Gipsy Hill Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Always fresh sourdough pizza” has helped build a strong local following for this hip southeast London group, with outlets in Crystal Palace, Nunhead, West Norwood, Herne Hill and Elephant & Castle. A new natural wine selection from specialist importer Les Caves de Pyrène is now available alongside the craft beers on tap. Top Tip – “make sure you leave room for the ice cream”.

This “lovely food-led pub” – a carefully modernised beauty from 1854 on Crystal Palace’s thriving ‘Triangle’ – showcases chef David Yorkiston’s “really great cooking – way, way above typical gastroboozer fare”. “Controversially, it has banned kids under 10” but not everyone objects (“we think the atmosphere is all the better for it, even if it means we can’t go there as often as we’d like)”.

“Delicious thin-crust pizzas” win consistently high ratings for this 10-strong chain across north, east and south London. They are a socially conscious bunch who contributed 8,000 meals to NHS staff during the pandemic.

“A high-quality Italian, with an ever-changing menu and wide range of specials depending on market availability” – this Gipsy Hill Sicilian is well worth discovering deep in the SE postcodes. In summer the terrace comes into its own, but fans say it’s “always a pleasure to dine there”.