Southwark, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“A firm favourite for breakfast and brunch in Southwark” – this café-style fixture a short stroll from Tate Modern serves “a great menu to suit all tastes”, and fans say it’s “unbeatable”.

The Habit is a modern British bistro, committed to bringing to the neighbourhood a place where families and friends can enjoy great food, wine and local produce. We like keeping it fresh, simple and seasonal. We are open for brunch & lunch Tuesday – Sunday....

“Fantastic food + great wine list + super-friendly people + brilliant music = cool vibes!” – this new restaurant and wine bar near Peckham Rye station (baby bro’ to Salon in Brixton) has cracked the formula for winning fans from SE15 and beyond: a “casual-yet-special” operation, it can become “extremely busy” and “crowded”. Its “incredible” small plates are a foil to the “very good wine list” and arguably a form of “wildly indulgent nursery food”, but are so “creative and fun” and with “flavours that sing!”

“A great view of the river and very competent cuisine” makes this would-be Elizabethan tavern – on the first floor of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre – “a delightful find on the tourist trail”. Chef Allan Pickett sticks sensibly to modern British rather than cod-historical cooking.

“One of the best views in the capital”, over Tower Bridge and the Thames, is the highlight of any meal at this venue from D&D London, on the first floor of the former Design Museum. Beyond that, there’s “no problem with the food or cooking”, which can be “surprisingly delicious” nowadays.

2018 Review: Billing itself as ‘London’s best-kept secret’ – this tucked-away bar/restaurant in Southwark can be “a lovely find” despite its “unexceptional location”, thanks to its “top cocktails” and consistently good cooking – in particular “stand out steak” and “stunning puddings”.

“Pub food at its finest, with some real stand-out dishes” has kept this operation near the antiques market at the forefront since the early days of Bermondsey’s booming food scene. “The menu’s good, but the specials are worth eating every time”.

“Still nailing it after all these years” – this “unpretentious but brilliant” Southwark boozer near the Young Vic was again very narrowly beaten into No. 2 place amongst London’s best gastropubs (by the Harwood Arms), but maintains a massive fanclub, and “you still have to queue to get a table”. The draw is its “hearty” British cooking – “always-fascinating-and-unusual” dishes (often using game or offal) “delivering great flavours and textures”. Top Tip – you can book for Sunday lunch.

“The view is spectacular” from the 32nd floor of the Shard, so “why not put the £35 it would cost to go to the viewing deck towards a meal here”, in the brasserie from Rainer Becker of Zuma and Roka. “The meal is ridiculously overpriced”, of course, but “the atmosphere feels special” and – though the food is not without its detractors – a relatively high proportion of diners here feel “it matches the panorama”. You can choose between the West section for a restaurant-style meal or the East bar with food.

2019 Review: “Thank goodness for the view” – the “saving grace” at this riverside grill in the South Bank arts centre, sibling to its D&D London stablemate next door. For most reporters, the food is little better than “average” – “not so much dialling as texting it in these days. Such a shame as the space is so wonderful!”.