37 Best Restaurants in London, England

Fabulous handmade pasta at affordable prices characterizes this groovy Italian eatery off Soho's Golden Square. Sit at the bustling chef's counter to sample options like bucatini cacio e pepe or pork, fennel, and 'nduja ragù with twirly ribbons of mafalde pasta. Enjoy fine creamy burrata, Sicilian red prawns and samphire, and ample Soho people-watching from the row of raised curbside counter window seats.

Locals are keen to proclaim the virtues of their favorite Brick Lane bagel emporium, but to be perfectly honest, there's not much true competition aside from this spot and its two-doors-down neighbor, the Beigel Shop. Both serve delicious fresh beigels (the traditional European spelling) 24 hours a day, seven days a week (at just 40 pence each); both date back to when Brick Lane was home to a largely Jewish immigrant community, and both are family-owned (two branches of the same family, in fact). When it comes to picking between each establishment's excellent value (£6.50) hot salt beef sandwich (with sweet gherkin and tangy English mustard optional extras), however, always go for Beigel Bake.  

It's all Cockney banter and full English breakfasts at this tiny family-run café and onetime gangsters' lair near Brick Lane and Columbia Road markets. The atmosphere may be rowdy, but it's all good-natured, with greasy fry-ups (think eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, toast, tomatoes, fried mushrooms, black pudding, and cabbage and mash) served alongside homemade Italian dishes like lasagna and cannelloni and British classics like pies and roast dinners, all courtesy of matriarch Mama Maria. With the ornate food-paneling (installed in 1946 by local carpenter and regular customer Achille Capocci) as a backdrop, a visit to E. Pellicci feels a little like a wonderful performance of East End life being staged for your benefit. 

This bakery, which supplies bread to many of East London's top eateries, has a friendly café and deli on-site, where you can sample some of the tastiest toasted sandwiches in the city. The shop also stocks a concise range of elegant household items.

Earthy northern Thai cuisine bursts out of the charcoal-fired kiln and hot clay pots at this barbecue-focused wonderland in Soho. Take in the fascinating tiny open kitchen and you'll see sizzling cumin-dusted hogget lamb skewers and chargrilled chicken thigh bites, along with other local Thai village-style dishes that show influences from Laos, Myanmar, and the Yunnan province of China. Pick up hints of Thai parsley and Burmese wild ginger in a slew of authentic dishes such as lime-bathed langoustines or claypot-baked glass noodles with Tamworth pork belly and brown crab meat.

Once frequented by the likes of Virginia Woolf and Karl Marx, locals still cherish this quirky 1871 French pâtisserie, vintage tea parlor, and occasional pop-up art space, where nothing seems to have changed since the 1920s. Colorful pastries, tarts, croissants, and sweet cakes are well loved and expertly baked on-site. You can choose from the gooey chocolate and fruit éclairs, Saint-Honoré and Black Forest gateaux, marzipan figs, and flaky almond croissants. Still run by Soho legend Michele Wade, Maison Bertaux also hosts a cheery retro afternoon tea service, which comes with savories like Dijon slice or broccoli quiche.

Located next door to the London Coliseum (home of English National Opera), this hip café serves some of the best sandwiches, salads, and coffee in the neighborhood. In the evening (it’s open until 9 pm, Tuesday through Saturday), there’s more of a wine-bar vibe.

Sit at the galley kitchen counter and you can watch the chefs toss hot pans of authentic handmade (on-site) Italian pasta, generally considered among the best in London. The acclaimed but amazingly affordable small plates include ravioli with Neal's Yard ricotta and sage butter, burrata with Puglian olive oil, papardelle with a slow-cooked beef-shin ragù, and Dorset crab tagliarini with chili and lemon. An Italian cocktail favorite like a Negroni or Aperol Spritz (plus Italian wine on draft starts at £4.50) make the perfect accompaniment. Lone diners might get a stool at the counter overlooking the kitchen right away. Otherwise, leave your name at the door or join the "virtual queue" and they will message you when your table is ready, but the combination of high quality and low prices means you could be waiting an hour. The early bird catches the table.

London's top modern Sri Lankan spot dazzles with Ceylonese spiced prawns, Aylesbury duck leg rolls, authentic Sri Lankan egg hoppers, and fabulous char-smoked chicken curries. Located on Rupert Street in the heart of Soho, the diminutive space is a brilliant study in brutalist modernism, with its polished concrete walls, brown-leather cushions, stainless steel counters, and hand-thrown Tamil and Sinhalese typography clay tableware.

Lines form daily to secure a prized seat, perch, or stool at this no-reservations 32-seater from a crack team of Taiwanese steamed bao bun specialists. The gloriously plump milk-based, rice flour bao buns—stuffed with organic Cornish braised pork, peanut powder, and fermented greens—are the undisputed stars of the show. These nifty bao buns also come with fried chicken, crumbed daikon, or lamb with soy-pickled chilis and garlicky mayo. Kick off with the silky scallops in yellow bean garlic sauce and finish with a fried bao bun stuffed with Horlicks ice cream for dessert.

This legendary Italian coffee bar on Frith Street is Soho's unofficial beating heart and a 22-hours-a-day classic institution. Established in 1949 during the postwar Italian coffee bar craze and still run by the founding Polledri family, today an eclectic parade of locals grab an espresso or cappuccino made from the vintage Gaggia coffee machine, and wolf down a chocolate baci or a light snack at the mirrored bar counter. The walls are plastered with pics of old-time Italian opera singers, movie legends, and '50s world boxing champs, and it's the primo spot in town to watch Italy play during the World Cup.

Set in a former basement brothel, this Soho meatopia cranks out £24 platters of chargrilled beef, lamb, and pork skinny chops and juice-soaked flatbread, all served on antique pearlware. Supplied by Philip Warren butchers from the Cornwall moors, Blacklock's killer chops sizzle on the grill under heavy Blacklock cast irons from Tennessee. All-in platters include starters of crispbread topped with egg and anchovy and punchy sides like the 10-hour ash-roasted sweet potato. Enjoy catchy '80s tunes, wine on tap, and a hearty tableside serving of white chocolate cheesecake for dessert. 

In St. Mary-le-Bow's Norman crypt, this café is packed with City workers weekdays 7:30–2:30 for a menu covering breakfasts, scrumptious light lunches, and delicious cakes. It's also open for dinner Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

This unpretentious but charming family-run Vietnamese street-food café offers delicious quick bites and takeout dishes for lunch. Try the pho, banh mi, or spring rolls.

Where else can you find an amazing three-course French meal right by Covent Garden for £21? The Côte Brasserie chain does just the trick, offering a pleasing menu loaded with classic French favorites: crêpes with mushrooms and Gruyère cheese, boeuf bourguignon, moules marinière, and iced summer berries and white chocolate sauce. Service is all fine and dandy, and if you're lucky enough to be attending the ballet or opera at the nearby Royal Opera House, this is perfect for a pre-or post-theater meal.

This successful chain serves up delicious juices and smoothies, as well as sandwiches, soups, and wraps.

This is a cluster of small shops specializing in jewelry, art, clothing, and ceramics by designer-manufacturers, with an adjoining cluster of informal restaurants and cafés, most with outdoor seating. A project of the Coin Street Community Builders, a social enterprise group, it bustles with activity. The same group converted the nearby Oxo Tower Wharf, an art deco warehouse with three levels of designer studios that also serve as retail outlets. The Oxo Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie, a pricey restaurant operated by the swish department store Harvey Nichols, occupies the top floor, and you can see the same spectacular views from an adjacent free public viewing area (open daily).

Family-friendly and tucked away on a pretty mews, Ginger & White is a delightful fusion of a continental-style café and traditional British "caff"—all bound up with a modern, sophisticated Hampstead vibe. Specialties include homemade peanut butter and cakes, farm-sourced free-range eggs, rare-breed bacon, and specialty espresso. It can get crowded on weekends.

This pint-sized eatery, which specializes in vegetarian Indian street food, is one of the very few independents in a neighborhood dominated by pubs and chain restaurants. Start with crisp samosas before indulging in a creamy dal or curry. The mouthwatering mango lassis are also made fresh.

Overlooking The Mall, this café and bar offers a tasty, reasonably priced lunch and dinner menu, with coffees and snacks available throughout the day. Like the venue itself, it's open 11–11.

The area between Victoria and Westminster is something of a wasteland in terms of independent quick-bite eateries, but this minimalist café serves excellent coffee, salads, wraps, and more. Peak office lunchtimes can get pretty busy, so aim to avoid the rush if you want to dine in.

Generous dishes of Indian street food fly from the open kitchen at this informal party spot right off Piccadilly Circus. Sit at the L-shaped, lava-topped counter and watch the chefs haul out bone marrow–smeared kulcha flatbread from the blazing clay tandoor oven alongside a heap of other funky dishes. Options include yolk-topped kedgeree, garlic butter crab, and puffed rice bhel puri starters, pepped up with Greek yogurt and tamarind sauce. The place is full of neat touches, from the vintage Indian herb holders to the ornate wooden Haveli doors found in the basement cocktail bar and communal dining den.

Located on the northern stretch of Portobello Road, this quintessential neighborhood café specializes in delicious coffee, cakes, breakfast, and brunch, all served up on classic English crockery. Grab one of the window seats and watch Notting Hill wander by.

This eccentric French pâtisserie (London's oldest) has been around since 1871. Not the finest coffee around, but a nice range of teas and glasses of wine, plus fab French cakes, tarts, and savory quiches more than make up for that.

This long-established ice cream parlor near Camden Lock has been serving authentic artisan gelato and sorbet since the 1930s (originally a few doors down) and ranks among London’s best. Cones and scoops made from an Italian family recipe come in flavors like Cinnamon and Honey, Dulce de Leche, and Toffee Crunch, as well as more conventional choices, and make the perfect accompaniment to strolling through Camden Market.

Deepest Bloomsbury might be the last place to expect superior Chinese street food, but think again. Tucked down an alleyway just off Southampton Row, this unpretentious eatery features the spicy, surprising cuisine of Xi'an, the city in northwest China that's home to the famed Terracotta Army statues (pictures of which hang above the bar). Popular dishes include the spicy cumin beef "burger" (minced meat inside a flattened bao), fried pot-sticker dumplings, and delicate homemade coldskin noodles called liángpí.

This Islington institution is a foodie's heaven. With the accent on North African and Eastern Mediterranean cuisine, the inventive, tasty, and healthy veg-centric dishes, along with fresh salads, flaky pastries, and artisan cakes, make this deli-bakery-café worth an hour of anyone's time. Go home with a knockout chocolate meringue or a plum-and-quince tart, and pick up Ottolenghi's outstanding Israeli- and Palestinian-inspired cookbook, Jerusalem, on the way out.

This "greasy spoon without the grease" has become a neighborhood hot spot thanks to its modern reinterpretation of traditional British “caff” food (with the nontraditional additions of a wine list, vegan options, newspapers, and books) as well as its well-connected owners (the restaurant was officially opened by local resident Helena Bonham Carter and the vintage jukebox is “curated” by none other than Robert Plant). Lunch and dinner options feature healthy, homemade takes on British comfort food like bangers-and-mash with onion gravy, salmon fish cakes, and mac-and-cheese. There's also the option of interesting salads like grilled halloumi cheese with heritage carrots and oranges, while breakfast offers a vegan Full English. The ambience is a cross between an American diner and a Parisian bistro, and the service is welcoming if sometimes erratic.

This hole-in-the-wall restaurant, a neighborhood favorite for more than 30 years, is an amazing bargain for this pricey part of town, serving good basic Chinese food at reasonable prices. Standouts on the extensive menu include ma-po tofu, barbecued pork with noodles, and seafood ho-fun. It’s not fancy, but service is fast.

This informal eatery serves scrumptious Asian fast food in generous portions at reasonable prices. Popular with students from the many nearby universities, the accent is on freshly prepared, flavorful fare—from sushi and ramen to tempura and delicious noodle and rice dishes.