London Bayswater Restaurant Guide

“Cheap ’n’ cheerful roast duck and other Cantonese roast meats” have won a big following for this Chinese quartet, with the “mothership” in Bayswater hailed as “still the best roast duck in the country”. But the “excellent food is let down by indifferent service” – a steady theme over the years; likewise, the interiors are unlikely to grace the pages of a design magazine any time soon.

“This stalwart of Queensway’s mini-Chinatown is back and better than ever”, thrilling diners with its signature lobster noodles (a dish invented on the premises) as well as superlative “steamed scallops, razor clams and all-round seafood”. “The best meal we’ve had for a long time.” Founded in 1978, MK is “always crammed”, but a makeover a couple of years ago, and improved service, are signs that more effort is now going into the ambience.

“Roast duck is the main draw here” – although Queensway could be called “rue du canard roti”, such is the concentration of Cantonese roast duck exponents. Still, “the dim sum, roast meats and dishes from the main menu are all brilliant” at a venue that produces “consistently great food in what can be a chaotic environment”.

A superb cheap eat, unexpectedly tucked away in a (slightly downbeat) small Bayswater shopping mall – Normah Abd Hamid’s friendly small café offers superior quality Malaysian home cooking at bargain basement prices. We all owe the website Eater a favour for putting the place on the map!

“Innovative and delicious Lebanese/Middle-Eastern cooking” has firmly established Barry and Patricia Hilton’s nattily decorated modern bistro in the ‘Petit France’ enclave close to South Kensington’s museums. “It’s great to see them back in action – they’ve tweaked the menu and the food is even more delicious”. “Fabulous service, too”. The venture started out with a series of pop-ups, and a second bistro that started off in Soho transferred to Queensway in summer 2021.

“Glorious burgers and great music in grungy surroundings” – this punk-inspired dirty burger operation “has many imitators now – but it’s still the best” for its diehard devotees. A decade after making the transition from a food van to a permanent site, the chain now has nine venues in the capital. If the excitement of its early years has dimmed a little, its food ratings continue to shine: “Dead Hippie burger, deep-fried mac’n’cheese, salted caramel brownie – is that not a perfect (heart-stopping) indulgent meal?”

2018 Review: Opera singers appear on the quarter hour at this long-established Bayswater basement dining room, where the traditional dishes often feature luxury ingredients.

2019 Review: Big and busy curry house institution on Westbourne Grove, known for the distinctive palm-tree pillars in its main dining room. Its 70+ main courses number “all the standard dishes” – results are “solid if not perhaps great” but come at a cost that’s “extremely cheap”. Founded more than 40 years ago, it has been alcohol-free for the past 19 (no-alcohol Cobra beer is on the menu).

Mathew and Charmain Tabtabai continue to serve caffeine highs alongside brunch, breakfasts and yummy baked goods at their award-winning (including from Harden’s!) three-year-old Bayswater brew-stop, with beans from the excellent Kiss the Hippo.

2019 Review: Now in their 21st year, this pair of “bustling, tightly packed” BYO Persian cafés in Bayswater and Olympia knock out “cheap but tasty kebabs and other typical Iranian dishes”. Not bad for a business that started in a Portakabin next to Olympia Station.

2021 Review: “Perfect coffee every time” keeps caffeine fiends crawling back to this small and serious chain. “Baking from Fortitude Bakehouse is a good complement”.

“A firm favourite”, this unusual venue on the first floor of a Notting Hill pub has served “classic Italian food of the highest quality” for over 25 years, and for a good part of that period was often hailed as London’s top Italian. Over time, it has lost some of its former brio and no longer earns quite such stellar ratings as once it did. But no big critiques are made, and there’s still lots of appreciation for its “excellent food and personable service”.

2019 Review: “If you like chicken this is your place” say fans of this affordable Gallic two-year-old, on the fringes of Notting Hill and Bayswater: “simple mission (rotisserie chicken), well delivered; chicken itself good quality, tasty and wholesome”. In April 2018, the French owners opened a new branch in Hoxton Square.

A “local gem” off Bayswater’s Westbourne Grove which celebrates its 65th anniversary this year – this “classic tandoori” is “one of London’s oldest Indian family-run restaurants” and “never disappoints”. Popular for its “warm welcome” and “great flavours at a reasonable price”.

“I don’t normally like vegan food but this was just fine” – Camilla Fayed’s ‘sun to soil’ venture in Bayswater was again solidly well reviewed this year.

“Inventive food and solid service” make chef Tom Pemberton’s 15-year-old Bayswater venture a particularly strong “favourite local”. Housed in an artfully converted Victorian butcher’s shop, it majors on seasonal British produce. Water damage from a leak in an upstairs flat delayed the reopening after lockdown, but as of September 2021 the restaurant’s Twitter feed was advertising for a new front of house, implying reopening some time soon thereafter. Top Tip: “amazing value set lunch”.

2021 Review: “Extraordinarily good pizzas”, “very good negronis” and “no burgers” are served at this bar, which boasts “the style of Mayfair transplanted to Notting Hill”. It’s upstairs from Assaggi, and from the same team, in the former pub they share, and these days seems the less risky bet. Top Tip – “try the truffle pizza in winter and English asparagus with San Daniele ham in summer”.

2021 Review: Mussels, prawns, calamari and other seafood by the, er, bucket-load is the promise at this “lovely local” yearling on the Bayswater/Notting Hill border – a “comfortable” modern bistro with simple-but-effective decor, serving “a wide selection of very fresh fish and seafood” (in small metal pails) that’s “very good value”. Top Tip – oyster happy hour 4pm-7pm weekdays and 4pm-6pm on weekends, when oysters are £1 each with any bottle, jug, cocktail or bucket of beers.

This modern basement in Paddington Basin is an excellent destination for “upmarket Chinese dining” – a “favourite for dim sum” (evenings included) and “traditional Cantonese cuisine cooked to a high standard”. “For this price range, it’s all well prepared, fresh – and better than the Chinatown options.” Top Tip: “the lobster noodles are not to be missed”.

Quirky, small site, off Notting Hill, that oldies will recall as The Ark (long RIP) and which – like its long-deceased predecessor – doesn’t always inspire much feedback due to its small size and out-of-the-way location. For the last few years it’s been part of the Gladwin Bros’ stable of field-to-fork eateries (Rabbit, Nutbourne) with a similar, faux-rustique theme. More reports, please!