London Camden Town Restaurant Guide

“Still some of the best burgers around”, say fans of this French group, whose Gallic je ne sais quoi lends a certain superiority to the offering, while service is “friendly and speedy”. Its seventh outlet opened in Kingston early in 2019, at a time when rival mid-market operators were struggling.

Vaguely Tyrolean, beamed decor is nobody’s idea of a Japanese restaurant at this slightly odd venture, near Mornington Crescent tube. No complaints about the outstanding value sushi and other fare though: “good and varied as ever, with many choices for Japanese drinks too, including sake”.

Veteran, family-run tapas bar, near Mornington Crescent, which garners consistent high praise for “home cooking of the kind you rarely find these days”. What’s more, there’s a “pleasant garden for outdoor eating in fine weather”.

Fish trade veteran Pat ‘Pops’ Newland started out cutting up newspapers to wrap portions at the age of 11, and has kitted out his three tourist-friendly chippies (in Soho, Spitalfields and Camden Town) in 1950s memorabilia to commemorate the era. The “no-frills” fish he serves is “excellent” and “consistently fresh” – but even fans can find it “overpriced by a long way”.

Gordon Ramsay’s “beautiful” Regency tavern on the Camden Town corner of Regent’s Park, is a large venue incorporating both a big bar, plus a sizeable dining area and basement. It doesn’t receive a perfect scorecard from reporters, with some feedback describing it as “disappointing” or “overpriced”, but its ratings climbed more into the middle-ground this year.

“Neapolitan influences are evident in the choice of ingredients, and the wood-burning oven makes for good, chewy, charred crusts, unlike most high-street pizzas” – so say fans of this global chain, whose HQ is indeed in Naples. Not everyone is impressed, though, and ratings are dragged down by those who feel it’s merely an “everyday” choice: “OK for a bog-standard group, but not great”.