The Best Restaurants in the West End | Partner Content
“Go west, where the restaurants are varied and world-class”, as the Village People didn’t quite sing. But they’d have been well within their rights to do so, because London’s West End is heaving with some of the finest restaurants you could possibly hope for.
It’s a densely packed zone, of course – but that’s why we’re here to serve up a carefully curated list of the finest places to dine, and ensure that you don’t find yourself in the Wild West.
Enjoy.
Evelyn’s Table At The Blue Posts
What’s got multiple storeys but absolutely no flaws? The Blue Posts, one of London’s great historic pubs, which manages to cram a whole lot into its narrow footprint. On the ground floor there’s the sensational pub itself, upstairs there’s The Mulwray, a hidden wine bar, and then down in the basement there’s Evelyn’s Table.
Here, you’ll find countertop dining par excellence – a chef’s table setting where a dozen diners can witness Michelin-starred food being prepared by Dabbous graduate Luke Selby, and his brothers Nat and Theo. A five course tasting menu served in a pub basement – it’s a West End hit.
Details: 28 Rupert Street, W1D 6DJ| Book a seat at Evelyn’s Table
Rita’s
Had a long week? Head down to Lexington Street, slide onto a red leather banquette and take the weight off at Rita’s, where there’s a whole world of good ol’ fashioned American comfort food ready for you. We’re talking tear & share garlic bread, dripping in creamy garlic butter, we’re talking jalapeño pepper gildas, and we’re talking ‘fried Idaho scones’ (think savoury doughnuts…). The wine is all organic and mostly low-intervention, the menu is seasonal, the welcome is as warm and hearty as the cooking, and the cocktails (including the ‘ritas that are the restaurant’s namesake…) pack a wonderful punch.
Details: 49 Lexington Street, W1F 9AP | Book a table at Rita’s
The Palomar
Superb Jewish, Spanish and North African cuisine, served in joyous fashion by an expert team. It more or less singlehandedly kickstarted the counter dining trend, back in 2014 – you’ll have noticed more than a couple of counters on this very list… – and a place sat in front of the team’s open kitchen remains one of the most coveted spots in London (other seats are available, but really the counter is where you want to be; where else can the chefs affectionately mock you at the same time as preparing you an extraordinary feast?). The music’s pulsing (but, crucially, not too loud) and the cocktails are wickedly strong – in short, The Palomar just ‘gets’ it.
Details: 34 Rupert St, Soho, W1D 6DN| Book a table at The Palomar
Story Cellar
Tom Sellers doesn’t much go in for underachieving. His restaurant Story in Tooley Street, which he opened aged just 26, won a Michelin star within its first year. Story Cellar is his sequel, and it’s a masterclass in Parisienne-style rotisserie chicken in all its flavourful glory. Whilst it’s chicken that takes centre stage, there’s charcuterie, an array of terrines, and world-class cheeses courtesy of Neal’s Yard (it would be almost rude not to, given that the legendary dairy is mere metres away from the restaurant). The formidable grill also serves up serious T-bone steaks and beef fillets, and the wine list is a joy – this is another Story with a happy ending all but guaranteed.
Details: 17 Neal’s Yard, Seven Dials, WC2H 9DP| Book a table at Story Cellar
Mountain
One of London’s most ambitious and celebrated chefs, Tomos Parry made waves (and won a Michelin star) with the opening of his first restaurant Brat, which audaciously combined Welsh and Basque cuisine cooked over a wood-fired grill. Now he’s taken up residence just off the corner of Golden Square, with a new restaurant once again specialising in the twin culinary traditions dear to Parry’s heart. So expect wood-fired grills in the Spanish tradition, loaded up with finest-quality produce from Wales and Anglesey – like pink bream, plates of wood-grilled lamb chops, and a magnificent dish of whole Anglesey lobster caldereta (which is designed for two-to-three people to share, though no judgement if you attempt to tackle it solo). The food’s fantastic, the restaurant looks beautiful, and there’s vermouth on tap. What more do you need to know.
Details: Hardy House, 16-18 Beak Street, W1F 9RD | Book a table at Mountain
Paradise
Best-in-class Sri Lankan cooking in the heart of the West End? Step right this way. Paradise may well be audaciously-named, but you’ll know that it isn’t too far off the mark once you’ve experienced the dinner-time set menu – which is a labour of love created by owner Dom Fernando, who drew on his Sri Lankan heritage to construct it alongside Alfie Bahnan, the restaurant’s head chef. Dishes like lamb saddle on a bed of black garlic curry, mas paan rolls with steak (or mushroom) tartare, and buttermilk roti with turmeric and saffron dahl each do their bit to help you ascend to a higher plane – and if you want to explore the kitchen’s offerings a little more, there’s an a la carte option at lunch. Heaven is a place on earth, and Paradise is a place in the West End – and they might just be one and the same.
Details: 61 Rupert Street, W1D 7PW | Book a table at Paradise
HIMI
Husband and wife team Tamas Naszai and Tomoko Hasegawa have, between them, a CV that includes stints at some of the finest restaurants on the planet (including the triple Michelin-starred L’Abysse au Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris, and Sake No Hana in London), and Himi is their understated but overachieving neo-Izakaya on Newburgh Street. ‘Neo-Izakaya’, you say? Yes indeed – Himi takes the equivalent of Japanese pub food, and elevates it to the sublime, giving it the full chef’s table experience as you sit at the beautiful counter and inhale crispy fried chicken, flash-cooked hand-dived scallop tempura wrapped in seaweed, and soba chocolate sorbet with cocoa nib crumble and puffed cocoa buckwheat.
Details: 4 Newburgh Street, W1F 7RF | Book a table at HIMI
The Barbary
The maestros behind The Palomar have done it again with The Barbary (and, whilst we’re at it, they’ve done it again with its sister restaurant, the aptly named Barbary Next Door). Here you’ll find cooking from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, meaning mouthwatering dishes like lamb kebabs sprinkled with pistachio crumb, and black salmon dukkah – best enjoyed with a Barbary naan flatbread, or Jerusalem bagel to soak up the heavenly juices. It’s another countertop dining/open kitchen situation, and all the better for it – it’s as atmospheric and aromatic a dining experience as you’re likely to have. Just make sure you save some room for the baklawa.
Details: 16 Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, WC2H 9DP | Book a table at The Barbary
Bancone takes a simple idea – fresh pasta & cocktails – and absolutely nails it. And the restaurant’s been handed a Bib Gourmand for its efforts, because it’s good value too. The pasta’s made daily, in-house, and is padded out with moreish antipasti, classic Italian desserts and a concise drinks list. Plus, it’s right where you need it, hidden in plain sight in London’s most bustling area.
Details: 8-10 Lower James Street, W1F 9EL | Book a table at Bancone Soho
Henri (which, we assume, is pronounced on-ree) is parked on the ground floor of the Parisian Experimental Group’s stylish Henrietta Hotel (which, we assume, is not pronounced on-ree-etta), and it’s a gorgeously intimate dining room coupling candlelit marble tables and booth seating with a seductive menu of creatively tweaked French fare. Open from breakfast through to nightcaps, this is a destination for oysters with a green Chartreuse granita; fried pig’s trotters with beer mustard; and diver Scallops with smoked pike roe & Champagne butter.
Details: 14–15 Henrietta Street WC2E 8QH | Book a table at Henri
Kiln
Take stylish countertop dining, add superb minimalist Northern Thai cooking over a grill in an open kitchen, season with a tailored wine selection from Zeren Wilson of Bitten&Written, and what have you got? Kiln, of course, a reliable contender for ‘most fun you can have in a Central London restaurant’, thanks to its punchy, flavourful cooking and perpetually buzzy atmosphere. Alongside the grill menu – which is, undoubtedly, the main event, and features dishes such as 5-week dry-aged fattened lamb skewers with Szechuan peppers, and curried cockles – there’s a ‘daily noodle special’, which is a heart-warming sight to see.
Details: 58 Brewer Street, Soho, W1F 9TL | Book a table at Kiln for downstairs only (non-counter dining)
Noble Rot
It takes big shoes – and a strong liver – to take over the long-established and beloved restaurant that was the Gay Hussar, but Noble Rot was exactly the place to do so. Following on from their superb first site on Lamb’s Conduit Street, Noble Rot in Greek Street exemplifies what a grown-up West End restaurant should be: serious food (the menu has been created by executive chef Adam Wood and head chef Áron Stigmon), and a deeply serious wine list (wine being exactly what restaurant founders Dan Keeling and Mark Andrew are all about – they also own an import business and Shrine to the Vine, Noble Rot’s sister wine show), all served up with an inherent lightness, supreme confidence, and a slightly naughty twinkle.
Details: 2 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4NB | Book a table at Noble Rot
Speedboat Bar
Such is chef Luke Farrell’s dedication to Thai food that he grows his own native Thai herbs, spices, fruits, and vegetables in his own greenhouses in Dorset – in which he’s created a mini rainforest. A man who would create his own ecosystem and microclimate for the purposes of flavouring your food is a man who takes the business of pleasure seriously, and it won’t shock you to learn that his Speedboat Bar is a place in which to have serious fun. It’s a co-venture with JKS, the heroes behind Hoppers, Gymkhana and Bao et al, and it’s a masterclass in flaming woks, Snake Blood Negronis, and drunken noodles – and it’s open until 1am. The West End is lucky to have it.
Details: 30 Rupert Street, Soho, W1D 6DL | Book a table at Speedboat Bar
Donia
The queen of Kingly Court is surely Filipino chef Florence Mae Maglanoc (also behind Panadera), who is cooking up a storm at the very top of the elegant multi-storey courtyard.
Donia serves up a host of expertly-cooked dishes; think prawn & pork dumplings topped with crab and draped in a brown butter, lime sauce, and some chilli oil; chargrilled and marinaded chicken Inasal served with a butter emulsion; and a distinctive purple yam ice cream; all of which are a must try.
Details: Top Floor Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, W1B 5PW | Book a table at Donia
Barrafina
Is there anything the Hart brothers can’t do? Open bad restaurants, seemingly. The restaurateurs behind Quo Vadis and El Pastor are also the creative force behind Barrafina, which has been at the absolute forefront of London’s tapas scene since 2007. There are now five restaurants in the Barrafina empire and the Drury Lane site executes the same simple and spectacularly effective formula as its sister restaurants; an open kitchen, a beautiful marble and steel bar, hugely comfortable red leather stools, and an a la carte menu. The point of difference here however, is the excitement of being in the heart of the West End.
Details: 43 Drury Lane, Covent Garden, WC2B 5AJ | Walk-ins only
Kebab Queen
No, it’s not a difficult-to-shake-off university nickname, it’s an incredibly well-loved restaurant which is hidden – wait for it – inside another restaurant. Yes, make your way through Maison Bab in Covent Garden and head down the stairs, past the a pastel pink curtain, and you’ll discover a secret restaurant in the basement. Here, chef Pamir Zeydan serves his gourmet kebab cuisine (yes, this is a real thing) directly onto a heated, pristine white countertop, forgoing plates entirely. You’ll find classic Turkish and Mediterranean dishes like spit roast Cağ kebab of mutton with puffed pitta, charred heritage tomato ragu, and shallot & sumac salad.
Details: Below Maison Bab, Mercer’s Walk, WC2H 9QE | Book a table at Kebab Queen
Humble Chicken
‘Wildly Ambitious Chicken’, more like! Sure, that name’s not as catchy, but it certainly encapsulates the Humble Chicken experience. The restaurant is the passion project of brilliant young chef-owner Angelo Sato, who opened what was initially a, yes, fairly humble chicken-based yakitori restaurant, before closing it down entirely and reopening as an omakase-style restaurant, offering a 12-to-16-course no-choice menu to 18 diners at a time. Humble Chicken 2.0 has, in short order, won two Michelin stars. Chef Sato is now reimagining the restaurant once more, preparing the world for Humble Chicken 3.0, and – dare we suggest, his quest for that third star…?
Details: 54 Frith Street, Soho, W1D 4SJ | Book a table at Humble Chicken