Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in London South Kensington
Hardens guides have spent 25 years compiling reviews of the best South Kensington restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 36 restaurants in South Kensington and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing South Kensington restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured South Kensington Restaurants
1. Patara South Kensington
Thai restaurant in South Kensington
181 Fulham Rd - SW3
“Time and again we get fine Thai tastes!” This enduring chain is, in a low key way, one of London’s most consistent performers, combining “well-above average food”, with “very attentive service” and “beautiful decor”.
2. Ognisko Restaurant
Polish restaurant in South Kensington
55 Prince's Gate, Exhibition Road - SW7
The “very beautiful time-warp setting” of an impressive old émigrés club, complete with “clubby” bar and “high-ceilinged dining room”, helps create a “very relaxing” experience at Jan Woroniecki’s South Kensington gem (whose “terrace at the rear is a hidden secret for outdoor summer dining”). The “Polish comfort food” is “lighter than you expect”, and there’s “a huge range of vodkas”.
3. Bombay Brasserie
Indian restaurant in South Kensington
Courtfield Road - SW7
“Excellent food in a somewhat formal setting” – an elegant conservatory with colonial decor – elevates this South Kensington stalwart beyond “run-of-the-mill curry houses”. Reports have dwindled in recent years, but consistently high ratings suggest it’s worth a second look.
4. La Bottega
Italian restaurant in South Kensington
97 Old Brompton Rd - SW7
2015 Review: “Consistently good coffee”, and “simple and fresh” pasta too – all part of the ongoing success of these smart but “casual” and “friendly” café-delis.
5. Dinings
Japanese restaurant in South Kensington
Walton House, Walton St - SW3
“Don’t be put off by the simplicity of the dining room” – “a noisy concrete basement” (although you can also sit at the ground floor bar): Tomonari Chiba’s sushi and other Japanese fare is “genius”, albeit “spectacularly expensive” at his original Marylebone venture of over ten years standing. In May 2017 he opened a considerably swankier offshoot in the beautiful and chichi premises vacated by Toto’s (RIP) which seem likely to become the dominant member of the duo hereafter. It features a mashup of Japanese and Western ingredients and ideas – early press reviews are mixed.
6. Rocca Di Papa
Pizza restaurant in South Kensington
73 Old Brompton Rd - SW7
These “cosy, busy and good-value” local Italians in South Kensington and Dulwich do the simple things well: “handmade pasta, great pizzas and lovely service”. “Perfect for families – kids are well-treated” (so “it can be a bit of a creche if you go at the wrong time”).
7. Da Mario
Italian restaurant in South Kensington
15 Gloucester Rd - SW7
For “an efficient and cheerful meal, especially before a visit to the Royal Albert Hall” this “buzzing Italian pizza-fest” (“there’s a wide selection including vegetarian, gluten-free, halal and per bambini”) is “so good, you can forgive them their kitsch, Princess Di-themed decor!” “It’s not overpriced for the location and always entertaining”.
8. Go-Viet
Vietnamese restaurant in South Kensington
53 Old Brompton Rd - SW7
“Fun and casual” spin-off from Jeff Tan’s Soho Viet Food – “the food tastes great and looks magic too” at this a 60-cover café near South Kensington tube.
9. The Magazine Restaurant, Serpentine Gallery
British, Modern restaurant in South Kensington
Kensington Gdns - W2
This Zaha Hadid-designed gallery restaurant in Hyde Park “deserves more recognition” according to reporters, who think it “a great space”, with “interesting food” (maybe only being open for lunch and afternoon tea is what keeps it under the radar). Perhaps a new team, scheduled to take over its management in late 2017, will finally put it properly on the map?
10. Wright Brothers
Fish & seafood restaurant in South Kensington
56 Old Brompton Rd - SW7
“A haven for top notch oysters and shellfish” (they have their own Cornish farm and wholesalers) – these “bustling” bistros have grown from their Borough Market origins on the back of their “sparklingly fresh and delicious” dishes, plus “good wines by the glass”. “That they’re cramped is all part of the charm”. Battersea is the latest addition to the family, and in SW7 fans tip “the little gem of a Mermaid Bar, like a luxurious grotto with elegant cocktails”.
View full listings of 36 South Kensington Restaurants
Editor's Reviews
Heddon Street Kitchen
London British, Modern £59
Overall Value
Just off Regent Street, a handy brasserie-style operation serving thoroughly competent but rather unremarkable dishes at prices seemingly inflated by association with proprietor Gordon Ramsay.... More
Crocker's Folly
London Lebanese £55
Overall Value
Rabbit
London British, Modern £47
Overall Value
Quaglino’s
London British, Modern £65
Overall Value
La Tagliata
London Italian
Overall Value
DF Mexico, Old Truman Brewery
London Mexican/TexMex £31
Overall Value
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Top South Kensington Restaurants
These are the top restaurants in South Kensington based on reviews by Hardens users.
Macellaio RC
The Magazine Restaurant, Serpentine Gallery
Wright Brothers
Ognisko Restaurant
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Bombay Brasserie
Patara South Kensington
Rocca Di Papa
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