London Parsons Green Restaurant Guide

A “buzzy” atmosphere and “welcoming service” are the strong suits of this “expanding group”, with 16 branches in London and another handful nearby. While nobody disputes that they’re “lovely to sit in” and offer “value for money”, the “Middle-Eastern-inspired cooking” divides opinion, with some reporters “pleasantly surprised by the tasty food” and others bemoaning “underwhelming” dishes that “sound better than they taste”.

This “always reliable” and “slightly upmarket” Cantonese group “remains the standard that all other dim sum places should be judged against – exemplary is an overused term here but is very much justified”. But a somewhat dark cloud has hung over the operation since its prominent Baker Street branch was stripped of its licence to sell alcohol and fined £360,000 after a series of Home Office raids over six years discovered multiple cases of illegal immigrants working, in one case for 66 hours a week at almost half the minimum wage. As of August 2024, the Fulham Road branch is ‘Temporarily Closed’.

2024 Review: “Chicken with amazing sides” is the winning formula at Romain Bourrillon’s rotisserie chain, which imports its chooks from France. “Nice brunch”, too.

Near Parsons Green, this small and family-owned Italian, in an updated traditional style, delivers just what you’d want from a high-quality local restaurant: “better-than-average food is cooked to a high standard; staff are friendly; and it’s always busy”.

This “high-quality” Fulham fixture serves some of the “best Thai food in West London” – attracting diners from across the capital to its modest-looking premises in a parade of shops: “We just wish it was closer to home”.

2024 Review: “Very popular at weekends with a good breakfast menu” – this NZ-inspired bistro near Parsons Green particularly comes into its own for brunches and light lunches.

2023 Review: Overlooking Eel Brook Common in Fulham, this “great (although rather pricey for a pub)” rustic-chic Fulham gastroboozer offers “fast service from attentive staff”, and is the follow-up from former royal equerry Mark Dwyer and his partner Eamonn Manson, who sold their local trio the Sands End (Prince Harry’s occasional watering hole), Cross Keys and Brown Cow for a reported £10m six years ago.

“Great Turkish food – either to eat in or take away” has earned a more-than-local reputation for this pair of Anatolian charcoal BBQs, on Fulham Broadway and near West Kensington station. (Note, ‘Best Mangal 1996’ in North End Road is a separate business).

2021 Review: “The best pizza in the area” – “thin, very tasty” and in “large” portions – wins fans for this “friendly” family-owned trio that has built a solid following in Fulham and Putney over two decades. SW15 is primarily take-out and delivery (but has some outside seating).

2021 Review: “A nice, laid-back American buzz” has helped win a loyal following over the years for this small chain of Kansas City-style diners: one of the first in London to bring BBQ indoors. “It’s a fun place” (in the right mood) and the food is “decent” and in man-sized portions, but “not particularly special”.

2021 Review: A “wealth of wines by the glass” and “tasty nibbles”, help make this growing group of self-service wine bars a “fun way to try a selection of vintages from a multitude of small producers”. At the Battersea Power Station branch’s school you can educate your palate towards Wine & Spirit Education Trust certification and watch wine being made from grapes grown in Oxfordshire and Surrey.

“The pizza is second to none”, combining “top-quality ingredients and fabulous bases” at this quartet of “bustling” pizzerias founded 15 years ago by Neapolitan-born Angelo and Pasquale. Since launching in Ealing, they have expanded slowly to Fulham, Islington and Fitzrovia – and the extent to which they’ve maintained their ratings is an achievement for an expanding group.

2023 Review: This Parson’s Green yearling is a tribute to the Canadian West Coast, and is named after the Vancouver street where founders Livia Boumeester and Louisa Stevenson-Hamilton hung out when they lived there. “Don’t expect stars; do expect earthy comfort food.” Poutine – the chips, cheese curds and gravy combo that is Canada’s gift to a hungry world – is on the menu, along with “the best mac ’n’ cheese around”.