Chef Mandy Yin’s Guide on Eating Your Way Through London

The Coal Drops Yard branch of Barrafina is the biggest one in the group, with gorgeous counter seating plus some small tables if you want a little more privacy. They’ve got a mix of new dishes and Barrafina classics (like their famously oozy tortillas) at this location, but be sure to check out the daily specials as well because these can be magic.

Forget the same old sandwiches and head to Dapur for a proper lunch. The small Holborn cafe, run by Sharizah Hashim, showcases real deal, halal, home-cooked Malaysian food, with dishes like nasi lemak, lamb rendang, stir fry courgette with glass noodles, kale with coconut milk, nasi goreng and aubergine green sambal on the daily changing menu. It’s only open from 11am – 3pm on weekdays, so don’t get caught out!

This all-day restaurant in St James’s takes inspo from the grand brasseries of France, serving from breakfast right through to dinner. Matthew Ryle is leading the kitchen, which is turning out fresh breads and patisserie from the in-house bakery in the morning before moving onto a menu featuring oysters, house terrines, homemade charcuterie, ravioli dauphine, fruits de mer platters, bavette with borderlaise, and rotisserie chicken. Come pudding time, an old-school trolley full of fruit tarts, Paris-Brests and other classics gets wheeled through the restaurant so make sure to save some room. And if you fancy getting stuck into some vino, downstairs bar Frank’s has over 250 bottles on the list, ranging from natural wines to legendary producers as well as sherry from the cask. You can also get bar snacks like charcuterie, pate en croute and cheese, down here too so you can really make a night of it.

When the original Koya opened on Frith Street back in 2010 it was a very welcome addition to London’s restaurant landscape. With its minimalist interiors and short menu focused on udon noodles, it was something we hadn’t really seen before and to this day, nobody has even tried to emulate it. The udon and dashi is the restaurant’s signature – you can get hot udon in hot broth, cold udon with hot broth and cold udon with cold sauce for either dipping or pouring – but they’ve put a lot of effort into the small plates section as well. The chicken karaage, the massive prawn & veg tempura, the marinated mushrooms, and the Namayasai farm green salad with shiso, spring onion and a great sesame dressing are all excellent. And this branch of Koya also serves breakfast, so you can start the day with everything from a traditional Japanese breakfast set of grilled fish, rice, miso soup and pickles to an English breakfast udon with egg, bacon and shiitake.

There was a big Rita’s-shaped hole in east London when Missy Flynn and Gabe Pryce closed the Hackney restaurant but thankfully it wasn’t gone forever. The pair reopened Rita’s in Soho, serving a menu inspired by the pair’s travels across the Americas and making use of sustainable, seasonal British and European produce. That means dishes like jalapeno gildas, bluefin tuna crudo with sour chile salsa, hot bean devilled eggs, southern fried quail with creamed corn and dandelion, and roast pumpkin with sesame mole and salsa macha. The drinks list is just as interesting with house ‘cheladas, mezcal negronis and mini martinis alongside organic and biodynamic wines.

After announcing a sabbatical at the end of last year, cult Thai restaurant Singburi has now relocated from Leytonstone to Shoreditch. Chef Sirichai Kularbwong has teamed up with chef Nick Molyviatis (who was the founding chef at Kiln and who helped launched OMA) and Alexander Gkikas (co-founder of Catalyst Cafe and Roastery), to open Singburi 2.0 inside the new Montacute Yards development close to Shoreditch High Street station. The menu is reminiscent of the blackboard at the Leytonstone restaurant, with dishes like Dill & Lemongrass Pork Sausage; Wild Ginger Chicken Thigh; Prawn & Betel Leaf Southern Curry; Mussels, Tomato & Sweet Basil; and Smoked Pork Belly & Green Peppercorn. There’s also a bar at this Singburi, pouring a rotating selections of wine (all available by the glass) from a list curated with the help of Ancestral Wine, and cocktails like clarified Bloody Marys and makrut lime leaf Gimlets.

Even though Padella is the spin-off restaurant, it’s arguably more famous than its big sis Trullo (low prices and long queues will always attract attention). Not only can you get the very same pasta (admittedly the selection is smaller) including the famous beef shin pappardelle and the pici cacio e pepe, but at Trullo you’ve got some knockout seasonal Italian dishes on offer too, from rustic antipasti to fish and meat cooked over charcoal.

A long-standing restaurant in Chinatown, Plum Valley has been passed down through generations of the same family since the 80s. The menu is full of Cantonese and Sichuan classics, as well as a selection of hand-crafted dim sum. The name hints at an old Chinese fable which tells the story of a utopian village away from the chaos of the outside world. This is the energy Plum Valley wants to replicate, providing a tranquil escape from Chinatown’s thoroughfare, Gerrard Street.

If you’re not had Uyghur (a predominantly Muslim ethnic group from northwestern China) food before, this no-frills Finsbury Park restaurant should be one of your first stops. Dilara Uyghur, which also serves Turkish dishes, has a range of Uyghur specialities on the menu, including boiled dumplings, cumin lamb skewers, big plate chicken with belt noodles and lamb samsa, alongside Uyghur teas.