London Victoria Restaurant Guide

“Hands-down the best fried brekkie of all time – the GOAT!” is served at this Westminster institution, whose Formica-tabled interior has changed little since it opened in 1946, and a retro-loving crowd gathers daily for what is “just the best cafe experience in London” (“the food is OK, but the queuing and miraculously getting a seat in a full room followed by the bellowing of orders are really what makes every visit special!”). It went on the market, though, in December 2024 – “When I heard that the caff was up for sale I nearly cried” – and although Westminster Council have pledged not to sell it to property developers, no further announcement has been made as of summer 2025. Top Tip – “go with a friend and order one toast and one bread: the white buttered bread is a guilty secret!” BREAKING NEWS: In July 2025 its sale was announced to Turkish-born, London-schooled restaurateurs Fevzi & Zafer Gungor, who are apparently looking to roll out the Regency name to Amsterdam, Berlin, Istanbul and Dubai.

“Exceptional food cooked by final year students” at Westminster Kingsway College makes the Escoffier Room one of the capital’s “great value” dining experiences, at £45 for a tasting menu. There’s a “lovely ambience to the place”, with meals “served by 2nd years, which can mean some funny moments” (“the lad serving us was on his first day!”). It’s “absolutely enjoyable”, if “somewhat chaotic” – and you need to “book early to avoid disappointment”. The college’s more relaxed brasserie and café/bar work on similar lines.

This “hidden gem of a Sichuan restaurant in the desert of Westminster” – “better than most in Chinatown” – is “well worth seeking out in an otherwise dull eating area”. There’s a “helpful menu that lists the delicious dishes by spiciness” and the “friendly service is almost immediate, so you can have a chat first over a glass and eat within an hour” – alongside MPs from up the road, who “add to the atmosphere”.

A period piece from 1964, this Pimlico institution has barely changed since the Swinging Sixties, when the Beatles, the Mamas & Papas and Julie Christie all ate here. The original wood panelling is still in place, along with the signature dish from Day One – fillet steak with a caramelised mustard and brown sugar crust. Founder Jeremy Friend, now 90, still lives just down the road and pops in several times a week – as do politicos from nearby Westminster, who sit downstairs where they can’t be overheard. Top Tip – the mark-ups on wine (including half bottles) is generous.

2023 Review: “In an old Fire station near Victoria”, Atul Kochhar’s October 2021 newcomer is “a massive undertaking (with over 170 covers)”. It inspires a wide range of reactions, none of them terrible, some of them rapturous, but many of them mixed. The “unusual” food has “amazing spicing, with a focus on fish”, but some dishes can appear “too ordinary” or “needing a rethink” and even fans note they are “expensive”. In a similar vein, the “friendly” service can be “iffy” in its efficiency; and “ambience can be lacking” despite the “stylish conversion”. Still, it’s an ambitious venture still finding its feet, and perhaps the fairest overall verdict at this stage is: “enjoyable rather than brilliant”.

“Reliable Spanish restaurant” of more than 30 years’ standing in Pimlico “with good-value tapas”, “open-air seating and friendly staff” – a “regular meeting place” for groups of friends or colleagues to catch up over a plate of paella and a glass of wine.

“A Georgian mansion on a huge roundabout in Vauxhall, surrounded by high-rise apartment blocks” makes a “fabulous”, “brilliantly quirky and enjoyable place for a meal that feels more like being at a brilliant dinner party than a restaurant”. A showcase for LASSCO (‘England’s prime resource for Architectural Antiques, Salvage & Curiosities’), “the room is uniquely bonkers” – crammed full of antiques and architectural salvage, all for sale and lending the space “a slightly faded elegance”. Service is “charming”, and the food a “good example of seasonal-British (although many of the dishes have been around for a few seasons now)” from chef Jackson Boxer and his team. There’s a “disparate and varied crowd at lunch time – thus it’s rather good for discrete business – and an edgier, clubbier (younger) crowd of an evening”. Top Menu Tip – “the Dexter beef with bone marrow and crispy shallots is the best steak tartare in the world!”

“Old established fish ’n’ chip restaurant” in the backstreets near Victoria station, whose long menu includes “a variety of great fish and seafood” (oysters, scallops, lobster, sea bream on the bone) alongside more obvious chippy classics. “Popular with regular locals”, the interior is fine but not why it’s survived since 1965.

“Seasonal cooking in the lovely surroundings of Lambeth’s Garden Museum” “always feels like a treat”, with “fresh ingredients well prepared in a wonderfully light room”. Open since 2017 in “the converted church of St Mary”, it has built a quiet reputation for its “gorgeous food and location” – best enjoyed over lunch along with a visit to the museum. Top Tip – “the view from the church tower is fantastic”.

“A thrilling pure adventure in dining!” has won global renown for Andrew Wong’s record-breaking destination: a relatively humble Pimlico site where he spent time as a child (when it was his parents’ business Kym’s), returning after uni to transform it into the first Asian restaurant outside Asia to win two Michelin stars. It has always inspired adulatory feedback in our annual diners’ poll for the “absolutely sublime culinary journey across China” that he has created. “It is so rare that the actual chef is present every service and it shows through with exquisite dishes from quality ingredients that are consistent every time”. That said, its ratings scaled back a fraction this year. By night, it provides “a mystical 30-course journey”, but some old-timers miss the à la carte and feel that “it’s a shame the fixed menu is the only option as it is simply too much food, no matter how good”. (Although you can still eat dim sum à la carte at lunchtimes). And then there’s also the matter of cost. “The price of £220 per person for a Chinese meal is a bit out there” and while fans feel that “this is the one restaurant in town where you don’t need to query the very high cost”, there is a growing countervailing view which says “everything tastes heavenly, but the portions are small and the bill is enormous” (especially as other elements of the formula “don’t feel like a two Michelin star experience”). The winning verdict still though? – “OK prices are high, but fair play as it was my best meal of the year”.

“Generous portions of beautifully prepared food”, “great service” and a “lively atmosphere” combine to ensure this Turkish-Cypriot grill near Victoria station “never fails” to hit the spot. It has been consistently well rated for two decades.

“Delicious ramen with rich home-made broth” draws a steady crowd to these “quick, casual” joints “with a fun classic rock soundtrack”; and whose “great noodles are very consistent across their branches” (there are now seven across the capital). Top Menu Tip – “bao bun specials are good too, and great value”.

“Discovered this while waiting for a protest march in Central London to begin. Ended up surrounded by cabbies who clearly know a good thing when they see it!”: this Portuguese- owned caff provides “great food at proper café prices in the heart of London”. “Yards from the famous Regency Cafe and a worthy alternative”: “you get powerful fried breakfasts and lunchtime specials” and – unlike at the Regency – there’s “no queues of tourists either, so enjoy it while it stays under the radar of non-taxi drivers!” (It also owes some of its recent mentions to the FT Tim Hayward’s February 2025 review, in which he reported “the ur-bacon sandwich. A whole that’s so much more than the sum of its parts.”)

“Well priced” Japanese dishes make this small, no-frills 26-year-old chain a useful option, whether for a “quick pre-theatre visit” when in town or in one of the more far-flung branches (Catford or Brentwood), where “decent quality sushi is found in a local high street for the first time”. Top Tip – “the delicious honey tea”.

“A gem!” – easily missed on the fringes of Westminster (not far from Vincent Square) – this welcoming Nepalese café realises its dumpling, noodles and other simple fare with a light touch. And if you need a lunchtime snack in Paddington, their truck in Merchant Square is also a handy option.

After 25 years in St James’s, chef patron Gianni Andolfi and his team shifted early last year to a tucked-away, corner-site on the Victoria/Westminster borders, near Rochester Row. Hitherto it’s been known for straightforward Italian cooking at very competitive prices for the West End – let’s hope they will keep it up and win a new audience in this ‘off-the-beaten-track’ locale.

This grand Indian restaurant in the Grade II list Old Westminster Firestation reopened in June 2025 under its second name and third ownership in just four years. High-profile chef Atul Kochhar launched the venue as Mathura in 2021, and moved on as it became Yaatra a year later. That in turn closed at the beginning of 2025. Will the new owners have better luck? Reports please!

2023 Review: ‘Where there’s tea there’s hope’ is the philosophical underpinning of this “quirky café”, which occupies a converted pub by Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and “does amazing breakfasts” and “unusual teas”, plus yummy buns. “They are a tea house though, so there is no coffee available!!”