A Dozen Great Charlotte Street Restaurants (And One Bar)
Let’s go for a walk along Charlotte Street.
It’ll have to be a hypothetical one, seeing as a) we’re currently nowhere near there, and b) we’ve recently taken a vow of skipping.
Nevertheless, we’ll start our virtual promenade at the very bottom of Fitzrovia’s most gifted culinary thoroughfare, lined with the likes of Michelin-starred eating houses and convivial Portuguese restaurants; dining counters surrounding a sizzling open kitchen and exquisite tasting menus.
Along the way, we’ll point out only our very favourite restaurants on Charlotte Street. And if we get to the end and you haven’t seen anything you like…
…well, we’ll have to explore other avenues.
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The Ninth | £££
The Ninth is in disguise.
Because while it may look like your ideal vision of a humble neighbourhood restaurant, with exposed brick walls, romance-inducing levels of lighting, burgundy leather seating and a very large bar; it’s actually a top-shelf, Michelin-starred joint run by legendary chef Jun Tanaka, who’s been rehearsing for this very moment by training at the likes of Le Gavroche and Chez Nico first.
Details: 22 Charlotte Street, W1T 2NB | Make a reservation at The Ninth
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Lisboeta | £££
When it comes to the restaurant game, Nuno Mendes has pretty much done it all.
He’s scooped up Michelin Stars at both Mãos and Viajante. He’s had celebrities grovel to get into The Chiltern Firehouse. Half the chefs in London owe their careers to him. So now, he’s decided it’s time to do something a little more personal, and a little closer to his heart – he’s opened Lisboeta, which he’s calling his “love letter to Lisbon”. And with dishes like Morcela sausage & razor clams on toast and a wine-soaked lamb shoulder stew on the menu, you might find yourself falling in love too.
Details: 30 Charlotte Street, W1T 2NG | Make a reservation at Lisboeta
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July | £££
© Safia Shakarchi
July’s founding duo, Solynka Dumas and Julian Oschmann, started out hosting lockdown supperclubs at their flat in Berlin. So yes, the place grew up in a bit of a bubble. But their first bricks-and-mortar venue is a resounding success, pliably moulding itself to suit morning pastries on the sunny pavement outside, to apéritifs with cheeseboards & charcuterie, to a leisurely all-night supper, with unfussy Alsatian (the region, not the dog) dishes from an ex-40 Maltby Street chef and European natural wines picked out by Sune’s Honey Spencer.
Details: 10 Charlotte Street, London W1T 2LT | Make a reservation at July
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Kinkally | £££
As one of London’s most densely packed restaurant thoroughfares, it’s maybe not surprising that Charlotte Street has the ‘slightly louche fusion Georgian dumpling spot’ box ticked as well. Kinkally is no homely, family-run affair – it’s taking comfort food into new territory with a kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland aesthetic and a menu of wildly creative new recipes: try the wagyu with peppercorn plum sauce, or the wasabi-spiked lobster dumplings. Then, slip down into Bar Kinky for edgy cocktails in a copper-lined bunker throbbing with techno.
Details: 43 Charlotte St, W1T 1RS | Book Kinkally
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Roka Charlotte Street | ££££
The original in the still-expanding Roka family, almost everything at their Charlotte Street restaurant is seared on a sizzling robata grill.
Which is just as well, because it takes up about half the space.
Manned by a fleet of highly-trained chefs, the open kitchen is surrounded by a horseshoe dining counter, where you can score front row seats to watch the diligent sushi preparation and theatre of the flaming grill. Plus, there’s an intimate red and gold-burnished bar downstairs dedicated to shochu.
Details: 37 Charlotte Street, W1T 1RR | Make a reservation at Roka
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Kazu | £££
A little further up, you’ll find the other premier sushi restaurant on Charlotte Street. This one comes to you from the former head chef at the critically lauded Chisou – credentials which you’ll be able to taste in the 100 different Japanese dishes (including black cod, sashimi and chicken kara-age) he puts together here. If that sounds like too much choice, you can leave it up to the chefs and order omakase, plus there’s a solid sake selection for sipping al fresco afterwards.
Details: 64 Charlotte Street, W1T 4QD | Make a reservation at Kazu
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Kitchen Table | £££££
Bubbledogs – the Charlotte Street restaurant set on pairing Champagne with hot dogs – may have closed its doors for good. But this cloud has a sterling silver lining, because it’s given the secret restaurant hiding at the back more space to spread out. Rub shoulders with 17 of your fellow diners in the cosy lounge before heading in to take your seat at the Kitchen Table, where James Knappet and his team serve an elaborate, double Michelin-starred tasting menu paired with wines picked by Sandia Chang.
Details: 70 Charlotte Street, W1T 4QG | Make a reservation at Kitchen Table
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Norma | £££
When opening your first independent restaurant, Sicily probably isn’t the worst place to go for inspiration. Such was the sensible line of thinking The Stafford Hotel team went by when opening Norma, a resolutely Sicilian restaurant set in a three-storey Georgian townhouse on Charlotte Street, featuring a crudo bar and dishes like crab linguine served inside a Cornish crab shell.
Details: 8 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 2LS | Make a reservation at Norma
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Where The Pancakes Are | ££
Answer = Charlotte Street. Every pancake fan in London flipped out when Dutch chef Patricia Trijbits gave the go ahead for her second restaurant here. Just as at the original Where The Pancakes Are in London Bridge, you can swoon over a stacked lineup of buttermilk pancakes; from the savouries (American with streaky bacon and maple syrup) to the sweets (forest berries, banana marshmallow) and even the oven-baked ‘Dutch babies’, which look more like Yorkshire puds and come in a cast-iron pan with toppings such as asparagus, goats and cheddar cheese.
Details: 7 Charlotte Street Fitzrovia, W1T 1RG | Make a reservation at WTPA
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Tofu Vegan | ££
Tofu Vegan is an all-vegan Chinese restaurant which has been wowing palates in Islington, Golders Green and Spitalfields since it first opened a couple of years ago. In fact, one of the palates it wowed was none other than Jay Rayner’s, who said of one dish that “It makes you feel more alive, which is a serious achievement for a bowl of mushrooms.” Their fourth restaurant has recently cut the ribbon on Charlotte Street, and it’s easily the most stylish and atmospheric yet.
Details: 32 Charlotte Street, London W1T 2NQ | Book Tofu Vegan
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Pied à Terre | ££££
Lavishing diners here on Charlotte Street for more than 30 years and counting, Pied à Terre is hardly a temporary spot. Even more impressive is that it’s held onto a Michelin star for essentially the entire time (winning after its first year), making it now the longest-standing Michelin starred restaurant in London. Expect an ever-evolving ten-course menu of British ingredients treated with the ultimate French finesse, with the option to tack on a wine pairing to save you trawling through their 800-strong wine list.
Details: 34 Charlotte Street,W1T 2NH | Book Pied A Terre
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Carousel | ££-£££££
The premise behind Carousel is a simple, yet highly effective one: invite the most in-demand culinary stars from around the world over for rotating residencies, and just let them just do their thing in the kitchen for a week. Dinners are served, supper club-style, at set times, so there’s a real conviviality to proceedings as the whole dining room embarks on a shared culinary voyage. If you’re after something more casual, there’s also a relaxed wine bar up front with brilliant seasonal small plates, while next door you’ll find Carousel’s mezcaleria & tostada bar, No. 23.
Details: 19-23 Charlotte Street, W1T 1RL | See what’s on at Carousel
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And to wind up the evening…
Bourne & Hollingsworth Bar | ££
A tiny, intimate cocktail den hidden down a set of steps at the lower end of Charlotte Street, Bourne & Hollingsworth is one of Central London’s truly great bars. Settle into the sumptuous interiors, surrounded by huge murals of 19th century French artwork, and clink Campfire Cups (filled with orange, peach, Spanish liqueur and toasted marshmallows).
Details: 28 Rathbone Place, W1T 1JF | Make a reservation at B&H Bar
Looking for more inspiration? See the best restaurants in Central London