Fulham, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Replacing the Harlequin (RIP) is this seasonal British restaurant from the team behind Hackney's NEST (we're not sure about all the capitals either), including chefs Johnnie Crowe and Joe Laker.

“Fabulous game” is a highpoint of the “simple food, cooked to perfection” (“mouthwatering meat so tender the knife just fell through it”) at this “super-fine” hostelry in the distant backstreets of Fulham – for the second year, the survey’s No. 1 gastropub. Full credit goes to head chef Sally Abé for her “top flight” evolution of traditional dishes, but it can’t harm to have input from backers who include Brett Graham (of the currently defunct Ledbury), and also the UK’s most prominent game chef, Mike Robinson. Aside from the small amount of space dedicated purely to drinking, it feels like an honest-to-goodness, fairly unreformed boozer. Top Menu Tips – “venison scotch egg is to die for, as is the Sunday roast”.

This unobtrusive-looking gastroboozer in a Fulham backstreet came to prominence for its highly-rated grub and off-duty visits from Prince Harry, a pal of the former owner. It changed hands last year and Harry got hitched, so he’s not expected back, but marks have held up for what is still a “great local” – “not so cheap but definitely cheerful”.

“Affordable and with a nice vibe” – these good-looking, all-day hang-outs major in brunch, but make reasonably-priced options for a relaxed meal at any time. This year, they added Kensington High Street and Islington to the stable and spread beyond inner London to Surbiton and St Albans.

“Excellent, little rustic-chic local bistro” near Fulham Broadway which is a “lovely spot to eat in at any time but weekend brunch is legendary”. The “intriguing menu” has some “delicious, ambitious dishes”, and the owner is “delightful and charming”.

2019 Review: Claude Compton has won an enthusiastic following for his “excellent and inventive” cooking, deployed in a quirky dining room above the Amuse Bouche fizz bar opposite Parsons Green station. But the food level has dropped a notch this year – “sometimes it misses, and when it does it misses badly”.

This Victorian boozer on the King's Road has reopened as a community pub and events space offering modern British cooking alongside pub classics like beer-battered cod and chips and Hereford beef burgers. As well as beers and wines there's a cocktail (and even a mocktail) list available.