Hyde Park Corner Restaurant Guide

“Chef Shay Cooper has upped the ante here”, in the “magnificent” dining room (with “large, well-spaced tables”) of this extremely plush hotel on Hyde Park Corner: a gracious space, with a domed glass ceiling (lit naturally). His modern British cuisine won the venue much more consistent praise this year, including for a “wonderful – and surprisingly reasonably priced – Sunday lunch”. Top Tip – the £40 menu du jour is a steal here – but you must book online.

“Brilliant” Italian dishes “cooked to perfection” inspire rave reviews for chef Theo Randall’s well-known HQ, by Hyde Park Corner. For many diners, “the fact that it’s a large, bare, windowless hotel restaurant is completely irrelevant” – “there is good space between the tables”; “the kind staff all try really hard”; and “it always feels like a treat (that’s not as expensive as some other places)”. The odd meal doesn’t go well, at which time the “soulless” space seems more significant, but bad trips here are quite rare. Top Menu Tips – “at weekend lunchtime, Theo Randall does an excellent buffet antipasti followed by a set lunch with bottomless prosecco or Aperol spritz. The restaurant always has a buzz when these meals are on with lots of large families. And the business three-course set lunch at £33 is amazing value!”

“An oldie but a goodie” – Nobu Matsuhisa‘s first restaurant in Europe when it opened in 1997 on the first floor of a Park Lane hotel remains “a truly special place” that still offers “the same excellence after all these years”. It’s “expensive” (always has been), “doesn’t have the best decor” (a long-running complaint), “but it hands-down serves some of the best Japanese food in London”, from a menu of Nikkei-fusion dishes including the signature miso black cod that spawned a thousand imitators.

“It always takes hours to decide on the wine!!” for fans of the grape at Gordon Ramsay’s mutedly luxurious Belgravia haunt, which is built around a wine cage and, of course, named for the famous Bordeaux appellation whose vintages contribute to its list. Though primarily nominated in our annual diners’ poll in the category for ‘Best Wine List’, its modern French cuisine under head chef Orson Vergnaud (at the helm since 2022) returned to stronger form this year and in a quiet way this is again one of the better restaurants in Gordon Ramsay’s stable.

This “bustling” spot, tucked away in a Mayfair side street near Piccadilly and Green Park, is a “perennial favourite” (“great for a gossipy catch-up!”) on account of its “fun, welcoming” atmosphere and prices that are notably kind for the area. Over its three decades it has attracted a long list of swashbuckling guests, ranging from Johnny Depp to Fred Sirieix.

“Extremely disappointing all around, especially considering the price”… and that’s the most favourable feedback this year! – the infamous Knightsbridge outpost of Nusret Gökçe’s (Salt Bae) global empire (at the foot of a hotel near Harrods), whose famously pricey menu for prime cuts (including a Giant Tomahawk steak for £630 or baklava coated in 24-carat gold for £50) continues to inspire limited and poor feedback in our annual diners’ poll. But, it still dishes up easy meat for the tabloids, with numerous 2024 stories (e.g. June 2024 in The Daily Mail: “I flew to Turkey to eat at Salt Bae’s restaurant – because the flight and meal was less than the cheapest steak at his London venue”). To grab your own selfie, drop in for the relatively affordable set lunch, which prior to drinks and extras is £39 per person.

“Very Belgravia in feel, cost and clientele… but that doesn’t stop the food tasting good!” – this once-ground-breaking Indian venue is part of the accomplished MW Eats group (with siblings including Chutney Mary and Veeraswamy). Luxurious, if slightly “cavernous” in ambience – it was an early pioneer of grill-cooking presented tapas-style from the very visible open kitchen; and has maintained an impressive level of quality and luxury over its 20 years in operation (est 2004). “This is the place to take someone who thinks they don’t like Indian food: some of the most delicious things ever come from their tandoor”… “as they should at the extortionate prices!” Top Menu Tips – “the black pepper chicken and the seabass are highlights”.

A Japanese accent to the pastries adds exoticism (and expense?) to a trip to this swish perch, in the beating bougie heart of Belgravia. It originally opened in the foyer of the stunning-looking Pantechnicon building next door, which – in summer 2024 – rebranded as ‘19 Motcomb Street’ – leading (we understand from the press) to a relocation of the café to the ‘Halkin Arcade’.

Feelgood vibes abound on the lovely rooftop (complete with retractable glass ceiling) of this swanky Belgravian site atop the building formerly known as ‘Pantechnicon’, whose crowd seems to be jetting in for the day from St Tropez (with pricing to match). It’s closed as we go to press as it undergoes a major reformatting, but we’re betting that on re-opening in late 2024 much of its original DNA will survive. The menu – on relaunch – will be Japanese (under the brand of what used to be the basement restaurant); and it will also be served in the space immediately below (previously Eldr).

This “old reliable favourite” in Belgravia celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, as ever serving “beautiful (if very expensive) Italian food” in a “fantastic ambience”. A dazzling gastronomic phenomenon in its early days under founding chef Giorgio Locatelli, it’s “not as busy as it used to be, but still worth a visit”.

A “great concept, expertly delivered” – the two headline dishes are served up in posh, comfortable diner style at this nine-strong London group (with another dozen branches around the world). As a gimmick it doesn’t generate the buzz it once did, but both of the main dishes receive a good rep in feedback, in particular the “excellent and good-sized lobster” (and “for lobster it’s not that expensive”).

“The theatrical elements are sometimes ridiculous, but it‘s very unlikely you would go away unhappy”, according to fans of culinary boffin Heston Blumenthal’s Knightsbridge dining room. Here the unique culinary approach is not his Fat Duck’s ‘molecular gastronomy’, but to re-package recipes researched from Tudor and Georgian cookbooks for the modern era. Most famous is the “sublime meat fruit” (a kind of pâté made to look like a satsuma) but recent menus include the likes of “‘Ragoo of Pigs Ear on Toast’ (c.1727)” and other concoctions. At its best “it’s a great and memorable experience” and one for which Michelin have awarded a coveted two stars. But there’s perennially a huge disconnect between this accolade and its performance in our annual diners’ poll. Even fans concede it’s “hugely expensive”; and year in year out there’s a very significant proportion who are “incredibly disappointed” with the food; or who feel “it’s trading on one or two exceptional dishes at eye-watering prices that don’t match what’s on offer”. By day in particular, this large chamber is a “beautiful” space, with Hyde Park glimpses, particularly from the tables near the windows, while by night the ambience can be more “clinical”, not helped by incidents of “charmless” or “inattentive” service. If Heston were not world famous, the tyre man might have taken away at least one star here a long time ago.