London Ealing Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “When all you want is an old-school burger”, these US-based arrivals of recent years really “hit the spot” – you can “build your own”, with “tons of accessories”; plus “seriously addictive fries”, “thick milkshakes”, and “more soda flavours than is reasonable”. “The eat-in experience is as depressing as McDonald’s”, though, in fact perhaps more so – “some branches have a strangely gloomy ambience” – but fans feel that “if you don’t mind 1980s-rock, a trip can still be surprisingly fun”.

“Where else can you get ramen and laksa in the same place?”, ask fans of this “efficient and friendly” pan-Asian chain founded almost 30 years ago in Bloomsbury’s Brunswick Centre and now with branches in Ealing, Putney, Kensington and Chiswick plus two delivery-only kitchens.

2021 Review: From its Finsbury Park base (next to the Park Theatre), this “cheerful” group of “good neighbourhood pasta-stops” subsequently expanded to Ealing and then onto Wembley branch (there’s also an outlet in Westfield Stratford); all deliver “well-cooked”, affordable pasta.

“Tasty, good-value noodles” in a “relaxed environment” make this 12-year-old London chain (14 branches, plus Brighton and Brum) “worth a visit”. The “ramen is deep and fabulous” if “limited in range (no fish-based dishes except prawn)”, and is augmented by “quite acceptable katsu curry”. Aficionados should head to the Haggerston branch to watch the noodles being made.

2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.

“Glorious-tasting authentic Neapolitan pizza”, “with interesting toppings that are quite unique”, is the USP of this Ealing-based operation launched in 2010 by Naples-born duo Angelo and Pasquale, which has grown in recent years into a small group with outlets as far away as Islington and Fitzrovia. Their “aim is to transport you to Naples, and the pizzas live up to the ambition”.

This West London pair of Indian street-food canteens, in Ealing and Hammersmith, elicits little in the way of commentary this year but wins its usual solid ratings for food and service.

“The best ramen in London, IMO – the rich, porky broth is perfect”, say fans of former pro-cyclist Kazuhiro Kanada’s five noodle bars – in Angel, Piccadilly, Covent Garden, Carnaby and Ealing. “If you’re going to do one thing, do it well, and they do” – so they “deserve the frequent queues”.

2022 Review: “A great setting in Walpole Park with an amazing terrace” is a highpoint at this all-day café in the walled garden of Ealing’s fine Pitzhanger Manor (designed by Sir John Soane). It’s been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride in recent times, closing, changing operators, re-opening, and then with another change of chef in August 2021 (Andre Rhone from Richmond’s Bingham). Most recommended for breakfast, so that seems a good way of dipping your toe in the water here.

2022 Review: From the Santa Maria team – and on the characterful original site of the smash hit Ealing branch (which has since shifted to Bond Street in W5) – a new vegan pizzeria concept, which is set to open in October 2021.

This “Middle Eastern small plates sharing concept” is a “fantastic addition to Mill Hill Broadway”, with “loads of veggie options” and “really tasty food” from brunch through to dinner. Founder Tomer Vanuna and head chef Michael Levi were school friends in Israel; Numa apparently means ‘so what’ in Hebrew.

In Ealing Broadway's new Dickens Yard development, this Spanish venture with South American influences from its Colombian chef was already a hot ticket locally before a rave review from Giles Coren in The Times brought it to wider attention. The name means "hopscotch" in Spanish.