The most romantic restaurants in London

No doubt about it, The Dover is sexy. Rather than an Italian Italian, this Mayfair masterpiece is a self-styled ‘New York Italian’ with gorgeous walnut wood walls that seem lifted directly from a 1930s cruise liner and a row of discreet corner booths perfect for dates with someone you probably shouldn’t be on date with. Sip punchy martinis while sucking up spaghetti with meatballs and looking impossibly glamorous. We love it here and you and your paramour will too. 

An intimate and classy spot that feels a little bit like you might be in Paris rather than the backstreets of Shoreditch. It also serves up extremely tasty bistro food and the spare, paired-back menu leaves time and space for you to make eyes at your date while coyly munching on what they call ‘house sausage’. The all-French wine list is a lovely touch, too. 

Eating at the very sweet Sesta feels like you’re in a cosy little living room, but with a high-end menu made for romance; nduja-scotched olives, coastal cheddar and cider scones, smacked cucumber drizzled with thick, sweet raspberry hot sauce on a pile of pungent cashew cream. Beef ragu toastie and prawn and stone bass dolma with ouzo butter are as deeply seductive as they sound.

Dying to say ‘I know a lovely little place in north London?’ Look no further than Caravel. This is an ultimate date spot, on a literal boat on Regent’s Canal, and it’s seriously intimate - there’s only ten tables. Watch the sunset on your way, order two strawberry negronis, and plenty of seasonal plates to share. But trust us, you’re going to need a portion each of the potato rösti with sour cream and caviar. Social rules be gone, we say.

Find this heavenly hideaway on the top floor of a 300-year-old pub in the heart of Farringdon. Ask for a seat on the semi-private indoor balcony area strewn with fairy lights which overlooks the busy Turnmill Street below. Tables are candlelit, the dreamy vibe is '1930s nanna's house' and Henry Harris’s hearty French food is made for seduction; with lashings of cheese, steak and red wine. Gorgeous.

A former sausage shop on the Walworth Road might not be what first comes to mind when you're thinking of romance, but Lao Dao – a Xinjiang-inspired restaurant by the people behind the iconic Silk Road restaurant in Camberwell – is a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. With stunning, and sensitively restored 1930s interiors and flashes of warm, neon light, it's a vertiable Wong Kar-wai movie when you step inside. In the mood for love? You will be. 

Romance is draped elegantly all over this Bloomsbury restaurant and wine bar, which you'll find on the equally dreamy Lamb's Conduit Street. The back room is all oak-y and mysterious, perfect for whispering naughty things to your lover, while the food is unerringly spectacular. A great place to pop the question – especially if the question is 'shall we share a pudding, darling?'

Golden Square's Bebe Bob is the seductive offspring of the nearby Bob Bob Ricard, and is just as glam. Lounge upon dangerously low-slung velvet seating at the back of the restaurant in what feels like a 1970s conversation pit; all brown curved leather and boasting a camp-y Playboy mansion energy. Split a rotisserie chicken – the menu is based entirely around them – and sip Champagne in Bebe Bob’s distinctive crystalware. 

A teasing spoonful of provincial France in all its rustic warmth, this infectiously cosy eatery is a delightful squeeze. Chatty personal service sets the tone, while the brief blackboard menu (scribbled in French) promises big-hearted, boldly chosen and smartly executed takes on the bourgeois classics. Nibbles of cheese and charcuterie make the whole thing even more intimate. 

Dating back to 1867, this French restaurant is cloaked with the seductive air of scandal, as it is where King Edward VII wooed his mistress Lillie Langtry. Like a lowkey Palace of Versailles side suite, lit only by a handful of creamy coloured sconces and white taper candles, you can see why King George thought it the perfect place for an affair. It’s almost impossible to see who’s on the next table, let alone the other side of the space. The very epitome of discretion, Kettner’s is made for flirtation, or at the very least, a night of shocking, flagrant gossip between friends.

This listed Georgian mansion was built in 1758 and is now a tucked-away haven of history in among the skyscrapers of Vauxhall. The main dining room is an utter delight, filled with stunning vintage light fittings from the architectural salvage yard next door. Chef Jackson Boxer knows romantic food – think raw Dexter beef and aged Gruyere served with honey and cornichons – but it's the setting which will really have you swooning. 

A grand distressed pastel-hued dining room in a Grade II-listed former courthouse? Check. Dimly lit with candles everywhere? Check. Sexy European food to get you in the mood? Check, check, check. Score big brownie points with your significant other at one of London’s fittest restaurants.

Trattorias don't get more intimate and loved-up than Highbury corner's tried and tested sauce factory, Trullo. Make eyes over their legendary pappardelle with beef shin ragu or pici cacio e pepe while simultaneously dipping into their enormous Italian wine list. Then? The limitless delights of a shared tiramisu, of course. 

Depending on who you're trying to woo, a heavy metal themed Highbury hideout complete with a framed section of the penis graffiti that used to cover the floor might just be a winner. Head chef Lee Tiernan is a St John Bread & Wine-trained marvel, and a rock-themed, uber-kebab concept is a great place to make eyes at someone over lamb offal flatbread while Judas Priest pump out of the soundsystem. 

Old Soho looms large at Quo Vadis, and what's more romantic than a slap-up meal in a neighbourhood known for it's properly bohemian credentials? Following a recent revamp, new red leather banquettes and crisp lighting make this London classic even more appealing. Share an smoked eel sandwich, and one of chef Jeremy Lee's stunning pies and lots and lots of wine. 

Nothing says 'I love you' like a pie with a lobster's head poking out of it. That's the signature dish on the menu at Mount St, where you can also swoon at each other while surrounded by some extremely high end art from the likes of Warhol, Freud, Picasso, and Matisse. Sexiest of all through, is painter Suzanne Valadon's reclining nude from 1916. Visit the Games Room, a secret private dining room covered with risque art and tentacle erotica, if you want to ramp things up a notch. 

A bastion of old Soho since 1986, Andrew Edmunds wine bar/bistro was doing shabby chic long before the term became common currency, and regulars are still hooked on its charms. As a diamond in the rough, it has nurtured countless love affairs with its cosy nooks, candlelit tables, big-hearted food and a gloriously oddball wine list stuffed with bargains.

Named after the darkly decadent Victorian-era illustrator Aubrey Beardsley – whose erotic art is still racy enough to raise eyebrows – The Aubrey is a very seductive space. The food is just as tempting – earthenware sharing plates of deep-fried karaage chicken with zingy yuzu mayo, soy-licked edomae nigiri sprinkled with edible ants and charcoal-charred meats, pulled straight off the robata. It's supposed to be inspired by an ‘eccentric Japanese izakaya’ and it's definitely one for woo-ing. 

Lucky Herne Hill to have Llewelyn’s on its doorstep. Set up by a team with hot credentials, this place deals in super-seasonal British cooking – although that’s only half the story. Also check out the serene interior and the super-chic terrazzo bar, as well as the tables out front for alfresco carousing. A perfect local date spot with some low-key romance thrown in.

Forever the flashiest gal in town, this Michelin-starred dining room contains stiletto-swallowing carpets adorned with giant roses, floral swags and crystal chandeliers draped from the ceiling, massive pink marble columns and a shimmering sculpture of Neptune and Aphrodite wearing not much apart from gold leaf. If that doesn't scream 'romance', we've no idea what does. Remember, it's one of the last places in London to retain a dress code – so grab your jacket and tie and prepare for a loved-up evening to remember. 

From the folks behind Primeur and Westerns Laundry, Jolene is a supremely beautiful restaurant opposite Newington Green. Everything about it evokes romance: the candle-lit tables, the warehouse-style space with its long, classy bar, the dimly lit loos that smell of cinnamon. It's a great low-key options for almost every occasion; a brunch spot and bakery during the day, but at night a small-plates menu featuring fresh pasta and rustic hunks of meat comes out to play.

Brassy, energetic and classily cosmopolitan, this NYC import mixes Gallic joie de vivre with snappy US-style customer service in a glammed-up setting of red leather banquettes, mirrored walls and mosaic floors. Manhattan meets Montmartre on an all-day menu that’s just the ticket for that special date – Balthazar’s must-try breads and pastries are guaranteed to melt the hardest of hearts.

Every inch of this bijou Covent Garden fish restaurant has been put to good use – just look above the door to see the carousel of customers’ coats (well, that’s one way of making sure nobody does a runner). Fish arrives fresh off day boats, with specials – grilled sardines, say, or dover sole – scrawled on the tiled walls or mirrors. For something more memorable, do have a rummage through the snacks, like the smoked cod’s roe.

If your idea of romance is waltzing round old Vienna to the sound of Strauss, you can capture some of that old ‘Blue Danube’ magic with a trip to this instantly comforting Mittel-European number. Schnitzels, sausages, ice-cream coupes and – of course – incomparable viennoiserie provide welcome sustenance, with excellent hot chocolate and coffee adding that vital X factor.    

Like the original Hutong in Hong Kong, this offshoot halfway up the Shard is a glitzy rendezvous with amazing views, ersatz Old Beijing decor and a Sichuan-Northern Chinese menu. Tuned-in service and high prices come with the territory, but Hutong is a City date restaurant par excellence serving carefully rendered, offbeat food that’s guaranteed to jangle and soothe curious palates.