Chiswick Restaurant Guide

“You can imagine you are in France with the walls of French posters and overall design” at Donna Thompson-Smith’s “authentically Gallic” destination, which has been a welcome feature of distant Acton Green for over twenty years now (est. 2004). It has a good number of big fans who say it’s “more than a bistro, with seriously good classical French cooking making it worth the detour”. One or two regulars, though, say it shouldn’t be over-egged (“it’s local to us and good on all levels, but others in town do the same thing better. We’ve been about ten times: but if it sharpened up, we’d go all the time”). Top Menu Tips – “we always have the soufflé for starters as it is magical”.

Grade II listed late-Victorian tavern on Acton Green Common which serves an unusual mix of Spanish tapas and more standard pub fare, both in its handsome rear dining room (with small courtyard adjacent) and in the characterful bar; the quality varies, but it’s a popular spot.

“Love this place” – “vinyl records and amazing cakes” ensure this cute coffee shop near Turnham Green “has a great atmosphere”: “there’s always some interesting music being played” while you sip “great coffee” or tuck into “breakfast served beautifully with edible flowers, what more could you want?”. In the evenings they serve booze and host live music – which must make it one of the capital’s smallest gigs.

2022 Review: A “lovely local” near Turnham Green, this “family-owned Italian” is “tiny but with terrific food and atmosphere”. There’s a good range of pizzas but the Puglian dishes are what makes it special.

This “very good local coffee shop” in the heart of Chiswick sources, imports and roasts its own coffee beans, which are available on subscription as well as across the counter. If you’re dropping in for a bite, there are “tasty (if smallish) sausage rolls and Ginger Pig bacon rolls”, and they “make their own pasteis de nata”.

“A cut above your average wine bar”: this 20-year-old group remains highly popular in our annual diners’ poll thanks to its “decent wines at fair prices” in “jolly” settings. “The food can be terrific – but not always”, and the overall performance shows signs of steadying after a tricky patch when the business was sold out of administration.

“Really fresh sushi” and “authentic Japanese cooked dishes” belie the modest appearance of “this ever-buzzing local” near Turnham Green tube. It’s also “great for a takeaway”.

“Good for coffee and meetings, with perfectly functional food” and “super for families”, this all-day brasserie on Chiswick High Road is a useful address for either work or leisure, particularly in summer when the large pavement terrace comes into its own. A very early outpost of the Soho House group, it also has bedrooms – but only for members.

“Pretty much any Asian dish you fancy is available” (“where else can you get sushi, ramen, laksa and char kway teow in one place!”) at Ding Chu’s five canteens in central and west London, which celebrate their 30th anniversary this year. They are “terrific value, especially for areas of town where restaurants are generally overpriced”. You wouldn’t choose them for a romantic supper though: each interior is a “bit of an overly bright space”.

“Cosy”, large tavern just off Acton Green on the fringe of Chiswick, with some fine late-Victorian features, and whose menu has a somewhat “sophisticated” Mediterranean spin. There’s a small rear garden in summer that opens off its characterful rear dining room (though you can also eat in the bar).

“Wonderful fine dining but with the feel of a small local eatery” is both the blessing and the challenge for this Chiswick destination which is “trying very hard to be great, succeeding, and so much better than the location makes you think”. Chef Nathan Cornwell was recruited in 2023 to up the ante here, and his “carefully thought-out” cuisine is “just getting better and better”: it’s a serious rival to nearby Trompette in terms of its “exceptional” quality, with “a fabulous tasting menu which gets it just right and doesn’t overwhelm you”. But while its reputation is generating ever-more feedback in our poll as a “classy” and also a “romantic” destination, it is ever-so slightly constrained by its (albeit posh) “caff-like” premises on the High Street, with the least kind view that you are “crammed in, while the waiters try to deliver to you a fine-dining experience”.

2022 Review: This “spacious” late-Victorian tavern on Chiswick’s main drag is thriving under “very impressive new management” who have installed a new pizza kitchen and revived the “lovely garden” with a large covered terrace. “They took over just before the first lockdown and worked their socks off to get it right – and boy, have they succeeded” with its “honest and reliable” food offer.

2023 Review: This “rather sweet little café” in Chiswick from transplanted South African Angie Steele provides “very friendly and quick service for a light menu” of healthy-ish treats from breakfast to 5pm.

“For a jolly night out with the girls”, these “warm and luxurious” west London haunts are just the job. An “extensive list of cocktails” is key to their allure – “the food is not the main attraction although it’s perfectly acceptable”. Lorraine Angliss (who also owns Annie’s and Little Bird) opened the Richmond original in 2009; its Chiswick sibling followed in 2022.

This “excellent but quite tiny spot” with pavement tables on Chiswick High Road is “definitely a cut above the routine Lebanese/Middle Eastern operation”. It started out a dozen years ago as a cake specialist, so daytime treats remain a strong suit. Top Menu Tip – “superb chicken livers”.

“The newest incarnation of a Chiswick stalwart” – formerly The Crown, before that Carvosso’s, and originally built as a Victorian police station – finally “seems to have really hit its stride” as part of the high-flying JKS group, having previously found success elusive on this large and attractive site right on the high street. Fans say its interior design “shouts well-heeled-pub”, but “the food and service lift it to a higher, warmer level”, and these days it’s “usually packed”. Ratings overall are middling however, and there are a fair number of nearby residents who observe: “it’s a very popular new local… I’ve no idea why!”

“Yummy mummy hangouts” that have proliferated across the capital and its surrounding high streets over the past few years, with “relaxed and colourful décor” and “friendly waiting staff”. They are very accommodating to families, both “child-friendly” and “pooch central, with snacks and water” – although if you don’t bring your own, you might find there are “too many dogs”. The eastern Med-style cooking varies between “fresh and well prepared” at best to “adequate, sometimes slow” – while “bottomless Bloody Mary or Mimosa on a Sunday can be dangerous!”.

“Absolutely knockout pizza” has won a big rep for this Chiswick independent – and No 1 spot two years running in the 50 Top Pizza Europa Awards (excluding Italy). Michele Pascarella, “the owner-chef, is a pizza-dough genius – he’s still hands-on in the kitchen”, and he crowns the pies with an “eclectic range of toppings” that are “a bit different from the standard line-up”. Michele started out with an oven on the back of a three-wheeler Piaggio truck (hence the name) before opening his first permanent site in 2019; there’s now a second in Richmond. Top Menu Tip – “homemade pistachio tiramisu is dessert heaven on a plate”.

“Creative Italian pasta and fish dishes are beautifully prepared and served in a charming atmosphere just off Chiswick High Road”, in the former premises of Michael Nadra (RIP). This little pasta bar is “a relatively recent addition – but with L’Amorosa gone from down the road, the area needed a new high-quality local Italian… and now it’s here!”.