Chigwell Restaurant Guide

This neighbourhood Italian of almost 30 years’ standing in a Wapping warehouse conversion “never disappoints” with its food and service, but “it’s the lively atmosphere that really sells it”, drawing a “great mix of local families and couples just getting together”.

“It’s so fun being on board a boat!” – this 120-year-old barge is moored in Hackney Wick, near the Olympic stadium, and is also surrounded by gardens providing an alternative backdrop to a meal. All reports agree on its “fantastic food and atmosphere”: there are a variety of menus, including tasting and group options, all featuring imaginative modern British dishes.

Dazzling views from the 48th-floor of a Canary Wharf tower help create a sense of occasion at this family-run, five-year-old Italian restaurant and ‘Sky Bar’. Its long menu of pasta, pizza, grills and other fare doesn’t inspire a huge volume of feedback, but the limited amount we have is all upbeat.

“The original Salt Yard in W1 used to be one of London’s best new tapas restaurants” – but it opened over 15 years ago and “the subsequent roll-out of the brand as multiple branches” under Urban Pubs & Bars “has seen quality drop quite a lot”. As “a pleasant option for well-produced Med-inspired dishes”, they maintain a fair number of fans, if without the pizzazz once conjured by the name. The year-old branch near the entrance to Westfield is the highest rated, and the newest near Borough Market is also seen as “a handy addition to the group”.

“A great little find right opposite King’s Cross”. “The location is not the best” – immediately off a busy pavement and bordering the trafficky Euston Road – but, if you want a good-value refuel before you hop on a train (especially with family in tow), this bright pitstop at the foot of a boutique hotel is trying hard: “service is good and they obviously care”. Made to be shared, each dish is carefully prepared representing Italy in all its glory from the open space kitchen located in the middle of the Restaurant and “the food is very nice”. In case you’ve been wondering, the place is named after the 19th-century Anglo-Italian inventor of the railway signalling system.

“Reliably inventive Michelin-quality tasting menus with quirky-but-good wine pairings” continue to inspire joy at Pascal Aussignac and Vincent Labeyrie’s long-standing foodie temple to the cuisine of southwest France, which occupies a stately former Lyons Tea House near Smithfield Market. It partly achieved its renown originally by serving everything with foie gras, but nowadays a “superb vegetarian tasting menu” is also a feature.

“Consistently delicious seafood” and a “lovely location” by St Katharine Dock have put this three-year-old securely on the map. The interesting wine list is strong on “Greek offerings” – thanks no doubt to co-founder Theodore Kyriakou, a veteran of Livebait and The Real Greek in the ’90s. Top Tip – “go on Wednesdays for the half-price wine”.

This “beautiful old banking hall” in Threadneedle Street makes for a “decent business venue” in the heart of the City, with “a well-executed if limited Italian menu, and wines priced for expense accounts”. On a quiet evening, though, it can “lack atmosphere”.

Having spent years supplying London’s top restaurants through their separate wine businesses, Joe Haynes and Benedict Butterworth have joined forces with Tom Hurst, who has worked at Brawn, The Marksman, Levan, and most recently as Head Chef at Lasdun, to launch the trio&rs...

“Attractive Indians with a good range of different dishes” – Vivek Singh’s dynamic duo of affordable spin-offs from his celebrated Cinnamon Club inspire practically nothing but high praise. The long-established City outlet set inside a rather 1980s atrium development is “a solid option around Liverpool Street” (although at times “the cavernous interior can feel a bit odd and echoey”); the newer Battersea branch occupies a railway arch near the power station and feels “different” (in a good way).

“Family-run Italian” that helps add life to a dull stretch of the Gray’s Inn Road. It specialises in Sicilian cuisine presented by Fabrizio Zafarana, an engagingly “well-informed and enthusiastic” host.

Established in 1958, this Essex institution is well known for its “excellently cooked fish with some imaginative and well-executed dishes”, served in “generous portions” by “well-trained and extremely welcoming staff who provide great customer service”. It’s “always buzzing with a great atmosphere” – “and if you’re lucky you might spot Rod Stewart… a regular”.

These “upscalish Italians” – part of an international chain – serve pizza, pasta and other lighter dishes, featuring the trademark ingredient. It can be that the “quality of the food is a pleasant surprise”; they inspired nothing but positive feedback this year.

Our mission: make delicious pizza, served with care, in beautiful spaces.In the beginning we were just Matteo and Salvatore, two brothers from Calabria. We moved to Bologna to study economics, and – like all penniless students – ate a lot of...

“If you are not planning a return to the office, the largest selection of whisky ever seen” helps round off a business lunch at this Canary Wharf branch of Ranald Macdonald’s Caledonian group. “The restaurant prides itself on good Scottish ingredients… shellfish in season… excellent fillet steak” and “tables are sufficiently spaced for private conversation”. Top Tip – “regular visitors may join a club which gives discounts on wines and they host musical events in the evenings”.

Meaty street-food dishes, smoked in an oven shaped like the boiler of an old steam engine, produce “fabulous food” in the “great setting” of Spitalfield Market. (In August 2023, they graduated to include a small unit with a few seats in the section of the market on Lamb Street.)

Blending Brazilian culture with modern sophistication, Fazenda's Churrasco Experience features continuous tableside car...

Co-owner Guy Awford’s “brilliantly executed, classically inspired” cooking is well above “pub grub” standard, and has established this “well-maintained, upmarket” Georgian tavern as a leading option in Greenwich.

“One of the best options for fine dining in the City” – “if you want a good French restaurant in the Square Mile, with a great wine list, look no further” than this “slick and intimate” venue, which boasts “one of the best wine selections in London” – a particular “dream-list for lovers of Burgundy and Champagne”. “Very good service is worth a shout out”.

These “upscalish Italians” – part of an international chain – serve pizza, pasta and other lighter dishes, featuring the trademark ingredient. It can be that the “quality of the food is a pleasant surprise”; they inspired nothing but positive feedback this year.