Bushey Heath, Mediterranean - Restaurant Guide

This enticing multi-cuisine spread at a country estate hotel near Watford is a real bargain at £74 per person (£94 per person on Friday dinner and at weekends) – “if I win the lottery I’ll be here every week”. There’s an impressive array of ‘stations’ to mix-and-match, from sushi, robata grill and Asian, via seafood, roast meats, live pasta, stone-baked pizza and salad bar to cheese & charcuterie, vegan and dessert. All-in-all, it makes for an experience that is entertaining and fun for all the family, if not necessarily very foodie.

“A consistently good local” from this indie group based in Hertfordshire and with a focus on sustainability – something they pioneered way before it became trendy, running their outposts on green energy and recycling all their waste. Handy for the High Street and the 11th-century cathedral and abbey church, the bright and airy three-floor venue offers “well-sourced, mostly local food” that’s also well priced: £20.95 for two courses, and £23.95 for three.

“Delicious sharing plates” of Turkish food that is “so much more than you’d expect” (for instance, meat is sourced from the organic Rhug Estate in Wales) draws a steady crowd to this 10-year-old St Albans outfit and its spin-offs in Harpenden and Berkhamsted. “It gets really full and buzzy on a Saturday night – probably one to book well in advance”. Top Tip – “the staff cater brilliantly for allergens”.

“Superbly executed”, Mediterranean-inspired small plates “which change regularly” continue to win praise for this “really charming” basement spot, which is to be found in a picture-book Georgian terrace leading up to St John-in-Hampstead church. There’s also “a well-priced wine list including many options by the glass”.

“Buzzy” north London flame-grilled specialist with outlets in Belsize Village and St John’s Wood, the brainchild of former LPM and The Ritz chef Jake Finn. “Deservedly very busy”, they’re “both lovely places that are worth a visit”, with “friendly staff” and “delicious food” from a “changing menu” based around a “lovely, small-sharing-plate concept”.

2022 Review: Burnt oranges, creams and walnut decor (from groovy designers Sella) aim to evoke the ’70s at this retro Notting Hillbilly store, where a bite in the ground-floor restaurant is a warm up for browsing the vintage-style clothing from Sister Jane above. The funky, Latin-American inspired bites are created by ex-Chiltern Firehouse chef Kai Rykowski, and the Cha Cha team runs a bar on the rooftop, too. (Cha Cha also operates at Mayair’s Mercato Metropolitano, and used to have a bar in Maida Vale, now RIP).

Chef du jour Tom Straker opened this casual deli and restaurant a few doors from his Notting Hill flagship, Straker’s, in summer 2025, hinting that it could be the first of several across London offering simple, seasonal dishes. (It’s an idea that’s been on the cards for some time – his original ‘Acre’ was planned to open in Queen’s Park in 2022). Having found Instagram fame during lockdown, he is very much in expansive mode, with an opening in NYC the next big target.

“Cosy”, large tavern just off Acton Green on the fringe of Chiswick, with some fine late-Victorian features, and whose menu has a somewhat “sophisticated” Mediterranean spin. There’s a small rear garden in summer that opens off its characterful rear dining room (though you can also eat in the bar).

Emily Roux and husband Diego Ferrari further burnished the credentials of the Roux dynasty in 2025 with the “final, well-deserved recognition of a Michelin star” for their “lovely” destination towards the edge of Notting Hill (“at last, after six years the excellence has been recognised but we regulars have long known about its merits!”). Everything about the place is unflashy but “spot on at every level” – “precise”, “subtle and complex” cuisine “with great flavours is delivered with elegance and savoir-faire” in a “modern” environment that’s low-key but “lovely and cosy”. “The menu changes every month and always offers a tasty mixture of French and Italian inspired dishes, beautifully presented and served by the knowledgeable staff. The Italian sommelier is wonderfully enthusiastic and always steers you to something interesting and not too outrageously priced on the wine list”.

Withnail & I (filmed a street or two away) actor, Richard E Grant for many years ate weekly at this good-looking traditional Italian in Notting Hill: one of the area’s stalwart locations (with stablemates Essenza and Osteria Basilico on the same street). One first-time visitor this year also approved: “pasta with a chicken sauce plus other things and a decent bottle of wine in preparation for a visit to the Electric Cinema. Really good experience. Would definitely go again!”

“You will want to lick the plate” if you brunch (the highpoint) at one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s inspired deli-cafés, whose creation in 2002 helped created the TV fame of the owner, and started to popularise the Middle Eastern-influenced cuisine that’s swept London and even now is seen as fashionable. The formula is little changed: “tasty, healthy and yummy dishes” that are “beautifully flavoured” but “a bit on the pricey side”. “Ottolenghi is the master of flavoursome veg (with more veg choices than at most non-veg restaurants)” and, in particular “the cakes are wonderful!”. (Also, “they’re great on allergens.”). On the downside, “space is tight” and the “ambience could be more relaxed”. There’s also a feeling in some quarters that “Yotam has become a brand and it shows”, with food that is “good but after a while same-y”.

This smartly converted pub in Ravenscourt Park offers a full menu of Italian starters and mains, but the highlight for most reporters is the “thin and crispy Roman-style pizza – so good”. (The Bird in Hand at Brook Green is a sibling on similar lines, while the Oak in Notting Hill was relaunched in July 2025 as The Good Oak under new owners).

2024 Review: This appealing café/restaurant in Notting Hill is “just a gentle place to be”, with a modern eastern Mediterranean menu inspired by founder Victoria Paltina’s visits to Tel Aviv.