Chelsea, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Well worth a visit in this remote corner of Chelsea”: this “outstanding oasis in Worlds End” has won a big culinary reputation, and chef Joe Mercer-Nairne “maintains high standards year-in-year-out”, with a “classic French approach that’s not so over-refined as to suck enjoyment out of it”. “Very good ingredients are cooked with great care, love and attention, but not overdone, nor over-fancy”. Service is of a very “high class” too, while the interior is “sophisticated” (“if a little cramped”). “It’s another surprising omission from the Michelin star list: is it because it’s at the wrong end of the King’s Road?”

“Truly delicious tapas” showcasing “great farm-sourced food”, with “some robust, well-judged flavours” win ongoing appreciation for the Gladwin brothers’ six-year-old King’s Road operation. There’s also a “cool vibe” to the “quirkily decorated room – loved it!”.

Phil Howard “is going from strength to strength” at his “vibrant and lively” four-year-old, tucked away in a chichi Chelsea backstreet, where survey ratings scaled new heights this year. Deceptively, the slightly “austere” room “has the feel of a high-quality, neighbourhood local, but standards of food and service are, by contrast, top class”. “Phil has gone back to basics” with his culinary approach and his “beautiful, clever dishes are a delight”: “really inspired cooking using seasonal ingredients and recipes” with a “light touch” and “superb precision”. Famously, he’s more ‘flexitarian’ in approach than when he was at The Square and “while it’s not a vegetarian restaurant, it delivers some of the most interesting gastronomic vegetarian dishes ever!” Service is “outstanding” too – “interested, engaged and good communicators”.

“Eager staff”, a proper “local pub atmosphere” and a “great menu” of modern British dishes make this a “real discovery” just a stone’s throw from the Thames. The oldest boozer in Chelsea (est. 1708), it has served pints to luminaries including JMW Turner, Dylan Thomas and Bob Marley.

This smart D&D London conversion of a Modernist 1920s car showroom on a prominent King’s Road site leaves reporters impressed by the venue if rather underwhelmed by the cuisine – “beautiful restaurant and nice service, they just need to up their game food-wise”. Situation normal, then, at this large space, which has never really capitalised fully on its potential.

Providing “faithful” service to an expensively dressed clientele in one of Chelsea’s prettiest streets – this “lovely local” (too posh really to qualify as a ‘gastropub’) has an excellent buzz and consistently well-rated food. As always, though, there’s the odd grumble here about its price level.

2017 Review: “The garden in summer is perhaps the finest in the capital” and the interior is “gorgeous” too, at this year-old Chelsea spin-off from the Theatreland original. Leaving aside the “magical” atmosphere however, there’s less to celebrate – staff are “badly organised”, “hubristic” and can indulge in “pushy table-turning”, while the “boring” brasserie fare underlines the fact that “it’s more a place to be seen than to eat”.

2017 Review: With its “neighbourhood feel” and “relaxed atmosphere”, this Chelsea backstreet pub “exudes genuine happiness”. “Great food (not just the usual pub grub)”, that suits “the whole family”.