London West Brompton Restaurant Guide

“A quirky steampunk theme combined with an emphasis on cocktails and craft beers accompanies very sound modern Indian cooking” at this Earl’s Court venture, whose name pays tribute to the 19th-century Scottish botanists who classified the subcontinent’s plants. “After a few false starts on the site, this restaurant has found its forte under the same ownership as its predecessor Mr Wing (RIP)”.

2021 Review: Hit and miss feedback on this Italian three-year-old, in a posh side street opposite the entrance to the Chelsea & Westminster hospital. On the plus side, all reports rate the cooking as good or better. But it can also seem pricey for what it is, and meals don’t always run like clockwork: “the management and the regular clientele were treating the place as the most remarkable restaurant in this part of the world, but our service was very up and down, to the extent they gave us free puddings”.

“The food is pretty basic, but that’s not why people go” to wine merchant John Brinkley’s Chelsea brasserie, a long-time hangout for a loyal ‘Sloane Ranger’ crowd who discovered the place in the ’80s – “the wine list is excellent and not greedily priced, and the atmosphere remains great”. There are suggestions, though, that its “buzz” is on the wane (“the place has been sliding for at least two or three years”), but people have been saying this for over a decade now!

One of London’s earlier-wave of gastropubs, this “great local” can still feel like a discovery down a side street near West Brompton tube, despite being increasingly surrounded by the shiny new blocks built in the area. The Med-inspired cuisine remains a cut above. In summer “the terrace is fantastic in the sunshine” and its cosy interior is just the job on a cold day.

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.

“Unchanged over the years but still a Spanish star in west London with plenty of charm and a style all of its own” – Abel Lusa opened this high-quality Hispanic venture in South Kensington in 1995 and has maintained it as “a consistent performer” ever since. “If you love well-prepared Spanish food and wines, you’ll find both here” alongside “excellent and friendly” service. “In June and July each year it’s filled with tennis players” and both Nadal and Alcarez are well known to be major fans (eating here regularly with their families and ordering take-out during Wimbledon). As a result, Abel has developed pop-ups serving his food at major tennis championships around the globe.

2021 Review: “Neapolitan influences are evident in the choice of ingredients, and the wood-burning oven makes for good, chewy, charred crusts, unlike most high-street pizzas” – so say fans of this global chain, whose HQ is indeed in Naples. Not everyone is impressed, though, and ratings are dragged down by those who feel it’s merely an “everyday” choice: “OK for a bog-standard group, but not great”.

“Fabulous tapas” as usual wins praise for this “stalwart of South Kensington” from Abel Lusa – one of his high-octane trio grouped together around Cambio de Tercio (see also) on the Old Brompton Road. Now in its 24th year, one or two regulars opine that it’s firing on all cylinders again after a “down patch”, with “new ideas” and a return to “the high standards they had before”.

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”.

A “reliable local” fixture for more than 25 years almost opposite Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, this “good-value”, “buzzy” café serves “very good Italian food in a relaxed setting”. It’s “nothing fancy, but the sort of place you can take your children or your grandparents and everyone will feel very much at home”.

“A Classic for South Ken and after all this time still the best curry house there is!” – this family-run “local favourite” has lasted over six decades and is “always jammed and lively”. Service has mellowed over the years – it’s quite “amusing” and “friendly” nowadays. The cooking? “Pretty standard stuff, but perfectly good and consistent”.

“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.

2022 Review: This Fulham Road newcomer on ‘The Beach’ opened mid-lockdowns with a contemporary Italian offering. It’s the brainchild of Leandro Longo (La Caricatura) and chef Ignacio Fuggiero (The Met). You can opt for an eight-course tasting menu (as well as two-course, three-course and à la carte options) but the approach has strong, traditional Italian roots.

Wanting to eat in the wee hours? This stalwart chain has fed tolerable diner food 24/7 (VQ = Vingt Quatre, geddit?) to the denizens of the Fulham Road for as long as anyone can remember (before 1995 it was called ‘Up all Night’); and has a more recent outlet (unusually, licensed till 4am, though you must be eating) that’s more convenient if you are clubbing in the West End on the ground floor of a Bloomsbury hotel.

Burgers served à la française in a brioche bun still win a good level of support for this 20-year-old fast-food group. Having shrunk to just two branches – Balham and the Camden flagship, the latter said to be a favourite of Amy Winehouse back in the day – they are now part of Jamie Barber’s Hush Mayfair operation, with former branches in Kingston, Holborn and Chelsea upgraded into brasseries.

2023 Review: This “treasured Chelsea local, tucked away in a cosy basement off the Fulham Road ‘beach’”, inspires a devoted following from its regulars, looking after them with “classy and delicious” Italian dishes and an impressive wine list. Tourists and casual passers-by are unlikely even to notice the all-but-hidden entrance, adding to the clubbish appeal.

2022 Review: ‘A taste of rural France on the Fulham Road’ is the promise at this ‘gourmet traiteur’ in Chelsea: an early 2020 newcomer where dishes (to go or for delivery within 4 miles) are designed for reheating at home and prepared by Chris Hill, who most recently worked as a senior sous chef at The Ritz. It’s owned by Dimitri and Mira Plaquet, of a high-quality Belgian food group called La Villa Lorraine. They must be doing something right, as in mid 2021 they launched a second store in Wimbledon.

2021 Review: “Decent burgers and reliable steaks” are highlights of the menu at this pair of “family- and group-friendly” steakhouses in the Fulham Road and Soho – useful ports of call before a match at Stamford Bridge or a night out in the West End. Overall, the level culinary performance is rated somewhere between “solid” and “pretty average”.

2021 Review: Over 1,000 people queued for its opening, but if you’re not Filipino, chances are you won’t ‘get’ this Earl’s Court fast-food diner, which has introduced the capital to the delights of authentic ‘chickenjoy’, yumburger and Jolly Spaghetti (with sweet tomato and hot dog sauce) – “really not special!”

One of London’s original beacons of “modern Japanese sushi dining” to those in-the-know, Yasuhiro Minemo & Shinya Ikeda’s surprisingly under-the-radar venture has lit up a Kensington backstreet for 14 years – it can be “hard to find as it doesn’t look like a restaurant and the only sign is a blackboard, but it’s well worth it”. “Focused on quality ingredients and an authentic approach” – it’s far from inexpensive but consistently inspires “outstanding” feedback from its fans. It has spawned two offshoots: Ocean House in the old Brompton Library near South Kensington tube; and Sushi Kamon in Arcade Food Hall on Oxford Street.