Borehamwood Restaurant Guide

“Meals just flow from gorgeous dish to gorgeous dish” at this “comfortable” Sicillian restaurant in a Fitzrovia townhouse, which inspires nothing but praise this year. The menu is a good mix between “creative” and more familiar dishes (“excellent parmigiana and pasta for example”); and it’s all washed down with “beautiful wines”. The golden-hued Moorish-inspired decor verges on “lavish”, with tiled floors and “nice booths”, plus “outside tables that are worth it on a sunny day”.

2021 Review: Up-and-down reports on this “lovely” Soho haunt, specialising in wood-fired, Mediterranean, grilled dishes – part of Salt Yard Group (all of which was absorbed into the Urban Pubs portfolio in November 2018). Fans applaud the “delicious tapas from this ever-reliable family” but quite a few reports express disappointment: “maybe there’s a sense it isn’t quite what it was”.

“This unusual Asian-fusion restaurant” from Michael Lim “delivers extremely high-quality, fresh-tasting dishes almost uniformly across the board” from its variety of cuisines – and “Michael always takes care of the customers”. After almost three decades in Notting Hill, it now has a spinoff in Seymour Place, Marylebone, where it’s “a very welcome addition”.

Named for the booking pseudonym of the late Princess Margaret (who lived for many years at nearby Kensington Palace), this stalwart bistro is perennially popular for its superbly welcoming, quirky style (a kind of quaint, old-farmhouse, rustic chic) rather than its 1970s Anglo-French cuisine. A fire closed it in early 2024 – a reopening in 2025 is suggested by its website.

Owner Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos is a scion of the family who own Bordeaux’s epic Château Margaux, which explains the unusually heavyweight wine list at this attractive and comfortably converted Tudorbethan pub in Marylebone. Over 50 vintages, including 14 Château Margaux wines, are available by the glass (using the Coravin system) from a list whose emphasis is on clarets and top Burgundian names. Its modern European cuisine has Francophile leanings and – though not the main event compared to the wine – plays a respectable supporting role.

“They know what they are doing” at this comfortable hotel brasserie, well-located with a covered terrace on Marylebone Lane. Even its harshest critic – who finds the menu “pretty standard if uninteresting” – says that it suits “a functional business lunch”. But most reports are more upbeat – “there’s nothing to ‘frighten the horses’ but what they do, they do well. A place to come and please everyone and be able to have a proper conversation. Hooray!”

“Richard Corrigan’s grown-up Mayfair flagship”, just off Park Lane, is a favourite spot for enjoying top-quality British Isles cuisine, where the emphasis is on the best produce be it ‘furred, foraged, finned or feathered’. Typical feedback applauds dishes such as “brilliant ox cheek” or “a great fish selection prepared with aplomb”… “mouth-watering”. There’s a “great value set menu”, but “beware of straying too far from it, as otherwise racking up a hefty bill is very, very, very easy”.

Markos Tsimkalis is celebrating his second year at this upbeat modern taverna near Holland Park station, where fish is a particular highpoint of a sunny Greek menu made from excellent ingredients (e.g. meat from nearby Lidgates), and with many dishes from the charcoal grill. High-quality Greek wines are a particular feature of an interesting drinks list, with a number of ‘special pours’ by the glass.

“It’s worth the trek to Colindale for the superior dim sum on offer” at Andrew Hung’s “high-end Chinese” three-year-old. Andrew gave up a career in architectural engineering to pursue the project and the commitment shows through: “the interior is beautifully designed, and the service is slick, friendly and engaging. Top-class and highly recommended!”

“A truly epic wine list” (almost 2,000 bins), “with virtually all options available by the glass” – and including some “lovely, mature vintages” – is the special appeal of this Parisian import, which occupies a traditionally smart corner-site in Fitzrovia, across the square from the back of John Lewis. The modern French cuisine that provides a foil to the wine is in a fairly conventional mould but consistently well-rated.

“Sally has triumphed in maintaining stands and a smile across the decades” and the “super-civilised institution” she opened in 1984, south of Notting Hill Gate, has shown rare staying power. That “there is always a really warm welcome” from the “effective and nurturing” staff goes down well, as does the way she has “maintained excellence with the finest seasonal produce perfectly cooked” (inspired by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in California, her friend and mentor since the late 1970s). “Simple but elegant decor” and a strong wine list focused on North America complete a picture which still inspires practically zero criticism.

“A private, discrete setting” with “reasonably spaced tables and no music”, together with “no-nonsense good grills and fish” win a fair number of recommendations – including for business meals – for this Art Deco hotel dining room, a short walk from Selfridges, which features striking murals above its plush banquettes and wood panelling. It consciously aims to import Manhattan style down to the slant on its menu of salads, crustacea and steaks.

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“Authentic cooking from the open kitchen” elevates this Indian venue, easily missed amidst the anonymous units around Westfield Shepherd Bush’s Southern Terrace. It’s the London representative of a chain founded in 1972 in Bombay by JK Kapur (with 15 locations in India) and specialises in North Indian cuisine.

“For a quick meal before boarding a train at King’s Cross or St Pancras” across the road, this inviting café is worth remembering for “well-prepared” pasta in generous portions provided by “very attentive” staff. In summer 2024, after our annual diners’ poll had closed, top chef Adam Simmons (ex-Ynyshir Hall and Danesfield House) joined as consultant, creating a new menu of ‘reimagined Italian classics’ for Spagnoletti (named after an Anglo-Italian engineer who developed railway signalling in the 19th century).

“Despite now being part of a rolled-out chain, they have managed to maintain good quality” at these tapas-haunts, whose original branch off Goodge Street was an early pioneer of the capital’s trend to small plates. A minor gripe is of “packed” seating, but most feedback focuses on their “delicious food and well-thought-out wine list”.

“A really lovely atmosphere” is a high point for fans of Adriana Cavita’s chilled two-year-old in Fitzrovia, in which the well-known chef from Mexico City presents tacos and street food alongside sharing dishes of grilled fish and steaks cooked in homemade Red Mole sauce over coals. Inconsistent feedback hits its ratings though: the odd dish doesn’t work (maybe it’s something about the London palate) and service is, on occasion, “VERY slow”.

“A new chef has arrived but standards are maintained” at David Moore’s hallowed Fitzrovia townhouse, which has remained in London’s top culinary ranks ever since it first launched in 1991 despite numerous changes of personnel, the latest incumbent at the stoves being chef Phil Kearsey, appointed in May 2024. With the option of a forward-looking plant-based menu, it provides a “great experience for all types of diner” (“we had a mix of omnivores, pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans and the tasting menu catered for us all”). “Service is attentive and the sommelier always happy to chat”. Over the years, the limited space has been carefully refitted and designed, and it suits most occasions: “if you need a restaurant to perform for you, try Pied à Terre”.