London Southwark Restaurant Guide

“Pretty much as good as it gets for high-end tapas, and fantastic Spanish wines” – José Pizarro’s “genius” Bermondsey original is “a rare combination of delicious food” (“new twists on classic dishes” which are “exceptional in their simplicity and quality”), “plus careful service and a joyful atmosphere”… “if you can squeeze in, it’s always impossibly busy”.

“An amazing selection of oysters” and other “wonderfully inventive fish and shellfish dishes” (in particular, “blackboard specials are usually excellent”) have made these bustling fish bistros one of the capital’s most popular chains amongst foodies, and – though relatively new – they have “an old-fashioned style, feeling like they’ve been there for years (in a good way…)”. “The latest addition in Battersea Power Station and overlooking the Thames may be the best yet!”

“The best coffee on the planet” (“a fabulous diverse array complemented by very knowledgeable and friendly staff”) ensure that these “caffeine-lovers’ paradises” remain the survey’s No.1 chain of coffee houses and are “consistently so rammed”. Foodwise, there’s just “a small range of good pastries, brownies and shortbreads”, but at the mega-popular Borough Market branch you can “nibble on jam and butter on crusty white bread, while people watching”.

“Home-style Indian tapas” – “beautifully spiced, without overpowering the flavour of the ingredients” and “each plate a unique reinvention of a traditional dish” – lures sizeable queues outside this “cosy, if slightly cramped” two-year-old “tucked away 150m from Spitalfields Market”; a second branch opened in the shiny new One Tower Bridge development at the start of September 2018. Top Menu Tip: “the spicy venison doughnut is inspired”.

With its “authentic Portuguese small plates” and “fab list of Portuguese wines”, this small blue-and-white-tiled bar near Borough Market “manages, unbelievably, to bring something new to London”. It’s “a bit hard to find” in the new Flat Iron Square food development – “but worth the search”.

By a single vote, this “amazing” South Bank boozer finally lost its crown this year as London’s No.1 pub (to Fulham’s Harwood Arms), but it still remains “the ultimate gastropub” for its huge fan club. It’s “cramped”, “busy” and “difficult to get a seat” (you can only book for Sunday lunch) but “worth the gamble” thanks to its “changing but always interesting menu at very keen prices”, with an emphasis on game, offal and other “thoughtful”, hearty British dishes.

This superior pizzeria near Borough Market lists pure seawater as a key ingredient in its dough. Boss Tommaso Mastromatteo is a teacher at the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which promotes and protects true Neapolitan pizza.

“Best Peking duck ever, other than top restaurants in Beijing!”… “and unbelievably the dim sum was even better!!” – this “great reinvention of the Michelin-starred Hong Kong favourite” occupies an “amazingly converted church” (St Thomas’s in London Bridge), and even though its most ardent fans admit that it’s “pricey” the “cost isn’t insane, and for once the hype is right”. Service, though, is “a bit chaotic at times”.