Best Restaurants in London in 2024: Indulge in Culinary Excellence!
In London, there are many great places to eat. Whether you like traditional British food or food from around the world, you can find it here. You will find ample remarkable restaurants in this busy city catering to every palate and preference. We list the best places to visit in London for your next trip.
For those who are looking for a taste of luxury, London has an impressive collection of Michelin-starred restaurants, where world-class chefs create masterpieces using the finest ingredients. From fine dining restaurants to chic eateries with stunning views of the city, there is something to delight every diner.
So gather your appetite and Join us as we explore the best restaurants in London, promising and unforgettable dining experiences that will excite your tastebuds and leave you craving for more with our Europe Tour Packages!
Top 30 Best Restaurants in London
- Akoko
- Bouchon Racine
- Mambow
- The clove club
- Chishuru
- The Devonshire
- Chets
- Cafe Cecilia
- Bibi
- Rochelle canteen
- Brasserie Zedel
- Jikoni
- Lyle’s
- Smoking Goat
- Hide
- Bao
- The Barbary
- Evelyn’s table
- 1251
- Roti King
- Cornerstone
- Native at browns
- HUMO
- Jolene
- Imad’s Syrian kitchen
- Chuku’s
- Manteca
- Carlotta
- Brat
- La Dame de Pic London
1. Akoko
Opened in late 2020 by first-time restaurateur Aji Akokomi, Akoko is an airy, open space, with plaster-coloured walls and a playful splash of dried foliage dangling from the ceiling near the shiny open kitchen at the back of the room.
Despite the chef’s lack of experience, Akokomi’s vision for the place was pure. To soup up family recipes to a fine dining standard and show off the various delights of West African cooking on an elevated platform. Akoko offers a ten-course tasting menu, which in the absence of à la carte is the only thing on offer, with vegetarian and vegan options. It is among the best restaurants in London.
Must try: Jollof rice
Cuisine: West African
Location: Berners Street, London
2. Bouchon Racine
Chef Henry Harris’s restaurant Racine is a French bistro in Knightsbridge that ran for 13 years until 2015. But the neighbourhood changed and Harris decided to close. He then reopened Bouchon Racine at the top of the three Compasses at the end of 2022. The menu is French. Bouchon Racine’s offerings are written on a blackboard and change often. But there are several staples, such as jambon de noir de Bigorre, a cured meat from a heritage breed of black pigs near the Pyrénés.
Must try: The tête de Veau
Cuisine: French
Location: Farringdon, London
Suggested Read: Best treks in London
3. Mambow
This modern Malaysian joint moved from a food market in Peckham to a real restaurant in Clapton at the end of 2023, with chef Abby Lee at the wheel. Her flavoured dishes are served up in a welcoming, casual style and beautifully. The food is modern Malaysian flavours that are full of life, colour and fragrant flavour.
Must try: Charcoal-grilled Sardines with pomelo and fried shallot salad.
Cuisine: Malaysian
Location: Clapton, London
4. The clove club
Scottish man Isaac Mchale opened this restaurant in Shoreditch Townhall in 2013. Since then it has been ranked among the world’s 50 best restaurants in London. Yummy snacks, Innovative cocktails, their bread and Charcuterie and a generous plate of heritage pork or lobster make this among the best places to eat in London. Some of the traditional resorts & hotels in London are surrounded here. It is among the best restaurants in London.
Must try: Buttermilk fried chicken and pine salt
Cuisine: Scottish
Location: Shoreditch town hall, London
5. Chishuru
Joké’s Nigerian heritage is at the forefront of her home-style cooking, and it’s hugely exciting. It was long overdue to see a business run by a Black woman flourishing in London’s competitive restaurant market. The menu changes frequently, with snacks every week, larger plates depending on what ingredients look good with a rotation of fiery, no-frills dishes such as bavette steak rubbed with yaji dressing served with the requisite quarter-tomato, and ekuru with pumpkin-seed pistou and Scotch bonnet sauce. In 2024, Chishuru won its first Michelin star making it the best restaurants in London.
Must try: Cassava Fritter, Maitake mushroom and Uda Mayonnaise
Cuisine: African
Location: Great Titchfield Street, London
6. The Devonshire
It’s the passion project of Oisin Rogers, who has been steering London and Dublin pubs for three decades, most notably and most recently at The Guinea Grill and Charlie Carroll, founder of Flat Iron steakhouses. most of the meat on the menu is sourced from Scottish estates, though butchered and aged in the meat room downstairs. It is one of the best restaurants in London.
Must try: Oban Scallops
Cuisine: English
Location: Denman Street, London
Suggested read: Homestays in London
7. Chets
Chet’s is Chef Yenbamroong’s first full-time European venture, and you’ll find it holding court at the back of the Hoxton Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush—massive portions with a side order of massive fun.
The wedge salad is drenched in garlicky nam jim, and the beef tartare is filled with Asian flavours such as creamy spicy fish sauce, shallots and lemongrass. Green curries and katsu-style noodles sit on the menu alongside burgers with plenty of chillies and, of course, loaded fries. There’s a decent wine list that will please all tastes and budgets and a short but considered range of cocktails that embrace Thai flavours as much as the food. If you want restaurants hopping London this is a must-visit place.
Must try: Chet’s Smashburger
Cuisine: Thai
Location: Shepherd’s Bush Green, London
8. Cafe Cecilia
This is the first brick-and-mortar restaurant from Max Rocha. Rocha’s favourite ingredient, Guinness, rears its creamy head twice when the desserts roll around. As well as Guinness cake there’s a Guinness bread ice cream, which came packed with chewy baked bits, never once making the mistake of being too sweet for its good. Deep-fried bread and butter pudding with cold custard took a classic old-school pudding and made it even more indulgent with a crunchy churro-like crust.
Must try: Onglet, chips and peppercorn sauce
Cuisine: British
Location: Andrews Road, London
9. Bibi
The wood-panelled ceilings, chequerboard flooring, and a smooth, dark wooden countertop set Bibi apart from the traditional Mayfair stalwarts. Chef Sharma’s career has taken him through some of Europe’s biggest restaurants from Lancashire’s Moor Hall and Cumbria‘s L’Enclume to Mugaritz in Spain but at Bibi, his training and experience merge with passion and family influence. Order the cheese papads for a light, crunchy take on prawn crackers, and the oyster pachadi as a starter. It is one of the best photography spots in London.
Must try: Goat Chapli kebab
Cuisine: Indian
Location: Audley Street, London
Suggested read: A Day trip in London
10. Rochelle canteen
Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson have run this spot since 2004, and have been business partners for more than 25 years. At Rochelle Canteen, they serve a daily changing menu. The wine list is a delight.
Must try: Grilled Onglet
Cuisine: British
Location: Shoreditch, London
11. Brasserie Zedel
One of the grandest dining rooms in town, Zedel’s art decor is welcoming to tourists and locals. At this democratic bistro live jazz, French 75s and snails in garlic and parsley butter go hand-in-hand. It is among the best restaurants to visit in London.
Must try: Steak Hache with French fries
Cuisine: French
Location: Piccadilly Circus, London
12. Jikoni
Chef Ravinder Bhopal worked at the Michelin-starred Trishna before opening up her place a no-border kitchen that draws on Indian, African and European cooking to curate its menu. The interiors are pastels and pops of candy colour patterns.
Must try: Crispy Aubergine with Sichuan caramel
Cuisine: Indian, African and European
Location: Marylebone, London
13. Lyle’s
Chef James Lowe has experience at Noma in Copenhagen and London St John Bread and Wine. Lowe dishes up four cleverly matched courses every evening with some treats to throw in.
Must try: Duck liver and black fig toast
Cuisine: British
Location: Shoreditch, London
14. Smoking Goat
Ben Chapman’s Thai spiced hotspots are some of London’s best restaurants in London bringing authentic flavours from northern Thailand to well-sourced ingredients in Soho.
Must try: Goat shoulder spiced with massaman paste
Cuisine: Thai
Location: Shoreditch, London
15. Hide
Hide is a three-storey, industrial chic building that opened in 2018. The on-street level is GROUND, where the team serves British-sourced dishes and an in-house bakery that supplies the goods for breakfast. Downstairs, in BELOW, is a dark cocktail bar and hidden wine cellar. And if you can Handle a nine-course tasting menu then head up the staircase to ABOVE.
Must try: Herdwick lamb cooked on the bone with smoked beetroot.
Cuisine: British
Location: Mayfair, London
Suggested Read: Airbnb’s in London
16. Bao
The fluffy buns are a crowd favourite for a reason. First-timers should order the classic, with juicy pork and peanuts packed inside a fluffy pocket, or the indulgent fried chicken. A classic Negroni is made with sake, while an Old Fashioned uses Japanese favourite milk tea.
Must try: The fried Horlicks ice cream bun
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Location: Soho, London
17. The Barbary
The owners of the Barbary have created something rare a set of London restaurants where a table is as wanted as it was on the opening night. While you wait for a seat at this restaurant, order some flaky cigars stuffed with fish.
Must try: Smoked labneh Octopus
Cuisine: Israeli
Location: Covent Garden, London
18. Evelyn’s table
Walk by the blue exterior of the Blue posts set alongside Middle Eastern hit The Palomar and Taiwanese XU’s Teahouse. Start with a drink at the blue post pub before heading down a pine-green staircase to Evelyn’s table. Created by Luke Selby who is formally head chef at Hide, and his two younger brothers, this 10-seater restaurant combines British produce with Japanese techniques and classic French methods. It is among the best restaurants in London.
Must try: Crunchy shiso Tempura
Cuisine: Japanese
Location: Soho, London
19. 1251
James Cochran’s name is a well-known one, after being the best London restaurant for a few years and this spot proves why. On Boujie Upper Street, 1251 has a cosy, warmly-lit window scene to attract Londoners. One long room is stacked on top of another, with closely packed tables. This is a refined restaurant that serves up brilliantly cooked food without being stuffy.
Must try: 42 days aged Sirloin, beef dripping potatoes and chargrilled hips cabbage with smoked bone marrow gravy.
Cuisine: British
Location: Upper Street, London
20. Roti King
It is some of the most delicious, authentic Malaysian food in the city. Order a traditional lemon iced tea and roti with mutton Khari, and you’ll only be set back just over a tenner.
Must try: Chicken roti Canai
Cuisine: Malaysian
Location: Doric Way, London
21. Cornerstone
Just two minutes from Hackney Wick, this space is light and bright, with a handful of terracotta-potted succulents and pendant lights above the open kitchen. Somewhat more surprising though, is that the kitchen is right in the middle of the restaurant, so there’s not a bad seat in the house.
Must try: Hake Kyiv
Cuisine: British
Location: Hackney Wick, London
22. Native at browns
Opened by Imogen Davis and Tisdall Downes, it forms a part of an inventive approach to cooking that is based on zero waste. Now the pair have opened a restaurant in the surroundings of the browns fashion store in Mayfair townhouse.
Must try: Orkney island scallop, green chilli, peach and buttermilk.
Cuisine: British
Location: Brook Street, London
23. HUMO
Everything is cooked over a wood fire the kitchen runs without gas or electricity. The menu is split into four sections, each relating to food cooked differently: ignite, smoke, flame and embers. The wine list also offers a refreshing take, listing bottles by geographical location rather than country.
Must try: Eight-day aged yellowtail, citrus sauce and Castillo coffee
Cuisine: British
Location: George Street, London
24. Jolene
Co-founders Jeremie Comotto-Lingenheim and chef David Gingell opened an all-day bakery restaurant on Newington Green. Walls etched with tiny bits of graffiti, more pencil-case. The idea behind the bakery was to encourage the use of chemical-free grains and work with an ethically minded farmer in France. Two highlights are the gnudi with pumpkin and sage which are gnocchi-like balls so good they’ll have you talking about them in your sleep and the lamb shoulder with tomatoes and olives.
Must try: The menu changes daily
Cuisine: British
Location: Newington Green, London
25. Imad’s Syrian kitchen
Syrian restaurateur Imad Alarnab fled his homeland in 2015 following the bombing of his three restaurants. Making his way through Europe, Imad shared his skills, cooking for other refugees and after finding refuge in the UK, it wasn’t long before he held his first supper club. It was an instant hit, and so spawned various pop-up kitchens across London. At this first permanent Syrian Kitchen, £50,000 was crowdfunded for its opening. One stand-out dish is Halloumi noodles with rocket and watermelon salad.
Must try: Fattet Macdous
Cuisine: Syrian
Location: Carnaby Street, London
26. Chuku’s
Chuku’s is the world’s first Nigerian tapas joint. Chuku’s repackages traditional Nigerian fare as vegetarian-friendly which is quite a conceptual coup considering how meat-obsessed Nigeria is. Africa meets Europe in a delicious and innovative new take on Nigerian cuisine.
Must try: Sinasir and Miyan taushe
Cuisine: Nigerian
Location: Tottenham, London
27. Manteca
The team here aims to offer nose-to-tail cooking. The main dish is the pasta, order as many dishes as you think you can finish between your party. Enjoy the Italian way of life and go for a full aperitif.
Must try: Brown crab cacio e pepe
Cuisine: Italian
Location: Shoreditch, London
28. Carlotta
The interiors of Carlotta’s bright-red exteriors and giant gold lettering give a feel of 20th-century Italy. Furnishings and decorations were brought together from Italian marketplaces and second-hand stores across Europe, from ancient stone busts to Sicilian crockery and mismatched diner-style chairs as well as moody suede lounge, open kitchen and low lighting.
Must try: Deshelled lobster
Cuisine: Italian
Location: Marylebone, London
29. Brat
Brat is named not after tantrums but after an old English name for turbot, which here weighs in around £55, can feed three and is incredible. It is not an oil painting but is golden and tender and worth jettisoning the fork for your fingers.
Must try: The Turbot
Cuisine: British
Location: Shoreditch, London
30. La Dame de Pic London
Anne-Sophie Pic is the most decorated female chef in the world, with restaurants in Singapore, Switzerland and, of course, London. The restaurant won its first star less than a year after opening in 2019, and a second in 2020, which it has retained since. There are three tasting menus to choose from, all changing seasonally but all including British ingredients, cooked in French ways.
Must try: Limousin Veal Sweetbread
Cuisine: British
Location: Trinity Square, London
Do London' best restaurants require prior reservations?
Yes, the Best restaurants in London do require prior booking, especially for dinner service on weekends.
Are there vegetarian-friendly options available in London's top restaurants?
Yes, Most of the best restaurants in London offer vegetarian-friendly options to cater to diverse dietary preferences.
Which restaurants offer the best dining experience in London?
The best restaurants in Londonare Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Akoko, Chishuru, Chets and Bibi.
What are some must-try cuisines in London's top restaurants?
Must-try cuisines in London’s Top Restaurants are British, Indian, Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Middle Eastern.