The best restaurants in Holborn

It might have started life as a wine bar – Noble Rot comes from the owners of the eponymous magazine, a cult read for London’s oenophiles – but these days it boasts some serious culinary cred. With exec chef Stephen Harris of the Michelin-starred Sportsman in Whitstable consulting on the seasonal menu, you can expect wine-loving Franglais dishes ranging from lamb’s sweetbreads with broad beans to seared thornback ray with brown shrimp and caper butter.

Time Out tip: The set lunch menu is one of the best deals in town; two terrific courses for £22 or three for £26. 

From the stable of Xi‘An Impression co-founder Guirong Wei, Master Wei focuses on dishes from the Shaanxi province of China, which is currently having a bit of a London moment, thanks to the popularity of biang biang, or ‘wide belt’, noodles. At Master Wei, they come with killer toppings – chunks of tender beef or melting lamb, say, plus chilli sauce and pieces of pak choi – which they’ll mix in at the table. Whatever you choose, it’ll be singing with fire, garlic and oil, against the intensely satisfying chewiness of the noodles.

Time Out tip: Do not skimp on the side dishes, such as potato sliver salad; a bowl of crunchy, matchstick-thin spud slivers.

A fabulous joint venture between the team behind the always-excellent 40 Maltby Street and chef-owner Anna Tobias, who cultivated her love of perfect veg and pristine produce at Shoreditch favourite Rochelle Canteen. The result is something akin to an elevated version of a National Trust café, populated with off-duty architects, sentient Margaret Howell linen trousers and coffee-sipping couples in matching thick-framed glasses feasting on ingredient-led European cuisine with a particular emphasis on French and Italian cult classics.

Time Out tip: Anna's simply-prepared egg mayonnaise is a menu must order. 

This authentic Italian trattoria is a local landmark, a Bloomsbury mainstay since opening in 1983. There's always a bun fight over the row of tables under the awning on picturesque Lamb's Conduit Street, while inside it's pure Dolce Vita vibes, with hearty and huge bowls of pasta and lashings of red wine. 

Time Out tip: Make sure you're sitting upstairs with the regulars; the basement is a bit of a crush.

A cathedral to global cuisine, this food hall has a heady array of options, from Japanese omakase at Sushi Kamon, Manna's smashing smash burger stand, Nepali street food at Tipan Tipan, quesadillas, tacos and seafood from Mexa, Bebek! Bebek's Indonesian flavours and so much more. Go hungry, leave extremely happy. 

Time Out tip: Go upstairs to the sit-down Plaza Khao Gaeng, a Michelin Bib Gourmand recommended Thai restaurant with blow-your-head-off spice levels.

Strutting its stuff down Aldwych since 2012, this crowd-pulling take on a grand European café covers breakfast, afternoon tea, dinner and everything in between – think pancakes, brioche burgers, tartes flambées, schnitzels, choucroute, sausages and indulgent viennoiserie. For something more laid-back, try the no-bookings The Counter next door with its tempting range of sandwiches, pastries and light bites.

Time Out tip: On Mondays and Tuesdays from 5pm at The Counter you can score a Viennese hot dog and a pint of Stiegl Goldbräu or a glass of house wine for £15. 

Get in line at this no-bookings Barrafina in the hinterland between Holborn and Covent Garden, and have your patience amply rewarded once you claim your stool at the L-shaped marble counter. Flawless cooking is a given, and the hero kitchen doesn’t disappoint when it comes to delivering starry scene-stealing tapas – seafood empanadas, pork belly with chickpeas, chargrilled artichokes romesco and so on. Your money might go further in Spain, but who cares when the quality’s this good.

A real-deal chippy, Fryer’s Delight has been serving up the good stuff in Holborn since 1962. A classic London cabbie’s hole-up with Formica-topped tables, long benches and old-school menu, with fans coming from far and wide to sample its wares. Expect battered cod, rock, skate, fishcakes, roe, saveloys, pies and chicken – with chips, peas and ‘wallies’ (chubby pickled gherkins) on the side, plus tartare sauce and ketchup. Don’t forget a can of fizzy pop too.

It’s a bonus to find proper Vietnamese cooking in Holborn, so load up on soups, summer rolls, bánh xeo (pancakes) and other classics at this handily placed canteen-style spot. At lunchtime, local workers pop in for takeaway bánh mì (crisp baguettes stuffed with pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber and a filling of your choice), while the various versions of pho are perfectly decent renditions.

The interior of this highly-instagrammable Italian restaurant is a hectic blend of Catholic kitsch, bright red tiles and zebra stripes. But the food is as straightforwardly delicious as the aesthetic is complex: satisfy your carb cravings with carbonara ravioli, sumptuously pillowy pizzas, or a slice of its mammoth 60cm tall stracciatella ice cream cake. 

This cosy little Malaysian food spot serves up the kind of delicious workday lunch (it's closed at the weekend) that'll make even the grimmest Monday into a joy. Go for the standout beef rendang, or opt for veggie options like the pumpkin masak lemak.

A few minutes’ stroll from Holborn station, in Covent Garden’s ‘Opera Quarter’, this is the excellent Angela Hartnett in casual mode, offering laid-back café-luxe and a menu of hearty Italian flavours, peasant classics and intricate cicchetti plates. You can opt for a helping of pasta (tortelli with lemon, ricotta and marjoram) or go the whole hog with some antipasti and dolci too. When it comes to drinks, start things off with some spritz, before settling into the gorgeous reds from small Italian producers.

If you’re heading from Holborn towards the British Museum, take time to visit this lively Japanese eatery specialising in okonomiyaki – savoury omelettes/pancakes that are whipped up in front of your very eyes on a special hotplate fitted into each table. All you have to do is pick your fillings and garnishes. Alternatively, dip into the selection of teppanyaki grills, soba noodles, gyoza and the like, finishing off with a mitsumame fruit salad and sweet red beans.

As a stablemate of Zuma, Roka’s Aldwych branch gets the gold seal of approval from aficionados for its fresh-as-they-come sushi and juicy cuts of meat straight off the robata grill. It’s a flashy place to splurge, although it’s also worth keeping an eye out for weekend bottomless brunch deals with plenty of signature dishes washed down with wine.

A grand British brasserie, the Holborn Dining Room within the Rosewood hotel is all plush red-leather banquettes, pillars, tweed detailing and marble floors – like a bustling salon or an old, gentlemen’s club. The menu matches the aesthetic with true Brit dishes such as hot buttered shrimp, roast pork belly or lemon curd slice – although top billing goes to the meaty output of the pie-making room. The food is complemented by one of the largest stocks of gin in London.

The noodles served at this functional drop-in between Holborn and Bloomsbury are of the Chinese hand-pulled variety – stretched, folded, then stretched some more, before being piled up into big bundles or doused in sumptuous soup. Chang’s on-trend soup dumplings are also fragrant and perfectly chewy, while Sichuan classics such as mapo tofu or pig’s ears in chill oil will blow your head off – even if you’re used to living on the spicy edge.

If you enjoy luxuriating in sumptuous vintage glamour, you’re going to love Margot – a gloriously old-school Italian complete with a behatted doorman, a jazzy crooning soundtrack, flattering lighting and a wealth of brasserie luxe trappings. The food is smart and elegantly rendered (think pan-fried hake with fregola, shellfish and sea herbs), although it almost plays second fiddle to the ritzy surrounds, cosseting staff and dizzying 300-bin wine list. Worth the trip from Holborn station to Great Queen Street.

It’s an easy hop from Holborn station to this flagship London branch of the super-slick Ippudo chain – a deafening multi-storey labyrinth overlooking St Giles Piazza. The speciality is big-flavoured bowls of tonkotsu featuring sliced pork loin, cloud-ear mushrooms and own-made noodles, but Ippudo trades on variety – so you can also get hirata bins, black cod with miso, seared wagyu beef, chicken karaage, rice bowls and lots more besides, plus fun cocktails and premium sakés.

A terrific breakfast, brunch and lunch spot midway between Holborn and Covent Garden stations, this cheery café/takeaway is right on the money. Come here for brioche French toast, bubble ’n’ squeak and crispy duck hash. With enticing sweet treats, invigorating coffee, piles of arty magazines and a super-soulful soundtrack added to the mix, it’s tempting to spend all day here.

It’s all about roll-your-sleeves-up DIY at this branch of Kintan – a bargain-basement Japanese eatery specialising in yakiniku, a variant of Korean BBQ involving a smoky thick-ridged grill built into each table. The fully illustrated medley ranges from USDA kalbi short-rib to duck breast and tiger prawns, but we’re sold on the pre-marinated spicy pork. Wipe-clean menus are splashed with red-sticker deals, while daily ‘happy hours’ just keep rolling on – so you’re quids in from the start.