Chiswick, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Grade II listed late-Victorian tavern on Acton Green Common which serves an unusual mix of Spanish tapas and more standard pub fare, both in its handsome rear dining room (with small courtyard adjacent) and in the characterful bar; the quality varies, but it’s a popular spot.

“Love this place” – “vinyl records and amazing cakes” ensure this cute coffee shop near Turnham Green “has a great atmosphere”: “there’s always some interesting music being played” while you sip “great coffee” or tuck into “breakfast served beautifully with edible flowers, what more could you want?”. In the evenings they serve booze and host live music – which must make it one of the capital’s smallest gigs.

“A cut above your average wine bar”: this 20-year-old group remains highly popular in our annual diners’ poll thanks to its “decent wines at fair prices” in “jolly” settings. “The food can be terrific – but not always”, and the overall performance shows signs of steadying after a tricky patch when the business was sold out of administration.

“Good for coffee and meetings, with perfectly functional food” and “super for families”, this all-day brasserie on Chiswick High Road is a useful address for either work or leisure, particularly in summer when the large pavement terrace comes into its own. A very early outpost of the Soho House group, it also has bedrooms – but only for members.

“Wonderful fine dining but with the feel of a small local eatery” is both the blessing and the challenge for this Chiswick destination which is “trying very hard to be great, succeeding, and so much better than the location makes you think”. Chef Nathan Cornwell was recruited in 2023 to up the ante here, and his “carefully thought-out” cuisine is “just getting better and better”: it’s a serious rival to nearby Trompette in terms of its “exceptional” quality, with “a fabulous tasting menu which gets it just right and doesn’t overwhelm you”. But while its reputation is generating ever-more feedback in our poll as a “classy” and also a “romantic” destination, it is ever-so slightly constrained by its (albeit posh) “caff-like” premises on the High Street, with the least kind view that you are “crammed in, while the waiters try to deliver to you a fine-dining experience”.

2022 Review: This “spacious” late-Victorian tavern on Chiswick’s main drag is thriving under “very impressive new management” who have installed a new pizza kitchen and revived the “lovely garden” with a large covered terrace. “They took over just before the first lockdown and worked their socks off to get it right – and boy, have they succeeded” with its “honest and reliable” food offer.

“For a jolly night out with the girls”, these “warm and luxurious” west London haunts are just the job. An “extensive list of cocktails” is key to their allure – “the food is not the main attraction although it’s perfectly acceptable”. Lorraine Angliss (who also owns Annie’s and Little Bird) opened the Richmond original in 2009; its Chiswick sibling followed in 2022.

“Yummy mummy hangouts” that have proliferated across the capital and its surrounding high streets over the past few years, with “relaxed and colourful décor” and “friendly waiting staff”. They are very accommodating to families, both “child-friendly” and “pooch central, with snacks and water” – although if you don’t bring your own, you might find there are “too many dogs”. The eastern Med-style cooking varies between “fresh and well prepared” at best to “adequate, sometimes slow” – while “bottomless Bloody Mary or Mimosa on a Sunday can be dangerous!”.

“This café in Turnham Green Terrace is definitely a classy addition to the eatery choices in Chiswick” and is proving a handy add-on to Sam Harrison’s small empire, whose original outpost is tucked away in a backstreet behind Hammersmith’s Riverside Studios. In particular, it’s “a fantastic place for breakfast, morning coffee or a great lunch stop”: staples (like crab crumpets) “are very well done” and “served with a smile”: “not cheap eats, but the quality is good”. “They offer set dinners with a seasonal menu Thursday to Saturday” in W4, while in W6 they do ‘Smash & Grab Burgers’.