11 Best Restaurants in Soho, London

Candlelit at night, with a haunting Dickensian vibe, Andrew Edmunds is a permanently packed, old-school Soho dining institution. Tucked away behind Carnaby Street in a creaky but charming 18th-century town house, it's a cozy favorite whose unpretentious and keenly priced dishes draw on the tastes of Ireland, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Desserts like warm treacle tart or bread-and-butter pudding offer few surprises, but the wine list is always superb and famously reasonable. It could be larger, less creaky underfoot, and its wooden church pew seats more forgiving, but it's a deeply romantic way to get a taste of what Soho was like in bygone days. 

At this always-packed Persian kebab hole-in-the-wall, it's best to sit at the raised counter overlooking the tandoor grill and clay oven and indulge in the expansive meze spreads, hot taftoon flatbreads, and richly flavored coal-cooked marinated lamb, chicken, and poussin kebabs. With exposed brick walls, hanging plants, and a delightfully edgy atmosphere, you can sip nonalcoholic cocktails and sharbat cordials in cozy side booths or hide out in the green foliage-strewn backroom snug. A favorite with global stars like Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid, be sure to book ahead. 

This upscale Italian institution is always crowded and the tables are jammed too close together, but everyone still adores the glorious spread of regional Italian small plates found here. Located off Theaterland's Shaftesbury Avenue, the famous trattoria offers magnificent peasant-based pasta, stews, fritti, salumi, and raw crudi, spanning from Naples to the Veneto. Try the fine Romani fried sage leaves with anchovy, the salt-baked fossil fish from Lazio, or roast suckling pig from northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna. Start with an Aperol spritz before enjoying the majestic all-Italian wine list, which weaves from Super Tuscans to punchy Barolos.

Punchy black-and-white photos of legendary regulars like postwar painters Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud beam down at this disarmingly charming old-school hangout that was once the unofficial London HQ for the Free French in exile and Charles de Gaulle during World War II. Set on the first floor of the eponymous pub downstairs and run by an eccentric former cabaret artist, you can sip Ricard pastis or bargains from the all-French wine list before embracing superb French bistro classics like salt cod beignets, calves brain with brown butter, or braised navarin of lamb with cheesy aligot mashed potato.

Fans of French bistro cuisine and fine wine flock to this glorious wood-paneled Georgian town house for masterful dishes like roast chicken with morel mushrooms and creamy vin jaune sauce alongside a marvelous 28-page French-focused wine list. Set in what used to be a famed Hungarian dining and left-wing political salon known as the Gay Hussar, these days diners bliss out on boudin noir and one of London's finest and most accessible wine lists, with numerous rare gems available by the glass.

It's Jerusalem meets Beirut at this pan-Arab-Israeli spot on Rupert Street off Chinatown. Sit at the zinc open-kitchen counter and down shots of arak while trading quips with the brilliant Middle Eastern chefs, who offer an exuberant medley of Levantine delights, including Yemenite Jewish kubaneh (a light, fluffy pull-apart bread), Persian oxtail stew, Jerusalem truffled mushroom polenta, and paprika-rich pork belly tajine with Israeli couscous. Look, too, for the lavish Kurdish-style mussels inspired by the head chef's beloved grandmother.

Lines form daily to get a prized seat at this no-reservations eatery from a team of Taiwanese steamed bao bun obsessives. The gloriously plump milk-based, rice flour bao buns—meticulously crammed with Cornish confit pork, peanut powder, and fermented greens—are the undisputed stars of the show. The palm-size bao buns also come with fried chicken, crumbed daikon, or lamb with soy-pickled chilis and garlicky mayo. Kick off with soy-cured, egg yoke--topped pig's blood on rice and finish with a fried bao bun stuffed with Horlicks ice cream for dessert.

French tapas may sound sacrilegious, but Gallic gem Blanchette hits the spot at this family-run hipster bistro where jazzy French sounds complement the charming bare-brick and oak table candlelit interior. Visually feast on the eclectic Paris flea market bric-a-brac and then order a host of smaller plates to share, like the crispy frogs' legs and truffle saucisson (sausage) or baked scallops with Café de Paris sauce. The cramped tables can be a touch intimate, but desserts like chocolate tart, tonka bean syrup, and macerated cherries are a fitting Left Bank finale.

Everyone feels a zillion times more glamorous just stepping inside this candlelit restaurant attached to the swank Georgian-era hotel of the same name. Straightforward but endlessly fun retro British favorites include classic English pea and ham soup, primary school-style mince and potatoes, smoked haddock soufflé, and sticky toffee pudding. You'll also find quaint English scones and crumpets for afternoon tea and nostalgic 1970s-style fish finger sandwiches for traditional early evening high tea.