London City Restaurant Guide

An “always good”, culinarily interesting Covent Garden three-year-old, from Salt Yard founder Simon Mullins and his Portuguese wife Isabel Almeida Da Silva. Named after the ‘return from the sea’: it serves a menu not just from Portugal but from the territories it traded with or colonised, from Brazil in the west via parts of Africa to Goa, Macau and Nagasaki in the east.

“Great food in a cosy, homely setting” – this Sicilian specialist on a stretch of the unlovely Gray’s Inn Road “is a useful and reliable local restaurant in an area with limited options”. Owner Fabrizio Zafarana “makes a real effort to get to know all his customers and will happily amend a dish to suit personal taste”.

“Small and perfectly formed” two-year-old with a “wonderful waterside setting” in St Katharine Dock that serves “seafood that should appear on the end of Paul Whitehouse’s rod – it’s that fresh!”. “On a sunny day with an outdoor table, it’s the best” – the “fantastic shellfish” includes “the best langoustines ever and stellar scallops”. Theodore Kyriakou, who set up both Livebait and The Real Greek back in the 1990s, is part of the founding team.

“Flying slightly under the radar”, this “superior City venue” is “a lovely find, right in the heart of the the Square Mile where it can be hard to encounter a good meal” (“clients are always pleased to visit it!”). “The front of house team are so charming” and deliver “precise and tasty” Gallic cuisine. The major attraction here, though, is the “comprehensive wine list” – “one of the best wine selections in London: it’s hard to find a better selection of Burgundy, but the other region lists are well represented”, with “many rewards to be found, both on pricing and rare gems”.

“Perfectly executed fish” from a “varied and delicate” menu adds to the elevation of this 7th-floor D&D London perch, at the top of a hotel near Broadgate, where the “nice verandah” comes into its own in the summer months. Cooking of this quality is rare in the City, and even non expense-accounters will seek it out. This year’s most critical report? – “probably worth its Michelin star, but pricey and the chef didn’t take any gambles”.

Smokoloko is the evolution in the smoked barbecue business. Catering at street markets and events, directly from their vintage locomotive stalls, Smokoloko serves smoked meat sandwiches bursting with flavours and aromas.Our meats are carefully selected taking in mind it...

“Big flavoured, modern Indian dishes” from an “interesting and different menu” win praise for Vivek Singh’s high quality duo: “a more affordable introduction to the Cinnamon Club’s cuisine”. The newer SW11 branch, “with service around an open kitchen in a lively railway arch” near Battersea Power Station is jollier than its longer-established City sibling, where “the décor is quite boring and service a tad patchy” (although the latter is also “pretty decent value in an area that has limited options for a weekend lunch”).

These “slick and professional” Italians (offshoots of the national San Carlo chain) are “buzzy and convenient sorts of places, where you can enjoy an upbeat bite without hanging around too long”. They serve “an extensive menu of small Venetian sharing plates”: “at best they’re excellent” and almost invariably a meal is “good fun”. The best known outlet is steps from Piccadilly Circus – “it might look like a tourist trap in its prime location but it’s a reliable and smartly decorated venue”.

This international chain has three London representatives – in Soho, the City and Canary Wharf – and focuses on light Italian dishes (pizza, pasta and salads) showcasing the eponymous cheese from Campania alongside other Italian produce; plus a range of cocktails and wines. A good spot “for post-work drinks and nibbles”.

At Bolton's restaurant our philosophy is simple, we are inspired by the finest, freshest ingredients and the most authentic vibrant flavours. In Italian our culinary style is called alla Casalinga which means home-style cookery or as we like to say, "like mamma used to make." It...

Five years after the opening of the legendary Battersea bar and pizzeria, Bunga Bunga has come to Covent Garden with an even bigger and bolder version of the original. On the ground floor, discover a family pizzeria and bar, BungaTINI. Below accessed through the meat locker li...

“You go here to have an all-embracing ‘good time’” if you pop down to this “quirky and fun” destination, near Elephant & Castle. “It specialises in Latin American recipes from across the continent” using “genuine ingredients” to produce “unusual and delicious dishes”. “What also makes this restaurant stand out is the outstanding wine list and friendly and knowledgeable service”: “they always make it feel that there is a big party on!”

“Reliably great after all these years” – Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie’s renowned institution near Smithfield Market occupies a stylishly converted former Lyons Tea House and continues to mine southwest France for its culinary inspiration: notably “very inventive presentations of foie gras” paired with “a different range of wines that one sees in most other restaurants, given its regional emphasis”.

Occupying an impressive Edwardian banking hall in the heart of the City, this high-ceilinged space provides a large, classic Italian menu and – if you still have space – makes a feature of a sizeable cheeseboard, showcasing Italian cheeses. Reports are uniformly upbeat, including as a business choice (and, if Accounts are on your case, there’s a good-value lunchtime set menu).

Mr. White’s English Chophouse By Marco Pierre WhiteMarco Pierre White was the first and youngest British chef to achieve three-Michelin stars. His good looks and devilish behaviour led to the media dubbing him ‘the original rock-star ch...

“Outstanding showmanship” (“food theatre for the TikTok generation”) “but matched with exceptional cooking running behind the gimmicks” (“dry ice, melting bubbles etc thrill but don’t hide the perfect texture and a palate of savoury flavour combinations”) has carved an impressive reputation for Adam Handling’s acclaimed Covent Garden flagship. Despite its status as a foodie temple, staff are “so relaxed and fun” and the atmosphere generally is very “informal”, which fans feel “makes the experience even better”: “you can really focus on the food”. And with “the kitchen being open, it allows you to see Adam leading his very disciplined brigade”. On the downside, ratings dipped a little this year, with some diners questioning “startling prices”, or accusing the culinary pyrotechnics of allowing “a triumph of style over substance”. (“The technical excellence is unquestionable, but really too much showing off… serving waffles with caviar and honey ought to be a capital offence!”). Success came in other respects, though: it was finally – not before time – awarded a Michelin star.

Situated in the heart of the City near Liverpool Street, Fazenda Bishopsgate spans across two floors in the thriving 10...

The “gorgeous food, with amazing flavours and presentation” at this Covent Garden café matches the high standards Vivek Singh sets at his grander Cinnamon restaurants, some of the best-known Indian kitchens in London. It’s a useful destination pre-theatre.

Our mission: make delicious pizza, served with care, in beautiful spaces.In the beginning we were just Matteo and Salvatore, two brothers from Calabria. We moved to Bologna to study economics, and – like all penniless students – ate a lot of...

“Invitingly tucked away off Victoria Street”, “it feels like stepping into Paris” at this “good little bistro”, where “helpful staff” deliver “a short but interesting” all-day menu of “simple but delicious fare” at “good value prices” (“excellent saucisson, and good bavette steak, duck leg… a very good tarte Tatin and reasonably priced house wine!”). Only fleeting mentions for the branch cutely located in the tourist hell of Covent Garden on the lower ground level of the market itself, but all good.