London South Kensington Restaurant Guide

This grand Indian near Gloucester Road tube station was famous in the late 1980s, and nowadays has achieved a respectable semi-obscurity. Now owned by India’s swish Taj Hotels group, all reports rate it well, and fans say it’s been “year-in, year-out enjoyable” for four decades.

This offbeat, “really high-quality Japanese” outfit in a Kensington backstreet from Yasuhiro Minemo and Shinya Ikeda has carved out a niche for itself over the last 13 years with its “delicious sushi” and “extremely attentive staff”. It’s pricey, but “the lunch menu is great value”. Its offshoot Ocean House is in the former Brompton Library, while the latest addition from 2022, Sushi Kamon in Arcade Food Hall on Oxford Street, offers a cut-price 45-minute omakase experience.

This family-run “stalwart” of the Earl’s Court-South Ken dining scene (and its ‘Noor Jahan II’ Bayswater offshoot) has built a strong following for its “consistently good” Indian dishes over the past 60 years – and the smattering of celebs and royals among its guests (Angelina Jolie, Prince William…) has not gone to its head: “after all this time it remains your typical curry house”.

“Always reliable and first-class French cooking” is complemented by a serious wine list, including nine from Margaux, at this upmarket neighbourhood spot over two storeys at the Earl’s Court end of South Kensington.

“Every dish is good” at this long-running tapas bar in South Kensington. Regulars, though, reckon it’s “not quite up to the experience” of its sibling opposite, Cambio de Tercio, with which it shares a list of “excellent” Spanish wines (“it’s clearly tapas from a chef more familiar with fine dining, leaning towards the elegant rather than a solid punch of flavour”).

With its “good North Indian cooking” from family recipes, this well-established venue with Bollywood posters lining the walls is these days a rival to veteran Noor Jahan for bragging rights on Earl’s Court’s “curry corner”.

“You leave feeling everything is good in the world” according to fans of Abel Lusa’s accomplished stalwart (est. 1995) on the borders of South Ken and Earl’s Court: one of London’s original Spanish restaurants of quality and still at the cutting edge, with its “luxurious tapas”, “excellent Iberian wines” and “wonderfully fun and atmospheric” style. A slip in ratings, though, accompanies one or two concerns that “it should offer better value”; or that “it risks slipping from a smart and exciting place to being lower-energy”. But that didn’t stop Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz from eating here with his family five times during the Championships this year – and on the days he didn’t go, he ordered deliveries to be sent to his accommodation. Apparently, his favourite dish is the crispy salmon nigiri (a Spanish version of sushi with sweet soy sauce, Spanish vinegar and chipotle mayonnaise).

Fans do still hail the “fabulous meat” at Roberto Costa’s quirky Italian steakhouse group, but it has lost some of its red-blooded allure in recent years. “The restaurants look appealing and the menu looks promising”, but lower ratings bolster those who feel “the quality has dropped with expansion”, as it has grown to six venues across London (and a sister concept, Fish Game, opened in Canary Wharf in mid-2023); and at its worst, it can deliver “distinctly average steaks” at “steep prices”.

Inspired by La Dolce Vita lifestyle (indeed, there used to be an accompanying apparel resort-wear brand), this small Italian group strives to evoke the retro glamour of the 1960s ‘jet set’. There’s some enthusiasm for them amongst reporters, but a recognition that the food is “nice but not exceptional”: “I had an excellent martini. But the dishes were either overly seasoned or (the salad) not dressed at all”.

With their “decent menu of Italian food at good prices” and terraces for al fresco dining, this low-key duo can be useful options – the South Ken branch is “perfect for a pre-museum or Sunday grazing trip”, while its bigger Dulwich Village sibling is “filled with families and dogs”. “You wouldn’t make a special journey, but they’re reliably pleasant”.

“Crowded… slightly crazy-busy… top oysters supported by a changing menu of fish and crustacea” – that’s the package at this trio of “busy” bistros in Borough Market, Battersea Power Station and South Kensington. “You come here for the seafood, not to be fawned over. The decor’s a little rough and ready but the food’s so fresh and delicious”.

“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”.

South Kensington Vietnamese from former Hakkasan chef Jeff Tan, whose “incredibly consistent” food is “always prepared with the lightest of touches”; and where lunches are notably “good value”. A warehouse-style older sibling, Viet Food, is often packed out in Chinatown.

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”.

This “fun” Tuscan tapas bar on a Chelsea corner is, say fans, “everything a local Italian should be”, and celebrates its 30th anniversary next year. “It knows what it’s good at and does it very, very well” – “though not exceptional, it’s reasonably priced for SW3; and always relaxed and informal”.

“A wonderful survivor”, this old-world “gem” by South Ken tube has served “solid, Polish food” (“all the old hits: duck, goose, herring…”) at “sensible prices” since 1947, and its devotees love its “real sense of authenticity” (“I feel happy when I walk in the door: the menu never changes and I hope it never will!”). It may be “a level down from Ognisko” culinary-wise, but “you’re coming here for the charm, not the workmanlike fare”. Top Tip – “it’s well situated close to the South Kensington museums and a good alternative to the numerous expensive and unexciting chains!”

2023 Review: This “lively and friendly local” in South Ken rates well for its “high-quality menu complemented by daily specials”. Opened three years ago by the Lunar Pub Company, it’s “not somewhere for a quiet and romantic dinner, but the young local crowd make it a vibrant venue”.

“An excellent location overlooking the River Thames makes the Richmond branch very special if you are able to bag one of its outside tables on a balmy summer evening”; and it’s a highpoint of this chain run by a firm of well-known Iberian food importers. On the plus-side, its branches are generally “buzzy”, with “tasty” and “authentically flavoured” tapas. On the minus-side, for all the “high quality ingredients”, dishes can end up “indifferent” and “pricey for the size of the portions”; and “service can be a little too uneven”.