London Mayfair Restaurant Guide

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.

“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.

“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”.

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.

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).

“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.

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.

“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”.

“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.

Ivan and Manuela Wirth (the art world's famous couple behind Hauser + Wirth, and owners of The Fife Arms in Braemar) re-opened 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 led the revamp of the five-storey building, including the restoration of many features lost during WWII. Opened in autumn 2022 - see also Mount Street Restaurant for the beautiful upstairs dining room.

“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!”.

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.

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).

2021 Review: In a Mayfair townhouse that was formerly the short-lived Babel House (RIP), this ‘contemporary bistro de luxe’ features a southern French menu from chef Thierry Laborde, and opened in mid-2019, too late for any survey feedback. In his early review, The Evening Standard’s David Sexton focused on its handsome design, variably realised and expensive cuisine, impressive wine list and bargain set lunch (£25 with wine).