London Farringdon Restaurant Guide

“Beautiful, ‘ugly’ food just as Norman wanted” – Russell Norman’s family are doing full justice to his legacy at the genius trattoria he opened near Smithfield Market just a couple of years before his death in November 2023. “Noisy, intimate, dark, sexy, fab” – it combines “memorable Tuscan fare and vibe” all in one go, all at an incredibly approachable price considering. “Equally good for date night or a business lunch too”: it’s “always fun to visit, just bursting with stuff you simply want to eat”, and – vitally – “they understand the food has to be good but it’s the whole experience that counts”. (“Can’t wait to go back and often” – “It’s my new favourite when I’m craving pasta… unfortunately it seems to be a favourite for many other people too!”). Top Tips – “The £5 Negronis are just as amazing as advertised as well as the penne vodka and sausages”. “No matter how many times you eat it, the rabbit pasta is delicious”. “The tiramisu is still amazing”.

2024 Review: “Amazing steak (though the rest of menu is good too)” and terrific views over the City and St Paul’s share top billing at the flagship restaurant at the top of a handsome Grade II-listed former Smithfield market warehouse. It can be “a bit noisy”, but it makes for a “solid dining experience” that’s “always good for business”.

Now branded as ‘No.3 Rooftop Restaurant’ (formerly, it was just ambiguously referred to as the top floor) – Smiths’ flagship venue was once a top spot for business wining and dining thanks to its wide outside terrace and striking views over to the City and St Paul’s. Ups and downs over many years have lowered its profile, but no-one rates the food badly nowadays, even if some think elements of the experience are “overpriced” or “disappointing”. With the rebrand has come less emphasis on steak, and a sign-of-the-times refocus on fish and seafood (including a raw selection), but still alongside cuts of dry-aged, grass-fed British beef.

2022 Review: “The duck burger is sublime and the triple-cooked duck-fat chips are moreish” at this offshoot of nearby Club Gascon, which offers a more informal venue for simpler but similar cuisine from SW France. We’ve rated it on the basis of its consistent pre-pandemic performance, as it remains closed as of September 2021 while the team waits for folks to return to their offices around Smithfield.

“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.

“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”.

“Stylish and discrete” captures the appeal of Daniel Willis & Johnny Smith’s successful “favourite” north of Smithfield Market (which severed its ties this year from Clove Club owner, Isaac McHale). A handsome front bar, pretty glazed rear terrace (“if you can get a seat here, you are in a little idyll”), and elegant spaces in-between provide a comfortable backdrop to “dish after dish of gorgeous and inventive modern Italian cooking” – “the food quality is nailed-on if pricey” – and “there’s a balanced Italian wine list to complement things”, introduced by “a great sommelier team”. Top Menu Tip – “best Lemon Tart in town”.

“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”.

“Deserving its hype for being terrifically romantic” – this “magical” Clerkenwell venue occupies part of a big, Grade II listed courthouse (which features in Dickens’s Oliver Twist) and a ride in the lift leads onto a superb space with “a stripped-back interior, giant windows, enormous fireplaces and dimly lit corners for canoodling” (and there’s also a gorgeous outside terrace). Abigail Hill (in post since February 2024) has made a good fist of replacing launch chef Florence Knight and her “clever” cooking adds to its appeal “for a foodie date”. “Fair prices” – “not outlandishly expensive for its quality” – mean it’s “popular for good reasons”.

“Beyond sublime and truly original” – sushi at its authentic, high-end best is not as rare in London as it was when this tiny 7-seater in a Clerkenwell alley first opened its door almost 15 years ago, but that has not dampened enthusiasm for the multi-course omakase experience delivered in an intimate setting by sushi master Toru Takahashi, assisted by his equally welcoming wife Harumi. Securing your seat at the counter can be a frustratingly complicated business – the venue has no website or online presence, with an uninformative booking link to be found on Seven Rooms – but that is about the only complaint we ever hear. The meal lasts about three or four hours and costs upwards of £200 a head once drinks are factored in – and leave your phone in your pocket or handbag while you’re there. Top Tip – email info@sushitetsu.co.uk for all the details.

“A good staple” that’s “convenient for the City, Inns of Court and legal profession” – this convivial bistro hidden away in a courtyard near Hatton Garden is “still a safe choice if not quite what it was” (when it was part of a larger, grander concern, which closed down during Covid). Service is “engaged”; the “creditable” Gallic cuisine is “always reliable” (e.g. “sound Mediterranean fish soup; well-balanced salmon fishcake with a good Hollandaise, and a very decent crème brulée”); and the overall package remains a hit with expense accounters, who often nominate it as their favourite choice for a business lunch.

2022 Review: On the fringe of the City, this large tavern is part of the well-known eateries grouped around Bleeding Heart Yard, all under common ownership. A “decent-all-round and handy standby”, it was in particular “a perfect place to meet people for the elusive business meetings that could take place between lockdowns”. Reported by Google as ‘Temporarily closed’ in October 2021, we have rated it on the basis that – as the Square Mile picks up – its return is likely.

“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”.

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!

“The South African wine selection can’t be beaten” at these steak-and-wine-bar fixtures on the edge of the City (Faringdon and London Bridge) – each with a wine cave and ‘walk-in cheese room’ showcasing British artisan cheeses. They pull in a crowd – “we could hardly hear each other!” – but also attract the odd complaint of “average food at huge prices (£100 per head was way over the top for a very dull meal)”.

“Authentic burritos on Leather Lane” from Mexican food veteran Joel Henderson, who celebrates the 20th anniversary of his first London street-food stand this year.

Coffee aficionados have beaten a path to this Leather Lane institution since 2011 for expertly roasted, “lovingly prepared and delightfully served” drinks along with pastries and light bites. (The name is borrowed from T.S. Eliot’s J. Alfred Prufrock, who ‘measured out [his] life with coffee spoons’).

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.