London
in England

Pop by 107 Wine Shop & Bar for some glasses of low-intervention, natural tipples. Though when chef in residence, Julie Hetyei is in the kitchen staying for dinner is a no-brainer. Her menus change regularly, though expect a dozen or so French-influenced dishes and some ridiculously good puds. 

It’s always difficult to find a table for a big group in London, but this little Hampstead cellar bar has the sweetest alcove for 10, which isn’t a complete pain to book. Plus the Spanish-and Italian-inspired small plates are designed for sharing: jamón Iberico, pan con tomate and whole sea bass followed by perfectly pretty basil and white chocolate tartlets. tAn insider address worth knowing.

Before the food stalls arrived on Maltby Street, wine-importing business Gergovie Wines was quietly doing its thing, with a secret, stripped back kitchen and bar. There are still no reservations, and only high stool seating inside the railway arch, but the restaurant is now adored in foodie circles. The natural wine is sourced from small-scale producers and the chalkboard menu is made up of terrines and tarts, smoked trout and chicken schnitzels. This is where restaurant critics eat on their night off.

From the group behind much-loved restaurants Portland and Clipstone, this little bistro is bringing French fine dining back into the London mix. The menu includes both snails and frogs’ legs for starters, rabbit with mustard sauce for main; and for pudding, perfect crêpes Suzette and crème brûlée. The prix fixe lunchtime menu is a more affordable entry point.

A. Wong has been on diners' minds (and in diners' bellies) for over a decade. This popular modern Chinese restaurant has delicious dim sum and two Michelin stars to boot.

When art dealer and restaurateur Andrew Edmunds died aged 79 more than 600 people turned up to his memorial. His wine-lovers’ restaurant is a slice of old Soho, dishing up homemade focaccia with smoky cod’s roe, pumpkin soup dotted with bacon and deep-fried buttermilk rabbit. The Academy Club he founded with Auberon Waugh (son of Evelyn) is still thriving upstairs. A perfect date spot to keep in your back pocket.

London is not a city short of wine bars and small plates. So when such a place becomes as renown as Bar Crispin you know it's going to be good. Headed by chef Fabien Spagnolo (who rustles up dishes such as crispy polenta, fried prawn sando, and devilled brown crab) and sommelier Alex Price who is an expert in low-intervention wines. This is not a spot to miss. 

Berners Tavern may be old school British, but it's everything but stodgy. Housed in a grand yet cosy room in the Edition, Berners Tavern has a wonderful menu of elevated British classics. Waiting for your table? Hang by the bar and play a round of pool.

The simple yet cosy interiors at Bocca di Lupo make it feel decidedly old-school. The food, however, feels fresh and inventive with a nod to classic Italian techniques.

Upstairs through a blink-and-miss-it doorway on Redchurch Street is one of the most exciting restaurants in London. The name comes from an old English term for turbot, so it’s fitting that the flatfish is the star of the show. Inspired by the Basque Country, everything is cooked over a charcoal grill – the smoked potatoes are particularly good, but there aren’t really any misses on the Michelin-starred menu. The London Fields outpost feels marginally cooler. Either way, order the burnt cheesecake for pudding.

In a converted warehouse at the end of Columbia Road is a neighbourhood restaurant with a reputation that’s reached city-wide. Run by a husband- and-wife duo, it’s completely unflashy but serious about ingredient-led cooking that complements its largely natural wine list: fresh crudo, charcuterie from Coombeshead Farm in Cornwall and rabbit legs with peas and wild garlic. A little further afield, sibling restaurant Sargasso, on the wall of Margate’s harbour arm, is worth a day trip from London.

The lotus-root crisps and sushi-heavy set menu at this spot inspired by a Japanese izakaya draw the crowds. But regulars end up coming back for the jazz nights and DJ sets – it’s open until 1.30am at weekends. Note: this is only a good idea if you’re up for a dimly lit and noisy night. 

This is the late chef and Italophile Russell Norman’s ode to a Florentine trattoria. Instantly atmospheric, the downlit restaurant has linen draped over bulbs and tables set on various levels. Red-and-white checked tablecloths are covered in plates splattered with tonnato sauce and caperberries or raw porcini mushrooms topped with shards of aged Parmesan. A restaurant with one of London’s most authentic Italian moods and menus.

Overlooking Regent’s Canal near London Fields, this is one of the coolest supper spots in the city. Chef Max Rocha (brother of designer Simone) cooks up sage and anchovy fritti followed by a decadent onglet in peppercorn sauce. The Guinness bread is as good as it’s said to be and you’re bound to see someone interesting here. Great people- watching, but an even better menu.

1950s French cuisine is reinvented at this becoming spot in Borough Market. Foodies rejoice! Cosy, traditional, yet unwaveringly hip, Camille may be the spot for natural vino and an ever-changing chalkboard menu but it is also rustling up some jolly tasty food. From smoked eel devilled eggs, to confit wet garlic, tomato & brightwell ash, to whole John Dory & cockles (Biarritz style), Camille knows how to do it. 

The first additional project from the cool Public House group behind The Pelican and The Bull in Charlbury. This little Italian restaurant sits on the former Pizza East site on Portobello road and remains an Italian restaurant thanks to the amazing wood-fired ovens left behind that the team couldn’t bear to part with. Head chef, Jessica Filbey, is a River Café alumni and her daily-changing pizza toppings (tallegio, girolles and thyme; mortadella, ricotta and lemon zest) are a good place to start. Next up, might be pumpkin ravioli with sage butter or gnocchi with sausage ragu. It’s walk-ins only so arrive at 12pm to get a table, and stay for long enough that you can head straight upstairs to The Fat Badger for supper.

Within the luxurious Brown's Hotel is Charlie's, a restaurant that would happily become our Sunday Roast staple, or are date-night treat for a sample of their crisp cornish crab salad, or stalwarts venison en croute. With a separate caviar menu, expect great things from the Michelin-starred chef, Adam Byatt who rules this very fine roost. 

Stars shine bright in Kensington. Michelin Stars we mean. A seat at Clarke's is fit for a queen (or a king or a celeb or a regular Joe!).

Clare Smyth is the chef that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle chose to cater their wedding; she also cooked for David Beckham's 50th. More importantly, she is the only female chef in the UK to hold three Michelin stars, for her restaurant Core. The sustainably minded seasonal menu might include Isle of Harris scallops, Sharpham Park spelt and Rhug Estate venison – served with a vinegar spritz or fermented crisp flourish. An all-out tasting menu experience.

From the Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin crew, comes not one, but two Crispin. One of which is in Spitalfields, and one, which is in the remarkable non-profit gallery and collaborative exhibition space that is Studio Voltaire. Celebrating the finest produce from the British isles, the restaurant and counter bar serves food as gloriously picturesque as the artwork itself. Wine bottles line the shelves, creating a pop of colour to the otherwise white brick work, the z-shaped silver counter bar and the ever-so orderly bar stools. We’ll be going back for the sticky and sweet, utterly delectable poached loquat tart.

There are lots of great options for supper on Redchurch Street: see Brat, but also fiery Thai flavours at Smoking Goat beneath it, or Bao’s Taiwanese noodle shop across the road. For something that feels more refined, step inside Blue Mountain School – a mash-up of a boutique design store, gallery space, listening room and restaurant. Michelin-starred Cycene, old English for kitchen, serves a very contemporary nine courses paired with minimal intervention wines or kombuchas. The most laidback tasting menu in town.

London’s two best Polish restaurants are down the road from each other in South Ken. There is nothing modern about Ognisko or Daquise but they’re both consistently ram-packed. Daquise is where Edward Raczyński, the exiled Polish president, plotted to overthrow the communist regime. The beetroot gazpacho and potato salad are timeless, as is the sprinkling of dill that comes on top of everything. Always cheery, this is the sort of place where the maître d’ greets regulars by name.