastic North African/Spanish spot. Another wine-centric place I love is Noble Rot on Lamb's Conduit...great food, fun wine selection.

It would probably help if you mentioned what you want to eat there, or what you like to eat when you're eating, your location, dietary restrictions, that sort of thing.

Rick loves to suggest restaurants, what did you think of the listings in his book (hint, hint)?

For a glass of wine in a cozy, dark spot, Gordon's Wine Bar near the Embankment Underground station. For cocktails with a view, GONG on the 52nd floor of The Shard (enter via Shangri La Hotel).

Spent a week in December in London. Went to many good places but I would go back to: Gordon’s Wine Bar, Mayfair Chippy, Dishoom

I wouldn’t say anything is ”don’t miss”, but these are some restaurants that I have been to multiple times:

1) Dishoom - I prefer either the Kensington or the Soho locations as they tend to be less crowded than the Covent Garden location which often has a queue out the door in the evening. Breakfast and lunch are less crowded. The Bacon, egg, and naan roll makes a great breakfast with a cup of chai. I also really like their chicken ruby.

2) Honey and Co - I’ve loved every meal here. The first time I went there I had the gundi sabzi which was so good I bought their cookbook and made the dish when I returned home. Their feta cheesecake is also amazing. Reservations are a must. They’ve recently moved to a new location which I have not been to.

3) Ottolenghi and Nopi - Creative food. Nopi is the more formal restaurant and you need a reservation. Ottolenghi is best for either takeaway or a casual lunch. The Spitalfields location has quite a bit of seating whereas some of the other locations just have a few tables. I had a late lunch at their new Chelsea location on my last trip. If you are into cooking, you are probably familiar with Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi for their very popular cookbooks (Jerusalem, Plenty, Ottolenghi, etc.)

4) The Palomar and The Barbary (previously mentioned) are both owned by the same group. Both have seating at the bar around a small open kitchen. They have interesting small plates.

I agree with Laura: nothing I mentioned is don't miss, just places to which I personally would or do return. Other restaurants I've visited in the last year were great, but I'd rather try something new. I do think it helps to know what you value in restaurants and how you would describe that. You may get some excellent suggestions.

Do not miss an Australian Brunch.

Granger & Co is all over, but the Notting Hill one is supposed to be best (that’s the one we hit), but there is a veritable antipodean invasion in London.

https://adventuresofalondonkiwi.com/2021/10/the-best-aussie-cafes-in-london/

My review of the Granger in Notting Hill can be found under “ Day Nine - Brunch, Pack and Dash” in this thread:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/york-and-london-march-3-11-2023

Laura, I share your love for Honey and Co. !!

Naroon, which is Persian. We went twice last trip, and will be going back again on the next one. Surprisingly affordable for London, and for how good its food is. The name’s somewhat similar to Dishoom, the Indian restaurants mentioned above, but a very different place.

An upscale Indian restaurant in London, and absolutely fabulous, is Michelin-starred Kahani. Looking up at the private dining room that hovers over the regular tables was unexpected but wonderfully memorable, and their food is sublime.

Any of Ottolenghi’s and The River Cafe. Have enjoyed both the casual takeout and nicer dining rooms of Ottolenghi’s and it’s easier to eat there than make his recipes at home:) The River Cafe for delicious Italian and to explore a non touristy area.

Tagging onto this post as we will be in London for 11 days this fall and celebrating a wedding anniversary. I was thinking of Sky Garden. Anyone been there for lunch or dinner? If no replies, I may start my own thread.

I had lunch at Darwin Brasserie in Sky Garden about 5 years ago. Lunch was fine but you go there for the view not the food.

Paradoxically the view from the more expensive restaurant, Fenchurch, at the very top, was not as good because of the way the top of the building curves out and down and the way the structural supports converge at the top.

I thought the best views were from the Skypod Bar on the main viewing level.

Brasserie Zedel is a London fixture in Piccadilly. A huge underground French restaurant with moderate pricing, good decor and a very buzzy atmosphere. It’s always packed.

Best places in Mayfair?
we will be there for 3 nights

Two nights until our reserved dinner at Naroon. Can’t wait … and I hope we don’t get delayed arriving at Heathrow!

Followed by dinner at Barbary Next Door … and ready to be finished in time for our mandated time, for the next people who will get that table. Maybe rushed, but a great dinner is guaranteed!

dmiller0648, what research have you done?

Please start your own thread so it will be seen by more readers and you’ll get more responses.

As an aside you can also check out these 2 websites:

Eater London
London x London

Well, 2 1/2 months later, and Naroon was outstanding - still a “Must Try.”

And we discovered Lisboeta, a fabulous Portuguese restaurant. Fabulous, but definitely not inexpensive. And there’s no maximum allowable dining time limit.

With a time limit, however, Barbary Next Door had good food, but get a seat at the bar, even though the stools are really too tall for some of us. If you’re not at the bar, you’re seated along a narrow strip of rail, hardly deep enough to hold plates and provide an eating surface. That, and the waitstaff or other customers have to squeeze past you. The rail was a creative solution to attempt to acceptably fit in a few more patrons, although its success is questionable. Pricey, too.