London Putney Restaurant Guide

“Correct Gallic fare where comfort rather than wow is the name of the game” sums up this “good-value French bistro” group, which has a flagship in Battersea and branches in Putney, Wandsworth Common, the City and at the Institut Français in South Kensington. Sceptics judge it “rather run-of-the-mill”, but more commonly it’s seen as a useful standby and continues to garner a voluminous amount of feedback. In particular, fans say, it’s a “favourite place for steak & chips because they do it the French way”.

This “lovely Putney spot” is “the best neighbourhood restaurant ever”, according to its local fanclub – in particular, “Craig and his team have customer service down to a fine art”. It’s set amidst the pick ’n’ mix of restaurants near East Putney Tube, and a pavement terrace with awning leads onto rather a stylish interior, with eye-catching tiled floor, brick walls and a long bar; and they serve a jazzy modern bistro menu. In September 2024 they opened a second branch, Home SW13, in next-door Barnes (taking over from Church Road, RIP). Top Tip – “love the scrap-eat Mondays where they use up all the weekend excess on a surprise great-value set menu”; “and those cauliflower croquettes are divine!”

“Where else can you get a range of Japanese, char kway teow, laksa and pad thai, all in one restaurant?” – Ding Chu’s pioneering Pan-Asian canteens (first branch WC1 in Bloomsbury in 1996) continue to put in a consistent if low-key performance. “Busy, crowded and cheap”, “you will find something to your taste”, “service is friendly and efficient” and – for the likes of “a quick meal after going to the cinema” (either in WC1 or W4) – it’s ideal.

The Kashmiri cuisine is “deliciously different and always most enjoyable”, say fans of this interesting “modern Indian restaurant” in Putney. It was opened in 2016 by Kashmiri-born chef-patron Rohit Razdan and his wife Shweta,who arrived in London via New Delhi and Singapore.

2021 Review: “When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

2023 Review: Massimo Masili’s Sardinian showcase is a “very welcome new addition to the SW15 dining scene” thanks to its “excellent food and extremely friendly service”. It can, though, seem “too expensive for what it is” – “Putney location, Mayfair prices!”

This “surprisingly good Chinese” in Putney specialises in the cuisines of Shanghai and Sichuan, and the “flavours and produce” are by all accounts “excellent” (even better if you “ask for the Chinese menu”). Top Menu Tip – “particularly fine duck”.

This comfortably decorated national chain feels akin to dining in a hotel, but minus the bedrooms; and its two London branches – near the Tower and in Putney – benefit from attractive Thames-side locations, where “it’s lovely to sit outside on a warm day by the river, or year-round in one of their igloo pods”. “There’s a warm fire inside with cosy armchairs”, too, which make the venues “fine for coffee or snacks”, although for more substantial meals “the food is only OK”.