Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in London
Hardens guides have spent 32 years compiling reviews of the best London restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 91 restaurants in London and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing London restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured London Restaurants
1. Obicà Mozzarella Bar, Pizza e Cucina
Italian restaurant in City
Unit 4 5 - 7 Limeburners Lane, - EC4M
This international chain has three London representatives – in Soho, the City and Canary Wharf – and focuses on light Italian dishes (pizza, pasta and salads) showcasing the eponymous cheese from Campania alongside other Italian produce; plus a range of cocktails and wines. A good spot “for post-work drinks and nibbles”.
2. Bolton’s
Italian restaurant in
13 Cullum St - EC3
At Bolton's restaurant our philosophy is simple, we are inspired by the finest, freshest ingredients and the most authentic vibrant flavours. In Italian our culinary style is called alla Casalinga which means home-style cookery or as we like to say, "like mamma used to make."
It...
3. Club Gascon
French restaurant in Clerkenwell
57 West Smithfield - EC1
“Reliably great after all these years” – Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie’s renowned institution near Smithfield Market occupies a stylishly converted former Lyons Tea House and continues to mine southwest France for its culinary inspiration: notably “very inventive presentations of foie gras” paired with “a different range of wines that one sees in most other restaurants, given its regional emphasis”.
4. Cabotte
French restaurant in Bank
48 Gresham St - EC2V
“Flying slightly under the radar”, this “superior City venue” is “a lovely find, right in the heart of the the Square Mile where it can be hard to encounter a good meal” (“clients are always pleased to visit it!”). “The front of house team are so charming” and deliver “precise and tasty” Gallic cuisine. The major attraction here, though, is the “comprehensive wine list” – “one of the best wine selections in London: it’s hard to find a better selection of Burgundy, but the other region lists are well represented”, with “many rewards to be found, both on pricing and rare gems”.
5. Fazenda, Rodizio Bar & Grill
South American restaurant in City
100 Bishopsgate - EC2M
Situated in the heart of the City near Liverpool Street, Fazenda Bishopsgate spans across two floors in the thriving 10...
6. Piazza Italiana
Italian restaurant in
38 Threadneedle Street - EC2R
Occupying an impressive Edwardian banking hall in the heart of the City, this high-ceilinged space provides a large, classic Italian menu and – if you still have space – makes a feature of a sizeable cheeseboard, showcasing Italian cheeses. Reports are uniformly upbeat, including as a business choice (and, if Accounts are on your case, there’s a good-value lunchtime set menu).
7. Angler, South Place Hotel
Fish & seafood restaurant in City
3 South Pl - EC2
“Perfectly executed fish” from a “varied and delicate” menu adds to the elevation of this 7th-floor D&D London perch, at the top of a hotel near Broadgate, where the “nice verandah” comes into its own in the summer months. Cooking of this quality is rare in the City, and even non expense-accounters will seek it out. This year’s most critical report? – “probably worth its Michelin star, but pricey and the chef didn’t take any gambles”.
8. City Càphê
Vietnamese restaurant in City
17 Ironmonger St - EC2
2019 Review: “Superb Vietnamese street food” draws a hungry City crowd to this pitstop near Bank. It’s “super-busy at lunchtime – better to take away than sit at the tiny tables”.
9. Homeslice
Pizza restaurant in City
69-71 Queen Street - EC4R
“Still delivering on what it set out to do” – Alan and Mark Wogan’s (yes, the late Terry’s sons) hip pizza chain is the best-rated of the mid-sized groups, thanks to its “huge and amazing pizzas with delicious and unusual toppings” (“now the choice is even easier with the 50/50 option!”). Top Menu Tip – “awesome vegan nduja pizza” is amongst a growing number of plant-based options (and, from June 2022, they now have a fully meat-free site, in their 135-cover Shoreditch branch).
10. The Anthologist
British, Modern restaurant in City
58 Gresham St - EC2
A handy location, near the Guildhall, “buzzy” large interior and versatile menu of “decent (if unspectacular) food” mean it’s worth remembering this “reliable option in the City”, although it “can be incredibly busy”.
11. Café Below
British, Modern restaurant in City
St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside - EC2
2021 Review: “Escape the feel of the City for very reasonable home cooked-food” in the ancient crypt of Bow Bells church. “There are no better dining establishments in the Square Mile: affordable, great service, good food with delicious daily changing salads” including “excellent veggie and vegan options”. Depending on when you go, it’s either a “quiet” space or quite a “noisy” one.
12. Lutyens Grill, The Ned
Steaks & grills restaurant in City
27 Poultry - EC2R
“Is there a better business venue?” query fans of this plush steakhouse, which sits within a panelled corner of the vast former HQ of Midland Bank, next to the Bank of England. It’s the prime dining option within the hotel accessible to those not blessed with membership of Soho House, featuring top-quality British and imported steak.
13. Cecconi's, The Ned
International restaurant in City
27 Poultry - EC2R
“The original location is by far the best” – “almost Continental in feel, and opposite the back entrance of the Royal Academy in Burlington Arcade”: “a regular haunt” for Mayfair types where “a seat at the bar is the best possible place in the world”. “Always buzzy and with exceptional Bellinis, it’s best for breakfast or brunch”. On the downside, “the high prices of the food reflect the area and locale”. Its simpler spin-offs (most notably pizza joints in Soho and Shoreditch) capture a fragment of this “fun and upmarket” style.
14. Goodman City
Steaks & grills restaurant in City
11 Old Jewry - EC2
“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”.
15. K10
Japanese restaurant in City
(Takeaway only) 15 Queen Street - EC4N
2021 Review: “Good value” sushi, sashimi and other Japanese dishes trundle past your seat at these two ‘kaiten’ (conveyor-belt) operations in the City, tempting you to help yourself. It makes a fun, fast and efficient way to grab lunch. The chain also has takeaway and delivery options for evenings.
16. Hawksmoor Guildhall
Steaks & grills restaurant in City
10-12 Basinghall St - EC2
“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.”
17. Coq d’Argent
French restaurant in City
1 Poultry - EC2
“The great location” atop No 1 Poultry, “in the heart of the City”, makes this D&D London venue “perfect for entertaining out-of-town business guests” (who might recognise it from the James Bond sequence in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics). It’s “slick and efficient”, too, which helps for scheduling “a time-critical business lunch”. On the debit side, “staff sometimes get overwhelmed by the number of diners”, and “the nosh is upmarket but predictable” – “glad I wasn’t paying for it!”.
18. Taberna Etrusca
Italian restaurant in City
9 -11 Bow Churchyard - EC4
2022 Review: This 55-year-old City trattoria is a popular, lunchtime rendezvous spot on account of its “huge” helpings of classic dishes; its terrace by Bow churchyard for al fresco eating; and its good regional list of Italian wines.
19. The Bow Wine Vaults
British, Traditional restaurant in
10 Bow Church Yd - EC4
2022 Review: “A stalwart for lunches in the City”, this “unpretentious” venue in “lovely Bow Lane by the famous church” has “kept its standards up” for 35 years. The outdoor seating was a major attraction during the pandemic restrictions, and prices are “very reasonable” for the area, while “the boisterous tables make it easy to have confidential chats without being overheard”.
20. Kurumaya
Japanese restaurant in City
76-77 Watling St - EC4
2019 Review: “Been going here years and love their sushi”, say fans of this well-established operation near St Paul’s, which has “a conveyor belt bar upstairs and a restaurant downstairs” – “the best value for money Japanese in the area, and the quality is always very good”.
View full listings of 91 London Restaurants
Popular London Restaurant Searches
London Restaurant News
Top London Restaurants
Hot Newcomers & Coming Soon
Hot Newcomers
Coming Soon