The Best Restaurants in Holborn | From Wine Bars to Diners With Bowling Alleys
Conveniently located right in the centre of London, this notoriously mispronounced district is filled with interesting places to explore. If you fancy having a nosy around the house that Charles Dickens used to call home, you can; if you’re after a pint at one of the oldest pubs in London, you can; if you want to look at Winston Churchill’s dentures for any reason, you can do that too, now that the Hunterian Museum has reopened. And if you want a slap up meal? Holborn’s got you covered there too.
While bordered by restaurant-heavy neighbours Soho, Covent Garden and Clerkenwell, Holborn certainly isn’t lacking in the top drawer restaurant department. It’s quite the opposite, actually – anti-wine snob magazine Noble Rot opened their first restaurant here; The Delaunay, a grand cafe straight out of the Vienna playbook, is here; and you’ve even got a Barrafina for Michelin-standard tapas.
So, next time you’re in the neighbourhood, hungry and about to wander into a Pret… hold your horses and consult this list of the best restaurants in Holborn instead.
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Noble Rot | £££
A labour of love from a couple of wine enthusiasts, Noble Rot is essentially the real-life embodiment of their “anti-snob” wine magazine – meaning you’ll find a clutch of expertly selected grape-hooch both by the glass and bottle, accompanied by equally delicious food put together by former St. John and The Sportsman chefs. The space itself is a gorgeously atmospheric, candlelit nook, carved into a more formal dining room and a cosy wine bar at the front, where you can just walk in and enjoy a glass of red by the fireside. Liked what you drank? A few doors down you’ll find their wine shop, one of the best bottle shops in London.
Details: 51 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1N 3NB | Book here
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Holborn Dining Room | £££
Holborn Dining Room is a glossy, capacious, old-school brasserie set into the Rosewood London Hotel. Head here, and you can choose between British classics like roast Suffolk pork belly or smoked haddock with a poached egg, or a freshly-baked pie from the dedicated pie room. You can even book in for a pie masterclass, or drop by the street hatch entrance for emergency pie on your way elsewhere.
Details: 252 High Holborn, WC1V 7EN | Book here
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Ikoyi | £££££
Sure, this is pushing Holborn to its geographical limits – but if anything’s worth making an exception for, it’s the double Michelin-starred restaurant from Jeremy Chan and Iré Hassan-Odukale. Since opening in St James’s as a West African fine dining spot, the duo have expanded both the space and their menu. Now occupying a handsome, retro-futuristic slice of 180 Studios on the Strand, Ikoyi combines global culinary influences to create a tasting menu of often surprising – and always delicious – dishes. The only drawbacks? It’s spenny (intensely so) and doesn’t deliver vegetarian or vegan menus. But if you’re a wealthy cattle magnate, we can’t think of many better places to splurge.
Details: 180 Strand, London WC2R 1EA | Book here
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The Delaunay | ££
The Delaunay is the closest thing London has to a Little Vienna. It’s styled after a European grand café where you can drop by for freshly baked pastries in the morning, or schnitzel with buttery mash and wilted spinach come the evening. The Counter on the corner is well set-up for a quick bite, but the main restaurant also does a fantastic pre-theatre dinner if you’re dashing off to take in one of London’s unmissable theatre shows.
Details: 55 Aldwych, WC2B 4BB | Book a table
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The 10 Cases | £££
Justin De Souza
A casual bistrot and wine bar with Parisian charm by the barrel. The 10 Cases only ever orders 10 cases of wine at a time which is a) highly convenient, given the name, and b) ensures there’s always something new to try, whether you’re ordering by the glass or bottle. Accompanying the vino is a selection of Franco-European dishes: perfect for terrible decision-makers, the menu only ever features three starters, three mains and three desserts. And they always keep tables for walk-ins, so deciding to drop in last minute isn’t an issue, either.
Details: 16 Endell St, London WC2H 9BB | Book here
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Barrafina | £££
Do you know the muffin man? Well, tough luck, he’s gone out of business – because Barrafina, the superlative, marble-clad tapas spot whose Soho sibling, Barrafina Dean Street, is one of the top Michelin-star restaurants in London – has moved into Drury Lane. All-counter dining makes for an intimate experience, where you can watch the chefs putting together dishes of lamb sweetbreads and stuffed courgette flowers while sipping sherry (you, that is, not the chefs).
Details: 43 Drury Lane, WC2B 5AJ | Book a table
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Honey & Co | £££
Bouncing back from an unexpected eviction from their old spot in Warren Street, Honey & Co has now set up shop on Lamb’s Conduit Street, just opposite Noble Rot. Thankfully, the move’s allowed them to more than double in size, too – so it’s just a tiny bit easier to get in for their lauded Levantine mezze, from exceptional breakfast banquets to share, to that honey-drizzled feta cheesecake.
Details: 54 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1N 3LW | Book here
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Abeno | ££
Jetting over from the streets of Osaka back in 1993, Abeno was London’s first restaurant to offer the Japanese regional speciality of okonomiyaki. A kind of savoury pancake combining noodles, cabbage, and a mysterious brown sauce that seems to give every one of your tastebuds a personal back rub, it’s the ultimate comfort food. Come here and the team will cook it before your eyes, almost street food-style, on a scorching hot steel teppan griddle, while you sink umeshu highballs and order inadvisable quantities of gyoza ‘for the table’…
Details: 47 Museum St, London WC1A 1LY | Book here
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Roka Aldywch | £££
A sleek, wood-panelled cocoon, Roka Aldwych is one of the more high-end sushi restaurants in London, serving freshly sliced nigiri and sashimi alongside robata-grilled delights like scallop wasabi skewers; Korean-spiced lamb cutlets and grilled tofu with shiitake mushrooms. As restaurants in Holborn go, it’s not light on your wallet – but you won’t leave feeling too light, either.
Details: 71 Aldwych, WC2B 4HN | Book a table
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All Star Lanes Holborn | ££
Sure, there are a lot of restaurants in Holborn that’ll feed you well. But only All Star Lanes will sort you out with crowd-pleasing Nashville fried chicken; Maryland crab cakes; honey-glazed pork ribs; burgers and steaks from their Southern-style diner… before lavishing you with bowling in a glossy, vintage-styled alley with cocktails and karaoke booths.
Details: Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, WC1B 4DA | Book a table
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Looking for a nightcap?
American Bar at The Savoy
Rather than just going home after visiting one of these esteemed Holborn restaurants, you could always extend the night. You know, maybe grab a few drinks or something? No harm in that… especially if you head off to explore the best bars in Covent Garden…
Want more inspo? Check out the best pubs in Covent Garden