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Eating & Drinking in London
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London's cosmopolitan population has brought a variety of ethnic cuisines to the city and you can now find an excellent range of food in all kinds of settings. Londoners are always looking for something new, flocking to the latest offerings from celebrity chefs, and setting high standards for the food. That means that in order to stand out from the competition, restaurants use fabulous interior design and continuously innovate their menus. The result is some of the best top-end restaurants in the world, high prices, and the need to book your table well in advance. Selecting the very best is quite a difficult task. We've judged food, décor, and ambiance, and came up with a list of the ones we'll be glad to return to. There will always be others with buzz and Michelin stars, cheaper or even more expensive menus to recommend, so we'll continuously follow the city's fantastic dining scene and will keep you up to date.
CAFÉS
Electric Brasserie
This fashionable brasserie next to Electric Cinema in trendy Notting Hill is a good choice for brunch (be sure to have the eggs benedict) but it also serves great grilled dishes throughout the day.
Inn the Park
This surprisingly chic establishment set in St. James Park is an excellent choice for breakfast. Sit on a Tom Dixon chair and choose from a long list of teas from around the world or go for the full Great British Breakfast. Overlooking the duck pond and just steps from Buckingham Palace, this is one of the most memorable places to start the day in London.
Ottolenghi
This stylishly minimal café is a special treat at any time of the day. We especially recommend it for brunch, but it also serves excellent fusion cuisine in generous portions throughout the day. The breads and pastries are also a good choice, as are the lunchtime salads which are a top choice for vegetarians.
Tea Palace
This is a favorite in chic Notting Hill, where you'll find the finest teas and also enjoy some fine food. It's open for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea, so it's also a great stop for a quick snack. The biscuits, scones, and cakes are baked fresh every day and the desserts are made with the teas and infusions that you may also buy at the tea shop.
Tom's Deli
Some fantastic light meals are served at this well-designed café and deli, especially popular for weekend brunch. You can sit inside at the booths or enjoy the fresher air on the balcony. The prices are a little high but considering the quality of the food and service, well worth it.
RESTAURANTS
Baltic
Not only is this the best Eastern European restaurant in London, it also offers one of the finest dining experiences of any kind in the city. The innovative menu is served together with a great cocktail and vodka list in a stylish space that includes a bar and a high-ceilinged dining room with a glass roof.
Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill
This London institution was revived and updated under Michelin-starred chef Richard Corrigan, but remains a fantastic traditional British experience with a sprinkling of modern style. Try the oysters or fish classics at the bar or choose to sit upstairs at the more formal dining area (the Grill).
Cocoon
It may be hard to get a table, but try booking in advance to experience this hot Asian restaurant. It has a fantastic atmosphere spread throughout its sushi bars, restaurant, lounge, and private rooms designed by Stephane Dupoux. The food is excellent, and the cocktail list superb.
The Fat Duck
Located about 20 minutes from the capital, this 3-Michelin star restaurant has also been ranked the second best in the world by "Restaurant Magazine." It sure is a distinctive dining experience, with dishes meant to satisfy your senses and not necessarily to fill your stomach. The high prices are justified and your taste buds will thank you.
Fifteen
Famous for being chef Jamie Oliver's restaurant, Fifteen is housed in a Victorian building but features a very modern interior. It offers a Mediterranean menu using top-quality seasonal produce, served by a professional and friendly staff.
Fino
Simple yet sophisticated, Spanish restaurant Fino presents a fine selection of modern tapas-style dishes in an elegant and friendly environment. There is also a cocktail bar.
Fish!
You can guess what's on the menu just from the name, with the catch of the day landing on your plate cooked just the way you want it. It's served in a glass pavilion with an open kitchen, and when the weather allows, you may sit on the terrace.
Gordon Ramsey
Gordon Ramsey is one of the kings of London's dining scene, and his restaurant at the Claridge's Hotel offers an outstanding (and naturally expensive) menu of French cuisine. He has other restaurants in town, with the one on Royal Hospital Road having earned three Michelin stars.
HAKKASAN - 8 Hanway Place, Fitzrovia
This upmarket Chinese restaurant holds a Michelin star and is worth the money you spend to savor its modern Asian-inspired cuisine. With its moody lighting and stylish décor, it has a glamorous nightclub ambiance, especially at the cocktail bar. You may go just for drinks at this sophisticated bar, which serves a variety of martinis and other drinks, including signature mix Hakkatini.
The Ivy
The Ivy is one of London's most sought after restaurants for its superb service and food. Decorated with modern art, stained glass, and wood panelling, it is a classic dining experience and certainly deserves the hype. Popular with theatre goers and celebrities, the menu consists of well selected classic dishes, but to try them you'll have to book a table weeks or even months in advance.
The Landau
This chic restaurant's dining area is accessed through an impressive vaulted passageway lined with its wine selections. Once in the sitting area you'll find an innovative design and Asian-inspired décor, a sophisticated setting for the refined contemporary European dishes to be served.
Maze
The Asian-influenced French menu at Maze changes regularly depending on the fresh products available, but you know that what you'll be served will be some of the best and most inventive in town. It's served in an impressively-designed space, and of all the Gordon Ramsay restaurants, this is one we'll return to.
Momo
This Moroccan restaurant deserves all the hype it gets. It's a fantastic gastronomic experience with its sour-sweet North African flavors and fine desserts, but to taste all of it you will have to book well in advance. This is a good choice for a romantic dinner for two.
Moro
Popular for over a decade, be sure to book a table at least two days in advance if you happen to see one of its cookbooks and want to experience the place where it is all cooked. It offers a creative menu with strong North African influences together with some other Mediterranean (Spanish) flavors, as seen on the wine list.
Nobu
Nobu is the place where those who wear designer labels go for sushi and Japanese food served in bamboo flasks or lacquered bowls. It's not cheap but it's very good, and of the different Nobus in town, we prefer Nobu Berkeley with its dramatic David Collins interior design.
Olivomare
Everything except one wallpapered wall in this sleek restaurant is white -- the tables, the chairs, the floor, the lighting... It's all very modern and stylish, even the food. The Sardinian recipes have a rustic origin, but they're presented with a sophisticated elegance on the plate. Fine quality ingredients mix to create rich flavors in the main courses and desserts. The owner also runs other Italian restaurants nearby, Olivo and Olivetio, but this one is our favorite.
Pied à Terre
Serving haute French cuisine in a dining area with the feel of an art gallery, the two Michelin-starred chef Shane Osborn presents a tasting menu much loved by foodies, as well as a fine a la carte list.
River Café
One of the greatest riverside restaurants in London is also one of the city's most stylishly designed spaces. It's quite a legendary place, with an open kitchen and a cheese room with a selection of unusual Italian cheeses displayed behind glass. The menu is always changing, but it's usually filled with excellent fish dishes, to be washed down by one of the good wines on the list.
Salt Yard
It serves tapas, but the inspiration doesn't just come from Spain. Italian flavors are also mixed into the top-quality menu, served in a sophisticated but relaxed setting. The wine list is also a selection of Spanish and Italian bottles.
Sketch
This is a chic dining destination for London's most fashionable, offering a fabulous French menu in an equally fabulous setting. It's really a complex of restaurants, with the Lecture Room, the Gallery, and the Glade having their own stunning décor and feel. No matter where you choose to sit, the vibe is youthful and the food top-notch.
Tom Aikens
This Michelin-starred restaurant is one of the best fine dining options in London. Its chef is one of the most acclaimed in the UK, and a discerning crowd knows it will always get a memorable experience here. The portions served are not huge but that's good news because you'll need room for the "mmmm, mmmm!" desserts.
Umu
This refined Kyoto-style restaurant artfully presents Japanese cuisine is a very tastefully designed space. The portions are small but of the finest quality, and the wine list contains over 600 labels, with sake imported exclusively from Japan. Be sure to try the excellent desserts.
Vanilla
This sexy restaurant and lounge uses seductive mood lighting in a stylish interior to light up the attractive crowd that shows up for the Asian-inspired menu. The ingredient that gives the place its name is used in sweet drinks, while the bar is the elegantly glamorous setting for cocktails.
Yauatcha
You won't have tea or dim sum at a more glamorous place anywhere else in the world. There are 150 varieties of tea and two dozen dim sum options, as well as a wide range of pastries to choose from. The modern lounge-like space features a sleek décor, usually filled by young professionals.
The Wolseley
This is one of the most acclaimed and popular restaurants in London, located in the former Wolseley car showroom. It offers formal but welcoming service in an old-fashioned café and restaurant ambience where superb European cuisine is served all day long. Come for breakfast, lunch, or afternoon tea, as it may be difficult getting a table for dinner unless you book weeks in advance.
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