London Bayswater Restaurant Guide

“It’s worth the spartan interior and mixed service to eat the roast duck and/or char siu pork” at these Cantonese canteens, where “the best roast duck in the world is the claim” – from no less an authority than The FT – “and it must be up there” with “meat and crispy skin so well done (no pun intended)”; and don’t forget “the crispy pork belly – an especial fat-lover’s treat!”. Launched in Queensway 34 years ago, the group now has three venues around Chinatown plus the new Chop Chop nearby in the Hippodrome Casino. Further afield there are outlets in Colindale’s Bang Bang Oriental food hall, Oxford and Leicester.

“The lobster noodles are as legendary as ever” – “best in the world!” – chorus a legion of fans for this 45-year-old Queensway institution that’s “tops for Chinese seafood in London”. It’s a “buzzy family restaurant” too, with “really lovely friendly staff”, even if it’s “a bit too brightly lit”.

This classic Cantonese in Queensway specialises in “delicious dim sum” and roast meats; and though “there are better venues in the area” you may still face a long queue at busy times. It also has a Chinatown sibling at 45 Wardour Street, London W1D 6PZ.

“If you love Malaysian food, head for Normah’s” – “a small and basic café serving street food at incredibly low prices”. It’s “a little difficult to find in a nondescript Bayswater market, but so worth the effort” as your host, Normah Abd Hamid, “is likely to both greet you and cook your meal” – taking “great care to produce delicious food”.

“Ever-reliable, ultra-tasty sharing plates” and “brisk but jolly service” are the order of the day at “this buzzy South Ken local” (and its Queensway offshoot) from Barry & Patricia Hamilton. The “interesting” mix of Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines is backed up by a “very different wine list – Lebanese, Macedonian, Greek, Armenian”.

“The Dead Hippy burger is a dirty, dirty legend” – the best-named burger on British menus and “if not the easiest burger to eat definitely the tastiest” (especially when chased down by a boozy “hard shake”) – at the “cool” chain founded 15 years ago by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis. The expansion of recent years seems to have ground to a halt with the closure of branches in Boxpark Croydon and Clapham Old Town, with a new strategy based around boosting sales via a national network of delivery kitchens launched in 2023. Top Tip – “root beer is available if you want a bit of real Americana!”

This “great meeting spot” in Bayswater is “ever-popular” for its “excellent coffee and snacks” served in immaculate minimalist surroundings, from founders Mathew and Charmaine Tabatabai. The menu stretches from breakfast/brunch dishes to afternoon cocktails.

2021 Review: “Perfect coffee every time” keeps caffeine fiends crawling back to this small and serious chain. “Baking from Fortitude Bakehouse is a good complement”.

“A classic that’s every bit as good as when it first started”, claim fans of Nino Sassu’s quirky Italian, which has occupied this room above a Bayswater pub for over 25 years. Compared to its glory days – when it was the talk of the town – feedback is nowadays very limited. But its diehard fan club are unanimous regarding this “perennial favourite” and its “incredible, genuine dishes”: “it feels very special to take the family there and everyone is always greeted with such warmth”.

“Chicken with amazing sides” is the winning formula at Romain Bourrillon’s rotisserie chain, which imports its chooks from France. “Nice brunch”, too.

This “brilliant local curry house” off Westbourne Grove has “been there forever (since 1956, in fact) for good reason” – “we’ve been going for over 40 years and it’s always delicious and great value” and there’s “always a friendly welcome”. Top Tip – “it no longer has an alcohol licence and is now BYOB, so is even better value”.

2021 Review: “Extraordinarily good pizzas”, “very good negronis” and “no burgers” are served at this bar, which boasts “the style of Mayfair transplanted to Notting Hill”. It’s upstairs from Assaggi, and from the same team, in the former pub they share, and these days seems the less risky bet. Top Tip – “try the truffle pizza in winter and English asparagus with San Daniele ham in summer”.

2021 Review: Mussels, prawns, calamari and other seafood by the, er, bucket-load is the promise at this “lovely local” yearling on the Bayswater/Notting Hill border – a “comfortable” modern bistro with simple-but-effective decor, serving “a wide selection of very fresh fish and seafood” (in small metal pails) that’s “very good value”. Top Tip – oyster happy hour 4pm-7pm weekdays and 4pm-6pm on weekends, when oysters are £1 each with any bottle, jug, cocktail or bucket of beers.

“Authentic and sensibly priced dim sum, a cut or two above the quality of many traditional Soho joints” (and with “some stand out dishes”) has carved a good reputation for this Cantonese basement, below the shiny new towers of Paddington Basin. (Its ratings, though, are not as high as once they were; and one or two reporters feel “it still hasn’t fully recovered its shine post pandemic”).

This “noisy, fun” and “quirky little place” – just off Notting Hill Gate – was the first of the Sussex-based Gladwin brothers’ ‘farm-to-fork’ restaurants to open in the capital, a dozen years ago, and is applauded for the “fresh ingredients” that one might hope for. One reporter feels that it’s “not as good as it was”, but ratings have held up decently over the years.

Jeremy King is back! (with a vengeance?) at this big, bold newcomer in a landmark new development opposite Kensington Gardens and on the corner of Queensway. Apparently it will be “very much within the ‘Grand Cafés & Brasseries’ mould that [he] love[s] so much but it is however very much of the early 21st Century rather than 20th”. Perhaps that means less of the Edwardian (Ivy, Wolseley, Delaunay) or Victorian (Sheekeys) style that has characterised his earlier openings. BREAKING NEWS. In September 2023, King announced he is returning to the original site of Le Caprice, where he found fame. He sold the name long ago, but it’s already being talked of as Le Caprice 2.0.

No less a figure than Queen Azizah of Malaysia (while she was over for Charles’s coronation) cut the ribbon for the May 2023 opening of this first European venture from one of Malaysia’s leading restaurant groups – a steakhouse in Craven Road, Paddington, that takes its name from the meeting of Eastern and Western food cultures. No alcohol is served and the meat is fully halal, with cuts flavoured by infusion in Asian marinades. Reports please!

From the Pachamama Group, this 2024 debut is set to occupy two floors of a monolithic landmark in Bayswater – the former Whiteleys department store. The sunny seas of the Aegean are popular inspiration for restaurant openings currently and this one aims to fish in similar waters.

In Notting Hill's Westbourne Grove, the first UK branch of a Sydney brunch specialist which brings Middle Eastern influences to classic Aussie daytime dishes, such as smashed avocado with dukkah. Good coffee, juices and pancakes are also key.