Our 10 must-visit restaurants in the capital. From Hammersmith to East London. Bring your appetite and start making reservations…
River Cafe
- Cuisine: Italian
- Price: £££
- Go for: Exceptional food, excellent service, and a stunning terrace. Reserve far in advance.
- Location: Hammersmith
Of course, we couldn’t leave The River Cafe out of our London edit. An institution helmed by chef Ruth Rogers, it has specialized in simple Italian cooking since 1987. Located on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, it's known for its exceptional food, excellent service, and stunning terrace. Reserve far in advance.
Casa Cruz
- Cuisine: Argentinian
- Price: ££££
- Go for: A chic dinner with your Mistress
- Location: Holland Park
Juan Santa Cruz’s restaurant Casa Cruz in Holland Park is easily the chicest dining spot in West London. It has sublime Argentinian food and the most beautiful bathrooms in town.
7 Saints
- Cuisine: Seasonal Modern European
- Price: ££
- Go for: Romantic dinner
- Location: Notting Hill
For a romantic dinner, 7 Saints is our favorite spot. It has a delicious seasonal menu and the atmosphere is spot-on — just make sure you book ahead.
Spring at Somerset House
- Cuisine: Seasonal Daily Changing
- Price: £££
- Go for: Lunch
- Location: Covent Garden
Led by Skye Gyngell, Spring is housed in a restored 19th-century drawing room inside Somerset House that had previously been closed to the public for 150 years. It has a daily changing menu of seasonal British dishes such as slow-cooked sage, fennel, and blood orange, or sirloin with Jerusalem artichokes, grilled leeks, cime di rapa, and aioli. For pudding, expect the likes of bitter chocolate pave with bourbon, rye, and marmalade ice cream or St Jude cheese with truffled honey. They also make liqueurs and tinctures in-house to fire up their cocktail and juice lists.
Evelyn’s Table
- Cuisine: British produce, Scandinavian and Japanese techniques, classic French train.
- Price: £££
- Go for: A date
- Location: Soho
A terrific find in Soho. So tiny, but so perfect. Evelyn’s Table is an intimate 12-seater counter dining experience, led by Head Chef Luke Selby and his two brothers, Nat and Theo, serving an evolving menu built on their formative experiences, a love of British produce, Japanese techniques, and classic French training. Their Banana cake is out of this world!
Maison Francois
- Cuisine: French
- Price: £££
- Go for: Lunch
- Location: St James
An all-day brasserie off Piccadilly, Maison Francois is the brainchild of Francois O’Neill, Ed Wyand (who was behind Clapton’s Verden), and chef Matthew Ryle (ex-Dorchester). We go at lunchtime for freshly shucked Loch Ryan oysters, charcuteries, and terrines. For something heartier, there are plates such as ravioli dauphine with comte and wood-fired John Dory.
St. John
- Cuisine: British
- Price: £££
- Go for: A late lunch
- Location: Farringdon
St John is an all-day, all-night, all-seasons kind of restaurant. For us, it is simply an institution. And it’s not just the food, it is the fact that it does the simple things right. The team will make you a proper drink, or pour you a pint, as you make your way through an egg mayo sandwich or some rarebit at the bar. It will seat a raucous group of you at 7 pm, and still be asking if you want more at 11 pm. It will make a pie for two that is quite clear for more. That’s why when somebody asks what you’re doing next weekend, and you answer St John, it needs no further explanation.
Café Cecilia
- Cuisine: Seasonal
- Price: £££
- Go for: Breakfast or lunch
- Location: Hackney
Located just off Broadway Market, Café Cecilia is a neighborhood restaurant run by Max Rocha, whose previous experience at The River Café, St John Bread & Wine and Spring has stood him in good stead for this east London venture. Dishes are kept simple, and supremely fresh. For dessert, think chocolate and Guinness cake or deep-friend bread and butter pudding. The wine list is an intriguing one with plenty of natural bottles on offer.
Campania
- Cuisine: Southern Italian
- Price: ££
- Go for: Date night
- Location: Shoreditch
Tucked away on a cobbled corner off Columbia Road, this is one of our favorite east London spots for a date night. The interiors are delightfully rustic, the staff is super lovely and its Southern Italian cooking is always delicious. Order the gnudi, the ragu of, and the tiramisu — plus a negroni or two.
Rochelle Canteen
- Cuisine: Seasonal
- Price: ££
- Go for: Lunch
- Location: Shoreditch
In the summer, there’s no better lunch spot than Rochelle Canteen. Set in the walled garden of an old school off Arnold Circus, Margot Henderson’s restaurant serves us perfectly simple and seasonal dishes under the vines. Enjoyed with a glass of rose in hand, it is one of London’s greatest pleasures.’
84 Rooms recommends: An Insider’s Guide To The Most Stylish Spots In East London, and The London Hotels to Book this Summer.