London South Kensington Restaurant Guide

“Solid and reliable”, plush Indian veteran in South Kensington that celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, and still earns consistently good marks for its cooking. Now owned by Taj Hotels, it has a spacious glassed-in terrace and spruced-up decor, although some long-time regulars preferred it “when the atmosphere was more Indian Raj”.

Despite designer interiors and posh locations (the ten-year-old original in a Kensington backstreet; the ‘Ocean House’ spin-off in South Kensington, in a quirky building built as Brompton Library), this off-radar duo perennially inspire surprisingly little feedback. Not only that, such reports as we do get typically say something like “one of the most delicious Japanese restaurants in town”. Perhaps it’s because they are not cheap?

“Been a dedicated customer of the Noor for 40 years” – this “classic, old-style” curry house has served “very tasty Indian food” to a loyal clientele on the Earl’s Court-South Ken border since 1964. To regulars (and the occasional sleb, from Eric Clapton to Gwyneth Paltrow), it makes “the perfect Sunday evening meal, for comfort food”. It has a younger offshoot in Bayswater. Top Tip: “the food can come very fast, so best to stagger the order”.

This “buzzy neighbourhood stalwart” in South Ken has long been known as a good bet for “top tapas”. Its older sibling, directly across the road, is Cambio de Tercio, a leading light of Hispanic cuisine in London.

With a menu “based on the family recipes of the owner, from northern India”, this smart little South Kensington spot is “welcoming and casual, making it perfect for focusing on the delicious flavours and aromas”.

“Abel [Lusa] and his team have created one of London’s best neighbourhood restaurants” at this Spanish specialist in the Old Brompton Road. The food is consistently “fantastic” “(if pricey)”, while service and ambience are also “excellent”. Since launching in 1995 – well before the boom in Hispanic cuisine – they have maintained impressively high scores, building “a justifiably loyal clientele”.

2018 Review: “Close your eyes and imagine you’re in Sevilla” at Cambio de Tercio’s neighbouring bar, where at times “the great atmosphere is helped by someone strumming away on a guitar”. “It’s not a cheap night out for tapas, but you get the best croquetas this side of the Pyrenees!”

“Exceptionally fine beef” from the Italian Fassone breed in the valleys north of Genoa is theatrically presented – as if in a butcher’s shop – at Roberto Costa’s growing group of steakhouses, where the “superb cuts are butchered in front of you”. “I finally went to try out what looked like magnificent beef, from the haunches in the window. I wasn’t disappointed – it delivered magnificently.” The South Ken branch in Old Brompton Road remains the most popular. There are others in Fitzrovia, Exmouth Market, Union Street and Battersea. (The latest to open in summer 2021, in the West End’s Theatreland, is called Il Teatro del Carne – see also).

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.

2019 Review: “Informal Japanese” which offers “rare good value” in pricey South Kensington, near the former Christie’s showroom (there’s also a similar heart-of-Soho branch which inspires little feedback). Eating at “sunk-in tables” adds to the ambience.

This “good, dependable local Italian” duo in South Kensington and Dulwich Village can be relied on for plates of “excellent pizza” and “freshly made pasta” at sensible prices. There’s a “great atmosphere when they’re busy”, and “children are made very welcome”. The South Ken branch, formerly part of Christie’s auction house, has a useful heated terrace for dining al fresco.

“Amazing seafood” – “really fresh and full of taste” – is the headliner at this oyster supplier turned producer turned “bustling” seafood bar at Borough Market, from brothers-in-law Ben Wright and Robin Hancock (now also with offshoots at Battersea Power Station and South Ken). In March 2021, acclaimed chef Henry Harris joined as group chef, adding his knowledge of classic meat dishes and fine wines to the Wright Bros’ traditional oysters, crustaceans and seafood platters. Top Tip: “curried oysters sounds awful and sacrilegious but is stunning – a real tasting experience”.

“Innovative and delicious Lebanese/Middle-Eastern cooking” has firmly established Barry and Patricia Hilton’s nattily decorated modern bistro in the ‘Petit France’ enclave close to South Kensington’s museums. “It’s great to see them back in action – they’ve tweaked the menu and the food is even more delicious”. “Fabulous service, too”. The venture started out with a series of pop-ups, and a second bistro that started off in Soho transferred to Queensway in summer 2021.

2021 Review: “Refined Vietnamese food” – “with clean, fresh flavours” – is showcased at this three-year-old South Ken flagship of former Hakkasan chef Jeff Tan, who also owns Viet Food in Chinatown. Top Tip – “the weekend lunch menu is a steal for the quality”.

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”.

It’s “nice to sit under the canopy on a summer’s evening”, even if it “can be crowded and noisy”, at this “well-established neighbourhood Italian”, on a prominent Chelsea corner site. An early exponent of serving Italian food tapas-style, it still wins praise for its “reasonable prices” and dependable standards.

“The antidote to noisy, sterile London eating”, this “wonderfully different” old-world Polish institution near South Ken tube “feels like it has been here forever, because it has”. Since 1947, to be precise, but it’s certainly a “lovely time-warp – you can imagine it’s still 1962”, in the Cold War era when Christine Keeler and Roman Polanski had assignations here. More recent regulars have included the late restaurant critic AA Gill, and they’re all drawn back by the “never-changing menu” of robust Polski classics.

“Classy, with a nice grown-up atmosphere” – this ‘traditional countryside pub and dining room in southwest London’ (the first from the Lunar Pub Company) opened in late 2019, and is successfully living up to its ‘rus-in-urbe’ aspirations. There are lots of warm vibes for its well-realised food and cosy style (even if the prices are those of SW3, not the shires). They are already onto their second project (opening in late 2021) – The Ganymede in SW1 (see also).

Providing “tasty tapas on the well-trodden path between South Ken tube and the museums” means the well-known Spanish food importers can hardly go wrong with this “cheap and cheerful” fixture. There’s plenty of pavement seating to go with the “friendly staff and a really nice tapas menu with all the faves” – plus “great Spanish wines”.