Where to eat during London Fashion Week 2024 2024 | Where To Eat

Bouchon Racine

Farringdon, London ££

Are high-profile restaurants above pubs becoming a thing in London? On the first floor of the Three Compasses pub in Farringdon, this reworking of Henry Harris’s famed (and much missed) Racine in Knightsbridge revives the ch… Read more

Three Compasses, 66 Cowcross Street, Farringdon, London EC1M 6BP

Brat

Shoreditch, London ££

What was once a pole-dancing bar is now a wood-panelled restaurant devoted to 'live fire' cooking. This is Tomos Parry’s flagship Brat (he also runs Climpson’s Arch in Hackney, where the concept originated) and, loosel… Read more

First Floor, 4 Redchurch Street , Shoreditch, London E1 6JL

Brawn

Bethnal Green, London ££

We could tell you about the mackerel and fresh gooseberries, or the salt brandade with egg and agretti, or the duck with beetroot and quince, but they’re unlikely to be on when you go; such is the ever-changing nature of Bra… Read more

49 Columbia Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 7RG

Café Cecilia

Hackney, London ££

It may be holed up on a charmless side street off Broadway Market, but this neighbourhood hangout is manna for Hackney’s cool young crowd. It helps that chef/owner Max Rocha has a famous father (Hong Kong-born fashion design… Read more

Canal Place, 32 Andrews Road, Hackney, London E8 4FX

Camille

Borough, London £££

Distinctive French provincial cooking in Borough

Here we have a little haven of French provincial cooking amid the bustle of Borough Market, a neat, simply dressed bistro with candles on the tables and a menu featuring pâté en croûte, grilled ox heart with Caf… Read more

2-3 Stoney Street, Borough, London SE1 9AA

Clarke's

Notting Hill, London £££

Pioneering venue dedicated to seasonal sourcing and organic produce

Back in 1984, Sally Clarke MBE was one of the first chefs to introduce London's restaurant-goers to the now-fashionable notions of seasonality and traceability; she was also an early champion of organic produce. Little has changed… Read more

124 Kensington Church Street, Notting Hill, London W8 4BH

Core by Clare Smyth

Notting Hill, London ££££

The new decorative look at Core has worked wonders. What was an underused bar space is now Whiskey & Seaweed (named for its signature cocktail), and the dining room has had quite the 'glow-up' too. The expansive space is bathe… Read more

The new decorative look at Core has worked wonders. What was an underused bar space is now Whiskey & Seaweed (named for its signature cocktail), and the dining room has had quite the 'glow-up' too. The expansive space is bathed in bronze light, with candles performing their age-old office of making a restaurant table look inviting, and at the centre of it all is a striking column, loaded with uplit glassware. So far, so chic. An army of staff is on permanent manoeuvres, yet without making the place feel like a parade-ground. Efficiency and discretion are as finely judged as is consistent given the ambitious context, with just enough friendly chat to ensure civility. As for Clare Smyth's food, the first thing to say is that, for a venue operating in this bracket, it has an uncommonly solid following of regulars. Call them the core of Core. As soon as the nibbles appear, one can see why: a truffled pumpkin gougère; a lobster roll; a caviar sandwich, all sublime. Bread is made with Wessex flour and served with whipped buttermilk. Dishes from the full menu are capable of balancing sparkling freshness and delicate textures – just consider the Isle of Harris scallop tartare in sea-vegetable consommé, the shell sitting proud on a mound of flora. A more assertive fish pairing sees roasted cod honour-guarded with Morecambe Bay shrimps and Swiss chard in brown butter. Tour the home nations with a main course of Rhug Estate venison, which comes with a refined (ie offal-free) 'haggis' of the leg meat and bacon on pearl barley in an ambrosial sauce of 16-year-old Lagavulin single malt. If it's internal organs you're after, look to the crisp-fried veal sweetbread dressed in honey and mustard, with a serving of Norfolk kohlrabi. Desserts incorporate what might be considered the local option, Notting Hill Forest – a trompe-l'oeil pile of ‘fallen leaves’ made of ceps, chocolate, pine and woodruff on nutty crémeux, in which are embedded little shards of millefeuille pastry, to give the acoustic effect of crunching through autumn leaf-litter. And then one stumbles on a prune soaked in Earl Grey tea. Dinner ends with a little tableside tasting of Irish whiskey. A magnificent wine list covers pairing options, as well as an inspired glass selection (from £12), before graduating to the great and the very great of the vinous globe.

92 Kensington Park Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2PN

Dalla

Hackney, London ££

Opened in November 2023, this neighbourhood Italian in Hackney puts the emphasis on home-style cooking with a little transatlantic input from the partly Canadian heritage of the chef. You'll need to head over to Instagram if you w… Read more

120-122 Morning Lane, Hackney, London E9 6LH

Dinings SW3

Knightsbridge, London £££

Exquisite sushi and innovative Japanese fusion

Cosy, intimate and a ‘true home from home,’ there aren't many settings more desirable than this. Tucked at one end of an exclusive mews, Dinings sports a lovely courtyard for alfresco meals, plus a bright high-ceilinge… Read more

Lennox Garden Mews, Knightsbridge, London SW3 2JH

Dorian

Notting Hill, London £££

In 2022, Chris D’Sylva, supplier to a number of respected restaurants in the capital, assembled an elite team from The Wolseley, Noble Rot and Core by Clare Smyth to create one of London's more distinctive (and talked about)… Read more

105-107 Talbot Road, Notting Hill, London W11 2AT

Best Local Restaurant

Josephine

Chelsea, London ££

Claude Bosi's assured homage to classic bistro cooking

Josephine is that rare combination, a classic-looking French bistro that serves its neighbourhood well but is also worth travelling across town for. The fact that the driving force behind the operation is chef Claude Bosi makes it… Read more

315 Fulham Road, Chelsea, London SW10 9QH

Morchella

Clerkenwell, London £££

Bold Mediterranean cooking in a converted bank

While Ben Marks and Matt Emerson's restaurant Perilla is known for its cool, bijou space, their second opening in Clerkenwell's Exmouth Market has gone large, taking over a former bank. It is grand in scale, buffed up by oak panel… Read more

84-86 Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 4QY

Mountain

Soho, London £££

Best New Restaurant 2024 Can Tomos Parry ever put a foot wrong? His follow-up to Brat – and Brat x Climpson’s Arch – has opened with a bang in Soho. There’s a familiar no-frills vibe to the large, light-fi… Read more

16-18 Beak Street, Soho, London W1F 9RD

Noble Rot Mayfair

Mayfair, London £££

There’s something reassuringly old fashioned about this self-confident restaurant (the latest in what is now a trio of London-based Noble Rots) – and that’s a large part of its charm. With a dark green frontage, … Read more

There’s something reassuringly old fashioned about this self-confident restaurant (the latest in what is now a trio of London-based Noble Rots) – and that’s a large part of its charm. With a dark green frontage, ground-floor windows sporting café-style net curtains and two slightly cramped dining floors, it feels as if it has been around forever – an impression reinforced by the simple polished wood tables, red banquettes, wooden chairs and mottled walls covered in framed Noble Rot magazine covers. Clued-up staff, a general air of warm-heartedness and a commendable wine list all contribute to the appeal. The regularly changing menu is reflective of both the season and head chef Adam Wood's many enthusiasms – his food is a delight. The short, Euro-accented menu offers dishes that are (mostly) straightforward assemblies with inspired finishing touches – beef tartare with green tomatoes and Ossau-Iraty (Basque ewe's milk cheese), say, or smoked ravioli with courgette and preserved lemon. We enjoyed tender squid with a chorizo sauce – so good we regretted not ordering bread to mop it all up – followed by two generous slices of tender Ibérico pork, served with a heap of runner beans, sliced apricots and juicy whole blackberries. And we couldn’t fault the rich, delicate duck-egg custard tart – a sprinkling of sea salt proved a sharp foil that really enhanced the flavour. The wine list is simply one of the best in London, an outstanding, deeply researched and inspiring document. Predominantly organised by grape variety, with regional sections where blends are predominant, it spans a massive range of top-drawer growers and estates. The principal focus is Europe, though there are some pedigree New Worlders too. Portuguese and Greek selections are encouragingly thorough, and the listings of sparklers and sweet wines (rotted and late-picked) are tremendous. Wines by the glass are in small enough measures to make comparative tasting feasible. Coravin pours will test the budget, but are uniformly glorious.

5 Trebeck Street, Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London W1J 7LT

Oma

Borough , London £££

Cavalcade of seriously inventive Greek and Mediterranean flavours

David Carter (of Smokestak and Manteca fame) is a dab hand at opening dynamic contemporary restaurants that know how to put on a show where it matters – on the plate. He’s gone all out with his latest opening. Part of … Read more

2-4 Bedale Street, Borough , London SE1 9AL

Polentina

Bow, London

Housed in Apparel Tasker, a sustainable garment factory in Bow, this Italian café is a cosy corner sealed off by glass so guests can observe the production line while enjoying their coffee and cake. Humble home cooking of I… Read more

1 Bowood House, Empson Street, Bow, London E3 3LT

Quality Wines

Clerkenwell, London ££

Next door to the Quality Chop House, Quality Wines is a purveyor of good drinking, with a wine bar/restaurant added to its offer five days a week (Tue-Sat, lunch and dinner). Bentwood chairs, candles in wine bottles, and a central… Read more

88 Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell, London EC1R 3EA

Rita's

Soho, London £££

Of all the multifarious eating and drinking opportunities in the heart of Soho, this ‘warmly welcoming’ little restaurant is one of the more compelling. Rita’s goes about its business with gusto, its popularity n… Read more

49 Lexington Street, Soho, London W1F 9AP

GFG AWARD WINNER

Best Sunday Roast

The Devonshire

Soho, London ££

All-conquering Soho boozer with impreccable credentials

Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital – if you can get in (far too many people wan… Read more

Are Oisín Rogers, Charlie Carroll and Ashley Palmer-Watts champions of a new era in pubs? The Devonshire is certainly one of the most enjoyable places to eat in the capital – if you can get in (far too many people want to eat here). Yet it looks set to become an institution – and long may it continue, for this is no ordinary pub. Ingredients are impeccable and the strong meat-focused menu serves the kind of dishes you want to eat, especially in the lively environment of a central London watering hole where drinkers have their own space and staff are noted for their relaxed expertise. Dining rooms are divided between the first and second floors where, under the direction of Ashley Palmer-Watts (formerly executive chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal), the kitchen applies a certain simplicity and accuracy of cooking to impeccable ingredients.

Flames are at the heart of the operation, with wood-fired Ibérico pork chops, lamb cutlets, fillet, ribeye and T-bone steaks (plus lobsters) keeping company with the likes of lamb hotpot or beef and Guinness suet pudding on the hand-scrawled menu. Three wonderfully meaty scallops, lightly roasted, served in the shell with nothing more than a buttery, vinegary sauce and strips of crisp bacon, is a terrific opener that hammers home the kitchen’s modus operandi – namely sourcing prime ingredients and treating them with the utmost simplicity. And there’s something deeply comforting about a fixed price, no-choice lunch that can deliver real quality and value in the shape of prawn and langoustine cocktail, skirt steak with excellent chips and béarnaise sauce, and light, luscious sticky toffee pudding – all for £29.

Sunday's roast ribs of beef carved from a silver-domed trolley are terrific value too and have helped restore the tradition in this part of town. To drink, everyone orders Guinness – it’s fast achieving cult status here – and you can drink well without breaking the bank from the mainly European wine list. The pub now has its own 40-cover rooftop terrace for fine-weather dining (note that you can't book this separately).

17-19 Denman Street, Soho, London W1D 7HW

GFG AWARD WINNER

The Dover

Mayfair, London £££

Gold-standard hospitality, glamorous decor and irresistible food

Opened without fanfare or PR bluster towards the back end of 2023, this slick New York Italian is the brainchild of former Soho House COO Martin Kuczmarski, a man who knows a thing or two about running restaurants. From the off, i… Read more

33 Dover Street, Mayfair, London W1S 4NF

The Hero

Maida Vale, London £££

Eye-catchingly restored local serving heroically British food

Dating from 1810, this Victorian pub in Maida Vale is a real looker, restored to something like its heritage glory by the team behind the Pelican in Notting Hill. Timber frames and emerald-green tiling abound, and the place now op… Read more

55 Shirland Road, Maida Vale, London W9 2JD

Toklas

Temple, London ££

Elegant Mediterranean-style cooking in an oasis of calm

Tucked into one side of the landmark brutalist building that is 180 Strand, Toklas is easy to miss. Just remember it has its own entrance on Surrey Street, opposite the old Strand tube station – if you find yourself outside … Read more

1 Surrey Street, Temple, London WC2R 2ND

Westerns Laundry

Highbury, London ££

From the team behind Primeur and Jolene comes a repurposed laundry within a full-throated roar of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. An expansive courtyard area with an olive tree and a serviceable veranda makes for pleasant outdoor eati… Read more

34 Drayton Park, Highbury, London N5 1PB

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