43 Best Restaurants in London, England

A sophisticated crowd enjoys the sumptuous and elegant decor at this classic brasserie at the back of the royal grocer, Fortnum & Mason. An old-school trolley arrives table-side to serve Siberian sturgeon caviar with scrambled eggs, baked new potatoes, and blinis, while creamy beef Stroganoff and whole duck with elderberry sauce get the full table-side-flambé treatment. Truffles that are shaved at the table are another specialty. The popular Welsh rarebit toasty has a punchy mustard kick, while nostalgic desserts include a fleet of alcoholic ice-cream floats. It's open all day, with an unusually long five-hour window for lunch bookings—perfect if you want to take a break from shopping nearby.

British restaurateur Keith McNally re-creates his famed New York Parisian–style grand brasserie at this bustling spot off Covent Garden. The soaring grand café setting creates an enchanting backdrop to enjoy the reassuringly classic French brasserie menu, including standbys like fruit de mare platters, lemon sole meunière (with capers and parsley), côte de boeuf, and grilled lobster. A fitting treat for pre- and posttheater meals, spoil yourself with classy rock oysters and steak tartare before polishing off a pile of profiteroles for dessert.

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

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, 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 hot salt beef sandwich (with sweet gherkin and tangy English mustard optional extras), however, always go for Beigel Bake.  

It's all fin de siècle Vienna at this evocative Art Deco–style grand café on Aldwych near Covent Garden. Dishes on the majestic Middle European menu would do the Austro-Hungarian Empire proud—think Wiener schnitzel, Hungarian goulash, beef Stroganoff, and wonderful würstchen (frankfurters and hot dogs) served with sauerkraut and onions. Savor other goodies like borscht, kedgeree and lamb shank sauerbraten, while desserts include a sinfully indulgent Sacher torte.

Zoom up to the 40th floor of 110 Bishopsgate and head straight for the cult signature dish of confit duck leg, Belgium waffle, fried duck egg, and mustard maple syrup for a taste of foodie bliss. Open 24/7, with spectacular panoramas of The City, you might satisfy the munchies with a foie gras breakfast, served all day, alongside streaky bacon and homemade Nutella or an Elvis PB&J waffle with banana brûlée. Look, too, for the bag of spiced pigs ears and the big-as-tennis-balls spicy ox cheek doughnuts dusted with smoked paprika sugar. There's always a party vibe and you'll often find live music in the dining room.

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.

The unassuming breakfast room at the Stafford London hotel transforms into the Game Bird restaurant after noon, offering all-day dining until 9 pm; come in the evening for a wonderful atmosphere, and let the sommelier choose the best wine to accompany dishes that use the finest British produce. The menu includes crowd-pleasers like oysters Rockefeller, Devon dressed crab, and Dover sole meunière. Try the steak and ale steamed suet pudding, cooked to exquisite perfection, for a real taste of modern British cuisine. Executive chef Jozef Rogulski has worked collaboratively with Lisa Goodwin-Allen, the Michelin-starred executive chef at Northcote, so it's no surprise that every mouthful delights. Leave room for the lemon meringue parfait with basil snow.

This all-day café provides breakfasts that run from tofu poke bowls to Eggs Royale and waffles and lunches that include Korean-style meatballs, healthy but ample salads, and a kimchi grilled cheese sandwich, plus monthly specials like beetroot risotto, cauliflower rarebit, and calves liver with mash. Cocktails, beer, and biodynamic wines are also available. It's usually packed with local families and their dogs. There's another branch on England's Lane in Belsize Park.

Tucked away on a quiet corner one block behind Greenwich High Road, this little grocery store and café is doing something very special. With a farm shop and a delicatessen that serves specialties like locally made gin, artisanal cheeses, and charcuterie, its biggest draw is the range of gourmet sausages made on site under the direction of chef and patron, Martin Heap, alongside his business partner and Italian food maestro, Vincenzo. Open until 4 pm daily, there are a few seats out front and a covered seating area in the back to accommodate those wanting more than a quick bite. Try a plate of sausage, mash, and onion gravy or a mint and lamb burger in a brioche bun with tzatziki, coleslaw, and a potato cake. Great for takeaway breakfasts, coffee, or lunch on the go, there's a wide variety of burgers and vegetarian options, too, as well as wines, beers, and cocktails. With artisanal sausages made from the very best ingredients, including the spicy Lethal Lucifer or Pork, Prune, and Cognac combo, it's no wonder there's usually a line onto the street that includes local shoppers stocking up on produce.

Windswept lines wait patiently outside on Frith Street, and inside there may only be 25 counter seats, but everyone's still smitten with the steaming bowls of hot broth and house-made udon noodles at this quirky but consistently brilliant walk-ins only Japanese joint in the heart of Soho. Favorite udon combos like cured cod with wakame seaweed duke it out with sweet tofu, pork miso, and lamb mince and cumin alternatives, all vying for the affections of regulars and slurpy udon aficionados alike. Check, too, the cult English breakfast udon, which famously comes topped with a fried egg, bacon, and marinated mushrooms. 

Recently awarded its first Michelin star, Luca's formula is simple: modern Italian classics made from the very best British seasonal produce. Add to that the superchic setting—from the Art Deco--esque dining salon to the marble-top bar and the stunning glass-walled conservatory—and this popular Clerkenwell haunt is very much a triumph of both style and substance. Dishes include conchiglie of ragu bianco with Brussels sprouts, chestnuts, and Parmesan of potato and grilled Cornish squid served with chickpeas, datterini tomatoes, and 'nduja. 

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 much 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, Black Forest gâteaux, 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 pleasing 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.

The "oak" in this all-day restaurant is a hand-crafted wooden "tree" that sits under a retractable roof that combines with blonde oak furnishings and pink walls to create a light, airy feel. The menu ranges from comfort food favorites like mac-and-cheese croquettes and mini-slider burgers to Asian-influenced dishes like duck bao buns or miso cod with egg noodles, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms to Mexican-influenced plates like fish tacos with pickled slaw and chipotle mayo or pulled-beef quesadillas. There are also inventive cocktails and indulgent brunch dishes like buttermilk pancakes with berries that have made the place a favorite with locals often accompanied by attendant children and dogs. 

London's most opulent dining salon here at The Ritz would impress even Marie Antoinette with its sumptuous Gilded Age rococo revival trompe-l'oeil frescoes, tasseled silk drapery, and towering marble columns. Sit at the late Margaret Thatcher's favorite seat overlooking Green Park (Table 1) and luxuriate in unreconstructed British haute cuisine, such as langoustine à la nage or beef Wellington, carved table-side. Don't miss the crêpes suzette, which are flambéed table-side by the maître d'. The chef's five- and seven-course set menus are also a delight.

A glitzy procession of famous faces, media moguls, and hedge-funders comes for the spectacle, swish service, and soaring elegance at this bustling Viennese-style grand café on Piccadilly. Located in a former Wolseley Motors luxury-car showroom, this brasserie begins its long decadent days with breakfast at 7 am (8 am on weekends) and serves Dual Monarchy delights until 11 pm (10 pm on Sunday). Don't be shy about popping by (they welcome walk-ins) for dishes like kedgeree, steak tartare, chicken soup with dumplings, or Wiener schnitzel. For dessert, go for an éclair, and don't forget to return to savor the classy afternoon tea.

Austrian-born star chef Wolfgang Puck amps up the stakes at this ultraexpensive steak house on Park Lane. Set against a luxe backdrop of Damien Hirst artwork and globe lights, carnivores go crazy for the pricey prime cuts from England, Australia, Japan, and the United States. Options include impeccable 35-day Creekstone filet mignon, Black Angus New York sirloins, and an 8-ounce rib eye of pure Kagoshima Wagyu beef from Kyushu in Japan. Add bone marrow, French fries, chimichurri, or creamed spinach with a fried egg on top for the whole nine yards.

All the cool cats swing by this grand brasserie at Ian Schrager's insanely trendy London Edition hotel near Tottenham Court Road. Enter the monumental Edwardian dining salon, where you might swoon over a Herdwick lamb rump with aubergine puree and tomato and harissa fondue. Exquisitely appointed with framed pictures, paintings, and Grand Central Terminal--style bronze chandeliers, the sheer elegance of the place will soon have you feeling like a million dollars, too.

Set in a corner of what was once a vast Victorian warehouse, this airy eatery is open from early morning to late at night, serving great food and freshly roasted coffee (you’ll pass by the giant coffee roaster en route to the bathroom). The focus is on world cuisine (the jalapeño cornbread is a perennial favorite), and the all-day menu features shared plates as well as sourdough pizzas. There are excellent cocktails, too.

Revel with the A-listers in the glamorous buzz at this upscale Italian brasserie wedged between Cork Street, Savile Row, and the Royal Academy of Arts. It's perfect for a pit stop during a West End shopping spree or after browsing the nearby Mayfair galleries and auction houses, with diners spilling out onto pavement tables for breakfast, brunch, and cicchetti (Italian tapas)—and then returning later in the day for something more substantial. The luxe green-and-brown interior is a tony backdrop for classics like red mullet carpaccio, veal Milanese, and tagliatelle bolognese, and don't forget the pick-me-up tiramisù.

Tucked away down a pedestrianized back street, this casual French bistro is a favorite haunt for politicians based in and around the nearby Palace of Westminster. Open all day, one can only imagine the political intrigues being discussed over Gallic classics such as coq au vin or snails in garlic butter, all washed down with wines from the surprisingly extensive list.

The kind of smooth-running, welcoming all-day brasserie that is difficult to find in Paris these days, Colbert offers well-prepared bistro favorites like croque monsieur, escargot, and steak haché, along with bigger plates like pan-roasted sea trout with samphire and seaweed or confit duck. The service is professional but friendly and the atmosphere is stylish but comfortable. Although a neighborhood favorite, it's a swanky neighborhood, which is reflected in the prices, but a prix-fixe menu (two courses for £24.75 and three courses for £29.95) offers good value.

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.

Being a hotel restaurant, Dovetale provides a whole-day experience worth sampling at any hour. The modern European, produce-led menu delivers on every level, with langoustine and your pick of steak cut from the Josper grill as two of the highlights. The breakfast is a big favorite with the Mayfair-based hedge fund crowd, who dress noticeably sharply for the first meal of the day, possibly enjoying the spiced-oat porridge. The dinner service retains a cozy yet elegant ambiance, with the low lighting perfectly suited to the lounge-like space where booths and banquettes rule.

It almost feels like Sigmund Freud or Gustav Klimt might doff their Homburg hats and shuffle into a dark leather banquette at this evocative, early-20th-century–style Viennese neighborhood café on Marylebone High Street. Savor the antique light fittings and distressed wallpaper before diving into a rye brötchen (bread roll) sandwich with chopped chicken livers and dill. Expect top service from staff in natty Trachten-style Tyrolean green waistcoats and dark green ties. The all-day restaurant opens early on weekdays (7:30 am) and semi-early on weekends (9 am) so you can head here for a unique Austrian-theme breakfast. 

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, cakes, buns, all-day breakfasts with farm-sourced free-range eggs, salads and sandwiches, and specialty espresso. It can get crowded on weekends. There's another branch in Belsize Park.

Mayfair is home to more than its share of fussy fine-dining restaurants, so HIDE is a welcome alternative, charming with experimental dishes that make the new-Nordic, produce-focused modern European menu shine. Look out for artlike dishes strewn with wildflowers on the seasonal eight-course tasting menus served in a fairy-tale setting. There's also an in-house bakery, and a menu that includes breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and cocktails; be sure to explore the 6,500-bottle strong wine list, one of London's finest. Set lunch and dinner menus are great value.