London Barbican Restaurant Guide

With views of the internal lake, this brasserie above the auditorium of the Barbican complex is a natural choice for a pre-concert supper; and has long been one of the few options in the under-served area created by the surrounding Brutalist 1970s development. Run by well-known caterers Searcy’s in recent times, they reformatted it in 2025 from its ‘Osteria’ branding of recent years. Let’s hope for a return to the venue’s past best, when it’s been an attraction in itself rather than merely a barely tolerable amenity for culture-lovers – reports please!

A “carnivore heaven” near the entrance to the Barbican arts centre – this “City institution” serves a menu of “hands-down brilliant game” and “traditional British food” (including “lovely roasts on Sunday”) in a traditional pub setting. It’s not for the squeamish, with lots of dead animals stuffed in cases, mounted on the walls or hung from the ceiling waiting to be cooked.

For a dependable meal near Barbican, this straightforward Japanese venue has a twenty-year heritage, although it has shifted site in the last couple of years from Whitecross Street to its new home in ‘The Heron’: a 31-storey block a few streets away. Fans say its performance is very good, and although ratings are a little up-and-down it’s worth knowing about in this thinly provided area.

2023 Review: “A vegan delight”, say fans of this meat-free three-year-old near Barts Hospital: a crowdfunded spin-off from an acclaimed Cambridge venture. Results can be uneven (“maybe I chose badly…”; “some of the food missed but more was a hit…”), but they must be doing something right as a new Broadgate branch launches in September 2022.

“Up-market Italian” pair, whose City branch has a “pretty good location near St Paul’s” and is “a reliable business lunch staple”, while the Chelsea branch next door to the Saatchi Gallery boasts “arguably one of the best outside patios in London”. “Prices are high, however, while the food is fine but nothing to write home about” (“I tend to use Manicomio City for entertaining lunches where we have a compliance-monitored expenditure limit, so trips to top-end eateries are, sadly, out – this fills the gap nicely”). BREAKING NEWS: In July 2025, the group launched a big and impressive-looking, new all-day City restaurant – Campanelle – in the former London Shipping Exchange at 19-21 Billiter Street, London EC3.

Launched in early 2025 in Smithfield Market’s Long Lane – a Latin American fusion restaurant from chef Ricardo Younis Morena, who has worked across the region and recently in San Francisco. Named for a beach near where he grew up near Buenos Aires, it serves dishes inspired by Peru, Brazil and Mexico as well as his native Argentina, with cocktails, wines and craft beers to match. Reports please!

“Best steakhouse in London? Yes. Best in the world? Could be!” – Childhood mates Will Beckett & Huw Gott have successfully surfed the zeitgeist for twenty years, since they opened their first venue near Spitalfields in 2006. Now they have 13 as far afield as Chicago, and a still significant stake in a private equity-backed steak empire valued as high as £100m (a price bandied around when it seems they were looking for buyers in late 2024). The group is a particular favourite for a generation of thirtysomething or fortysomething Londoners for whom it’s been a treasured part of their culinary journey. Its City, West End and (floating!) Canary Wharf outlets are also a big and enduring hit for business wining and dining. “Prime cuts of matured beef” are “perfectly cooked” and “served in striking surroundings with a carefully curated wine list”. Amongst the huge volume of feedback the brand inspires, there are inevitably some dud reports, but more eyecatching is the consistency of praise it still achieves. There is a widespread feeling, though – has been for years – that even if “the quality is up to scratch”, “sheesh it’s expensive”, with prices verging on “silly” (“although the excellent cocktails help numb the pain when the bill comes!”). Top Tip – “Set lunch on a Monday when you can BYO wine for £5 represents excellent value”; dip your toe in the water with an “unbeatable breakfast” (“although you have to have a big appetite to handle the full version”).

“A reliable chain – mainly in the City” – these big, affordable Turks are popular “especially for lunch” and provide a relatively comfortable environment for a sit-down meal that’s a little different. Cynical reports were more in evidence this year though: critics feel “they know they will get the office trade and don’t really try” (“downhill since I visited a few years ago” with some “bland and unseasoned” dishes).

“Lively Italian” near Farringdon serving “good pizza” and “with some slightly offbeat dishes”, plus “an excellent and not too pricey wine list” (including a notably strong selection from the south of Italy). It’s a “friendly, now often bustling, place” which is for many “a go-to in the Barbican/West Smithfield area”.

2022 Review: A “family-run trattoria” three minutes’ walk from St Paul’s that rates highly for its “varied Italian menu” – and it’s notably well priced for the City, too.

“Discreetly tucked away from more fashionable eateries and with a lovely atmosphere” – this charming veteran of over forty years’ standing near Smithfield Market is “an old favourite which doesn’t change much… hope it never does!”. “A lovely take on a French bistro/brasserie”: its combination of “rich and comforting, old school, classic French food in a warm and convivial setting” makes for a “stylish and low-key” destination that’s “romantic” by night, and also a “good place for a quiet and atmospheric business lunch near the City”.

Like “an airy penthouse” – this City rooftop venue is “a light-filled space” that’s “tucked on the top floor of South Place Hotel” and part of the Evolv Collection (fka D&D London). Serving a “top range of fish and seafood”, it has retained a Michelin star for over 10 years, making it a culinary flagship for the group. Chef Craig Johnston took over the reins in the kitchen in 2024 and he offers menu options ranging from à la carte to five-course and eight-course tasting menus. Caveats? Unsurprisingly given the location, there’s something of a “corporate vibe” and it can seem “rather expensive for what you get”.

2023 Review: A handy location, near the Guildhall, “buzzy” large interior and versatile menu of “decent (if unspectacular) food” mean it’s worth remembering this “reliable option in the City”, although it “can be incredibly busy”.

“That stalwart of the British revolution in cooking in the 1990s and still going strong” – Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson’s famous Smithfield icon is an “austere white-walled room, close-filled with tables” that can surprise first-timers with its naked “functionalism”. World-renowned in foodie circles for its pioneering ‘nose-to-tail’, offal-rich cuisine, it’s “a restaurant where tripe, kidney and heart all become something sensational” and fans – many of whom have been regulars for decades – affirm it’s “still a stand-out after all these years” (“sometimes you want to eat everything on the menu and sometimes not so much, but you always eat well”). “Superb, genuinely engaging and caring” service and “excellent wines too” all contribute to its “unique and special” formula. And if ratings overall are not quite at their historical peak – with one or two disappointments related – its overall esteem amongst diners remains formidably high (“my favourite restaurant not just in London but bar none for all of its 30 years. It’s the only place where I always have a pudding, a part of the menu you simply mustn’t miss. Here’s to eating there for another 30 years!”). Top Menu Tips – “the Bone marrow starter and then Turbot on the bone are superb”. “Marmalade Bakewell, Rhubarb Trifle, Steamed Sponge – all excellent”; “be sure to go for the Madeleines: they’re made to order”.

2024 Review: “Authentically fiery dishes” light up the menu at this City Road restaurant where head chef Zhang Xiao Zhong hails from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan – a third-generation chef, his grandfather was personal chef to Deng Xiaoping, China’s leader through the 1980s.

“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.

With a bright, modern interior lit by big floor-to-ceiling windows, this flexible neighbourhood amenity near Old Street is a canteen and bar that opens all day from breakfast. It’s from the team behind well-known Hackney wine bar Sager + Wilde, hence an above-par drinks offering. But food is far from incidental: there’s a “constantly changing, seasonal menu” of southern European small plates, some larger risotti, pasta and burgers and it majors in a big range of pizza. Top Tip – it “can handle large parties with ease”.