Bushey, International Restaurant Guide

This “large, well-decorated gastropub” overlooking the village pond in Totteridge, on London’s northern fringe, serves a broad menu that majors in steaks, burgers, seafood and pizza. The odd blip is noted in reports foodwise, but it‘s nominated by a number of locals as their top pub.

“Excellent-quality food at a reasonable price” is behind the 24-year success of Austrian-born chef Julius Oberegger’s Whetstone bistro. The cuisine is “mostly modern European but with an eye on pan-Asian flavours” – which makes it “an oasis” in a part of north London where the standard dining options are Greek, Turkish or pizza.

Yes, the boozer from the distantly-remembered song – a music-hall hit for Edwardian chanteuse Florrie Forde. It nowadays pitches itself as a ‘country pub in the city’, thanks to its leafy location, between Golders Hill Park and Hampstead Heath West: so no real change from Florrie’s era, when Cockneys would visit on a day trip. The renovated tavern certainly remains an attractive destination – the menu is not particularly ‘gastro’ but a bit too fancy to be described as ‘pub grub’ (think steak or sea bass rather than burger or fish ’n’ chips).

This “crowd-pleasing destination” – dating from 1585 and “perfect after a walk on Hampstead Heath” – is a place of literary pilgrimage, frequented by Byron and Dickens, while Keats wrote his famous ode after listening to a nightingale sing in its garden. These days you’ll find a menu of “well-cooked and presented pub classics”.

2021 Review: “A very small, friendly local” in the centre of Muswell Hill for over two years now; mostly it serves “delicious”, light brunch-friendly fare from breakfast onwards (“lovely healthy salad options”), but there’s a more substantial menu of simple, modern bistro dishes by night.

Grade II listed pub in posh Highgate (whose former patrons include Dickens). Run by Young’s, the gastropub fare is solidly rated, but the chief highpoints include its attractively updated period charms, big outside terrace and cosy dining conservatory with large skylight.

“Everything is flame-grilled – including the olives!” at this Belsize Park three-year-old from chef-patron Jake Finn (ex-LPM and The Ritz), whose second branch in St John’s Wood is equally highly rated. They are “buzzy, sometimes noisy” places, “famous locally for their triple cooked potatoes”. Top Menu Tip – “the standout chargrilled leek salad with ricotta and hazelnuts”.

“It just does everything right!” according to fans of Joe Swiers & Ollie Pudney’s phenomenally successful destination, which for many years has topped our survey as north London’s top gastropub, thanks not least to its location near Parliament Hill and the ease of “a long walk over Hampstead Heath” to walk off lunch. Hmmmm. That’s always been our annual diners’ poll’s conclusion hitherto anyway. But this year’s feedback was much less settled, with numerous reports saying it’s “not as good recently” and “despite the hype, produces decidedly underwhelming cooking”. Hopefully just a rough patch?

2023 Review: With an all-day menu that bounces happily from the Caribbean and Mexico to the Isle of Man and Thailand, Juliette Banner has provided up-beat service in Crouch End for more than 30 years. “A Banners breakfast is the perfect cure for a hangover” – and you can also earn one with the “great cocktails”. The “authentic American-style burgers” must have attracted Bob Dylan, the bard of Americana, whose 1993 visit is commemorated with a plaque – you can even book the table he sat at!

“Just a lovely space to be in” – the Wolseley Group’s St John’s Wood brasserie has “a very French feel” that takes its inspiration from ‘the great boulevard cafés of Paris’ and has been a boon to the area since it launched in 2019. The “unashamedly French” menu perhaps seldom hits the heights, but is awarded consistently good ratings by diners, and it’s a particular breakfast favourite.

“Delicious amuse bouche and melt-in-the-mouth guinea fowl!” – Nathan Cornwell’s “exciting” cooking provided numerous reporters with their best meal of the year at this Chiswick venue, which owner Tim Price is working hard to put on London’s culinary map. One challenge is the anonymous location: a very pleasant but slightly uneventful space, easily missed amidst the jumble of chain-restaurants and furniture stores on Chiswick’s high street.

Mathew & Charmaine Tabatabai’s chic little Bayswater ‘brunch café’ ticks the boxes for tasty (and healthy) daytime treats with specialty coffee, and is a “lovely place to sit and people-watch” as the denizens of Westbourne Grove pass by.

Brunching families by day, couples sipping cocktails by night are drawn to Lorraine Angliss’s cute all-day local, which is celebrating its quarter century this year. Key to its appeal is the site – a cosily decorated corner in the picturesque heart of charming Strand-on-the Green (but with no river views). This was Lorraine’s first venture: her empire now includes four other places under the Little Bird and Rock & Rose brands.

“A very good neighbourhood gastropub” – this Hammersmith backstreet boozer is no longer No. 1 on TripAdvisor (as it was several years ago), to the great relief of the local residents. The relatively new management are “really helpful” and the “no-nonsense pub grub” is much jazzier than under previous regimes. Top Menu Tip – “Sunday lunch is very good with lots of families happily munching into a roast”.

This well-known pub makes the most of its stunning location in a Regency square in Kensington, with a “lovely terrace at the front for summer evenings” – and (if you can bag one) “the tables at the back are not too noisy even when the place is packed” (ie. always). Apparently it is Piers Morgan’s favourite pub, where he has invited everyone from Meghan Markle to the celeb cronies he entertains at his annual Christmas drinks.

“Perfect for cheese lovers”: the “quirky and atmospheric” cafés adjoining these excellent retail cheese emporia – particularly the well-known branch in Marylebone – are particularly “good for lunch”, offering cheese and charcuterie boards alongside simple dishes like pan-seared salmon or paté en croute. Top Tip – worth remembering for breakfast.

A ‘no-borders kitchen’ philosophy informs the “funky mixture of Middle Eastern, Indian and African food” at chef and food-writer Ravinder Bhogul’s “busy and buzzing” Marylebone venue: it serves “combinations of ingredients you might think won’t work but really do”, and these “are matched by the equally unusual spice cocktails”. Top Tip – “the set lunch is a steal and the caramelised aubergine is amazing”.

2021 Review: Limited-but-upbeat feedback on this new hotel dining room: “an oasis of calm near Euston station (an area short of nice places to eat!)”. Ethical sourcing and African influences in dishes – as well as Asian ones – help take it slightly out of the mainstream, and one or two early reports say it’s “a hidden gem”.