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.

It's cool and it's new on the block. Which is perhaps part of the reason why the queues are often so long. But mostly this is because the pizza is damn good. Bringing NY style to the streets of Marylebone, it is well worth the wait in line. 

London is a city with a world-class Indian food offering that includes everything from canteen-style Punjabi feasts at Tayyabs to two-Michelin-starred Gymkhana via the brilliant Dishoom. But it’s Gymkhana’s younger, funkier little sibling that is stealing its waiting list. Ambassadors Clubhouse is a low-lit warren of striped pillars and loud swirling carpets, where staff dish up crisp keema naans and resplendent pots of biryani. The Tamatar Martini is worthy of note – poured with just the palest tint of tomato, but with the flavour of a full-blown Bloody Mary. A lot of fun that’s hard to fault. 

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.

Angelina is a restaurant that takes inspiration by fusing Japanese and Italian cuisine. This place carries unconventional presentations that make the experience magical and worthy. Chefs serve a Kaiseki menu, a traditional Japanese multi-course meal, featuring dishes that reflect their daily learnings and use ingredients that are at their peak freshness on that day. In Angelina, they don’t believe in rigid menus, a correct order to eat dishes, a dress code or cutlery. So, are you ready to get your hands dirty? 

This new restaurant is on the site of Le Caprice, while nightclub empresario Richard Caring has created a new Le Caprice inside The Chancery Rosewood. This is relevant because the Arlington Street Le Caprice is legendary in the history of London restaurants, with regulars that included Princess Diana and Kate Moss. Luckily, Arlington still feels a lot like the old haunt because Jeremy King (who ran it in its heyday) is back in charge. The stiff white tablecloths and London’s best shepherd’s pie don’t hurt.

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. 

Many may be put off by the queues at the original Barrafina, which is one of the few genuinely walk-in-only restaurants in the neighbourhood these days. Arrive early (perhaps ahead of a comedy show at Soho Theatre) and indulge in pan con tomate, ham croquetas and runny-in-the middle tortilla. Fast-paced tapas that are still the best around.

This two-storey restaurant, which spotlights Sichuan flavours, is just outside the official boundaries of London’s Chinatown. Representing a region famous for bright red broths and mouth-numbing dried-chilli concoctions, it’s somewhere for people who enjoy their rice with next-level spice. It’s also somewhere to stick to the specialities: sea bass in sizzling chilli oil or pork dan dan noodles.

BYOB and settle down for a delicious Lebanese feast. Share some mezze, and try a bit of everything for the flavours at Beirut Garden are always spot on. 

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.

This dreamy French bistro is just lovely; they focus on top-notch seafood, so we always get an order of delicious briny oysters when we're dining here. Bonus points for their beautiful art deco tiled mosaics.

This trendy neighbourhood bistro is tucked away in a converted warehouse - the quintessential East London dining experience. At the weekend, a pianist plays throughout service, making for a fun, lively atmosphere.

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.

The name may not be British, but this fabulous restaurant has been claimed by Londoners far and wide as their own. Rich and moreish, the food is an example for all trying to churn out excellent French cooking: bavette steaks and confit de canard that take diners on a trip to Lyon. Even the baguette served simply with butter and salt is next level.

While we don't often hang out deep underground, this cute, plant-filled basement just might change that. This Clerkenwell restaurant is perfect for brunch or a sunny Saturday afternoon spent on the terrace.

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.