Leonie Cooper

Whether you’re after a simple chippy or something a bit more snazzy (or even Michelin-starred), Notting Hill is jam-packed with great cafés and restaurants, as well as nearby Holland Park and Ladbroke Grove. Whatever you desire – from a Carnival time top-up to a posh dinner – pile through our list below of the best eateries in this ace area. Fancy a pint afterwards? Here are Notting Hill's standout pubs. Or head for something a little more poised at the area's best bars. RECOMMENDED: The 50 Best Restaurants in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

From swanky skyscrapers to casual warehouse hangouts and hidden pub terraces, London has a real crush on a rooftop bar. Sometimes we’re even blessed with perfect weather when we’re up there. To enjoy natural high, there are all kinds of rooftops which offer a winning combination of incredible city views and perfect drinks, be they on top of carparks, or hotels. So take your pick from spots in stylish Shoreditch, buzzing Soho and Covent Garden, hipster haven Peckham and more – it’s time to soak up those sunsets. Some are only open in the summer, but quite a few are year-rounders, where you can sit under heaters, or, if you’re hardcore, in the brisk London breeze. If you’d rather something a little more grounded, then have a look at London’s best beer gardens.  RECOMMENDED: Fancy a majestic meal up in the air? Check out London’s best rooftop restaurants. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. April 2025: We've rejigged and edited this list in time for London's sunny season (well, we hope it'll be poking through the clouds at the very least). Some of these bars aren't yet open – the always-amazing and utterly iconic Peckham rooftop spot that is Frank's Cafe launches in May, as does the brand new Setlist at Somerset House, which we're very excited about. Even so, we've gathered together all our faves, so you'll have them in once place to help you plan this summer's rooftop cocktail sessions. Now we sim

Why not enjoy your dinner with a side of strange? London is home to hundreds of amazing restaurants, but sometimes everyone hankers for a talking point with their tapas. We’ve rounded up a serious bunch of entertaining eateries: oddball decor, kooky culinary concepts and – yes – cats. Our list of unusual restaurants will delight animal lovers, garlic fans, and yodellers and more. You’ll find these joints in venues as varied as a boat, a prison and a church crypt. This is dining with a difference.  RECOMMENDED: The best weird bars in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Want a drink? You've come to the right place. This is Time Out’s list of best bars in London, our curated guide to London’s drinking scene, featuring the buzziest booze dens in the capital right now. If it’s on this list, it’s excellent. These are the 50 places we'd recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many times over. From classy cocktail joints to delightful dives, hotel bars, speakeasys, bottle shops, rooftops and wine bars, London's got them all. But what makes a truly good bar? Well, our critieria for inclusion on this list is simple; a menu of genius drinks is important, but so is overall vibe – there’s no point having the perfect paloma if you have to drink it in a bar that smells of bins. To make the Top 50 a bar has to be fun, full of lovely folk, be inclusive and also look the part.  The latest additions to our list include rowdy sports bar meets 80s horror movie set Bloodsports in Covent Garden, whisky wonderland Dram Bar on Denmark Street, the hypnotic Bar Lotus in Dalston, Below Stone Nest in Chinatown, Rasputin’s by London Fields, and Bar Lina, an Italian aperitivo spot underneath a famous Soho deli. Now go forth and drink. RECOMMENDED: Like bars? Then you'll love London's best pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and she'll have a dirty gin martini if you're buying. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

There’s honestly nowhere in the world like Soho. The haunt of poets, gangsters, trendsetters and many a louche genius, the seedy, sleazy and impossibly romantic heart of London’s West End is also home to loads of great independent shops, cafés, bars and, most importantly, restaurants. Its culinary diversity has been fuelled by centuries of immigration and cultural cross-pollination. From rustic French fare to Mediterranean small plates and tasty tapas, here is Time Out’s list of our absolute favourite Soho restaurants. Whether you fancy a slap-up meal or are just in the market for a mid-town pitstop, we have you covered. Recent additions include Filipino bistro Donia, old school Soho fonude joint St Moritz, Cambodian pop-up Mamapen and revamped classic Kettner’s. RECOMMENDED: Here are London’s best restaurants. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor and spends so much time eating in Soho that she basically lives on Greek Street. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our London restaurants WhatsApp channel. Follow us now.

It's a treat to be veggie in London, and there are plenty of fantastic vegetarian restaurants, cafés and street-food stalls that cater to those who want to feast without the flesh, but still scoff butter, cheese and eggs. Read on and you'll find down-to-earth veggie cafés, meat-free curry houses, healthy restaurants and swish spots that'll convince even hardened carnivores to give peas a chance. We've even included a few places that aren't fully veggie, but offer a great vegetarian menu, like outdoor BBQ spot Acme Fire Cult. RECOMMENDED: Go fully plant-based with the best vegan restaurants in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.  

London is full of perfect pizza. The finest of fast foods, this delicious staple has been elevated far beyond its humble roots by great Italian restaurants in London, pop-ups, street food vendors and pub residencies, and we know just where to find these world-class wonders, because we’ve been eating our way across London in order to discover the best. Whether it’s delivered in a cardboard box or served in a swish restaurant, excellent pizza is hard to beat. Browse our list of the best pizza places in town and try not to drool on your screen. Recent additions to the Top 20 include some nifty kitchen residencies; Dough Hands at the Spurstowe Arms and Old Nun’s Head, Bing Bong Pizza at You Call The Shots in Hackney and Little Earthquakes at the Railway Tavern in Dalston.  RECOMMENDED: The finest fish and chips in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

London is a great city to eat out in while keeping your ethical integrity intact. We’re here to shine a light on the best places to dine at while simultaneously helping to save the planet, with a bunch of restaurants that have been given eco-friendly approval by world-leading specialists. The following places have proved themselves to be dedicated to sustainability in their food, kitchens and interiors. Not our words, but the words of the Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Food Made Good Standard, the We're Smart Green Guide, and B Corp, as well as a bunch of Michelin Green Star-rated restos thrown in for good measure. Recent Time Out research asked our readers what they would be interested in doing to become more sustainable and help save the planet. The top two results focused on food and eating out, with 68% saying they’d choose restaurants with locally sourced ingredients and 67% saying they’d make choices based on venues that employ reduced food waste practices. We’ve done the leg work to give you great options for both. Here are the best sustainable restaurants in London for eco-conscious diners. RECOMMENDED: The best vegan restaurants in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Want views with your food? Then eat at altitude. London’s best rooftop restaurants offer the elevation you need to gaze upon our actually quite beautiful city, and seriously good menus to enjoy while you do. Our list includes great gastropubs, top floor hotel terraces, a thriving herb garden and some city secrets, such as a kebab shop in Camberwell. Although dining in the clouds is best in the summer – shout out to this country's unpredicatble weather – lots of these places have outdoor spots that are open all year-round, so you can catch a sunset whenever you like, with some much appreciated heaters or glass roofs in the mix. If you’re thirsty for the high life but just want a drink, try London’s best rooftop bars. Or if stratospheric spots make you feel all funny, try something closer to the ground and enjoy London's best outdoor dining restaurants.  April 2025: Finally, the city's grey skies have slung their hook and it's time to eat outdoors again. Bliss! The latest update to this list features not one, but two Forza Wines - there's the Peckham original, but also the sensational spot at the top of the National Theatre, which will see the return of Forza Taps this sunny season - an al fresco terrace bar with tasty meat skewers and vino on tap. We've also included the rooftop-lite at one of last year's most impressive new openings, Oma in Borough Market, and The Devonshire's extremely in-demand mini-rooftop dining area by Piccadilly.   Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Foo

Pasta and pizza are way more than just fast-food comfort carbs at these exceptional London restaurants and trattorias, which excel in properly good Italian cuisine. The basics – a creamy carbonara, say, or a simple margherita – are all present and correct, but the capital’s repertoire extends to stylish antipasti, crusty sourdough pizzas, richly sauced pasta and beyond. You can also find finely crafted specialities drawn from the traditional trattorias of the rustic south and fashion-conscious north of the country at London’s best Italian restaurants. From super expensive spots such Luca, to just as tasty neighbourhood joints like Artusi, the legendary Ciao Bella, and Hackney newcomer Dalla – as well as everyone’s fave one-stop pasta shop Padella – London’s Italian dining scene is irreproachable. RECOMMENDED: The 50 Best London Restaurants.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Islington is no slouch when it comes to dining out. From Highbury and the fringes of Holloway Road to Angel via Canonbury, the gastronomical delights on offer in this north London neighbourhood almost put the best restuarants of Soho to shame. Whether it's heavy metal-styled live-fire houses you're after, perfect Italian pasta joints, sexy small plates or mouth-numbing platters of Chinese mapo tofu, you’ll find plenty to satisfy you in Islington. Ready for your restaurant crawl of Upper Street and beyond? Let’s get started. Going further afield? These are the 50 Best Restaurants in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

What's better than an amazing meal? An amazing meal, served up alongside a delicious pint in a cosy pub, obviously. London is the gastropub capital of the world, full of boozers that can compete with our fantastic restaurants in the culinary stakes – but they just happen to come with cracking Victorian buildings, as well as roaring fires, and the occasional dog. So whether you’re after fish and chips, a roast, an oxtail ragù, or a desi pub serving up sublime South Indian cuisine, you’ve come to the right place.  RECOMMENDED: London's 50 Best Restaurants. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

In a previous life, The Duck and Rice was a pub. Not a fancy pub, but a flat roof 1960s pub that started out as the King of Corsica and by the 2000s had become The Endurance. In 2014 it took on a new guise; as a glossy spot for dim sum and Cantonese cuisine under the auspices of Alan Yau; founder of Wagamama, Hakkasan and the neighbouring Yauatcha. This is a pub by way of Dubai; sleeker than Soho’s many carpeted boozers (the ever-enticing Blue Posts, opposite, for example) and swankier than the restaurants in nearby Chinatown. Upstairs in the ‘restaurant’ (downstairs is more ‘pub’-adjacent, but the same menu applies) house-y music bangs and it’s busy but not hectic.   When it comes to the menu, it’s all about the classics. There’s crispy duck and pancakes, sesame prawn toast, and all the top chicken permutations; kung po, sweet and sour, and chow mein. The Duck & Rice isn’t about deep Cantonese cuts, it’s about crowd pleasers done with a hearty flair in a room where you can sink brimming pints of pilsner direct from steampunk-style copper tanks on site. Our salt and pepper squid is super succulent, accessorised with hunks of potent garlic and soft spring onion, and soft shell crab comes in a creamy, mild curry sauce that’s perfect for spice virgins. Kung po chicken is salty - all the better for sinking more beer to.  Duck & Rice does decent dishes in a fun setting, and the mixture of Chinese restaurant and posh pub is inspired. Consider this the kind of place where you can im

Named after Nicholas Culpeper, the seventeenth-century English herbalist, who lived in nearby Spitalfields – is a tonic for any East Ender. The ‘seasonal and local food’ mantra is taken to silly heights at this gastropub in the heart of London’s East End, where salad leaves and some herbs for the kitchen are grown in planters on the roof garden. It’s a bit of fun – and maybe a bit of on-trend window-dressing too. No roof garden can keep a busy kitchen in produce. But ignore the pathos of such tokenism, because everything else about this pub – drinks, service, ambience and, above all, the excellent dishes – towers over any commitment to high-level horticulture. The Culpeper (formerly the Princess Alice) occupies a corner site facing Petticoat Lane Market. It was a Truman’s pub and remains a handsome Victorian inn, with the brewery signage preserved. There’s a ground floor pub, a first floor restaurant and a garden rooftop open from the spring through the summer. The latest owners have improved the frontage, laid beautiful parquet floors, installed a curvaceous bar and added industrial-style lighting – the result is a treat, fitting perfectly with both building and location. Time Out tip Thinking of having an absolutely massive night out? The Cupeper functions as a bijou hotel, with a couple of classy rooms on the second floor.  

 

Blame for Britain’s bloodlust for American BBQ can be firmly placed at the feet of Bodean’s. The original Soho smokehouse opened in 2002, offering decadent, no-holds-barred meat platters, bourbon and beers. At the start of 2025 it was time for a revamp, and new chef director and master of meat Richard H. Turner (Pitt Cue Co, Hawksmoor, Meatopia) has revamped the menu for an even more authentic taste of the deep south. Here, brisket and pork shoulder are cooked until they fall apart, and there’s a bunch of brand new sides on offer as well; green chilli slaw, poutine with dripping fries, potato salad with bacon, eggs and pickles, and a five cheese mac and cheese. There are two other branches; in Tower Hill and Covent Garden.  Order this The Bodean's BBQ Platter has it all; pork ribs, beef ribs, pulled pork, brisket, smoked sausage, vinegar slaw, and pickles, all piled high on a slab of Texas Toast. Portions here are hefty; almost American size. If you’re not feeling super ravenous, then an order of three smoked chicken wings is a very reasonable £8. Order them with Turner’s bespoke ‘bone sucking’ sauce.  Time Out tip Swing by the bar upstairs and get stuck into the great menu of American beers, or order a Boilermaker; a half pint of PBR and shot of Four Roses bourdon. There’s a dedicated julep cocktail menu, too.

This subterranean space should be more than familiar to east London’s more millennial partiers. Once known as Ruby’s, this cosy basement is now the boozing adjunct to Corrochio’s upstairs; a dedicated agave spirits den made for tumbling into before – or after – dinner at one of London’s best Mexican restaurants. Cinco is warm and rustic, clad with a fitting jumble of Latin-leaning goodies, from religious totems to the occasional cactus. Prepare to be impressed: the cocktail menu is much more adventurous than the expected margaritas and palomas. There’s a Gibson martini made with Mexican gin and nectarine, and El Papatzul, heady with fermented apple and pear tepache as well as calvados and served with a side of Oaxacan grasshoppers.  Order this El Padresito is a mighty Mexican version of the cocktail king that is the Penicillin. It’s made with Pensador espadin mezcal, homemade ginger and honey liqueur, fresh lemon and honeycomb.  Time Out tip There’s a small snacking menu, serving mini versions of Corrochio’s best dishes, in case you need to line your stomach.

Who doesn’t love a towpath eatery? Pick through the shards of broken glass, and stand firm against the wobbly Lime bikers dawdling along in tortoise mode and you’ve got yourself one of London’s most unique dining options. From pretty little plates at Towpath Cafe to pizzas and pints at Crate Brewery, canal-side dining has long been an east-London failsafe, and Inis (which means ‘island’ in Irish) has now boldly entered the chat.  You’ll find it out in Hackney Wick, where the River Lee meets the Union Canal. There’s seating for 50 out front by the towpath, but also a big, grand room for those who don’t feel like an al fresco dinner before summer truly kicks in. Approach in the evenings and there’s a Bladerunner-esque energy to this particular Fish Island location, surrounded as you are by new build flats that sprung up around the 2012 Olympics, with construction work still neverending. There are cranes here and wooden hoardings there, but in a spot that could feel soulless, Inis offer a warm, neighbourly embrace.  A raucous starter of potato scallops is basically thick cut wedges halfway between crisps and chips Run by Lynsey Coughlan, the former director of Ginger Pig butchers, and her partner, Lindsay Lewis, everyone at Inis is greeted like an old friend. Since opening in the summer of 2024, Inis has become something of a queer hub, but everyone is welcomed like they’ve just bought a bottle of £30+ wine to a dinner party. The room itself is super spacious, with high ceiling

London is not wanting for Italian restaurants. With your ultra-convivial, family-run osterias like Ciao Bella, stylish little pasta places (Trullo, Dalla) and the new breed of camp-y, mega-trattorias such as Gloria and Carlotta, there’s enough la dolce vita in the city for you to have a different sort of pizzette every night of the week for years to come. Senza Fondo doesn’t care about any of that. An Italian-American restaurant right out of a Billy Joel song, their name translates to ‘bottomless’ and that’s what they’re here to do - serve unlimited lasagna until you pass out/admit defeat/call an ambulance.  For all its TikTok flair, what’s really enjoyable about Senza Fondo is that everyone here is really, truly having a laugh Sure, the concept of ‘bottomless lasagna’ might seem like a false economy. How much lasagne can one person truly eat? Especially when each sturdy chonk is served in a bath of bechamel and topped with a heavy cloud of parmesan shavings? But for £20 a head, you can test your nerve with all-you-can-eat lasagna in meaty (slow-cooked beef shin) or veggie (artichoke) versions. Handily, this is good stuff. Eight-ish densely-packed layers of pasta that holds its form rather than slopping all over the place. The beef shin leans into the richness of the meat and the vegetarian option is a cheese-lover’s dream. But with a place like this, you need a game plan. If you’re after true bang for your buck, then skip the starters. The bouncy burrata with truffle and ho

We challenge you to find a more spectacular drinking den in all of London. A majestic, ludicrously high-ceilinged space inside St Pancras’s historic Renaissance Hotel, the Gothic Bar is a feat of Victorian architectural sass. Built in 1873 and designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the bar was the original entrance to the hotel, since spruced up with a deeply sensitive restoration, and now back to its days of gothic glory. If you’re after maximum drama, arrange your next drinks outing here. The menu is just as extra as the room, with cocktails inspired by the most lavish of feelings; Ecstasy, Temptation, Grandeur and Desire.  Time Out tip One of the hotel’s most famous features is the staircase where Spice Girls recorded their ‘Wannabe’ video in 1996. It’s just a couple of steps away from the bar, just past the loos. Cameras at the ready.  Order this Frivolity is a super savoury concoction of gin, Cocchi Americano, benedictine, coriander, sichuan pepper, mint and elderflower.

A worthy rival to east London’s Trullo-ocracy, Dalla has stealthily become one of the city’s most talked-about Italian restaurants. It’s a classy joint; minimal, but with everything in its right place and unfailingly beautiful. Come for the short menu of retro regional dishes, stay for a crowd that wouldn’t seem out of place at LFW’s most oversubscribed afterparties.  Here’s how it happened. First, the hallowed site. This corner perch on Morning Lane has serious Hackney foodie heritage, home to both Peg and Legs before Dalla popped up at the end of 2023. Then, the design. Chicness is shot through the vintage Italian furniture, the second-hand French bistro chairs and crisp, white table covers. It’s no surprise that Dalla looks good – the place is run by Gennaro Leone of Hackney Downs furniture store and studio Spazio Leone. He’s collected these gorgeous bits and pieces over the years, and now finally has a restaurant to show them off in. The chrome vases and midcentury light fittings and tables are all model design specimens, as are the tables, even if they are a little tightly packed (yes, your neighbours will hear your ultra-specific east London gallery gossip).  Unless you are a 85-year-old Napoli nonna, much of the menu will be new to you Finally, there’s the food. At Dalla, the waiter will calmly and clearly explain every dish, which is handy, because unless you are a 85-year-old Napoli nonna, much of the menu will be new to you. This is not a pizza-slinging pastiche of

I spent a number of unspectacular years eating out in London growing up as a vegetarian, back when a dry mushroom risotto or limp goats cheese salad was all that most menus (bar a decent south-Indian restaurant) would deign to offer anyone of the plant-based persuasion. The tide started turning a decade ago, with a wave of vegan fast food joints serving splashy, cartoonish takes on mock meat, from Temple of Seitan, to What The Pitta and Club Mexicana. It’s only recently that vegetarian and vegan cookery has been released from its neon chick’n cage and elevated to fine-dining standards. Which makes the fact that Plates – which only opened last summer – has won a Michelin star, gargantuan news.  The truffle comes on like a Quality Street touched by ancient witchcraft, a tart yet earthy nugget of medieval terroir  But despite being the first vegan restaurant in the UK to be blessed with such lofty status, nobody at Plates will admit that Plates is a vegan restaurant. Flesh, fish and dairy are banned, but so is the V-word, in – we assume – an attempt to dissociate itself from granola-crunching, lentil-loving hippy cliches. Like Kraftwerk never calling themselves a techno band, it works. There’s a waiting list many months-long to score a spot in this cosy, cottagecore-adjacent Old Street space. Mild-mannered head chef Kirk Haworth busies himself in the small open kitchen while staff in muted, utilitarian uniforms looking like Monty Don at a Cotswolds garden party float about the

It’s impossible not to feel chic at Le Grand Hôtel Cayré. Though this historic hotel received a thorough refit ahead of reopening in 2024, it still feels every bit the vintage bohemian bolthole. The sweeping art nouveau frontage leads directly onto the hotel’s excellent in-house restaurant, Annette, named in honour of former resident Annette Kolb, a feminist and pacifist writer who lived at the hotel for two decades from the 1940s. You might be surrounded by exceptional food in this part of the 7th arrondissement, but Annette is more than ready to take on the challenge, with Bruno Brangea – former head chef for the storied Alain Ducasse - whipping up classic brasserie dishes. With 123 rooms across seven floors, a sliding scale makes Le Grand Hôtel Cayré accessible for a variety of different budgets, thanks to the option of three levels of service; essential, premium and ‘the full works’. Sure, you might not get an Eiffel Tower view with the cheaper rooms, but every guest gets a big cosy bed, soft fluffy towels, Le Labo toiletries, an espresso machine and Mariage Freres tea station. Classy, non? Our 6th-floor apartment-style room featured gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows which opened out above the lively Rue de Bac, and, yes, that priceless Eiffel Tower view.  There’s also the genius ‘refresh room’, which features a shower and changing space accessible to guests before and after check out, if you’re arriving early (or leaving late) and don’t want to waste money on booking an

If – like the rest of Europe’s agile working creative – you’re considering a full-time move to Lisbon, you could do far worse than testing the waters at the painfully hip Locke de Santa Joana.  A casual but by no means unceremonious ‘apart-hotel’ in the middle of Lisbon, rooms here come with a mini kitchen and washing machine, ideal if you want to feel like you’re actually living in one of Europe’s most compelling cities, rather than simply passing through. Rooms are compact, but have everything you need; think of it as a studio apartment more than a hotel room, with midcentury modern-inspired furnishings, a California-cool knotted throw on the bed and access to an outdoor pool in the central courtyard, as well as a gym and co-working space.  The building also comes with its own dose of Portuguese history; excellent on-site restaurant Santa Joana is in a seventeenth-century convent, so you don’t have to leave the site to swoon at original mosaics (or to indulge in outstanding food). Marking his big move back to Portugal, the culinary director is the mighty Nuno Mendes, former exec chef at London’s Chiltern Firehouse and founder of Fitzriovia’s Lisboeta. Bars on site are also super high-end; there’s the first European branch of London’s acclaimed audiophile bar Spiritland, and The Kissaten not only boasts the largest whiskey selection in Lisbon, but a directory of classic 1970s-leaning vinyl. In fact, the on-site food and drink options are so good (there’s also a great terrace

Thousands of nominations have rolled in for the title of Britain's Best Local Restaurant 2025. Voting for the Good Food Guide’s annual ranking of the finest neighbourhood restaurants in the country closes on April 16, but currently there’s one London restaurant in the mix to scoop the main prize: Cinder in swanky St John’s Wood.  The Good Food Guide has released the names of the 13 restaurants leading the charge for the title of Britain's Best Local Restaurant 2025. Alongside Cinder, there frontrunners include Fino in Cromer, Porter & Rye in Glasgow, Skosh in York, and Matt’s Kitchen in Bruton. Nominations are still open and the full list of 100 will be revealed later this year. May the best resto win!  Cinder specialises in ‘food cooked by fire’, and head chef/owner Jake Finn is at the helm. The St John’s Wood branch is the second location for Cinder; the first opened in Belsize Park in 2021. The seasonal menu features the likes of BBQ octopus with potato salad and pickled cucumber, mackerel with avocado and chilli crunch and chicken leg, with harrisa yoghurt and herb salad. Dishes are cooked over coals in a Josper oven.  Finn is a regular at Meatopia and previously worked at La Petite Maison and The Ritz. Cinder began live as a home delivery service during lockdown back in 2020. Cinder, 5 St John's Wood High St, NW8 7NG. The best restaurants in London, according to Time Out. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just f

This month brings with it a flurry of new restaurants, pubs and bars, including some well-established London spots keen on branching out. April sees pickle plate paradise Bubala opening its third location in King’s Cross, while Bleecker Burger will launch a new permanent home on Baker Street. Soho’s buzzy Cantonese pub kitchen Duck and Rice is opening up restaurant number two at Battersea Power Station and, breaking loose from Peckham, there’ll be a new 081 Pizzeria on Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch. Finally, a second branch of Claude Bosi’s lovely little French bistro Josephine will be coming to Marylebone.  Here’s the best of the rest. The best new London restaurant openings in April 2025 Parasol 1. Parasol, Dalston Remember The Nest, or, if you’re even older, Barden’s Boudoir? The excellent basement club below what is now the Red Hand is finally getting the relaunch it deserves. Welcome to the scene, Parasol. A 150 capacity cocktail bar from Andy Kerr (founder of Discount Suit Company and The Sun Tavern) and Tom Gibson (Ruby’s, Corrochio’s, The Bluecoats), expect what they’re calling a ‘1980s NYC style mutant disco’ vibe, classy cocktails and regular big name DJs. It opens April 31.  36 Stoke Newington Road, N16 7XJ Lateef 2. Tom Brown at The Capital, Knightsbridge After shuttering his Michelin-starred Hackney Wick spot Cornerstone last year, Tom Brown is returning to the space where he honed his craft. On April 10 he launches his new flagship at what was Outlaw’s

Finally, Yard Sale has done the right thing and collaborated with Time Out’s number one restaurant in London, Mambow. The Clapton restaurant’s chef-founder Abby Lee has created a Malaysian-inspired pizza inspired by one of Mambow’s signature dishes. It comes topped with black pepper pork curry, pickled green chillies, red onion, and fresh coriander. There will also be a pot of green sambal mayo on the side, for your crust dipping pleasure.  The special pizza will be available from Wednesday April 2 until Tuesday April 29, and you’ll be able to bag it from all 13 Yard Sale locations in London, as well as ordering it for collection and takeaway. The latest Yard Sale openings are in Earlsfield, Bermondsey and Tufnell Park, joining branches in Clapton, Crystal Palace, Walthamstow and Hackney – as well as all manner of other locations across the city.  Photograph: Justin De Souza This is the latest in a long line of Yard Sale collabs with some of London’s best restaurants and chefs, including Tayyabs in Whitechapel, Stoke Newington’s Sonora Taqueria and Chuku’s in Tottenham.   Check out the official Time Out list of the 20 best pizza places in London for more inspiration. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.

A brand new list of the best bakeries in the UK has been released – and eight of the top 50 from the Good Food Guide’s picks are right here in London.  Quite a few of them are also in our very own list of Time Out’s best bakeries in London, including Dusty Knuckle, Bunhead Bakery, Toad, Toklas and E5 Bakehouse. Here’s a little info on what you can expect from each of them Bunhead Bakery, Herne Hill  This Palestinian-British bakery opened last year and was an instant hit. Come for the buns; lovely, sticky hunks of sweet bread, from pink-glazed rose and cardamom swirls to a juicy baklava-esque take on proceedings, as well as one inspired by knafeh, drenched with syrup and studded with wisps of shredded phyllo and rose petals. There are savoury options too, a ‘salty’ bun stuffed with zingy za’atar and crumbles of feta or a vegan-friendly musakhan with spiced red onion and pine nuts.  E5 Bakehouse, Hackney  This archway is a stone’s throw from London Fields. Indoors it’s quietly buzzy from dawn to dusk with informal tables of drinkers and diners feasting on delicious vegetable-forward lunches, very good coffee and wine, and of course the legendary E5 loaves, buns and cakes.  Eric’s, East Dulwich Run by former Flor star Helen Evans, Eric’s opened in 2023 and swiftly became fancy East Dulwich’s go-to spot for croissants. Open from 8am until they sell out (which is often sooner than you’d like), this is another bakery where queuing isn’t just to be endured, it’s to be expected.  Hea

March was a toughie, with some of our favourite places in London to eat and drink closing their doors for good. Pour one out for these legendary venues. Photograph: Graham Turner 1. The Gun, Hackney We’ve already banged on about how much of a loss this is, but we see no reason to stop now. The Gun wasn’t just east London’s perfect party pub, it was an incubator for some of the best cookery talent in the capital. It was at The Gun that Ling Ling’s perfected their Sunday roast and where Rake finessed their fabulously earthy fried foods before moving onto The Gun’s sister boozer The Compton Arms. You will be missed.  2. Dina Wines, Leytonstone There are still a couple more days to cram into Leyton’s lovely Dina Wines, home of some of the tastiest chef residencies in the east. Their last service is on April 5. ‘It has been 4 years of the most joyous memories… customers have told me that this is the best damn low key wine bar in the world and in this moment of reflection, I’ll take that,’ they wrote on Instagram. Jean-Martin Louw and Katy Severson will take over the 289 High Rd Leytonstone venue at the end of April ‘under a new guise but sharing the same values and community focus’. We’re thirsty to see how it shapes up.  Brilliant 3. The Brilliant, Southall Here’s another one with a couple more days left. After half a century, this Southall mainstay of Punjabi cuisine (with a Kenyan twist) is set to shut on April 7. Founded by Gulu Anand in 1975, The Brilliant was named by K

Looking for the perfect bowl of phở? Look no further, as we have just revealed Time Out’s brand new list of the top 20 very best Vietnamese restaurants in London. Written by our expert, Thuy Hoang, a British Vietnamese chef and food writer (as well as a quarter finalist on BBC1’s MasterChef), Thuy’s list is an exhaustive, delicious and detailed look at Vietnamese food in London, and is topped by Soho’s classic Cay Tre. Run by Hiếu Bùi, the godfather of London’s Vietnamese food movement, Thuy praised Cay Tre for its phở. ‘The signature bone marrow version is particularly notable; the bowl comes spectacularly topped with a marrowbone, which has been cooked in broth, then grilled under a robata,’ she wrote.  Cay Tre first opened on Old Street in 2003 before launching their Soho branch in 2011 on Dean Street. Thuy also recommended the restaurant’s Hanoi platter (bún đậu mắm tôm), a northern Vietnamese speciality which comes with blood sausage and a fermented shrimp dipping sauce.  The list also includes a host of family-run Vietnamese restaurants, such as Eat Vietnam 1 in Deptford, Song Hong in Battersea, Sông Quê Café in Hoxton, and Huong Vi Viet in Camberwell.  The newer Dzô Viet Kitchen in Islington also features in the Top 20, and which Thuy praised for ‘carving new, innovative ground’.  You can read the full list of Time Out’s best Vietnamese restaurants in London here. 10 of the UK’s best new restaurants are in London, according to Condé Nast Traveller. Get the latest and

A new list of the UK’s finest new eating establishments has just been released, and 10 of them are right here in London. The recently released list of the UK's Top New Restaurants from Condé Nast Traveller features 21 spots across the country that have opened in the past 12 months, and almost half are homegrown – home being within the boundaries of the M25. And actually, all of them are pretty much inside zone 3.  Quite a few of the restaurants in Condé Nast’s list also feature in Time Out’s list of the 20 best new restaurants in London, including AngloThai in Marylebone, Lita in Marylebone, Miga in Hackney, Oma in Borough and Tollington’s in Finsbury Park – a few of which you’ll also find in our 50 best restaurants in London list, too.  The restaurants were decided upon by a panel of chefs and foodie folk, including Raymond Blanc OBE, Jackson Boxer of Brunswick House, Henri and Dove, chef Gizzi Erskine, critic Tom Parker Bowles, TikTok’s queen of spuds Poppy O'Toole, and Black Eats LDN founder Jackson Mclarty. Find the full list of Condé Nast Traveller’s London-based best new restaurants below: London’s best new restaurants in 2025, according to Condé Nast Traveller Ambassadors Clubhouse, Mayfair AngloThai, Marylebone Camille, Borough Canteen, Notting Hill Fonda, Mayfair Josephine Bouchon, Chelsea Lita, Marylebone Miga, Hackney Oma, Borough Tollington’s, Finsbury Park The 50 best restaurants in London, according to Time Out. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke

I’ve noticed it. You’ve noticed it. We’ve all noticed it. Where once 12.5 percent was the standard service charge when eating out in London, slowly but surely, it’s started creeping upwards. Over the past year, we’ve found it not uncommon to see a 15 percent service charge added onto a bill at the end of a meal. The Delaunay in Covent Garden, Bebe Bob in Soho, Langan’s in Mayfair, Sessions Arts Club in Clerkenwell, Cut at 45 Park Lane, and Hutong in London Bridge are among those restaurants asking for a higher than usual tip. As well as a ‘discretionary 15 percent service charge’, The Wolseley on Piccadilly also asks for a cover charge of £2.50. But why? Well, we asked a bunch of London restaurants why their service charge is now 15 percent, including the places mentioned above, and all of them declined to comment. Which doesn’t really help us to work out why the shift has happened. In the United States, 15 percent at a restaurant has long been seen as the minimum acceptable tip amount, with many customers paying 20 percent or 25 percent in tips for a meal. However, in the United States the higher tipping amount has long been accepted because many restaurants (and bars) offer a lower than average hourly wage, and tips are seen as a way for service staff to make up their income, with anything under 20 percent seen as a poor tip.  This UK slide to US tipping culture still can’t quite be accounted for. However, in October last year, the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act and th

We’re proud of our pizza here in London, and why shouldn’t we be? We’ve got some of the finest Neapolitan, ultra-crispy, and deep dish pizzas going. And to prove it, a homegrown slice has just made Time Out’s global list of the 19 best pizzas in the world. Unsurprisingly, the list was topped by a pizza from Naples (the pizza capital of the world), but London put on a pretty good show, landing the number seven spot with Dough Hands’ ‘Jode’, a delightfully oozing tomato, mozzarella, nduja, hot honey, stracciatella, grano padano, and basil offering.  Dough Hands can be found in residence at both London Fields boozer The Spurstowe Arms and The Old Nun’s Head in Nunhead. The pop-up pizza project of chef Hannah Drye, her pizzas offer perfectly crispy crusts and decadent toppings. They’re a little bit like a floppy New York-style slices, but with some creative London character thrown in for good measure. Dough is cold fermented for three days to make the base nice and light. They are very, very good and we compel you to go and eat some now.   To find out what other pizzas in London we rate, check out our list of the best pizza in London which features the likes of the all-conquering Yard Sale, Crisp in Hammersmith, Napoli on the Road in Chiswick and Richmond, Ace Pizza in the Pembury Tavern in Hackney, Japes, 081 Pizza in Peckham and Camden vegan pizza spot Purezza. Find the full list of the best pizzas in the world here. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest

Thrash metal legends Slayer have announced plans to play a massive, one-off London show in Finsbury Park this summer. The concert will take place on Sunday July 6 – the day after they support Black Sabbath at the heavy metal group’s final ever gig at Birmingham’s Villa Park on July 5. Slayer will also play Blackweir Fields in Cardiff on Thursday July 3. The shows mark the California band’s first UK appearances in six years, and see support from Amon Amarth, Anthrax, Mastodon, Hatebreed and Neckbreakker. Slayer officially disbanded in 2019 after an almost 30-year long career, but reformed in 2024 for a handful of festival shows in the US.  The London and Cardiff gigs will be the only headline shows Slayer will play in Europe in 2025. The outdoor gigs promise ‘A career-spanning set, stage production like you've never seen before, and a night of pure thrash fury that will be remembered forever.’ Which sounds like fun.  When are Slayer playing London’s Finsbury Park? The show takes place on Sunday July 6, 2025. When do tickets go on sale? Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday March 7, and you’ll be able to get them from slayer.net and livenation.co.uk/slayer.  Is there a presale for the Slayer gig?  There is! LiveNation will be running at presale from 10am on Thursday March 6. You can register online now for presale access here. How much will tickets cost? Ticket prices have not yet been revealed, soz.  Full line-up Five bands will support Slayer, with Amon Amarth, Anthrax

Spring might not have sprung quite yet, but a bunch of brand new restaurants and bars are peeking through the London restaurant soil like gorgeous little crocuses. There’s a massive new food hall in Paddington, as well as a southern Ukrainian spot in Shoreditch, a mezcal mecca in the basement of a Dalston restaurant, and the chance for west Londoners who refuse to cross Kensington Gardens to eat some of Highbury’s finest pasta.  Get stuck into the best new restaurant and bar openings this March.  Justin DeSouza 1. The NYC-themed pub restaurant  One Club Row, Shoreditch One of February’s most talked-about openings has sprung an extra limb. From late March, upstairs at the newly-launched The Knave of Clubs pub, you’ll find One Club Row – a plush dining room with chef Patrick Powell in charge of a menu of bistro classics. Powell, who last year left Allegra and The Midland Dining Room, has found a new home in this Grade II listed Shoreditch building, and though he’s also doing pub snacks downstairs, One Club Row will be where he really flexes his kitchen muscle. Expect pickled jalapeno gougères, whole lobster tagliatelle and bone-in ribeye with chipotle hollandaise. Oh and oysters, martinis and an in-house pianist lending the whole room a glam, late-night Manhattan energy.  1 Club Row, E1 6JX Cinco 2. The underground tequila bar Cinco, Dalston We already love the rowdy, unstoppable Corrochio’s, and now there’s another reason to visit one of north London’s best Mexican restau

A bunch of great new London restaurants opened in February – with more to come in March – but the capital also lost some legendary spots this month too, including two vegan restaurants, a super fancy, double Michelin-starred spot and a historic pub.  Photo: Whyte's Whyte’s, Hackney Despite scoring a stellar five-star Time Out review back in 2024, pop-up chef Whyte Rushen has closed his lovely little London Fields restaurant after just 15 months. Why? He wants to see the world! ‘We’re going on a little tour aren’t we, hopping from city to city, hosting residencies in the maddest places,’ read an announcement on Instagram. Exact locations will be revealed soon. ‘Thank you all for the endless love. Catch you in China?’ he added. Photograph: Christian Mueller / Shutterstock.com Ye Olde Swiss Cottage, Swiss Cottage Sam Smith’s Brewery closed this historic pub on February 1, despite a campaign to save it. A pub has stood on the same north-west London site since the 1830s, and the local area, as well as Swiss Cottage tube station, were both named after the pub. RIP to the strangest chalet-looking boozer in north London. Nic Crilly-Hargrave Club Mexicana, Spitalfields  Club Mexicana’s east London branch quietly quit a few weeks ago. Nothing has been said about reasons for the closure, but you’ll now have to hit up Kingly Court in Soho or Mercato Mayfair if you want plant-based tacos, nachos, burritos and the all-important fro-marg.   Photograph: Hacha Bar Hacha, Brixton We ca