Waltham Abbey Restaurant Guide

RESTAURANT:Boisdale of Canary Wharf is a prestigious two-floor venue with stunning views overlooking Cabot Square and the city skyline. Our establishment boasts a Scottish restaurant, four private dining rooms

Near the Bank of England, this Italian three-year-old occupies a particularly fine Edwardian banking hall (built in 1902). Had it not opened around the time of the pandemic, it might be better known – “it’s not too noisy for a City restaurant and with good service and a reasonably priced lunch deal”.

Inspired by his parents’ travels with the Indian army, Roop Partap Choudhary’s extravagantly decorated restaurant has proved an unexpected hit in Holborn’s Victorian former town hall – a venue that has seen a succession of previous occupants fail. “The decor shows the owner’s love for his family heritage; the food shows the passion for true Indian cooking; the service is spectacular”. Its success has led to the late 2023 opening of a second, larger branch just off Trafalgar Square (in the former WC2 branch Jones Family Project, RIP).

“For a quick meal before boarding a train at King’s Cross or St Pancras” across the road, this inviting café is worth remembering for “well-prepared” pasta in generous portions provided by “very attentive” staff. In summer 2024, after our annual diners’ poll had closed, top chef Adam Simmons (ex-Ynyshir Hall and Danesfield House) joined as consultant, creating a new menu of ‘reimagined Italian classics’ for Spagnoletti (named after an Anglo-Italian engineer who developed railway signalling in the 19th century).

“A great summer spot with friends”: this 120-year-old barge is permanently moored in Hackney Wick – near the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – and provides a “fabulous experience on the water that makes for a great fun night out”. One reporter did quibble about the prices, but still said: “I loved our meal here – the concept is brilliant, with the interior of the barge turned into a cheerful dining room, and unusual dishes based on fish and foods grown in a kitchen garden by the mooring”.

This outpost of the continuous table side service, Brazilian-inspired national steakhouse group sits at the foot of the 100 Bishopsgate tower and opened in early autumn 2023. It has yet to spark a huge volume of survey feedback, but the Evening Standard’s Jimi Famurewa gave it a mostly positive report card, particularly its cuts of meat wielded by “skewer-wielding passadors… characterised by luscious, high-grade flavour, careful seasoning, and adroitly applied char”. Veggies and desserts were equally well received, although the ‘salad bar’ and à la carte section wasn’t so successful. Overall he pronounced it “keenly run” and “occasionally fantastic”.

This “relaxed” and “rather good” seafood specialist is “one of the best offerings in St Katharine Dock”, offering a “delightful menu” – “we had cod cheeks and ravioli, oysters, brill and octopus followed by different and interesting ice creams” – alongside a “decent selection of Greek white wine”. Co-founder Theodore Kyriakou was behind Livebait and The Real Greek in the ’90s.

Debuting in the sprawling metropolitan expanse of Canary Wharf, our Italian restaurant in Canary Wharf delivers an unequalled experience for the patrons with big appetites and discerning palates. We expertly blend the rich culture and brand of Italy into every bite; that means...

Stalwart Italian local in a converted Wapping warehouse, whose pizza and pasta dishes “never disappoint”. It’s been going since the late ’90s and much of its appeal is as a lively local linchpin of the neighbourhood.

Our mission: make delicious pizza, served with care, in beautiful spaces.In the beginning we were just Matteo and Salvatore, two brothers from Calabria. We moved to Bologna to study economics, and – like all penniless students – ate a lot of...

“Reminds me of Noble Rot… and I can give no higher praise” – one very enthusiastic report on this wine-led spring 2024 newcomer, which has a dead cute location down an alleyway by Smithfield Market, in a row of houses that escaped the Great Fire in 1666. (Premises some might still remember as Betjeman’s Wine Bar, long RIP, named for the late poet laureate who used to live on the first floor). Backed by specialist wine importers, Joe Haynes and Ben Butterworth, its stoves are manned by Tom Hurst, former head chef at Lasdun and a graduate of some of London’s best modern kitchens, and initial feedback is very promising. In a May 2024 review, The Financial Times’s Tim Hayward found the creative small plates “mixed but fascinating… I loved the new place… I want creativity and experimentation, and if that’s really happening, I expect as many near misses as palpable hits”.

“An unfailing choice, near Barts” – Pascal Aussignac’s & Vincent Labeyrie’s homage to gutsy Gascon cuisine and wine opened in 1998 in an idiosyncratic and grand marble-walled former Lyons Tea House near Smithfield Market. It’s now one of London‘s longest established temples of French gastronomy, but chef Pascal has lightened and modernised his cuisine over the years (and foie gras – once omnipresent – only makes the odd appearance on menus nowadays). There is a six-course tasting menu for £120, but also a much cheaper three-course version; and you can also eat here à la carte.

“A new chef has arrived but standards are maintained” at David Moore’s hallowed Fitzrovia townhouse, which has remained in London’s top culinary ranks ever since it first launched in 1991 despite numerous changes of personnel, the latest incumbent at the stoves being chef Phil Kearsey, appointed in May 2024. With the option of a forward-looking plant-based menu, it provides a “great experience for all types of diner” (“we had a mix of omnivores, pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans and the tasting menu catered for us all”). “Service is attentive and the sommelier always happy to chat”. Over the years, the limited space has been carefully refitted and designed, and it suits most occasions: “if you need a restaurant to perform for you, try Pied à Terre”.

Five years after the opening of the legendary Battersea bar and pizzeria, Bunga Bunga has come to Covent Garden with an even bigger and bolder version of the original. On the ground floor, discover a family pizzeria and bar, BungaTINI. Below accessed through the meat locker li...

Luce e Limoni is the symbolic return of owner Fabrizio Zafarana to his home, Sicily. It is the materialisation of a concept woven with beauty, local Sicilian cuisine and good taste. In a way, it is the repossession of Fabrizio’s roots. “ The menu embraces our native approach to ...

“In the culinary void that seems to exist in the City”, Xavier Rousset & Gearoid Devaney’s venue is one of the few places that “rarely fails to deliver” when it comes to a high-quality meal and – “especially for this location – provides a great blend of decent food, wine, and particularly service” (“amicable and timely without being overpowering”). “Excellent food in the French style” is overseen by executive head chef Edward Boardland and ownership by two master sommeliers results in a “superb, heavily Burgundy-facing wine list” that’s also “reasonably priced”. Top Tip – “very knowledgeable sommelier as you’d expect, but the team are equally accepting if you BYO” and “corkage is reasonable too!”

“Still top street food IMO” – this oven shaped like an old steam locomotive is an eye-catching fixture in Spitalfield Market and delivers “amazing meats that melt in the mouth”.

“Surprisingly decent Italian fare… proper (and huge) pizza and pasta and, if you have room, pleasing puddings” carves an ongoing niche for these smartly decorated outposts of an international Italian chain (started in 2004), where – as the name hints – many dishes feature Mozzarella di Bufala.

“If you’re in the mood for some delicious Indian cuisine”, this duo from Vivek Singh make a more affordable alternative to his flagship Cinnamon Club, pleasing both vegetarians (“great- tasting paneer butter masala”) and omnivores (“the chicken 65 is a particular favourite”). The cavernous City branch can get “incredibly noisy”, but the newer Battersea Power Station branch earns a lot of positive feedback, and is seen as a “viable competitor to Dishoom”, its near neighbour.