Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in London
Hardens guides have spent 31 years compiling reviews of the best London restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 91 restaurants in London and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing London restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured London Restaurants
1. Bolton’s
Italian restaurant in
13 Cullum St - EC3
At Bolton's restaurant our philosophy is simple, we are inspired by the finest, freshest ingredients and the most authentic vibrant flavours. In Italian our culinary style is called alla Casalinga which means home-style cookery or as we like to say, "like mamma used to make."
It...
2. Piazza Italiana
Italian restaurant in City of London
38 Threadneedle Street - EC2R
This traditional Italian newcomer (with a sibling in Riga) opened briefly in late 2020 with a second debut in May 2021. It occupies an impressive Edwardian (1902) banking hall in the heart of the Square Mile – the former telling room of the British Linen Bank (later Bank of Scotland). The dramatic columns and ceiling of the space remain and chef Aleksandr Sarujev is at the stoves. Early reports are very enthusiastic (but too limited in number for a rating).
3. Obicà Mozzarella Bar, Pizza e Cucina
Italian restaurant in City
Unit 4 5 - 7 Limeburners Lane, - EC4M
2018 Review: This Rome-based chain is inspired by Japanese sushi-bars and serves “tasty small plates of Italian food”. The five “efficiently run” London branches, from South Ken to Canary Wharf, provide a “surprisingly good experience… so long as you like mozzarella or burrata”.
4. Angler, South Place Hotel
Fish & seafood restaurant in City
3 South Pl - EC2
“Paradise for anyone who loves fish and seafood”, this “first-class 7th-floor” restaurant “with a lovely terrace” near Broadgate is a champion of the D&D London stable – “and the views of the City only make it more exciting”. “Chef Gary Foulkes works closely with all the best suppliers in the UK and it shows in the quality and freshness of every dish”. Top Tip: “the mackerel tartare with oyster cream is not to be missed”.
5. Cabotte
French restaurant in Bank
48 Gresham St - EC2V
“A great restaurant in the heart of the City of London” is a very rare thing, and one its adherents are happy to shout about. “Owned and run by two Master Sommeliers” – Xavier Rousset and Gearoid Devaney – it boasts a “superb Burgundy-centric wine list”, supported by a “limited but very well cooked menu” from chef Edward Boarland, and “welcoming, unfussy service with a smile”. “It’s one of the best bets in the City and people are catching on”. Top Tip: “the amazing tarte tatin to share”.
6. City Càphê
Vietnamese restaurant in City
17 Ironmonger St - EC2
2019 Review: “Superb Vietnamese street food” draws a hungry City crowd to this pitstop near Bank. It’s “super-busy at lunchtime – better to take away than sit at the tiny tables”.
7. Homeslice
Pizza restaurant in City
69-71 Queen Street - EC4R
These “trendy pizza joints with a modern twist and clean, industrial interiors” serve “generously portioned and always-fresh” thin-crust pizza, attracting a good fan club for this 10-year-old group run by the late Terry Wogan’s sons, Mark and Alan. They make no claim to authenticity and are more influenced by New York than Naples – but the “bizarre combinations on the blackboard always turn out to be unexpectedly delicious. Believe in them!”.
8. The Anthologist
British, Modern restaurant in City
58 Gresham St - EC2
This large bar-restaurant, near the Guildhall, isn’t going to win any culinary awards, but is a very versatile venue that’s conveniently located: “a good fallback in the City for decent if unspectacular food and a nice atmosphere. The staff are friendly and it’s turned into our office standby”.
9. Café Below
British, Modern restaurant in City
St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside - EC2
2021 Review: “Escape the feel of the City for very reasonable home cooked-food” in the ancient crypt of Bow Bells church. “There are no better dining establishments in the Square Mile: affordable, great service, good food with delicious daily changing salads” including “excellent veggie and vegan options”. Depending on when you go, it’s either a “quiet” space or quite a “noisy” one.
10. Lutyens Grill, The Ned
Steaks & grills restaurant in City
27 Poultry - EC2R
All red leather and wood panelling – this plush steakhouse is the centrepiece dining option at the Ned: Soho House’s vast transformation of the former Midland Bank HQ in the heart of the City. It’s the sort of place where plutocrats meet to carve up international corporations over lunch while waiters carve beef Wellington from the trolley. The steaks, both British and imported, are top quality.
11. Cecconi's, The Ned
International restaurant in City
27 Poultry - EC2R
“A table at the bar is always fun” at the original Cecconi’s – a sophisticated Italian brasserie, tucked away off Bond Street, which in particular is brunch central – “a comfortable place to have your coffee, eggs and Sunday Times… and to people-watch”. As ever here, though, it can all seem too pricey: a case of “style over substance”, or somewhere that’s “fine… but just fine”. And then there’s the question of judging the less commented-on brand extensions embarked on by owners Soho House. None of them inspire a huge volume of feedback but it’s all good, be it for the outlet at the City’s Ned Hotel, the “always enjoyable” neighbourhood spot in Shoreditch, or the Soho pizzeria (“always a great buzz”).
12. Goodman City
Steaks & grills restaurant in City
11 Old Jewry - EC2
“Portions are similar to what you’d get in any decent steakhouse in the US” at these NYC-style operations (which are in fact Russian-owned), whose comfy styling and “extensive wine list” makes them a natural favourite for red-in-tooth-and-claw business types for wining and dining (particularly in the City, where it vies somewhat with its nearby rival Hawksmoor). “The bill will probably remove all the cobwebs in your wallet, so get ready for that”.
13. K10
Japanese restaurant in City
(Takeaway only) 15 Queen Street - EC4N
2021 Review: “Good value” sushi, sashimi and other Japanese dishes trundle past your seat at these two ‘kaiten’ (conveyor-belt) operations in the City, tempting you to help yourself. It makes a fun, fast and efficient way to grab lunch. The chain also has takeaway and delivery options for evenings.
14. Hawksmoor Guildhall
Steaks & grills restaurant in City
10-12 Basinghall St - EC2
“Perfectly aged, hung and cooked – this place is steak-heaven”. Huw Gott and Will Beckett absolutely nailed it with this zeitgeisty 15-year-old chain of steakhouses, which they still part-own (and which – in July 2021 – announced the possibility, later cancelled, of floating on the London Stock Exchange to fuel future growth). For a generation of London restaurant-goers, “Hawksmoor hits it every single time” and the increasing introduction of fish from a dedicated buyer at Brixham market is a popular (and wise) innovation. Is it finally becoming a victim of its own success though? Ratings slipped notably this year due to an assortment of non-pandemic-related gripes (“beginning to feel formulaic…”; “just not tasty enough for such high prices…”; “still knocks out a succulent ribeye, but not what it was…”). Still, in late 2021 they’re gearing up for the biggest and most ambitious space yet, and their first branch amidst the scrapers of Canary Wharf. Spread over three levels, it will be housed in an eco-friendly floating pavilion made from sustainably sourced timber decking, aluminium extracted from hydro sources, and with a green roof planted with wildflowers and grasses! [Instead of the wildflowers and grasses and aluminium extracted from hydro sources, should we all maybe just eat less meat!? Ed]
15. Coq d’Argent
French restaurant in City
1 Poultry - EC2
This “swish rooftop restaurant in the City” from D&D London is “always an impressive venue to take people, with good food and great views”. It sits at the top of No 1 Poultry, a dramatic modern building that featured in the James Bond sequence during the London Olympics opening ceremony, and has a “great outdoor space for warm evenings”. But beware: what’s “great for a good business lunch” – “mainly corporate credit cards” – can be a shock for the self-funded: “didn’t check to see if there was a set lunch… painful!”.
16. Taberna Etrusca
Italian restaurant in City
9 -11 Bow Churchyard - EC4
This 55-year-old City trattoria is a popular, lunchtime rendezvous spot on account of its “huge” helpings of classic dishes; its terrace by Bow churchyard for al fresco eating; and its good regional list of Italian wines.
17. The Bow Wine Vaults
British, Traditional restaurant in
10 Bow Church Yd - EC4
“A stalwart for lunches in the City”, this “unpretentious” venue in “lovely Bow Lane by the famous church” has “kept its standards up” for 35 years. The outdoor seating was a major attraction during the pandemic restrictions, and prices are “very reasonable” for the area, while “the boisterous tables make it easy to have confidential chats without being overheard”.
18. Kurumaya
Japanese restaurant in City
76-77 Watling St - EC4
2019 Review: “Been going here years and love their sushi”, say fans of this well-established operation near St Paul’s, which has “a conveyor belt bar upstairs and a restaurant downstairs” – “the best value for money Japanese in the area, and the quality is always very good”.
19. Parlour, The Ned
British, Modern restaurant in City of London
27 Poultry - EC2R
Yet another option for eating at The Ned! This time, the colossal hipster hotel near Bank has added a new basement bar and entertainment space, complete with regular live music. The food is more than just bar bites though – Lobster Thermidor anyone?
20. Sweetings
Fish & seafood restaurant in City
39 Queen Victoria St - EC4
“A unique institution for fish, not to be missed” – this timewarped Victorian curio has been part of life in the Square Mile for as long as anyone can remember (it was founded on a different site in the 1830s and has been here since the 1920s). Seating is fairly crammed and higgledy-piggledy – be it at the counter or in the rear dining room – but that’s all part of its appeal for a besuited clientele who don’t begrudge the daunting prices for simple seafood dishes and proper puds, washed down by the most ardent traditionalists with Black Velvet in pewter tankards.
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