Caterham, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: This “lovely” mid-Victorian boozer (believed to be the only ‘Haycutter’ in the country) earns solid ratings for its “good old-fashioned pub grub” and “brilliant” all-round performance. It is now part of the Brunning & Price group.

2024 Review: This “lovely food-led pub” – a carefully modernised beauty from 1854 on Crystal Palace’s thriving ‘Triangle’ – showcases chef David Yorkiston’s “really great cooking – way, way above typical gastroboozer fare”. “Controversially, it has banned kids under 10” but not everyone objects (“we think the atmosphere is all the better for it, even if it means we can’t go there as often as we’d like)”.

This “nice pub” close to Box Hill in the Mole Valley is known for its “good-quality food” – which means you need to book ahead for Sunday lunch. From the five-strong local Grumpy Mole group, it is known as ‘The Inn on the Green’.

2024 Review: “Brilliant pub grub” wins a nod at this Victorian former coaching inn in West Dulwich, with plenty of outdoor space that is covered and heated in winter. It’s family-friendly, so gets “a bit noisy” at times.

2023 Review: A welcome 2021 relaunch after being closed for years – this roadhouse on the South Circular between Sydenham and Catford serves “generous” dishes that “elevate it beyond pub grub, but without pretending to be a gastropub”. The food comes courtesy of Jamie Younger, who runs Peckham’s Begging Bowl and was formerly at the Palmerston in East Dulwich; his “smoked and slow-cooked options are a triumph (red chicken, short ribs)”. The “huge outdoor areas” make “weekend lunch en famille with toddlers a jolly affair” – a market sector enticed by a discount club for parents with young kids.

This smart neighbourhood restaurant and bar from Stuart Gillies, for many years Gordon Ramsay’s right-hand man, “never lets you down with quality, value or service – can’t get enough of this place”. The menu offers a mixture of classic British and modern European cuisine, with bottomless brunch on Saturdays and traditional roast on Sundays. There’s now a sibling restaurant on similar lines, Number Eight in Sevenoaks.

“Yummy mummy hangouts” that have proliferated across the capital and its surrounding high streets over the past few years, with “relaxed and colourful décor” and “friendly waiting staff”. They are very accommodating to families, both “child-friendly” and “pooch central, with snacks and water” – although if you don’t bring your own, you might find there are “too many dogs”. The eastern Med-style cooking varies between “fresh and well prepared” at best to “adequate, sometimes slow” – while “bottomless Bloody Mary or Mimosa on a Sunday can be dangerous!”.

“The venues are wonderful to look at, but the food is almost always below average, over-priced from an uninspiring menu, with service that can be pushy and inflexible” – a fair summary of the pros and cons of the sub-sub brand of the famous Theatreland classic, which more generous fans claim provides “reliable comfort food without the hassle of the original”. Many diners have their eyes wide open when it comes to the trade-offs of choosing to dine here: “you likely have a good time; it’s just that, in London, there is always somewhere more interesting round the corner”.

“Yummy mummy hangouts” that have proliferated across the capital and its surrounding high streets over the past few years, with “relaxed and colourful décor” and “friendly waiting staff”. They are very accommodating to families, both “child-friendly” and “pooch central, with snacks and water” – although if you don’t bring your own, you might find there are “too many dogs”. The eastern Med-style cooking varies between “fresh and well prepared” at best to “adequate, sometimes slow” – while “bottomless Bloody Mary or Mimosa on a Sunday can be dangerous!”.

“Exceptional food in a calm and unpretentious setting” has carved a big reputation for Steve Drake’s Surrey HQ which, say fans, is “the perfect haunt for a special occasion or at which to make an impression with a business client” thanks to its “exceptionally balanced atmosphere” with “exemplary” service that’s “not too attentive, but there when you need them”. “Succulent” dishes are “carefully constructed dishes to delight the eye as well as the palate” and “adventurous enough to push you to try new things without being ‘weird’”. We have continued to rate it based on our spring 2025 annual diners’ poll on the basis that Steve remains as owner: but in June 2025, he stepped back from the stoves and appointed Alex Payne (who came to prominence running The Tudor Pass restaurant at Great Fosters hotel near Windsor) as the new head chef.

Well-priced Korean restaurant on Ealing Broadway (with an uncommented-on year-old spin-off in Ravenscourt Park), offering a range of tasty bibimbap and bulgogi dishes with a soup starter and kimchi on the side for £18.95, alongside plenty of appetizers, stews and noodle options.

This “perfect neighbourhood restaurant that consistently cooks to a really high standard” occupies an attractive glass-fronted site opposite Herne Hill station, and goes from strength to strength under founder, hairdressing salon entrepreneur Katya Milavic-Davies and exec chef Lasse Petersen, who began his professional life as the drummer in post-punk band The Rakes.

“Old pub – now a neighbourhood bar/bistro” of over a quarter century’s standing in East Dulwich, which is “owned by locals and loved by locals for its friendly pub-style ambience but restaurant-level cooking”, its “friendly and helpful staff, and great vibe”. Top Menu Tips – “it’s one of the few places to offer savouries as well as ice cream and desserts”; “Sunday roasts and daily fish and vegetarian specials are fab”.

The “junior offshoot of Trinity”, Adam Byatt’s Clapham flagship, is well established in nearby ‘Abbeville Village’, even if its ratings are rather middling across the board this year. To be fair, Adam acknowledged in spring 2025 that this venue was his ‘biggest challenge’, so he was working to ‘level it up to become more of a special occasion spot’.

2022 Review: “Super neighbourhood spot that balances being cool with being welcoming” – this all-day café bar in Clapham (same owners as WC), promotes an ethos promising ‘a conscious effort towards quality coffee, healthy food, lifestyle and environment’. Early reports suggest it lives up to its aims, with excellent brews and “interesting and varied food options with an Australian twist, in a friendly, bright setting with a lovely courtyard”.

2022 Review: This stylish modern gastropub in Clapham’s ‘Abbeville Village’ scores well across the board, and is especially “good value when they have one of their frequent deals on”. Marks for the food would be higher still “but it’s not 100% reliable as an over-achiever”.