Row on 5

Best of 2 stars in London

Oyster and caviar

Founded by serial restaurateur and chef Jason Atherton, the tasting menu only, fine dining concept champions British ingredients with a Japanese influence. Row on 5 feels like the kind of restaurant you arrive at already knowing you’re going to be taken care of, and then it quietly exceeds that expectation. The staff move with an ease that instantly puts you at rest, reading the table well, explaining when you want detail, and stepping back when you don’t. There’s a sense of purpose without pressure, which sets the tone for the meal. From the moment you sit down, moving from one room to another, time seems to slow slightly. The pacing is thoughtful, the room hums rather than buzzes, and you feel encouraged to settle in rather than rush through an experience.

Quality Chop House

 Quality for a reason

Lamb, soy and pear

Quality Chop House sits on a quiet stretch of Farringdon Road and feels like it has been there forever, which in many ways it has. You can feel the weight of the building and the history, but it never tips into nostalgia for its own sake. This is a place built around meat, British produce, and cooking that respects time and technique. The menu reads clearly, without clever tricks or distractions. You are not being asked to decode anything. It feels honest. You sit back, glance around, and realize that the restaurant trusts you to enjoy yourself without being told how special it is. The below captures my 13th visit.

La Palombe

The kind of neighborhood restaurant I need

Confit duck leg, celeriac

A neighborhood restaurant in Kensington, La Palombe feels like the sort of place you settle into rather than rush through. You get the sense that many of the people dining here have been before, that this is a place built on repeat visits rather than one-off hype. That atmosphere matters more than it might seem, because it frames everything that follows. You arrive relaxed, and you stay that way. It’s an ideal setting for a long conversation, a quiet celebration, or even just an evening where the main goal is to eat well and feel looked after. The concept of the food is rooted in restraint, balance, and a clear respect for ingredients. This is cooking that doesn’t try to surprise you for the sake of it.

74 Charlotte Street by Ben Murphy

Chef Ben's new gig in London

Lobster, pumpkin, yuzu

74 Charlotte Street by Ben Murphy arrives in Fitzrovia with an easy confidence: a soft, deliberately understated dining room downstairs and a street-level bar that’s already being talked about as somewhere to linger. The site wears its history lightly; it’s the space that once housed Mere, so it is easy to compare, since both trade as modern European fine dining restaurants. On the menu, Ben Murphy’s food sits in that same register: classically trained technique steered toward accessible flavours, with a few playful flourishes to catch your eye.

Quality Chop House

The Great British meat temple

Yorkshire game and hazelnut terrine

I almost lost count of how many times I have been to Quality Chop House. I love meat, and not many places in London cook meat in the old-fashioned way as well as Quality Chop House. It is built around a simple, old idea that feels quietly radical in modern London: cook what makes sense for the season, respect the animal, and don’t get in the way of good ingredients. The menu changes constantly, not out of restlessness but necessity, and it reads like a ledger of what has arrived from trusted farms that week. Beef, pork, lamb, and game appear in different guises to ensure diners get the best of what Quality Chop House can offer. The below covers my visits no.11 and 12.

Corenucopia by Clare Smyth

A real 'luxury bistro'

 

Gilda and fried chicken with caviar

Corenucopia by Clare Smyth arrives in Chelsea with an unapologetically confident pitch: a “luxury bistro” that brings the same meticulous technique and ingredient respect of Clare Smyth’s flagship to a room that’s meant to feel more accessible than a three-Michelin-star tasting menu. That lineage matters here because it shapes not only expectations but execution: the menus are built around elevated British classics (think fish & chips and toad in the hole) rather than culinary experiments, with a focused potato side menu inspired by the chef’s Northern Irish childhood.

Restaurant St. Barts

Great British essence in a fine dining manner

British wagyu and crab toast

Set in Smithfield, Restaurant St. Barts overlooks St Bartholomew the Great church; floor-to-ceiling windows frame the ancient architecture, giving a breathing space to the urban surroundings. The interior leans Scandinavian in its aesthetic sensibilities—clean lines, warm woods. Restaurant St. Barts delivers a deeply considered, hyper-seasonal modern British tasting-menu experience. Executive Chef Johnnie Crowe and his team build plates around the minimalism of concept: usually only two or three ingredients per dish, each flourishing in its own right. 

Frog by Adam Handling

Playful British creativity takes on tasting menu

Canapes of chicken, crab, eel, mussels and cheese

Stepping into the single Michelin-starred Frog by Adam Handling in the heart of Covent Garden is an invitation to experience modern British fine dining with a theatrical twist. The open-kitchen layout means you're not just seated in a restaurant—you’re part of the show. At the heart of the experience is chef-owner Adam Handling’s philosophy of “fine dining without the stuffiness” paired with rigorous technique. One caveat: the price tag reflects the aspiration. With tasting menus from around £195 and optional supplements and wine pairings... it is not a cheap affair.

Portland

 Modern upmarket British template

Canapes of scallop, mushroom and liver

Stepping into Portland on Great Portland Street in Fitzrovia, you first notice how the space quietly declares its intentions: no pomp, but precision; no grand gestures, but thoughtful design. The food at Portland is modern British with a strong seasonal bent, rooted in high-quality produce and technique. The menu changes frequently—ingredients and dishes rotate in response to what’s fresh, what’s at its best. This is my 4th visit, and once again I opted for the private dining room experience with a special menu for a special celebration.

Cloth

Wine and dine, proper British style  

Duck liver, soda bread

Tucked away on a quiet lane just behind the bustle of the City, Cloth brings an understated but dramatic twist to modern British cooking. While the focus here is on the wine and food, the way the restaurant is set up enhances the experience: Cloth is housed in a Grade II listed building on Cloth Fair, and the dining room is described as cosy with low ceilings, wood floorboards, antique wall lights and marble tables.

Town

Not the Town I was hoping for

Cornish crab, tomato and trout roe salad

Covent Garden has never been short on showmanship, and Town, Stevie Parle’s newest creation on Drury Lane, leans heavily into theatre. The design alone is a performance: chrome curves, burgundy walls, lime-lit open kitchen, and a retro-futuristic dining room that feels like a 1970s nightclub. The menu is dotted with names familiar to London’s food-savvy crowd: Wildfarmed bread, Goods Shed vegetables, Irish cheeses and lobster from the Welsh waters, all carrying a sense of story and provenance. On paper it’s an irresistible mix: beautiful setting, traceable ingredients, a chef with pedigree, and the promise of something memorable.

La Palombe

 Underrated West London gem

Chargrilled octopus, smoked beetroot purée, pickled carrots & capers

West London is no stranger to excellent dining, but every so often, a place comes along that quietly raises the bar. La Palombe is one of those places. Tucked away on a calm street, this restaurant blends French culinary tradition with a polished, contemporary touch, ALC style. The reason I give this place a visit is down to the head chef here, Jake Leach, who was head chef at my beloved fine dining restaurant Ledbury and the greatest food-led pub in London aka The Harwood Arms. He alone warrants a visit, as I have eaten some amazing meals over the years at those sites.

The Devonshire Soho

Meaty gastropub goodness 

Scallops in vinegar and bacon

The Devonshire in Soho isn’t just another London gastropub—it’s a meticulous revival of the classic British public house, elevated with chef-grade precision and obsessive attention to detail. Helmed by hospitality veteran Oisín Rogers and chef Ashley Palmer-Watts (ex-Fat Duck), it operates as a dual experience: a rowdy, soul-warming pub downstairs and a quietly confident grill restaurant above. The Devonshire sources with intention: dry-aged native breeds butchered in-house. For my 4th visit, I went for all the classic dishes that have been around since day 1, as they are classic for a reason.

Duchy

Duchy of Savoy in the land of Shoreditch

 

BBQ John Dorey in shellfish sauce

Duchy is a new restaurant in Shoreditch, the sleek new incarnation of Leroy, which was located on the same site. Duchy comes with a different approach that brings northern Italian‑French flair to East London. The interiors are mostly inherited from Leroy—minimalist without sterility, a touch of rustic warmth, the sound of a needle slipping onto wax. The open kitchen, where Simon Shand and his team work in full view, is a stage with no curtain, just steam, speed, and focused motion. The name “Duchy” is more than a title—it’s a hint at the culinary axis here: the historic Duchy of Savoy, whose former borders map perfectly onto the flavours of southeastern France and northwestern Italy.

The Knave of Clubs

Comfort pub food with an edge

Prawn scotch egg

Shoreditch has no shortage of trendy pubs and polished gastropubs. For a new pub, The Knave of Clubs possesses a confident vintage—an aesthetic of pedigree and purpose—yet it doesn’t feel forced or nostalgic. This newly opened spot on Hackney Road has an old-school boozer vibe, but has a strong focus on its food offering, helped by the fact that it has been developed by chef legend Patrick Powell. It is not just another place for overpriced pints and average burgers. It’s aiming for something smarter, sharper, and mostly, it delivers.

Cornus

Classy British fine dining

Seabass tartare, oyster, apple, shiso

​Cornus, located near Victoria Station in London's Eccleston Yards, is the latest venture from the team behind Chelsea's esteemed Medlar restaurant. Situated on the top floor of the renovated Ice Factory building, Cornus offers diners a refined ambiance with white tablecloths and diffused natural light. The culinary direction at Cornus is led by Executive Head Chef Gary Foulkes, whose impressive resume includes tenures at The Square and the Michelin-starred Angler, Gary is a talented chef, and I have been to Cornus 2 times before. I returned once again after Cornus just landed itself a Michelin star in the 2025 guide.

Dorian

British Bristo, fine dining price

Crab and artichoke rosti

Dorian is an interesting restaurant, it became very popular ever before it gained a Michelin star, it presents itself as a refined yet approachable neighborhood dining spot, effortlessly blending modern elegance with a touch of classic charm using open-fire cooking methods. Renowned for its focus on locally sourced ingredients and inventive dishes. While it does look like a casual and modern bistro, the menu is loaded with luxury offerings, from caviar, and lobster to langoustine, therefore depending on what you go for, you can end up easily spending more than  £100 per person.

Row on 5

A Culinary Symphony by Jason Atherton

Caviar, cucumber and oyster

Located on Savile Row (hence the name Row on 5), Row on 5 is the latest fine dining jewel in the crown of acclaimed British chef Jason Atherton. Known for his mastery in blending sophisticated flavours with impeccable presentation, Atherton has once again raised the bar with a restaurant that epitomizes modern elegance and culinary artistry. He has done a lot of restructuring in his restaurant empire over the last 12 months, from shutting down his flagship Pollen Street Social and Social Eating House, to opening up 5 in the space of a few months, Row on 5 is his most ambitious and the most premium offering of the lots, with only a fixed tasting menu of 15 courses.

The Devonshire Soho

 Worth the hype?

Bone in ribeye

Nestled in the vibrant heart of Soho, The Devonshire offers a quintessential British pub experience with a light modern touch. It has become one of the most popular and hyped gastropubs in London since its launch in the winter of 2023. I visited in the early days and it didn't impress me with some rocky errors on overcooked meat. 1 year later, booking a table is almost mission impossible. Known for its inviting atmosphere and hearty food using top-class ingredients with an in-house butcher, this pub has earned a reputation as a go-to spot for casual dining. I returned twice in the winter of 2024 to see if much had changed.

Goldies

 Golden goodie

BBQ corns

Located in the vibrant Kingly Court of Soho, Goldie offers a unique, wood-fired twist on dining that’s captivating London’s food enthusiasts. Known for its cozy, relaxed atmosphere and an emphasis on flame-grilled flavors, Goldie’s menu brings together fresh, seasonal ingredients with bold, rich tastes that elevate each dish. The open kitchen space allows diners to witness all the open fire actions, spreading an extremely inviting smoky aroma around the dining room. The menu is short, with around 20 dishes, mostly grilled or deep-fried.