London Nine Elms Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Bright modern tapas with some old favourites” are on the menu at this “stylish” pair south of the river, named after the food market in Barcelona. “Consistently good cooking” and “reasonable prices” are the plus points, although they may “lack the extra zing of the very best places”.

This 15-strong London noodle chain (now with branches in Brighton, Birmingham and Bristol) is “a good stand-by” – perhaps it’s “not as good as some of its competitors”, but it is widely seen as “good value”: in particular “the lunch-time meal deal” is a winner.

“Enjoyed sitting at the bar in Borough Kitchen…”; “a great place near the South Kensington Museums…”; “a great site on the banks of the Thames in Richmond” – it’s often the handy situation, “casual atmosphere” and affordable prices of this Hispanic group that generates interest amongst diners. “The food is of a reasonable standard”, but considering they are run by the UK’s premier Spanish food importers, performance is notably “chain like”, with “nothing spectacular” food-wise and “average service” often the end-product.

“Sit at the counter in crowded seafood heaven” for “fabulous oysters” (both raw and cooked) and “always the freshest fish”, say fans of the “buzzy” original branch at Borough Market, which elicits the bulk of the large volumes of enthusiastic feedback in our annual diners’ poll (the Battersea outlet seems “soulless” by comparison). Service can be “somewhat chaotic”, but is “friendly”, and although the interior is not in its first flush of youth the overall vibe is upbeat.

Just by the Thames, this prime site at the Battersea Power Station development, with a terrace overlooking the river, was one of the site’s first anchor tenants – a stylish-looking modern Italian from Evolv (fka D&D London). But – notwithstanding the evident attractions of its location and consistent ratings – it has never elicited huge enthusiasm amongst diners.

“Bustling, noisy and delicious” – Vivek Singh’s City spinoff from his flagship Cinnamon Club provides a “fun” opportunity to sample some superior Indian cooking. Its newer Battersea stablemate is less commented on and a little tamer – but fans say the food is “every bit as good”, while both branches have outdoor terraces for al-fresco dining. A third Cinnamon Kitchen opened in Leeds in summer 2025 – the chef’s first foray ’up North.

“Yummy mummy hangouts” that have proliferated across the capital and its surrounding high streets over the past few years, with “relaxed and colourful décor” and “friendly waiting staff”. They are very accommodating to families, both “child-friendly” and “pooch central, with snacks and water” – although if you don’t bring your own, you might find there are “too many dogs”. The eastern Med-style cooking varies between “fresh and well prepared” at best to “adequate, sometimes slow” – while “bottomless Bloody Mary or Mimosa on a Sunday can be dangerous!”.

There’s “something for everyone” at Robin Gill’s modern brasserie near the new US Embassy – a Manhattan-style oyster bar; steaks galore; and an “amazing on-site bakery” knocking out “first-class bagels”. But ratings have dipped this year and the venue (like its newly built-up but still sterile Nine Elms locality) has never really caught fire: perhaps embassy staff are reluctant to let their hair down close to the office these days?

2024 Review: On the fringes of the new developments around Battersea Power Station, this modern all-day-brasserie opened in April 2023 – too late to generate any survey feedback. Instagram-worthy foliage is a feature, both inside and on the terrace. Let’s hope chef Luigi Vairo (who provides an international menu) doesn’t take too much inspiration from the restaurant’s name… the legendary queen of the Iceni, who burnt London to the ground…

“A hidden gem” that “deserves to be better known” at Queen’s Circus in Battersea, with a “New York vibe and great Italian food” from Naples-born chef Franco De Lucia. The “lovely railway arch location is both surprising and confusing to find if you don’t know where it is”, while a “very friendly front-of-house team” under founder Emily Few Brown “explain each dish, but not in the annoying way many high-end restaurants do”. Top tip – “don’t miss the breads”.

Modelled on Continental cafés, this duo occupy a Victoria hotel and the ground floor of the art’otel by Battersea Power Station. Only the former gets much in the way of nominations, particularly as a good-value destination with kids in tow. There’s a variety of salads, pasta and soups with simple grills and bakes (including to share) the main event. Top Menu Tip – “the fried zucchini is tops”.

“You’ll almost always find a queue of people waiting for a table and a palpable energy of excitement in the room” when you visit these “vibrant” and “exotic”-feeling Indian favourites, which “whisk you to Bombay and back”. Cousins Shamil & Kavi Thakrar started in Covent Garden in 2010 and their growing group has become the most commented-on business in our annual diners’ poll, complete with seven London branches, three outside town; their ‘Permit Rooms’ spinoff brand, and turnover of over £100m. The interior design, a homage to Mumbai’s Irani cafés, absolutely slaps – “wherever you sit it’s quirky” and even though the busy scene can become “a bit of a zoo”, it’s all so upbeat that “you leave feeling good about your meal and yourself!”. Dishes are “bursting with flavour” and served by “efficient” waiting staff “who know their stuff”. The menu is “deliciously different”, although so many Londoners have now sampled it that once-arcane items like the “legendary black dahl (so rich and filling!)” are now part of London’s culinary canon. And what better way to start a new day than with an “unbeatable bacon and egg naan roll” – a high watermark of dining out invention of the last 50 years that’s core to their “game-changing breakfasts” (“you will never want an English bacon roll again”!).

At the southerly entrance to the mega-mall formerly known as Battersea Power Station, this glammed up café provides more space and pizzazz than the food units that abound in the moody gloom of its gargantuan neighbour and is enlivened by foliage, large windows and stylish fixtures and fittings. Open from breakfast, there’s something for everyone on the not-especially foodie but competent, all-day modern café menu with mains such as Salmon Carpaccio or Chicken Meatballs.

2024 Review: Near the new American Embassy in Nine Elms, this modern izakaya opened in September 2022 and is the creation of Singapore-born Lynus Lim (ex-The Laughing Heart) and Chase Lovecky (formerly of The Clove Club). Foodwise, it’s a bit of a mashup, aiming to ‘highlight Japanese cookery techniques whilst engaging the micro-seasonality of produce from the British Isles’. Most reports say the result is “a super newcomer with really enjoyable food showing great balance of flavours and representing value for money”. On the downside, there’s the occasional view that “though good it’s been very hyped up and some dishes work better than others (a bit overcomplicated)”.

This 10-year-old group with six sites offers a “good-value and tasty” take on the Middle Eastern kebab, served with a “modern twist” alongside “noteworthy cocktails”. “A seat at the counter is fun” at the original Kingly Court branch in Carnaby Street, which has a ‘fine dining’ option downstairs, Kebab Queen (see also).

“High up in the Battersea Power Station complex” – in the “beautiful” 16th-floor dining room of the snazzy art’otel – guests feed on Portuguese dishes from star Lisbon-based chef Henrique Sá Pessoa. After a couple of years, however, the level of the cooking is judged “competent” – “we loved being here, and would have loved even better food”. Even so, most reporters reckon it’s “worth the high prices for the views”.

This quartet of modern pasta joints offer “high-quality ingredients” and staff who “make you feel very welcome”. But the cooking divides opinion sharply, with some reporters praising “good, unpretentious” cooking “at a fair price” and others complaining of “tiny, overpriced helpings – avoid!”. A more nuanced judgement: “good but could be so much better – menu had some great options but everything seemed overpowered with butter/oil”.

“The eponymous buns grab the headlines, obviously, but the noodles are great too” at these “consistently tasty” Taiwanese street-food spots where it’s easy to enjoy “a pleasing feast – ordering far more than you could eat as the delicious portions are generous and service is charming and efficient”. Founded as a single market stall 14 years ago by Shing Tat Chung, his wife Erchen Chang and sister Wai Ting Chung, it has developed into a highly rated seven-strong chain, with new Singaporean backers replacing the JKS group last summer.

“It’s always a bun-fight to get a table, but you get reliably excellent tacos” and “great margaritas”, attest fans of these “fun Mexican” hangouts, whose original SE1 branch in the arches of Borough Market generates the lion’s share of feedback. Locations in Soho, Coal Drops Yard and Battersea Power Station inspire similar praise, but are more likely to be judged “perfectly adequate” or “fine but not great”, and ratings overall took a bit of a dip this year.

“Always enjoyable… especially the duck and the sesame toast!” – This marriage of Chinese chow with a gastropub vibe was originally dreamt up by group-creating genius Alan Yau (he of Wagamama, Hakkasan, Yauatcha and Busaba Eathai fame). But curiously, despite a cosy, heart-of-Soho setting and a steady stream of supportive feedback, it has never won a big following. Perhaps it’s the low-key interior or the “pub-average service”, but that’s really searching for criticism. Still, maybe the brand’s moment has come under new owners: after nearly 10 years it’s finally to spawn a sibling: a 185-cover space on Level 1 of Battersea Power Station. The aim here is more sleek and contemporary and necessarily less pub-like, so how much the pub element of its original concept will survive is unclear.