Southbank Restaurant Guide

“I love Bentley’s!” – “You always come away happy and well fed” from Richard Corrigan’s carefully nurtured institution, which has a “lovely, old school feel that’s not too formal”; and which celebrates its 108th year in 2024. “Choose upstairs or down depending on your preferred level of formality”: “downstairs is jollier” – “the Oyster bar is an absolute favourite” – while “upstairs is more calm and quiet”. In both locations, you can enjoy “consistently great” fish and seafood prepared in a traditional style. And in summer, the “gorgeous”, big, heated terrace on the pavement outside comes into its own. Personable service is “attentive”, but “you are left in peace” when required and this is a “great and reliable central London business choice”. Top Menu Tip – “the dressed crab here is the best in town”; “wonderful oysters, and the specials are always worth checking out”.

‘Good in parts’ is perhaps the fairest description of this comfy dining room in a five-star hotel near St James’s Park tube, which continues to put in a ‘Curate’s Egg’ performance. Recruiting ace chef, Sally Abé, a couple of years ago helped boost the profile of what was hitherto seen merely as a business venue convenient for parliamentarians from nearby Westminster. Nowadays, she presents “an interesting menu” championing British produce and recipes, resulting in “fabulous food, beautifully presented”. On the downside, service can be “variable” and “while the decor is nice, the ambience is rather soulless as the restaurant is situated in the rather cavernous bowels of a hotel”.

“You never feel cramped or too close to other tables” in the gracious West End flagship branch of Carlo Distefano’s national group of old-school, comfortable Italian restaurants (London was one of the last destinations of a chain nowadays numbering about 20). Culinary results are “consistent” from the “very comprehensive menu” – if there was a gripe this year, it was over the odd let-down on the service front.

“Despite now being part of a rolled-out chain, they have managed to maintain good quality” at these tapas-haunts, whose original branch off Goodge Street was an early pioneer of the capital’s trend to small plates. A minor gripe is of “packed” seating, but most feedback focuses on their “delicious food and well-thought-out wine list”.

“Reminds me of Noble Rot… and I can give no higher praise” – one very enthusiastic report on this wine-led spring 2024 newcomer, which has a dead cute location down an alleyway by Smithfield Market, in a row of houses that escaped the Great Fire in 1666. (Premises some might still remember as Betjeman’s Wine Bar, long RIP, named for the late poet laureate who used to live on the first floor). Backed by specialist wine importers, Joe Haynes and Ben Butterworth, its stoves are manned by Tom Hurst, former head chef at Lasdun and a graduate of some of London’s best modern kitchens, and initial feedback is very promising. In a May 2024 review, The Financial Times’s Tim Hayward found the creative small plates “mixed but fascinating… I loved the new place… I want creativity and experimentation, and if that’s really happening, I expect as many near misses as palpable hits”.

“The stories behind the dishes are so lovely” at Adam Handling’s Covent Garden HQ, where diners face the open kitchen to enjoy an eight-course menu presented by the chef and his team for £195 per person. “The wow-factor of the beautiful presentation really adds to the overall pleasure of the meal” and “you will seldom see such intricately and delicately plated dishes”. For most diners, “there’s substance to match all the theatrics” too, with the resulting tastes on the plate being “absolutely superb”. But there are also those who – while acknowledging “flashes of brilliance” – still feel that “‘we’re-trying-so-hard’ screams from every dish” to the extent of seeming “pointless” or “pretentious”. “And then there’s the bill…” which even fans concede is “daftly expensive”. The main verdict though? “can’t wait to return!”. Top Tip – corkage free lunchtimes: BYO at no extra cost!

“Keeping up its standards” – this “sweet” and stylish converted pub near the Royal Opera House operates over two floors. It’s part of the Salt Yard chain, and serves the Spanish and Italian tapas for which the group is known: “good food”, but some feel it’s “expensive” for what it is.

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“For a quick bite” in touristy parts of town, all with a bit of affordable glam thrown in, these “closely packed” Italians with their wide range of Venetian-style Cicchetti have carved a sizeable following: fans say “the small-plates formula works well” and “the whole place buzzes”. Ratings came under more pressure this year, though, with service – generally “swift and charming” – sometimes found “rushed” or “rather random”.

“A tasty offshoot of the great Cinnamon Club” – Vivek Singh’s “prettily decorated” cafés (“resembling a tropical garden centre cafe!”) offer a “good-value”, “Indian-with-a-twist” menu: “hot curry staples” plus options “reminiscent of street food”. Practically all comments refer to the original – “a go-to in Covent Garden” for its very many fans – but he also opened in Richmond this year, taking over the former Carluccio’s venue diagonally opposite the station. One caution in reports – it looks time to pep up the decor in WC2 – it risks looking a bit “shabby”.

“It’s like a big party!”, say fans of this “fun” Latino haunt – a hidden gem off the beaten track near Elephant & Castle (on St George’s Circus). “I never expected such a lively place to have such high-quality cuisine, superb cocktails and an extraordinary South American wine list”: chef Jose Rubio-Guevara’s menus ‘mix-and-match’ culinary ideas from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.

Looking for that “great, little, traditional French bistro in the heart of theatreland”? For many in our annual diners’ poll, this “family-run” venue where much of the seating is in an atmospheric brick-arched cellar is “a firm favourite”, helped by its “reasonable prices”: “we have been visiting for 20 years, celebrating birthdays and engagements as well as their Bastille day and Beaujolais special events – it feels like a home from home”. Don’t expect culinary fireworks, though – sometimes the food is “underwhelming” (“still, despite it being below par, because of the staff we enjoyed ourselves!)”

“In the culinary void that seems to exist in the City”, Xavier Rousset & Gearoid Devaney’s venue is one of the few places that “rarely fails to deliver” when it comes to a high-quality meal and – “especially for this location – provides a great blend of decent food, wine, and particularly service” (“amicable and timely without being overpowering”). “Excellent food in the French style” is overseen by executive head chef Edward Boardland and ownership by two master sommeliers results in a “superb, heavily Burgundy-facing wine list” that’s also “reasonably priced”. Top Tip – “very knowledgeable sommelier as you’d expect, but the team are equally accepting if you BYO” and “corkage is reasonable too!”

“In the memorable setting of Westminster Library” – “still with book-lined walls” – “few restaurants can beat the ambience of this old room” (one of the Top-40 most commented-on venues in our annual diners’ poll). Opened in 2001, it can genuinely claim to have helped ‘redefine expectations of Indian cooking’ in the UK, thanks to Vivek Singh’s “always-innovative cuisine using seasonal ingredients” (“calling it an Indian restaurant conjures up a misleading picture: this is fine cooking characterised by first-class ingredients and restrained spicing so that delicate flavours can still be enjoyed”). Staff are typically “courteously graceful” (though occasionally “unresponsive” this year) and “the unusual space makes for an atmosphere for calm enjoyment”. “It is worth mentioning the wine list, which includes some fascinating Indian wines that are well worth investigating”.

These clubby Nikkei haunts from former Nobu exec Kurt Zdesar in Soho and Marylebone have spawned an international group with outlets in North America and the Middle East – with Manchester scheduled to follow this year. The food can be “excellent”, and the joints are “buzzing” (so don’t go if you want a quiet evening, or the “thumping and repetitive club music spoils the dining experience”).

“You can sit at the grill if you want added excitement” at this traditional basement Japanese in St James’s, where there’s the option of either a teppanyaki or sushi counter, as well as more conventional seating and a private room. All reports this year were of “superb” meals.

“An unfailing choice, near Barts” – Pascal Aussignac’s & Vincent Labeyrie’s homage to gutsy Gascon cuisine and wine opened in 1998 in an idiosyncratic and grand marble-walled former Lyons Tea House near Smithfield Market. It’s now one of London‘s longest established temples of French gastronomy, but chef Pascal has lightened and modernised his cuisine over the years (and foie gras – once omnipresent – only makes the odd appearance on menus nowadays). There is a six-course tasting menu for £120, but also a much cheaper three-course version; and you can also eat here à la carte.

“Excellent for an informal French meal at very affordable prices” – this Gallic pair are the creation of Lyon-born Aurelia Noel-Delclos, who named them after her food-loving grandmother. With its “child-friendly menu” and “well-designed bistro-brasserie ambience”, the newer Victoria branch has overtaken the site in the touristic heart of old Covent Garden market in popularity. Don’t expect the earth – they serve “reasonable, bistro-type fare”.

“For a quick bite” in touristy parts of town, all with a bit of affordable glam thrown in, these “closely packed” Italians with their wide range of Venetian-style Cicchetti have carved a sizeable following: fans say “the small-plates formula works well” and “the whole place buzzes”. Ratings came under more pressure this year, though, with service – generally “swift and charming” – sometimes found “rushed” or “rather random”.