London Victoria Restaurant Guide

A definitive London caff – this Westminster institution has hardly changed since opening in 1946, and provides “the best fry-up you’ll likely have had in years, with quality ingredients, well cooked and served in an iconic Art Deco setting”. Breakfast here is “an experience every Londoner should try at least once in their life: consistent, quick and heavy” – and it’s “as good as ever, even if there are lots of tourists now” (“you’ll totally understand why people join the long queue”).

2021 Review: “Ignore the lobbyists feeding MPs and enjoy this for what it is” – a smart, traditionally decorated corner-spot that’s one of the only restaurants in Westminster worth going to eat in! “Italian through and through”, it features “many regional dishes” and “unusual takes on traditional pasta and main courses (including crab, rabbit and quail)”; plus an interesting, all-Italian wine list.

One of “London’s best kept foodie secrets”, where you act as a guinea pig for the next generation of the UK hospitality trade within Westminster Kingsway College, on leafy Vincent Square. There are two restaurants: the relaxed ‘Brasserie’ and more formal ‘Escoffier Room’, where “the cooking by third-year students is often Michelin quality”, while “the service by first years is lovely… if a bit rough at the edges”. Not only is a meal here “terrific value (£35 for 5-course tasting menu, ditto wine pairings)”, you also “support budding culinary careers”.

Little has changed at this “unstuffy” Pimlico bistro since it opened 60 years ago (except that, back then, a couple could eat here for under £3!). The original wooden panelling and furniture are still in place, the fish pie is still topped with piped potato, and pricing is still “cheap ’n’ cheerful”. It also does a “great Sunday lunch for the kids”.

2023 Review: “In an old Fire station near Victoria”, Atul Kochhar’s October 2021 newcomer is “a massive undertaking (with over 170 covers)”. It inspires a wide range of reactions, none of them terrible, some of them rapturous, but many of them mixed. The “unusual” food has “amazing spicing, with a focus on fish”, but some dishes can appear “too ordinary” or “needing a rethink” and even fans note they are “expensive”. In a similar vein, the “friendly” service can be “iffy” in its efficiency; and “ambience can be lacking” despite the “stylish conversion”. Still, it’s an ambitious venture still finding its feet, and perhaps the fairest overall verdict at this stage is: “enjoyable rather than brilliant”.

This Pimlico veteran has served “tasty, reliable and good-value tapas” including “particularly enjoyable seafood” for more than 30 years – putting it well ahead of the more recent vogue for Hispanic cuisine. “The menu is always the same and always very good”, which suits local regulars well.

“An architectural salvage display room” lit by chandeliers – in a Georgian mansion fronting the Vauxhall Cross gyratory system – provides a “lively, boho and very relaxed” backdrop for this unusual but successful venue. Amazingly, it “works so well”, with “above average (if expensive) modern British fare” from highly regarded chef Jackson Boxer. (“Well worth the detour/ taking your life in your hands navigating the Vauxhall one way!”).

2021 Review: “Like a home away from home”, this Pimlico stalwart keeps regulars happy with a “lovely range of tapas” and Spanish classics, “supervised brilliantly by the amazing host, Issy”. “In an age of ever-changing restaurants, it’s a great pleasure to enjoy such consistency over many years.”

This “absolutely reliable” chippie has done sterling service in Pimlico for 59 years, with a recent refurb enabling it to live up to its name. “Dishes range from excellent fish ’n’ chips to more complex and flavourful fare” – and it’s “reasonably priced”.

“Excellent food in a leafy setting, especially on a warm and bright day” makes the elevated café at Lambeth’s Garden Museum “a complete go-to” for foodies in the know. George Ryle, the chef who co-founded it to great acclaim in 2017, left after five years to return to his native Yorkshire, but the kitchen has barely missed a beat under his successor Myles Donaldson (ex-Noble Rot and Anchor & Hope among others).

“Without a shadow of a doubt the very best Chinese restaurant in town” – Andrew Wong is “such a talent” and his “genius” cuisine inspires unending superlatives regarding his Pimlico HQ (previously run for decades by his parents as Kym’s). “Exceptional craft is on display” in the preparation of the “exquisite dim sum” and other “clearly Chinese dishes” (“none of your fusion nonsense here!”) and for some reporters it is “one of the most extraordinary culinary experiences ever”. But since the award of a second Michelin star (the first ever for a Chinese establishment) a meal here risks becoming “prohibitively expensive”, with minimum spends for lunch and tasting menus only in the evening. On most accounts it’s “worth it despite the high cost”, but the equation is more evenly balanced now, and the levels of service and ambience have struggled to keep up with the “hellish” bill. Even so, “there’s scarce table availability even with the extension into the outer terrace”.

“Delicious chops piled high, good gluggable house red – what’s not to like?” at this long-running and “extremely good-value” Turkish-Cypriot grill near Victoria station in Pimlico. It’s “not a place for a romantic tête-à-tête, but great fun – you’ll leave very well fed and watered, and with a smile on your face”.

These funky (and noisy) ‘rock ’n’ roll ramen’ bars shook up the capital’s Japanese fast-food scene when the first outlet opened in Soho 11 years ago, spawning a small group now reaching as far as Richmond. Their “super ramen” is served with 20-hour pork bone broth cooked these days at a kitchen on Bermondsey’s ‘beer mile’. But the business has not been immune to the industry’s difficulties: a Putney spin-off only lasted a year before closing, and a long-touted outlet in the old Eurostar terminal at Waterloo has yet to eventuate.

“Well produced, tasty morsels of delight” including “ace lunchtime bento boxes” are served at these “pared down” Japanese canteens, which provide “good value for money for what is generally an expensive cuisine”. Founder Mr Taro is not one for fast food: he conceived the idea of opening an ‘everyday dining room’ on a visit to London in 1979 and launched it in Soho 20 years later. Two decades on he is in expansion mode, and in February 2023 opened a sixth branch in a former Manze Pie & Mash shop in Walthamstow, with a Grade II listed interior now restored to its previous glory.

“Terrific Nepalese dishes in a basic setting” behind Victoria station. “The manager is exceptionally friendly and skillful – they were happy to make black lentils for us despite not being on the menu”. They also have a lunchtime food truck at Merchant Square in Paddington. Top Tip – “BYO, so don’t turn up empty-handed expecting a beer or glass of wine”.

This “no-expense-spared upmarket Indian restaurant” in Grade II listed Old Westminster Fire Station has impressed reporters with some “amazing and interesting dishes” in its first year. It was launched as “Atul Kochhar’s Mathura, which didn’t last long, but the new management has done some great marketing with customer deals” – “I’d certainly go again”.

2023 Review: ‘Where there’s tea there’s hope’ is the philosophical underpinning of this “quirky café”, which occupies a converted pub by Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and “does amazing breakfasts” and “unusual teas”, plus yummy buns. “They are a tea house though, so there is no coffee available!!”