Lisboeta is a return to chef Nuno Mendes roots – drawing more and more on the recipes of his native Portugal.
Photo: Milo Brown
Price range: £££
Address: Lisboeta, 30 Charlotte Street, W1T 2NG
Portuguese-born chef Nuno Mendes has been on a journey that has taken him from kitchens in the USA to talk-of-the-town restaurants in East London, winning two Michelin stars along the way.
The food is as good as you’d expect from the duo behind Covent Garden favourite The Oystermen,
Photo: Greg Funnell
Price range: ££
Address: Walter's, 84 Park Hall Road, London, SE21 8BW
When Matt Lovell and Rob Hampton first viewed Walter’s, it was a neglected ex-chain restaurant; the transformation of the West Dulwich space into a warmly-lit, convivial dining room where British produce reigns supreme may have been an arduous one, but comes just in time for the first shoots of spring.
McMaster was well and truly ahead of the green curve with his innovative approach to cooking based on the simple but quite out-there idea of not having a bin.
Photo: Clare Lewington
Price range: £££
Address: Silo, The White Building, Unit 7 Queens Yard, Hackney Wick, London E9 5EN
One glance at the concise menu projected onto the back wall (they don’t print the food menus as they change so often) and diners will spot McMaster’s unusual ingredient pairings.
Serving a daily changing menu – perhaps grilled onglet with cavolo nero or smoked with fish.
Price range: £££
Address: Rochelle Canteen, 16 Playground Gardens, Shoreditch, London E2 7FA
It’s unfussy and honest cooking, served in a setting that feels more country house than East End.
The interior sets BiBi apart from the traditional, slightly tedious Mayfair stalwarts.
Price range: £££
Address: BiBi, 42 N Audley Street, London W1K 6ZP
Melding the neighbourhood’s extravagant propensity with a dash of heady Indian design laced with charming family influences, BiBi’s nails the brief: a restaurant that slots naturally into its surroundings, yet abounds with personality and a contemporary feel.
They didn’t hold back on chilli and acidity!
Price range: ££
Address: Paradise, 61 Rupert Street, Soho, London W1D 7PW
Everything at Paradise packs a complex flavour profile, and most dishes have some sort of a kick – it’s nice to feel as if you’re getting the real deal.
Foraging can be an over-hyped word. For Imogen Davis and Ivan Tisdall-Downes, however, it forms part of an inventive approach to cooking that’s based on zero waste.
Price range: £££
Address: Native at Browns, 39 Brook Street, London W1K 4JE
What is now on the menu as the Native Fish Fillet (they called it Filet-O-Fish but McDonald’s had a word) is a plump brioche holding breadcrumbed cod cheeks, draped with ‘cheese’ – actually brown-crab rarebit – on a splodge of seaweed tartar.
Scotsman Isaac McHale opened this big-ticket restaurant in Shoreditch Town Hall back in 2013.
Price range: ££££
Address: The Clove Club, Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London EC2
Since then, it’s made regular appearances on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (ranking at number 32 in 2021).
Cult snacks, brilliant cocktails, their own bread and charcuterie, and generous yet refined plates of heritage pork or lobster or trout make this a sensational destination with bags of charm.
We've always got one eye on the latest openings on the London restaurant scene. In March 2022, we're pointing our friends and family in the direction of three distinct recent hangouts.