Ryan Rodriguez

The café by the pond in Victoria Park does a next-level soft serve in the summer and excellent cardamom buns year-round. There's also a bakery on Broadway Market brimming with jars of house kimchi and pickles. And another coffee spot on Columbia Road – always a delightful pit stop.

Find this taverna-style restaurant on a residential road east of Rye Lane. Albanian owner John Gionleka cooks padrón peppers, harissa chicken thighs and pork skewers on the charcoal grill. And while the service can be hit and miss, the flavours are worth it. The place is particularly lovely on a balmy evening if you can nab a table on the deck outside. There’s a reason the feta-stuffed courgette fritters don’t leave the menu: order a portion each.

Every south London local will have a soft spot for this yellow-fronted Persian deli selling trays of baklava and sour fruit pastes. Owner Sally Butcher discovered a love of Iranian food from her husband Jamshid Gollshan Ebrahimi, and her recipe books line the shelves. There’s also a little vegetarian café (which Sally claims happened by accident) dishing up date-scrambled eggs and Middle Eastern khoresht stews. A hard-working community-minded delight.

Set discreetly under two railway arches is this boldly designed wine clubhouse. Diners gather around one long table facing the kitchen to watch Seb Myers, formerly of Clapton wine bar P. Franco, plating his French-flavoured dishes. There’s a glass of wine suggested for every course and it’s a great spot to discover low-intervention bottles.

This is an old-school drinking den that still feels like a boozer, with London’s best burger on the menu. Chefs Ed McIlroy and Jamie Allan, known as Four Legs, also cook up creative plates of sole swimming in brown butter and cod cheek with jamón and mojo rojo. But for first timers it has to be the slightly sloppy Dexter burger, which is just as good as everyone says.

This is the original London restaurant from Jeremie Cometto-Lingenheim and David Gingell (also behind Jolene and Westerns Laundry). The converted car garage is a Canonbury institution, but the success of the group’s most recent openings has only made it even more of a destination. A dreamy local celebration of British ingredients with a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Chef Shaun Searley’s Quality Chop House is a temple to modern fine dining. The wooden benches are Grade-II listed, the meat comes from the best suppliers and the confit potatoes are giant chunks of perfection. 

Extroverted chef patron Jeremy Lee’s menu of oysters with shallot vinegar and suet-crust pies served with mash is very British. His (fairly mini) signature smoked eel and horseradish sandwich is a must-order at lunchtime when light streams through the Art Deco stained-glass windows. But a table in the members’ club dining room upstairs is the ultimate invite, and where guests will find Jeremy doing the rounds.

The dishes really run the gamut when it comes to cuisine here at Rogues. And we're 100% ok with that. This intimate little restaurant is definitely a star in the making, if you ask us.

This understated noodle bar is a study in flavour, bringing together Malay and Chinese influences in the signature laksas. The soups are sour with a not- insignificant spicy kick (first timers should definitely stick to mild) and the Malaysian fried chicken is grease- free and crisp. An affordable midweek supper spot that never disappoints.

In London, there’s always somewhere newer, cooler. But it’s far rarer that one of these must-visit spots has real staying power. Sessions Arts Club, an elegantly dilapidated gallery meets dining space from artist Jonny Gent, is one of the most beautiful restaurants in the city. Reservations can be difficult to snag, so set an alarm 30 days ahead if you want to feast on magical plates of churros-like panisses doused in lemon thyme and meaty anchovies swimming in bright oil.