City, International Restaurant Guide

“The original location is by far the best” – “almost Continental in feel, and opposite the back entrance of the Royal Academy in Burlington Arcade”: “a regular haunt” for Mayfair types where “a seat at the bar is the best possible place in the world”. “Always buzzy and with exceptional Bellinis, it’s best for breakfast or brunch”. On the downside, “the high prices of the food reflect the area and locale”. Its simpler spin-offs (most notably pizza joints in Soho and Shoreditch) capture a fragment of this “fun and upmarket” style.

Tomas Lidakevicius produces “very innovative dishes using seasonal produce” at this zeitgeisty venture, attached to a greengrocer’s stall in Borough Market, where a pop-up quickly went permanent in 2021. You book either for the sharing plates or full (£90) tasting menu experience – in either case “the place feels like being in a market stall to create an evening to remember; and it’s close to the Thames for a nice walk home”.

This duo of venues in Farringdon and London Bridge have some of the capital’s best collections of South African wine, alongside a selection of ‘Old World’ vintages. To soak them up, there’s a miscellaneous assortment of dishes majoring in steaks, with some Saffa-inspired garnishes, and SA-style dried meats providing the most exotic options. Save space for the cheese, chosen in a walk-in room.

This 19th-century vaulted wine cellar near Tower Hill offers “an amazing and enjoyable selection of wines to buy and then open and drink right there” (at off-licence prices plus £9.50 corkage). “Service is ‘fetch your own’”, and platters of buffet-style “finger food” – charcuterie, French cheeses, and more – contribute to an “always agreeable visit”.

This duo of venues in Farringdon and London Bridge have some of the capital’s best collections of South African wine, alongside a selection of ‘Old World’ vintages. To soak them up, there’s a miscellaneous assortment of dishes majoring in steaks, with some Saffa-inspired garnishes, and SA-style dried meats providing the most exotic options. Save space for the cheese, chosen in a walk-in room.

“Not out of the ordinary, but what it does it does well” – chef Peter Lloyd’s transformation of the revered South Bank French restaurant RSJ (RIP) into a “Malaysian-style” venue over three storeys disappointed former regulars, but has become a “firm favourite” with a new crowd for its “imaginative food, friendly service and a buzzy celebratory atmosphere”.

“Flavours not experienced before” – “inventive haute cuisine takes on West African dishes using ingredients like plantain and sorghum” – continue to propel Iré Hassan-Odukale and Jeremy Chan’s St James’s trail-blazer to ever-greater heights of fame, as confirmed by the restaurant’s further promotion by Michelin in January 2022. “With the second star comes the elevated price tag” however, and formerly stellar ratings here have sagged under the heightened expectations. Many “masterpieces” are still reported amongst meals, but a worrying new vein of bitter disappointments has also crept into diner commentary (“I was excited to try Ikoyi and discover its new approach, but hand on heart it was not worth the money…”; “we were angry and so disappointed, the food was really average, massively over-spiced and too hot”). Perhaps it’s no coincidence that shortly after our diners’ poll ended, Chan and Hassan-Odukale announced they were putting the original St James’s Market site on the market with a view to moving to an upgraded site (with options mooted including a move to the 180 Strand building).

This “old-fashioned” Gallic brasserie has served “wonderfully consistent French fayre” “right in the middle of Covent Garden” for more than 30 years. It’s “great fun with very decent food for the price given the area”, with a “cheap, cheerful and reliable” prix-fixe menu for pre- or post-theatre dining.

The “typically English afternoon tea”, “beautifully presented by polished staff” in the elegant foyer of this landmark hotel, is “everything you want it to be” – “and the little extras, such as the pianist, make it a real treat”. “I’ve had a lot of afternoon teas and this one is second to none!”

“Lots of lovely cheese” is on the menu at this specialist trio in Bloomsbury, Marylebone and Highbury, complemented by a “truly interesting and well-curated wine list”. The “delicious fondue and raclette go down well on a winter’s day”.

“Love it… I always feel like a spy when I drink there…” – London’s oldest wine bar (est. 1890), near Embankment tube, is worth a visit for its “great interior” alone, with ancient brick-lined vaults, but it also boasts one of the capital’s biggest outside terraces. You no longer queue for the cold cuts, cheese and pies – they bring them to you with waiter service. The “excellent selection of wines” is by far the greater attraction.

“Cramped, buzzy, with a great wine list” to accompany “innovative and reliable food” – it’s no surprise that this “very different” ‘bistrot à vin’ a couple of minutes’ walk from the Opera House is such a Covent Garden “favourite”. They only order ten cases of any wine (hence the name), which means you’ll always find something “interesting” to drink – and “the head sommelier is wonderful!”

“Get lucky and score a table in the conservatory and you’ve landed the most romantic rendezvous in town!” at this “lovely” oasis in bustling Covent Garden – for many years now, reporters’ No. 1 choice “for celebrating anniversaries, engagements, weddings, etc…”. The “beautiful glazed dining room is hung with blossom and has both a roof that opens in warm weather and a cosy fire for cold days”. And not everyone feels that all is lost if you don’t nab one of these prime seats (“everyone raves about the garden room but there is a small dining room upstairs that we love too!”). Though it has never been a prime foodie destination, the kitchen typically wins acclaim for its “accomplished modern European cuisine”, which is backed up by “the longest wine list ever seen” (although pricing of some vintages gave cause for complaint this year). There continues to be a school of thought that its food is “sadly not as good as it was pre-lockdown” or that “staff changes have made it seem less welcoming”. But ratings recovered well here this year after a dive last year, and on most of the very many reports we receive: “you always feel special here!”

Despite its gracious, high-ceilinged interior, this luxury five-star’s comfortable dining room – with its own dedicated entrance, near the Embankment – is sometimes overlooked by reporters. Those who make the trip, however, say the cuisine (overseen by executive chef, André Garrett) is “good value” (especially the set option) and that, in particular, it’s “a great lunch location”.

Italian-Argentine megachef Mauro Colagreco, of Mirazur on the French Riviera, is the star gastronomic attraction of the late-2022 launch of the Raffles hotel and apartment complex, emerging from the Edwardian baroque shell of the Old War Office building opposite Whitehall Palace, owned since 2014 by the Hinduja Group. In all, there will be 11 restaurants and two bars on the sprawling site, with Colagreco responsible for ‘a brasserie with a twist, a fine-dining restaurant and an avant-garde private chef’s table’.

Complete with regular jazz in its upstairs club, this Gallic brasserie near Kennington’s Imperial War Museum is one of the brighter sparks in this thin area, and open all day (most days the hours are noon till midnight).