Elstree Restaurant Guide

This 16th-century tavern in Mill Hill is run by brothers Luca & Matteo Delnevo, whose heritage is evident in the Italian menus that are served here: “much better than the other local pub offerings” and “never disappointing”. (And now, “they also have some Asian-style dishes” as part of the offering.)

“Reliable, high-quality Chinese fare” is the hallmark of this family-run operation now in its fifth decade, with five outlets in well-heeled parts of the capital. “Not all the food is authentic Chinese cuisine, but it is all immaculately prepared and as fresh as you like”, and comes with a “polite welcome and attentive service”. “A cut above – prices are to match”. Holland Kwok opened the original on Chelsea’s King’s Road in 1979, closely followed by branches in Esher, Mill Hill and Knightsbridge, then Wandsworth Common in 2011. He now runs the company with his son Andrew. Top Tip – “weekday lunch is exceptionally good value”.

This local institution next to Queensbury station – towards the outer extremities of the Jubilee line – was founded in 1991 by accountant Navin Sharma and inspired by Asian community members’ clubs in Kenya. Now open to the public, it retains a clubby feel with dinner served at two sittings (6pm, 8pm), and excels for its “very friendly staff” (who are managed by head waiters known as ‘courier waiters’) and “great” Asian food with East African influences: “go for the grilled meats (the curries are good too)”. The well-stocked bar is “a great place for sports fans to watch matches”.

“Reliable dim sum” ensures that the conventional Cantonese restaurant on the ground floor of Colindale’s Bang Bang Oriental Food Hall is “always busy” – offering a “great” alternative to the hit-and-miss kiosks upstairs. It has a twin in Chinatown (see also).

“You’re never short of choices” at this cavernous Oriental food court in Colindale, whose 25 stalls offer “a great variety of Asian cuisine” from Mumbai to Tokyo, while there’s the more conventional Green Dragon Chinese restaurant downstairs. But it pays to be careful in your choices: “certain stalls are definitely better than others” (and “some are really not worth the money”).

Three and a half decades since the Andreou family first opened doors, this local fixture (nowadays there’s also a take-away offshoot in Bushey Heath), remains of note for its “consistently good” catch — especially the fish ‘n’ chips, which are a feature of the £16.95 two-course set lunch; there are fans, too, of their gluten-free Mondays.

All-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian buffet with a “good selection of dishes at reasonable prices”. Based in Wembley, where it started out 40-odd years ago as a family-owned market stall, it now has spinoffs in Harrow, Kingsbury and Hatch End (the latter à la carte only). Signature dishes include bhel puri, crispy bhajia and chilli paneer, washed down by a selection of soft drinks.

Andrew Hung quit a career in architectural engineering for this “polished” Colindale passion project: a glossily spec’d out unit at the foot of an apartment block serving high-quality cuisine that fans say is “faultless: perfect for lunch or supper” (with dim sum to the fore for the former). The worst critique this year? “Good, but didn’t quite live up to Giles Coren’s review”.

This well-known Cantonese group retains a large fan-base praising “still among the best dim sum in London”, presented in “comfortable surroundings” by “amiable (if overselling) service” (although feedback on the evening offering suggests it’s a matter of “fine dining prices for indifferent food”). As damaging, though, are the company’s multiplying legal problems, with diners complaining of “no alcohol licence!” at the Baker Street branch, which was stripped of it in 2024 and fined £360,000 for employing illegal immigrants, and in March 2025 its Royal Gourmet division, which produces wontons, steamed buns and roasted duck at a facility in Park Royal, was fined a total of £113,000 by Uxbridge magistrates after pleading guilty to 11 serious failures in food and hygiene safety – including rodent droppings. Royal Gourmet also paid £332,000 in fines for breaches of the Water Industry Act back in 2019. As one reporter comments: “Oh dear, what went wrong over the last decade! A bit shambolic… , and the quality of food has definitely worsened” in recent times.

Spacious and lavishly kitted-out gastropub in a “lovely setting on Totteridge Common” – billed as a ‘country pub in London’, its menu ranges from pizza, burgers and steaks to Sunday roasts. The food is “decent” by most accounts, if “not cheap”, but it’s a “pleasant” place to visit.

If you’re looking for a “good pitstop in the West End”, this trio (also with an offshoot in Hammersmith) offers “tasty vegan and veggie Indian food” at “very reasonable prices” – nothing fancy, but “good basic cooking” of “South Indian staples”. Pickier diners can feel that some sauces are “rather watery”, or that the filling food can come “with no stand-out flavours”. Practically all agree, however, that “a great Masala Dosa and beer makes a very affordable meal in Central London”. Top Tip – “good choice to take a crowd: they’re not fazed by large tables”.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, this “excellent” (if “slightly expensive”) Chinese in Hendon has ploughed an incredibly consistent – and unique in the UK – path as a venue for kosher Asian cuisine. “A great place for a family celebration or business meeting”, it takes its name from a Chinese city on the Silk Road which hosted a ‘lost’ Jewish trading community for more than 1,000 years.

The “excellent sushi” at this small chain ensures that “surprisingly decent Japanese food is now available on the local high street” in a handful suburbs on London’s northern fringe – brothers Jason & Adam Balsam launched the group in 2015, and have grown it steadily since then.

“Pleasant country inn” that offers a “great Italian menu (fritto misto, lobster and prawn raviolo)” and “wonderful service, with a smile that is genuine, not forced”. Proprietors James & Magda Harkin “know what they’re doing”, both having worked in leading London restaurants, while James’s parents ran the Alpine restaurant in Bushey for almost 50 years.

Culinary life near Burnt Oak tube? The rumour mill brings word of a promising Persian late 2024 newcomer named for the caramelised rice ‘at the bottom of the pot’ that’s fought over in Middle Eastern families. They must be doing something right, as they already have 32k Instagram followers.

“Great northeastern Chinese cooking and dumplings!” are reported at this trio of pitstops originally in Colindale’s Bang Bang oriental food hall, and now with standalone locations in Covent Garden and more recently near Liverpool Street. They are the work of 27-year old Wenjun Xiang, and inspired by her upbringing in Dalian, China. “Much nicer than Din Thai Fung and A LOT cheaper!”

The “Mediterranean/posh Greek” food is “consistently good” at this high-performing spot that is a “fantastic addition to Barnet High Street” – it’s “really buzzy on a Saturday night”, and “new specials are frequently added to the menu”. Former apprentice Gerry Sands was promoted to co-ownership by founder Louis Loizu at the age of just 21.