City, Burgers, Etc Restaurant Guide

“Still the go-to New York-style steak house” – this Russian-owned chain has “a distinct style from Hawksmoor” which it somewhat resembles; and though its fanbase is much smaller, it’s held in equal regard by those who recommend it. Well located for expense accounters, its branches in Mayfair, the City and Canary Wharf are a “safe bet for good steak” and deliver a straightforward formula inspiring few grumbles. “The prices aren’t dirt cheap, but those AAA steaks never were”.

2021 Review: In less than 20 years, Danny Meyer has transformed his New York City hot-dog cart into a global fast-food brand giant with eight outlets in London – including a Covent Garden flagship that was revamped earlier this year. Ratings remain remarkably solid for “a chain that does what it’s supposed to do”.

“The best burgers in town” – “the juiciest, the most flavourful” – are a credible claim for this quartet in Spitalfields, Victoria, the City’s Bloomberg Arcade and Westfield White City, the highest-rated of the non-mainstream burger chains in our survey this year. New Yorker Zan Kaufman named them after the Greenwich Village street where she ate the burger that inspired her to quit her job as a corporate lawyer and start flipping patties on the back of a London truck, 11 years ago.

“Bloody good, succulent steaks”, with “epic cocktails and wines”, all served in “rather clubby”, “classy” surroundings is a formula that’s won fame and fortune for Huw Gott and Will Beckett’s steakhouse phenomenon. “Many happy afternoons have been lost in these places!”, which continue to be voted as London’s “best steak chain by far”, and “a go-to for business”. “Everything is top-notch: the quality and cookery of the beef; the exemplary seafood (be it Salcombe crab on toast or their lobster); even down to their excellent sides of mac ’n’ cheese, bone marrow or Caesar salad”. However, a visit “is not exactly easy on the wallet”. “It’s verrrrry expensive” (and “if you go with mates who like to chug back the wine, the bill will be massive!”). And ratings are coming under ever-more pressure due to “staff who seem unable to cope”, or meals with “too many misses at too heavy a price to be a reliable bet”. Last year, the team expanded to Manhattan and also opened a “stunning floating boat/barge” in the docks at Canary Wharf. Later in 2022, the group will also add a Liverpool branch to rival Manchester’s; and a few months later make a Dublin debut on College Green too. “Are they losing some of their je-ne-sais-quoi as they get bigger and badder? There’s a sneaking suspicion the lustre is being slightly lost.”

“Does what it says on the tin”, with “no delay making choices”. This “simple, good and easy” surf-and-turf chain has grown to nine sites in the capital in 11 years – most with “sufficient space to eat and talk” (rare enough in fast-food joints). The formula is working around the world, too, with openings from New York to the Genting Highlands in Malaysia. “Love the way they give you plastic sheets to cover yourself from flying bits of lobster!”

“Does what it says on the tin”, with “no delay making choices”. This “simple, good and easy” surf-and-turf chain has grown to nine sites in the capital in 11 years – most with “sufficient space to eat and talk” (rare enough in fast-food joints). The formula is working around the world, too, with openings from New York to the Genting Highlands in Malaysia. “Love the way they give you plastic sheets to cover yourself from flying bits of lobster!”

“If you want your meal dripping down your chest, this is the place!” – “very consistent and superb-tasting burgers” again win a big thumbs-up for this expanding chain, which in 2022 adds branches in first Northcote Road, then Canary Wharf. Top Menu Tips – their classic ‘Ari Gold’ and ‘Smokey Robinson’ options are consistently great (cooked rare on request); vegetarian burgers get upvoted; and any “monthly specials are always worth a look” (“love the limited editions”); “decent sides too”.

“If you want your meal dripping down your chest, this is the place!” – “very consistent and superb-tasting burgers” again win a big thumbs-up for this expanding chain, which in 2022 adds branches in first Northcote Road, then Canary Wharf. Top Menu Tips – their classic ‘Ari Gold’ and ‘Smokey Robinson’ options are consistently great (cooked rare on request); vegetarian burgers get upvoted; and any “monthly specials are always worth a look” (“love the limited editions”); “decent sides too”.

2021 Review: “A nice, laid-back American buzz” has helped win a loyal following over the years for this small chain of Kansas City-style diners: one of the first in London to bring BBQ indoors. “It’s a fun place” (in the right mood) and the food is “decent” and in man-sized portions, but “not particularly special”.

2021 Review: “A firm favourite for breakfast and brunch in Southwark” – this café-style fixture a short stroll from Tate Modern serves “a great menu to suit all tastes”, and fans say it’s “unbeatable”.

2019 Review: This first-floor dining room of the large (but nowadays somewhat overlooked) Smithfield venue by the meat market was one of the 1990s fave raves. As “a safe choice for an informal business lunch” it still has its fans, but even some supporters acknowledge the food “is tasty without being amazing” and harsher critics dismiss the cooking as too “colourless”.

2022 Review: “The duck burger is sublime and the triple-cooked duck-fat chips are moreish” at this offshoot of nearby Club Gascon, which offers a more informal venue for simpler but similar cuisine from SW France. We’ve rated it on the basis of its consistent pre-pandemic performance, as it remains closed as of September 2021 while the team waits for folks to return to their offices around Smithfield.

2021 Review: A new ‘eating, drinking, shopping and art space’ from the founders of Flat Iron Square, also not far from London Bridge, with vintage shops, street food stalls and bars in shipping containers and a large garden. Million Pound Menu stars Baba G’s have a stall here, selling their naanwiches and Indian burgers.

2021 Review: “Everything here is great, but I totally loved the paneer burger” – an alternative to the best-selling bhangra burger on the menu of these popular pop-ups, in POP Brixton and now also Vinegar Yard, SE1. After over ten years in the game, the business shifted up a gear in May 2019 with the opening (flush with £300k of investment having won BBC2’s ‘My Million Pound Menu’) of the new forever-home listed here: a 50-seater in Camden Town’s Stables Market.

“Quackers about this place!” – a fixture of Spitalfields Market, this street food truck delivers “duck in a wrap and much, much more” from an “eclectic” and “mouthwatering” menu. And the duck comes with a very modest… bill (geddit?).

“The best burgers in town” – “the juiciest, the most flavourful” – are a credible claim for this quartet in Spitalfields, Victoria, the City’s Bloomberg Arcade and Westfield White City, the highest-rated of the non-mainstream burger chains in our survey this year. New Yorker Zan Kaufman named them after the Greenwich Village street where she ate the burger that inspired her to quit her job as a corporate lawyer and start flipping patties on the back of a London truck, 11 years ago.

“Bloody good, succulent steaks”, with “epic cocktails and wines”, all served in “rather clubby”, “classy” surroundings is a formula that’s won fame and fortune for Huw Gott and Will Beckett’s steakhouse phenomenon. “Many happy afternoons have been lost in these places!”, which continue to be voted as London’s “best steak chain by far”, and “a go-to for business”. “Everything is top-notch: the quality and cookery of the beef; the exemplary seafood (be it Salcombe crab on toast or their lobster); even down to their excellent sides of mac ’n’ cheese, bone marrow or Caesar salad”. However, a visit “is not exactly easy on the wallet”. “It’s verrrrry expensive” (and “if you go with mates who like to chug back the wine, the bill will be massive!”). And ratings are coming under ever-more pressure due to “staff who seem unable to cope”, or meals with “too many misses at too heavy a price to be a reliable bet”. Last year, the team expanded to Manhattan and also opened a “stunning floating boat/barge” in the docks at Canary Wharf. Later in 2022, the group will also add a Liverpool branch to rival Manchester’s; and a few months later make a Dublin debut on College Green too. “Are they losing some of their je-ne-sais-quoi as they get bigger and badder? There’s a sneaking suspicion the lustre is being slightly lost.”

“East London is where you get the best pork rolls in town” – courtesy of Mark Gevaux, a former butcher who has perfected the art of BBQ baby-back ribs, from pigs reared outdoors in Norfolk and Suffolk, and his own famous ‘Holy Fuck’ sauces. Available only in Brick Lane Market on Sundays (they sell out early) and at West Ham home games.

For a meat-free burger, this tiny brand (the first vegan restaurant in Europe to use ‘Beyond Meat’ in its patties) is well worth a try if you need a bite near the Old Street roundabout, or are down Pop Brixton way.

“The burgers are so juicy and tasty” – “just the right combination of taste and juiciness” – at this small group, which has continued to expand from its Shoreditch’s Boxpark origins via a proper restaurant in Brixton Market Row to new branches in Market Halls Cargo at Canary Wharf and also the largest opening to date: a 45-seater in Exmouth Market (formerly a Dirty Burger). The brand only uses grass-fed, dry-aged British beef.