Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in London Mayfair
Hardens guides have spent 31 years compiling reviews of the best Mayfair restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 97 restaurants in Mayfair and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Mayfair restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Mayfair Restaurants
1. Kai Mayfair
Chinese restaurant in Mayfair
65 South Audley St - W1
A stylish Mayfair fixture that pulls out all the stops to provide the best possible Chinese cuisine, with “amazing food” and a “very good, albeit expensive, wine list” (featuring some of the world’s most acclaimed vintages). Proprietor Bernard Yeoh, who represented Malaysia as a trap shooter in the 2004 Athens Olympics, describes it as “liberated Nanyang cuisine” – his take on the cooking of the overseas Chinese throughout southeast Asia.
2. Benares
Indian restaurant in Mayfair
12a Berkeley Square House, - W1
“Returning to form following the departure of Atul Kochhar” – this “stunning” first-floor venue on Berkeley Square won renewed kudos this year under new executive chef Sameer Taneja. The “top-notch” Indian cuisine – “perfectly presented and fantastically flavoursome” – has achieved “a well-deserved return to Michelin star status” and service is “just as impressive – attentive and super-friendly”.
3. Bellamy’s
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
18-18a Bruton Pl - W1
“The epitome of civility” – former Annabel’s MD Gavin Rankin’s establishment Mayfair brasserie is “so reliable you cannot fault it”. Such is its blue blooded credentials that the Queen – who is never seen in restaurants – has dined here twice. Foodwise, there’s some “very deft cooking” and “always something of interest on the menu – but it won’t blow your socks off”. Prices for both food and the French-only wine list are – perhaps surprisingly – “very reasonable”, especially if you choose the “excellent table d’hôte” menu (two courses for £25).
4. Bombay Bustle
Indian restaurant in Mayfair
29 Maddox Street - W1S
This “lively new-generation small-plates Indian” in Mayfair gives its nearby upmarket stablemate, Jamavar, a real run for its money. “The food’s amazing – try the broccoli” with ‘tomato dust’ and cheese. “With so many fine Indian restaurants to choose from, a favourite’s not easy – but BB is the place I return too most regularly”. Top Tip: “the early-bird set menu is absolutely delicious and great value”.
5. Butler’s Restaurant, The Chesterfield Mayfair
British, Traditional restaurant in Mayfair
35 Charles St - W1
2019 Review: “Like an old London club”, this traditional Mayfair dining room is “spacious” and “there is absolutely no rush to serve you and get you out”. In a similar vein, “you wouldn’t necessarily go there for the food”, except for the afternoon tea in the adjoining ‘Conservatory’, go for the classic or novelty-themed version (it’s currently ‘The Original Sweetshop’).
6. Ormer Mayfair by Sofian, Flemings Mayfair Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
7-12 Half Moon Street - W1
Sofian Msetfi took over the stoves at this “beautiful restaurant situated within one of Mayfair’s best hotels” in May 2021: the interior is inspired by the 1930s, and lined with aged oak panelling. Initial reports applaud cuisine that has “interesting twists without trying too hard”. There are three tasting menus – five-courses (£50 lunch only) plus seven (£70) and nine-courses (£90), including vegetarian options, all delivered by staff who are “warm, welcoming and charming”.
7. Chucs Dover Street
Italian restaurant in Mayfair
31 Dover St - W1
Aiming for a taste of La Dolce Vita lifestyle, these retro-glam Italian cafés and restaurants mostly occupy the same sites as the eponymous clothing brand, and deliver classic casual Italian menus mixing pizza and pasta (both typically over £20 a plate) with both more and less substantial dishes. A brief involvement with Zaha Hadid’s Serpentine restaurant has ended, but a new, sixth branch debuted in July 2021 in the heart of St John’s Wood (on the site of a former Côte). With 84 covers, it’s the largest outlet to-date and opens all day from breakfast.
8. Delfino
Pizza restaurant in Mayfair
121a Mount St - W1
This Mount Street fixture proves that you can still find “solid Italian home-style food” in the heart of Mayfair – all the favourites including pizza, pasta and tiramisu. In proper Italian style, there’s a “great atmosphere”, too.
9. Sexy Fish
Fish & seafood restaurant in Mayfair
1-4 Berkeley Sq - W1
“Like stepping into the sort of reality TV series where people apply tons of make-up and not so many clothes”, Richard Caring’s Mayfair seafood scene has an “amazing ambience”, although it can be “incredibly loud – perfect if you want to eat in a nightclub” (“my teenage daughters love it!”) On the downside, the luxurious sushi and seafood is “by numbers” and prices are “stratospheric” (“shocking really, are they having a laugh?”) In autumn 2021, the brand crossed the Atlantic with an opening in its true spiritual home – Miami – where the USP is the largest collection of Dom Perignon in the US.
10. Jamavar
Indian restaurant in Mayfair
8 Mount Street - W1
“Cracking and very consistent cuisine”, full of “subtle and innovative flavours”, wins nothing but the highest praise for this Mayfair Indian – the highest rated in town this year – which occupies a “beautiful”, colonial-themed dining room. Naturally it’s not cheap, but by general agreement the experience is definitely “worthy of the prices”. Founder Samyukta Nair is the London-educated scion of an Indian dynasty until recently involved with India’s ultra-luxe Leela Palace group.
11. Amazonico
International restaurant in Mayfair
10 Berkeley Square - W1J
“A great atmosphere and amazing food” dazzle fans of this “fun”, “see-and-be-seen” late-2019 sibling to Madrid’s celeb-haunt of the same name, famous for its lushly forested interior (think Rainforest Cafe, but without the animals or kids), which occupies the former Allied Irish Bank building in Berkeley Square. On the downside, though, prices for its luxurious sushi, seafood and charcoal grills verge on “astronomical”.
12. Pasticceria Marchesi 1824
Sandwiches, cakes, etc restaurant in Westminster
117 Mount Street - W1K
2021 Review: For a posh bun, it’s hard to upstage this new Milanese import: a fashionista favourite for its superlative cakes and also serving some more substantial dishes (such as risotti) alongside cocktails and wine. Too limited feedback for a rating as yet, but all of it enthusiastic.
13. C London
Italian restaurant in Mayfair
25 Davies St - W1
2018 Review: “Maybe I’m just not the target audience, but that still doesn’t justify the bill!” – this eurotrashy Mayfair scene (forced to drop the [C]‘ipriani’ from its name in a lawsuit a few years ago) continues to live down to the low expectations formed by former surveys: “service is slow and condescending”, and “prices are outrageous for ordinary dishes” (think of a number, then double it).
14. Hakkasan Mayfair
Chinese restaurant in Mayfair
17 Bruton St - W1
“Still making an impact” – this blingy brand broke the mould when the “dark” and nightclubby Hanway Place branch debuted in 2001, and, for its army of fans, it “still sets the standard for modern Chinese cuisine”, enhanced by the “extremely lively” atmosphere, which is buoyed along by “ordering one of their many delicious cocktails that leave you in a blissful haze”. Nowadays the cornerstone of an international group with 18 branches across the globe, it’s evidently no longer as cutting-edge as once it was, and ratings slipped a little further this year on gripes that it can seem “so overpriced”. All things considered, though, it retains an impressive level of support.
15. Umu
Japanese restaurant in Mayfair
14-16 Bruton Pl - W1
One of London’s most accoladed Japanese restaurants, this bijou venue in a quiet Mayfair mews was formerly part of Marlon Abela’s M.A.R.C. group – it was sold as a going concern by the administrators when the group collapsed financially in 2020. Feedback is limited over the intervening period, but remains highly enthusiastic, and we’ve rated the restaurant on the basis that both its luxurious Kyoto-inspired kaiseki cuisine, and the bill that accompanies it, remain at a formidable level.
16. The Guinea Grill
Steaks & grills restaurant in Mayfair
30 Bruton Pl - W1
“Superb devilled kidneys” and “the best steak & kidney pies in London” take second place to the high-quality British steaks cooked on an open grill that are the headline act at this venerable Mayfair institution, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. Business entertaining goes down particularly well here: “clients love the fact that the Grill is through the pub and hidden at the back”.
17. The Audley
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
43 Mount Street - W1K
Ivan and Manuela Wirth (the art world's famous couple behind Hauser + Wirth, and owners of The Fife Arms in Braemar) are re-opening this large tavern in partnership with Fortnum & Mason's CEO Ewan Venters. Architect Luis Laplace, who designed and restored Roth Bar & Grill and Hauser & Wirth Somerset is leading the revamp of the five-storey building, including the restoration of many features lost during WWII. Opening is contemplated in autumn 2022.
18. Hélène Darroze, The Connaught Hotel
French restaurant in Mayfair
Carlos Pl - W1
“Absolutely iconic, with superb everything!” or “not up to the hype” (“how she was awarded three Michelin Stars, goodness knows!!!”) – Hélène Darroze’s 12-year tenure at the most blueblooded of Mayfair hotels continues to split reporters, as it always has. With its “exceptional, amazing presentation and exotic flavours”, the cuisine’s overall scores in our survey do, undoubtedly, rank it amongst London’s best; but equally they suggest that the Tyre Men’s January 2021 promotion to its top billing is over-egging things a bit (perhaps because she’s French?). Also divisive is the “somewhat under-the-radar, modern-luxe refurb” of this famous dining room in late 2019. To fans, the new guise is “warm” and “well-spaced”, but to detractors it seems “funny peculiar” (“if only the surroundings had preserved a little of the elegance of the old Connaught dining room”). The excruciating final bill is also an issue, even to its most ardent fans: “words cannot do the food justice. I could have cried eating every dish… But I did actually cry when the bill arrived!”.
19. Jean-Georges at The Connaught
Pan-Asian restaurant in Mayfair
The Connaught, Carlos Place - W1K
French-born, NYC-based mega-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is playing the British at their own game with a “most delightful and luxurious afternoon tea” – “perfect, memorable cucumber sandwiches” – served at his all-day conservatory brasserie in Mayfair’s Connaught hotel. The room itself, as plush as you might imagine, is “very impressive, very romantic, with impeccable service”. For more substantial meals, though, his diverse menu inspires a range of reactions – mostly positive but including the odd disappointment.
20. The Punchbowl
British, Modern restaurant in Mayfair
41 Farm St - W1
2021 Review: Approaching its 300th birthday, this Mayfair pub is more stylish than most in the West End, partly due to its history of celebrity ownership (it was part of Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s divorce settlement, with Ritchie getting The Queen of Pop’s share when they split). Foodwise, it’s also been a decent bet in recent times (although it did receive one ‘off’ report from a former fan this year).
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