London Chelsea Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “Delicious Vietnamese street food” – almost certainly “the best” in this part of London – is found at this Chelsea noodle bar apparently meaning “happy Buddha”. The “scrumptious prawn laksa” is technically a Singaporean dish, but who gives a ph**?

2021 Review: “When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

2021 Review: This attractive Chelsea backstreet pub – “good food”; “a good place to watch the rugby” – closed for a refurb this summer, following our survey. Its sale to Hippo Inns returns it to the ownership of Rupert Clevely, who sold former owner Geronimo to Young’s in 2010.

2021 Review: “Maybe the brand is a bit stretched”, but Richard Caring’s bold expansion is paying off by-and-large, certainly in commercial terms, and – though most branches’ average food-rating is run-of-the-mill – by the standards of large chains, the group delivers a consistent-enough formula, whereby folks accept predictable nursery fodder in return for a dependable dose of ‘affordable glamour’. The “beautiful and festive” Ivy Chelsea Garden (SW3) is the best known in the stable and it’s particularly “wonderful if you manage to get a table in their fabulous garden”. The “big and buzzy” Ivy Kensington Brasserie (W8) is less highly rated, but nevertheless fills a vital niche in the local market for a comfortable, atmospheric and versatile rendezvous (“its bar is also a fun place for a drink”). The City branches (The Ivy Tower Bridge, The Ivy City Garden EC2) and Canary Wharf outlet (The Ivy in the Park, E14) are the highest rated all-round (perhaps reflecting the ongoing lack of convivial spaces out east). “Awesome views” at Tower Bridge are distinct client-pleasers. Other branches taking above-average flak include The Ivy Soho Brasserie, W1 (“busy mayhem” with “slow and disorganised service”) and The Ivy Market Grill, WC2 (“nothing special, rather overpriced, and very busy”). See also Granary Square Brasserie.

2021 Review: “Truly delicious tapas” showcasing “great farm-sourced food”, with “some robust, well-judged flavours” win ongoing appreciation for the Gladwin brothers’ six-year-old King’s Road operation. There’s also a “cool vibe” to the “quirkily decorated room – loved it!”.

2021 Review: “Not Japanese nor pretending to be” – this Danish fusion-chain offers a suspicious-sounding-but-successful mix of “fancy sushi” with “plenty of other stuff on skewers” (i.e. yakitori ‘sticks’). “Some of the non-traditional additions don’t quite work, but those that do are lovely”; and as a group, “where so many others fail, it delivers well on consistency”. Its “big and spacious”, Scandi-style branches create a “vibrant and exciting” environment too, “but, oh my word, the prices…”

2021 Review: These “buzzing family-run Italians” in southwest London create “an exceptional atmosphere” for large parties of all ages – and “they won’t break the bank”. “Despite the celebratory brouhaha, they produce a very respectable menu of traditional dishes – fish stew, duck, pizza on demand” – “even the veggies are catered for”. “Expect noise and old people dancing.”

2021 Review: Squashed trattoria off the King’s Road that’s long been a staple of the Chelsea crowd, who find it fun packing in like sardines next to their neighbours. In the year that saw the death of founder and long-term owner, Roberto Colussi, feedback has become a little more mixed than once it was, but it’s still tipped by fans as a “favourite”, especially by those with kids in tow.

2021 Review: “Great but under-rated Malaysian/Singaporean food”, “executed with real style”, has earned consistently high marks for this sleek sibling of a successful Oxford venue, since it took over the Chelsea site of Brasserie Gustave (RIP) two years ago.

2021 Review: “Top pizzas” that “taste as good as they look” are the hallmark of this 30-year Chelsea fixture, now with branches in Wimbledon and Battersea. “I couldn’t stop myself from eating every last bit of the dough,” reports one happy fan of the pizza, which is served by the metre. Nice Roof Terrace at the SW3 branch.

2021 Review: “Punching above their weight in terms of flavour and presentation” – this “buzzy” quartet of “medium-priced” Japanese/Asian fusion “pit-stops” are “fab little places” for a high-quality refuelling (the new Barnes site is “perfect before a film at the Olympic across the road”).

2021 Review: An “intriguing concept” – ‘A rotation of Mammas’ from 20 different Italian regions per year provide the hearty scoff at this welcoming Chelsea yearling, where handmade pasta is something of a feature. By all accounts, the formula works, delivering “interesting dishes not found in your typical Italian restaurant” to a consistently good standard, and – for the ’hood – it’s not especially pricey either.

2021 Review: Phil Howard “is going from strength to strength” at his “vibrant and lively” four-year-old, tucked away in a chichi Chelsea backstreet, where survey ratings scaled new heights this year. Deceptively, the slightly “austere” room “has the feel of a high-quality, neighbourhood local, but standards of food and service are, by contrast, top class”. “Phil has gone back to basics” with his culinary approach and his “beautiful, clever dishes are a delight”: “really inspired cooking using seasonal ingredients and recipes” with a “light touch” and “superb precision”. Famously, he’s more ‘flexitarian’ in approach than when he was at The Square and “while it’s not a vegetarian restaurant, it delivers some of the most interesting gastronomic vegetarian dishes ever!” Service is “outstanding” too – “interested, engaged and good communicators”.

2021 Review: “Useful pre-Wigmore Hall” – this Marylebone original is now the sole surviving branch of what for a few years become a chain, but which retrenched last year. The space – with large windows and dominated by the bar – “doesn’t encourage you to linger”, but the “simple dishes are well executed, at a good price”. Really, though, it’s “all about the wines by the glass” (15 reds and 15 whites), plus a ‘Collector’s List’ of rare vintages by the bottle.

2021 Review: “A little corner of France in the SWs” – Didier Garnier’s “comfortable and old-fashioned French brasserie” on a tucked-away site (with a large outside terrace for the summer) has, for just over two decades, maintained a massively loyal following, particularly amongst “older Chelsea residents”, on the strength of its “classic” (if rather “no frills”) cuisine; “an excellent wine list with prices that are hard to beat”; and notably “courteous” service. “Tables are packed closed” though, and “it’s noisy when busy”.

2021 Review: “Are people just deducting points because it has Gordon’s name?” – that’s the suspicion raised by fans of the world-famous TV-chef, who – like Michelin – consider his modern French cuisine “simply unbeatable”, and extol his “early-noughties-time-warp-style” Chelsea HQ (currently presided over by head chef Matt Abé) as “the best in London”. The answer is no! – the problem is the equally sizeable number of diners who feel “safety first is the word here”, and that by the standards of top, world-class culinary genius it “doesn’t really hit the mark”: “OK-ish, but too often run-of-the-mill” or “merely average (except for the price… which is outrageous!)”.

2021 Review: “Andy Murray is a regular visitor (to the Wimbledon branch), and with good reason”, report fans of this “upmarket” group. Like Sir Andy, “great service” is a particular strength, while “the food is pretty authentic” too. Now an international operation, the first of its six London venues opened in 1990.

2021 Review: “Eager staff”, a proper “local pub atmosphere” and a “great menu” of modern British dishes make this a “real discovery” just a stone’s throw from the Thames. The oldest boozer in Chelsea (est. 1708), it has served pints to luminaries including JMW Turner, Dylan Thomas and Bob Marley.