Waltham Abbey, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Star chef, Sally Abé was key to the ‘girl power’ formula of this traditionally decorated dining room in a five-star hotel near St James’s Park tube – named with the nickname of Emily Wilding Davison, a leading suffragette – which she relaunched four years ago. The move was a brave effort by the hotel to put its traditionally decorated (slightly stilted) dining room on London’s culinary map and to link it with both a forward-looking approach but also the traditional British cuisine that Sally is known for. But it’s all change as of April 2025 when Abé announced her departure (for the Bull at Charlbury). Given that she was so central to its PR and approach, it’s hard to work out its destiny now that she’s stepped down, hence we’ve left it un-rated.

For a comfortable meal in an impressive space in Mayfair, this wood-panneled chamber has much to recommend it, and is one of the better-preserved traditional dining rooms (dating originally from the 1850s and made over in the 1930s). Chef Sofian Msterfi injects North African ideas from his Moroccan roots into some of the dishes on his five-course (for £95 per person) or seven-course (for £140 per person) menus. The odd reporter feels this is “too much concept” for their tastes, but for the most part it’s an approach that’s very well received.

Ties festooned from the ceiling is the signature look of this veteran St James’s location, which makes a civilised launch-pad for an evening in the West End. With help from the menu – well-rated in reports – offering light US-inspired bites (ribs, jambalaya prawns, mac ’n’ cheese).

“A great range of fish dishes cooked to perfection” is the type of “excellent seasonal British cooking” that’s done best at star Irish chef, Richard Corrigan’s Mayfair flagship, just off Park Lane (whose stated focus is on ‘all that is wild, from the land, air and sea’). The experience is helped by “welcoming and involved staff” and in particular, it’s “spot-on for smart business lunches”. That it can seem “very expensive” was a more common complaint this year, although “the lunchtime set menu makes it just possible for retired folk”.

Open in early 2024, Joe Haynes & Ben Butterworth’s “delightful townhouse in Smithfield” is one of the most commented-on arrivals of the last eighteen months in our annual diners’ poll. Tucked away near Smithfield Market in a Dickensian alleyway, it occupies the ground floor of a cute old building that escaped 1666’s Great Fire, and which was once part-occupied by the poet laureate, John Betjeman. Some find it “so crowded”, but most diners find the “hustling and bustling” interior is “buzzy, cozy and romantic” and make it “a great place for lingering over a long lunch”. Chef Tom Hurst’s “well-sourced” British cooking “manages to feel rustic and yet at the same time have some real finesse about it” and there’s also “a well curated wine selection”. Top Menu Tip – “Light, yet rich Pig’s Head croquettes; universally enjoyable Mackerel and Crab starters… likewise the Beef Shin ravioli and the Pork Chop; the Chips with Espelette pepper are amazing. Even if you’re not a particular fan of white chocolate, the Rhubarb and White chocolate dessert is perfect!”

Ahoy there! Step aboard a 120-year-old barge when you eat at this waterside venue, permanently moored on the canal in Hackney Wick. Its Floating Bar may be a magnet for summer drinkers, but the focused modern bistro menu in its interior restaurant is much more than incidental (and Sunday Roast is also a feature).

“One can never tire of Gavin Rankin’s discreet, restrained and brasserie”, “quietly located” in a Mayfair mews (“an institution that lives with the legacy that the late Queen visited it twice”). “You can start your meal with cocktails in the bar (next to the restaurant)” and then move to the dining room for “classic’ Anglo/French cuisine” that’s “comfortingly familiar” and “superb in its simplicity” (the harsh might say “staid and unadventurous”); and “good value too”. “Service is excellent – one always has everything one needs but is otherwise left alone”. For an “understatedly elegant” business occasion – perfect! Top Menu Tip – “outstanding value for money from the table d’hote menu”.

Ten minutes’ walk south of Greenwich BR, this Georgian corner tavern is more gastro than pub, with a stylishly updated interior and a “beautiful garden”. Much of the menu – for example, steak, fish, chicken skewers – is prepared on the robata grill, and is “a cut above your usual pub grub”.

2024 Review: A “real favourite” of well-heeled foodies, this classy if relatively unsung Mayfair hotel dining room boasts in “William Drabble, the most underrated of chefs – and one of great longevity” after 15 years at the helm. There is an eight-course ‘Menu Gourmand’ (for £125), but also à la carte options (starting in the evening with a two-course meal for £82 – lunchtimes are cheaper).

2024 Review: “If you are not planning a return to the office, the largest selection of whisky ever seen” helps round off a business lunch at this Canary Wharf branch of Ranald Macdonald’s Caledonian group. “The restaurant prides itself on good Scottish ingredients… shellfish in season… excellent fillet steak” and “tables are sufficiently spaced for private conversation”. Top Tip – “regular visitors may join a club which gives discounts on wines and they host musical events in the evenings”.

“It’s not culinary fireworks but what they do works well” at this “competent brasserie in Marylebone”: “a comfortable, good-looking dining room with friendly and attentive service”. “Even if the food is not particularly memorable” (“a menu of classic dishes” that “appeals to all tastes”), practically all reports agree that “it is well made, presented and tasty”; so “an ideal place to catch up with friends rather than to come and be wowed by the (albeit perfectly good) cooking”. Top Tip – with its outside terrace “on a hot summer night this is a delight and it gets correspondingly busy”.

Oui Madame is an evenings-only modern European restaurant in Highbury and Islington, serving seasonal sharing plates and a thoughtful wine list in a cosy, intimate setting. Expect warm hospitality, confident flavours and an easy rhythm that suits everything from date night to ...

“Always a delight to eat here” – Tom Aikens’s small townhouse restaurant in Belgravia continues to inspire nothing but very high ratings for its “delicate cooking and inventive flavour combinations” served over two small floors, either counter-style, or at the small number of tables in the “cosy if slightly cramped” space. “The counter experience is so close up and personal, and the storytelling approach to cooking so compelling, that it creates a beautifully intimate atmosphere”. The menu is heavily inspired by and presented through the lens of Tom’s upbringing: “will return to try a different season’s story”. The only negative review this year was from someone considering it overpriced, who still rated the food as “very good” (“OK, so I don’t like tasting menus: I still expect staff to converse instead of reciting the – very – long history of how such-and-such a dish was inspired and created”.)

“A real journey of discovery” is to be had at Adam Handling’s renowned Covent Garden flagship, where fans of his eight-course – haute but unstuffy – theatrical experience for £199 per person say it’s “sheer culinary perfection from start to finish!”, complete with “bangin’ tastes, engaged staff and great fun for any occasion”. For many of its fans, it’s “a go-to for a special celebration (or any excuse we can make for a special celebration!)” as it “somehow keeps managing to exceed expectations with new twists on old favourites and new innovations both culinary and presentational”. On the flipside, though, there is a notably large band of more cautious sceptics, who either feel that “it’s trying too hard”, or who note that “while lovely, it is very costly”. (“Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with the food here per se, with some fantastic dishes such as the lobster wagyu. Where it falls down a bit is value-for-money compared to competitors, with the pricing pushing very much at the upper end of what I would expect from a Michelin one star, but the overall experience being more in the mid-point of that category”).