Dartford Restaurant Guide

Occupying a 15th-century coaching inn with two proper bars and a dedicated restaurant, this “old favourite” has been run by the same family for over 75 years and is “still very good” by all accounts, having helped pioneer the gastroboozer movement back in the 1980s. “Great quality food” of a local and seasonal stripe (venison, lamb, and veggie Wellingtons) and a proper pub vibe make it a real “family favourite”.

2024 Review: “If you are not planning a return to the office, the largest selection of whisky ever seen” helps round off a business lunch at this Canary Wharf branch of Ranald Macdonald’s Caledonian group. “The restaurant prides itself on good Scottish ingredients… shellfish in season… excellent fillet steak” and “tables are sufficiently spaced for private conversation”. Top Tip – “regular visitors may join a club which gives discounts on wines and they host musical events in the evenings”.

This modern, family-run Indian restaurant is a “very useful venue for the area”, delivering food of a “good consistent standard” from a “menu with a bit of thought behind it” – and which includes such unusual dishes as tandoori ostrich fillet and wild boar curry.

Ahoy there! Step aboard a 120-year-old barge when you eat at this waterside venue, permanently moored on the canal in Hackney Wick. Its Floating Bar may be a magnet for summer drinkers, but the focused modern bistro menu in its interior restaurant is much more than incidental (and Sunday Roast is also a feature).

“Twenty years old and still a reasonable choice” – this duo serving Spanish/Italian tapas “remains a cut above the average”, at both the original Fitzrovia original venue and a newer site in Borough Market (an outpost at Westfield Shepherd’s Bush was short-lived). However, “there are now many more similar places available” than when quality tapas seemed a rarity in the capital, and some long-term fans dwell on the fact that they’ve “gone downhill” over the decades, now feeling “slightly more expensive than they should be”.

“Deliciously-spiced food with friendly and attentive service” inspires very high and consistent praise for Atul Kochhar’s accomplished venue, which is one of the brighter sparks in this thinly provided area of SE London’s outer ’burbs. Breaking news: according to the restaurant’s website and Insta in October 2025, an upgrade is in progress – ‘We’re thrilled to announce that Indian Essence is about to embark on a bold new chapter, transforming your dining experience. We’re blending style, comfort, and innovation to create a space as unforgettable as the food we serve, so expect a fresh look, a reimagined interior, and a few surprises on the menu’.

Our mission: make delicious pizza, served with care, in beautiful spaces.In the beginning we were just Matteo and Salvatore, two brothers from Calabria. We moved to Bologna to study economics, and – like all penniless students – ate a lot of...

At the foot of the 100 Bishopsgate tower, this London outpost of a small Brazilian-inspired national chain opened a couple of years ago. You can order à la carte, but the main event is their ‘Churrasco’: a continuous, eat-till-you-bust service to your table of steak, lamb, chicken and pork, carved onto your plate with fries, rice and salad. Feedback on the experience isn’t huge in volume but all-good.

“Continuing to be a favourite” – this family-friendly local Italian restaurant opened in 1996 as part of the gentrification of Wapping and remains a “consistently good neighbourhood spot”. “Portions are huge” and there’s a wide range of pizza and pasta as well as more substantial fare (“excellent calves’ liver” for instance). It helps that “service is always fast and efficient”.

2024 Review: Dazzling views from the 48th-floor of a Canary Wharf tower help create a sense of occasion at this family-run, five-year-old Italian restaurant and ‘Sky Bar’. Its long menu of pasta, pizza, grills and other fare doesn’t inspire a huge volume of feedback, but the limited amount we have is all upbeat.

Ten minutes’ walk south of Greenwich BR, this Georgian corner tavern is more gastro than pub, with a stylishly updated interior and a “beautiful garden”. Much of the menu – for example, steak, fish, chicken skewers – is prepared on the robata grill, and is “a cut above your usual pub grub”.

The freshest Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP is paired with other Italian produce in pasta, pizza, salad and panini dishes at this international chain. There are outposts throughout Europe as well as the US and Japan, although the UK is now only represented by its smart Canary Wharf branch. Reports are not huge in number, but rate it strongly all-round.

At the award-winning Café Nucleus Rochester a warm welcome awaits. The continental café restaurant is set in one of Rochester’s grandest buildings, it offers a unique experience unrivalled.Winners of the 2021 Hospitality Business o...

This Honor Oak Park institution “celebrated its well-deserved 40th anniversary” over the last year and “continues to provide some of the best Indian cooking in London” – it “looks and to an extent feels like a neighbourhood curry house, but the food is in another league”, with diners travelling from beyond southeast London to sample chef Jiwan Lal’s cuisine. They get a warm welcome, too (“I’ve been a regular customer for over 25 years and am greeted like an old friend”). Top Tips – “the good-value Sunday lunch buffet is well worth a trek”; “Swordfish tikka with a well-balanced radish pickle; Champaran mutton curry with excellent quality meat; Mango creme brulee with a very delicate crust”.

“Having walked by it for years, I’m sorry I’ve not started eating here a long time ago!” – “A fabulous waterside location in the swanky development around historic St Katherine Dock” sets the scene at Livebait and Real Greek founder, Theodore Kyriakou’s latest venture, now over five years old. “A small restaurant, it focuses on seafood brought fresh from the coast each day; and there is a lovely buzz about the place, not least because of the charming owner who clearly has a passion for hospitality” and sets up a “warm, inviting atmosphere”. “Affordable by London standards”, it provided some diners with their best meal of the year: “fresh, quality seafood” provided by “chefs with a high level of skills”. “Well worth seeking out!” Top Menu Tips – “octopus butter is insanely good, as is the crab risotto”; and they do an “exemplary blue cheese ice cream”.

“Bustling, noisy and delicious” – Vivek Singh’s City spinoff from his flagship Cinnamon Club provides a “fun” opportunity to sample some superior Indian cooking. Its newer Battersea stablemate is less commented on and a little tamer – but fans say the food is “every bit as good”, while both branches have outdoor terraces for al-fresco dining. A third Cinnamon Kitchen opened in Leeds in summer 2025 – the chef’s first foray ’up North.

“Still top street food IMO” – this oven shaped like an old steam locomotive is an eye-catching fixture in Spitalfield Market and delivers “amazing meats that melt in the mouth”.

The aims are classical at this Italian four-year-old near the Bank of England, where the elegant interior is provided by a converted Edwardian banking hall (built in 1902). There’s a wide variety of menus and eating options, including a good-value set lunch at £30 for two courses and £34 for three. Feedback is limited but all positive.