London Holland Park Restaurant Guide

One of London’s most stunning and pretilly located venues – this 17th-century former ballroom in Holland Park itself is scheduled to reopen in the latter half of 2022 under the ownership of Ilya Demichev and George Bukhov-Weinstein, the Russians behind Chelsea’s Wild Tavern and surf-and-turf specialists Goodman and Burger & Lobster. The menu is expected to be Italian-led and there will be room for 120 diners on two floors – each with its own bar. The venue has had various high-profile tenants, including Marco Pierre White, but has often slipped into complacency based on its location – let’s hope they break that mould.

2021 Review: “Go for the wine: there’s a great selection” focused solely on Italy at this Kensington yearling, with bottles lining many of the walls. Even fans can note that the food (pasta, cheese and meat boards, salads) “is not as good”, but it avoids any harsh critiques. Brunch here is also a possibility.

2022 Review: Limited but good all-round feedback on this smart neighbourhood Italian in Holland Park, whose menu features some interesting Sardinian dishes. ‘Temporarily closed’ as we go to press, we have rated it on its historical performance and hope of a reopening some time soon.

This “old favourite” opposite the Design Museum, now in its sixth decade, is “always buzzing, with great Italian food and a sense that every patron is ‘family’”. It’s family-run, too, with James Chiavarini having taken over from his father, Pino. “James has introduced some modernising touches but I love the feeling that you’re in Italy when you walk in the door – there’s nothing minimal or characterless about it”.

“Low-key but capable of great cooking” – Jesse Dunford Wood’s “friendly neighbourhood spot” does sterling service for Holland Park, serving a “short but well-curated menu” for lunch and dinner, seven days a week, alongside an “awesome wine list”, in an “understated setting that makes clear that the food is the main attraction”. With just 36 seats, it can get a little loud with larger groups.

With its inviting décor, this fast-expanding group has been a big “winner” since the pandemic, mushrooming to 18 sites, all of which have generally proved useful additions to their respective areas. But while “it certainly looks the part, and the staff look after you well enough”, the brunch-friendly fare can be hit ’n’ miss, with reports ranging from “surprisingly good” to “formulaic and really abysmal”. Top Tip – “always a top option for feeding the family”.

“Spankingly good Italian food” is found at this long-established modern venue in an “isolated location” behind Holland Park, whose “posh locals know a good thing when they see it”. There are plenty of “unusual options on the menu”, with an emphasis on “original and well-prepared fish dishes”.

2021 Review: “I started eating at Alounak when it was in a container in a car park round the corner” over twenty-five years ago, and this Iranian café over the tracks from Olympia remains a “favourite BYO” to this day, with its “consistently good Persian comfort food”: in particular “superb kebabs”. (A Bayswater ‘Alounak’ is still in operation, but seems now to operate independently of W14.)

“I have yet to find the person who does not absolutely love Dishoom!” – Shamil and Kavi Thakrar’s “must-visit chain” remains our poll’s most-commented-on group, on the strength of its “exceptional” homage to the Irani cafés of Bombay. “A sense of nostalgia for a vanished India and quirky colonial notices add to the fun” of its “cool”, “evocative” branches, where “outstanding staff, even when very busy” (which is to say always) preside over “borderline hectic” conditions with great verve and efficiency. The “slightly different Indian food” (“with spice rather than heat”) is “far better than it has any right to be” given the volumes it’s served in… “superb”… “so consistent” and “extremely fairly priced” too. The “left field” breakfast menu is famous nowadays, and “awesome bacon and egg naan rolls” have “redefined what brekkie is all about” for many Londoners. Founded in 2010, they will hit six branches in London in 2022, with a big (355 covers) new Canary Wharf outlet, complete with a bar and terrace overlooking the docks. On the downside, bookings at all the outlets are restricted and “queues are half way down the street”. “It’s worth it though!!”. Top Menu Tips – “Finally got to try the black dal… a big hug in a bowl” that’s “to die for” and “Ruby Murray is a family favourite”. And, with their burgeoning delivery business, “the fact you can now order the Bacon Naan for home consumption is a wonderful, wonderful thing”.

Flying under the radar, as they have for over a decade now, Yasuhiro Mineno’s and Shinya Ikeda’s offbeat duo – a two-floor site in a Kensington backstreet (est. 2010), and the newer ‘Ocean House’ spin-off (est. 2013, in the quirky former Brompton Library) – never inspire a huge volume of feedback, perhaps because they are by no means cheap. The owners have fine CVs though and all reports continue to say the sushi here can be exceptional.

Perhaps because it’s easy to ignore amongst the dross of Kensington High Street, this two-year-old venue focused on the eastern Med doesn’t inspire much feedback, but such as we received is all positive. In June 2022, Tomar Amedi (former head chef of The Palomar) joined, and it is now billed as a ‘Levantine Fire Kitchen’. Could be one to watch.

In one of London’s prettiest squares, this “lively” pub classic has the dubious honour of being Piers Morgan’s local – he claims to have met the then-actress Meghan Markle here on the day she later met Prince Harry. (TV crime buffs will also remember it from the late-70s series The Professionals). The scoff’s mostly unreformed pub grub, but good value.

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”.

“Polished cuisine” with a “creative mix of ingredients” – overseen from afar by star chef Phil Howard – elevates this “classic neighbourhood restaurant” off High Street Kensington into something “top class” and one of London’s better-known foodie destinations. If criticism is made, it’s typically that a diner “had heard great things, but was underwhelmed despite finding nothing obviously wrong”. In a similar variable vein, service veers from “very pleasant” to “sometimes chaotic”; and the “well-spaced” dining room is “lovely” to some, too low-key for others.

The cute location is a highlight of this “hidden gem”, obscurely tucked away in a plush Kensington backstreet, where the Indian food is “solid and great value for money”. (It’s actually part of a chain of four, but there’s scant feedback on its siblings in Little Venice, Barnes and Kingston).

The “mix of Asian food slightly adapted for all tastes” and offered at “really reasonable prices” makes this long-running chain “a family favourite”. Founded at the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury 26 years ago, it now has branches in Ealing, Putney, Kensington and Chiswick, along with two delivery-only kitchens. Top Tip – “you can’t beat the curry laksa”.

With its flower-bedecked exterior and “relaxed neighbourhood vibe”, this Ladbroke Grove local is “certainly one of the better pubs” in the capital, serving “delicious food that’s definitely more restaurant than pub grub” alongside “good beer”. It’s close to Holland Park, and attracts a good Sunday lunch crowd.