Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in London Victoria
Hardens guides have spent 31 years compiling reviews of the best Victoria restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 17 restaurants in Victoria and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Victoria restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Victoria Restaurants
1. The Cinnamon Club
Indian restaurant in Westminster
Old Westminster Library, Great Smith St - SW1
“Amazing surroundings in the old Westminster Library, a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament”, provide a “very stately” backdrop to a meal at Vivek Singh’s acclaimed venue – still one of London’s best-known and most impressively located destinations. “Start with cinnamon-based cocktails” in the bar and then progress to the “gourmet-level” cuisine, which has “flavour packed into every morsel”. Amongst quibbles this year was the odd dish that “lacked zip” and a feeling that all the grandeur can feel “sterile”. But the final verdict – “this is true high-end Indian dining”.
2. Regency Cafe
British, Traditional restaurant in Pimlico
17-19 Regency Street - SW1P
“It feels like you’re stepping back in time” at this “traditional greasy spoon”, down a Westminster side street, where nothing much has changed with the decor since it first opened in 1946 (it’s much in demand for films set in the post-war era). “The best bargain in town”, with a “buzzing atmosphere”, it receives top billing as “everything you could want for the perfect breakfast” (indeed, it won the Harden’s breakfast award a few years back).
3. Osteria Dell’Angolo
Italian restaurant in Westminster
47 Marsham St - SW1
2021 Review: “Ignore the lobbyists feeding MPs and enjoy this for what it is” – a smart, traditionally decorated corner-spot that’s one of the only restaurants in Westminster worth going to eat in! “Italian through and through”, it features “many regional dishes” and “unusual takes on traditional pasta and main courses (including crab, rabbit and quail)”; plus an interesting, all-Italian wine list.
4. The Vincent Rooms, Westminster Kingsway College
British, Modern restaurant in Pimlico
76 Vincent Square - SW1
In an attractive building on Westminster‘s leafy Vincent Square, this catering college dining room offers you the chance to be cooked for and served by future hospitality industry workers at a price reflecting your ‘guinea pig’ status. “It’s a great place to enjoy very good food, prepared and served by the students. Have never been disappointed. The price is very good for the Tasting Menu and we have introduced friends to it. Not the best dining room but good enough.”
5. Grumbles
International restaurant in Pimlico
35 Churton St - SW1
This “buzzy” – albeit magnificently dated – “neighbourhood spot” in Pimlico remains “very popular with the locals” – and proud of the fact that nothing much has changed from the original wooden furnishings since it opened in 1964. The “good-value” menu has stood the test of time, too: fish pie, cod in beer batter and steak with Bearnaise, Stilton sauce or an English mustard and brown sugar crust. It claims to be London’s first restaurant with a silly name; apparently ‘Get Stuffed’ was also considered…
6. Mathura
Indian restaurant in Westminster
4 Greycoat Place - SW1P
Is this a rival for the nearby Cinnamon Club? Celeb Indian chef Atul Kochhar is in collaboration with the former commercial director of The Cinnamon Collection, Tina English, for this bold 2021 opening. Transforming a big (5000 square feet), old fire station building in Victoria, it has 200 covers and will focus on the cuisine of India’s north eastern states (the Seven Sister States).
7. Goya
Spanish restaurant in Pimlico
34 Lupus St - SW1
This “old faithful” tapas local in Pimlico has built a loyal following of regulars over three decades, serving a “simple but tasty menu” of Hispanic specialities. “It was great that it survived the pandemic – and a delight to see the same staff and unchanged menu when we returned for our monthly reunion”.
8. Cacio & Pepe
Italian restaurant in Pimlico
46 Churton Street - SW1
2019 Review: This “friendly and stylish Italian in Pimlico” with “very good pasta dishes” was launched two years ago by Florentine Enrica Della Martira as her first restaurant project. It’s rated a “sound choice” with a “menu that changes frequently”. Top Tip: “the signature cacio e pepe (pasta with cheese and pepper), served in a parmesan basket”.
9. Gustoso Ristorante & Enoteca
Italian restaurant in Pimlico
35 Willow Pl - SW1
“Still a gem”, this “local Italian” near Victoria Station (and behind Westminster Cathedral) pleases its small fan club with freshly made traditional dishes backed up by “excellent service and ambience”.
10. Brunswick House Café
British, Modern restaurant in Vauxhall
30 Wandsworth Rd - SW8
“Housed in an architectural antiques emporium” in a Georgian mansion overlooking the traffic of Vauxhall Cross, with a dining room “full of chandeliers and vintage finds”, this “quirky” venue has a “one-of-a-kind atmosphere” that makes it “one of the most fun places to eat”. “The food is always interesting”, too, courtesy chef Jackson Boxer (also behind Orasay in Kensington) – “even if the odd dish is a little bonkers”. Overall it’s a “unique restaurant punching way above its weight”, and “a jolly night out is always guaranteed” (especially if, as from September 2021, you enjoy some of the wine evenings or live jazz recently introduced in the cellars of the building).
11. About Thyme
Spanish restaurant in Pimlico
82 Wilton Rd - SW1
2021 Review: “Like a home away from home”, this Pimlico stalwart keeps regulars happy with a “lovely range of tapas” and Spanish classics, “supervised brilliantly by the amazing host, Issy”. “In an age of ever-changing restaurants, it’s a great pleasure to enjoy such consistency over many years.”
12. Seafresh
Fish & chips restaurant in Pimlico
80-81 Wilton Rd - SW1
This veteran Pimlico fish specialist has just celebrated its 60th year, under the founder’s son, Marios Leonidou, whose “attentive and friendly service” ensures satisfied customers. Classic fish ’n’ chips are complemented by more upmarket options on the menu, from fresh Dorset oysters and mussels steamed in Guinness to grilled Canadian lobster and whole Dover sole.
13. The Garden Cafe at the Garden Museum
British, Modern restaurant in Lambeth
5 Lambeth Palace Rd - SE1
Off a “beautiful open courtyard”, the ambitious café of Lambeth’s Garden Museum is “well worth a trip”. The “fresh, seasonal cooking” – both “well-executed classics and more unusual, interesting dishes” – is prepared by a kitchen headed by chef George Ryle, formerly of Padella.
14. A Wong
Chinese restaurant in Victoria
70 Wilton Rd - SW1
“The second Michelin star was well deserved” at Andrew Wong’s Pimlico superstar – the survey’s No.1 Chinese, and, since January 2021, the first Chinese restaurant outside China to reach such a level. Success has come quickly – it doesn’t seem like yesterday (it was 2012) that he opened this comparatively simply decorated fixture on the site of his parents’ former restaurant, Kym’s (and he recently announced that the search is on for a new, grander home). With its “inspired” and “strikingly varied textures and flavours” (“stunning wagyu tart with peas…”, “featherlight dumplings…”, “legendary custard buns that justify Jay Rayner’s enthusiasm!”) the kitchen demonstrates “extraordinary ways of handling Chinese cuisine”; its output includes some “really interesting dishes from different regions in China”. And on the service front, “his friendly and professional team bring it all together with style and professionalism”. “A true gastronomic adventure!”
15. Cyprus Mangal
Turkish restaurant in Pimlico
45 Warwick Way - SW1
This Turkish-Cypriot grill has established a strong local following around Pimlico in the past 15 years, notably for kebabs fans rate as “simply the best”.
16. The Stoke House
BBQ restaurant in Belgravia
81 Buckingham Palace Road - SW1W
2018 Review: Will Ricker (of Bodega Negra, E&O, Eight over Eight) brings this new American BBQ venture to Victoria’s gigantic Nova development; customers can choose their cut of meat at the counter and pay according to its weight; also offering breakfast, brunch and Sunday roasts.
17. Bone Daddies, Nova
Japanese restaurant in Belgravia
Victoria St - SW1
“Super ramen” constitutes “a top meal at a great price” at these Japanese-style fast-food bars. In early 2021, the brand opened on Putney High Street in a former branch of Byron and later announced ‘Wing Daddies’ (a virtual chicken wing delivery option at all its London stores).
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