London Restaurants

The Mahalo Top 7

1. Official Tourism Site: London Dining
2. Concierge.com: London Restaurant Recommendations  
3. Frommer's: London Restaurants
4. Fodor's: London Restaurants 
5. Travel + Leisure: London Restaurants
6. Lonely Planet: London Restaurants
7. Zagat: London Restaurants  

• NOTE: Restaurants mentioned on this page plotted on Google Maps

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London High-End Restaurants

• Gordon Ramsay French, Phone: 020-352-4441 Google Map

• • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: "Every dish from this kitchen is gratifying, reflecting subtlety and delicacy without any sacrifice of the food's natural essence."

• • Fodor's Choice : "He's one of Britain's finest chefs, and wins the highest accolades here, where tables are booked months in advance."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "[I]t’s 'eye-wateringly expensive' – perhaps one reason why it was edged out as No. 1 for Food..."

• Le Gavroche French, Phone: 020-7408-0881 Google Map
  • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: " There's always something special coming out of the kitchen of Michel Roux, Jr., the son of the chef who founded the restaurant in 1966. The service is faultless, and the ambience formally chic without being stuffy."

• • Fodor's Choice : "Chef Michel Roux Jr. inherits the family culinary gene and outperforms at this clubby haven, which some critics rate the best dining in London."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "'[A]s expensive as it gets, but as fabulous as it can be' sums up Michel Roux Jr.’s..."

• Tom Aikens French, Phone: 020-7584-2003 Google Map
  • Concierge.com Recommendation : "This sleek Anouska Hempel–designed restaurant in Chelsea is the stage for the sumptuous talents of Tom Aikens, whom foodies hail as the next big thing in gastronomy."

• • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: "In elegant surroundings in chic Knightsbridge, the food is basically a modern interpretation of high French cuisine, with a great deal of flourish and some very elaborately worked dishes."

• • Fodor's Choice : "Wonder chef Tom Aikens trained under French legend Joël Robuchon and excels at his slick modern eponymous restaurant."

• The Square French, Phone: 020-7495-7100 Google Map
  • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: "Chef Philip Howard delivers the goods at this excellent restaurant. You get creative, personalized cuisine in a cosseting atmosphere with abstract modern art on the walls."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "'[S]imply the best all-rounder in London.'"

• The Ledbury French, Phone: 020-7792-9090 Google Map
  • Fodor's Review : "Top-bracket fine dining has arrived at the doorstep of Notting Hill's ultra-high-net-worth citizens. Run by the team behind Chez Bruce in Wandsworth, Ledbury is where to go for highly refined cuisine."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "After 'a stunning debut' in 2005, this 'elegant' Notting Hill sister of The Square 'continues to please'..."

London Moderate Restaurants

• St. JOHN Restaurant British, Phone: 020-7251-0848 Google Map
  • Concierge.com Recommendation : "In keeping with the menu, the interiors are of a utilitarian bent; apart from a few extra skylights and a lick of white paint, this former bacon smokehouse remains pretty much in its original state."

• • Frommer's Very Highly Recommended: "Located in a former smokehouse just north of Smithfield Market, this air-conditioned, canteenlike dining room is the restaurant of choice for carnivores."

• • Fodor's Choice : "Most people love chef Fergus Henderson's ultra-British cooking at this converted smokehouse in Clerkenwell."

• The Ivy British, Phone: 020-7836-4751 Google Map

• • Frommer's Very Highly Recommended: "Effervescent and sophisticated, The Ivy is the dining choice of visiting theatrical luminaries and has been intimately associated with the theater district ever since it opened in 1911."

• • Fodor's Choice : "In a wood-panel room with stained glass, a curious mix of celebs and out-of-towners dines on Caesar salad, salmon cakes, and English classics like shepherd's pie and rhubarb fool (stewed rhubarb and cream)."

• Hakkasan Chinese, Phone: 020-7907-1888 Google Map
  • Concierge.com Recommendation : "The dining room is divided by antique latticed wood screens from Beijing, which are surrounded by glass wall panels subtly lit in deep blue and purple."

• • Frommer's Highly Recommended: "Asian mystique and pastiche are found in this offbeat restaurant in a seedy alley off Tottenham Court Road."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "So 'legendary' that 'reservations are traded on the futures market'..."

• Yauatacha Chinese, Phone: 020-7494-8888 Google Map
  • Frommer's Highly Recommended: "The ground floor is a chic teahouse and patisserie, and the restaurant is in the basement."

• • Fodor's Choice : "Note the 90-minute turnaround on tables, and ask to dine in the more romantic basement at night."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "Owner 'Alan Yau delivers' with this 'sexy' split-level Soho Chinese..."

• Tamarind Restaurant Indian, Phone: 020-7629-3561 Google Map
  • Frommer's Highly Recommended: "Chef Alfred Prasad leads a culinary brigade from Delhi that maintains the style of cooking they knew at home. The team selects the best, freshest ingredients in the markets each day."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "'Deservedly popular' for over a decade, this 'regal' Mayfair 'milestone' 'serves the Who’s Who'..."

London Affordable Restaurants

• Anchor & Hope Gastropub, Phone: 020-7928-9898 Google Map
  • Concierge.com Recommendation : "This fine example of an updated pub serves untampered-with, back-to-basics food from a team that cut its teeth at St. John restaurant."

• • Fodor's Choice : "Great things at reasonable prices come from the open kitchen at this permanently packed, no-reservations gastro-pub on the Cut: smoked sprats, and crab on toast are two standouts."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "'[I]f you must go to a gastropub, then this is the one to go to'"

• Patara Thai, Phone: 020-7437-1071 Multiple Locations
  • Zagat Well Rated : "The menu offers 'a myriad of spices to greet the palate' at this 'busy, buzzy' quartet..."

• Original Lahore Kebab House Pakistani, Phone: 020-8203-6904 Google Map
  • Zagat Well Rated : "[I]s a 'fail safe for scrumptious tandoori grub' (like 'legendary lamb chops') and other 'amazing Pakistani' edibles..."

London Vegetarian Restaurants

• Mildreds Phone: 020-7494-1634 Google Map
  • Frommer's Highly Recommended: "The menu changes daily but always features an array of homemade soups, casseroles, and salads. Organic wines are served, and portions are very large."

• • Zagat Well Rated : "'Even omnivores will salivate' at this 'funky', 'homely' Soho vegetarian specialist..."

• • Happy Cow Very Good Rating (Note: Community User Ratings, Subject To Change)

• Morgan M Phone: 020-7609-3560 Google Map
  • Zagat Well Rated : "[C]hef”-owner Morgan Meunier’s 'hidden gem' offers Islingtonians 'the rare pleasure of an eponymous restaurant with the namesake firmly in control'..."

• The Gate Phone: 020-8748-6932 Google Map  
  • Zagat Well Rated : "'[P]roves that food without meat isn’t bland or boring'..."

• Eat and Two Veg Phone: 020-7258-8595 Google Map
  • Happy Cow Good Rating (Note: Community User Ratings, Subject To Change)

• Roussillon London Phone: 020-7730-5550 Google Map
  • Zagat Well Rated : "[T]here’s nothing casual about chef/co-owner Alexis Gauthier’s 'high-end, creative' New French cooking..."

• Happy Cow: London Vegetarian Guide (Note: Community User Ratings, Subject To Change)