Food
GALLERY AT THE SAVOY
Gallery opened at The Savoy at the end of 2024 and in the space that used to house the Thames Foyer, and the new look, including marble, gold and plush banquettes, is a hit. Open all day, Gallery serves everything from breakfast to afternoon tea to dinner, where you can get everything from a pizza and a burger to Beluga caviar with blinis and tomahawk steak with peppercorn sauce. Come nighttime, Gallery turns into a cocktail bar and it’s a very chic spot for a glass of fizz or a martini.
We all love a warehouse-turned-restaurant and Bethnal Green’s Bistrotheque is a brilliant example of an industrial unit renovation gone very right – it’s polished but relaxed and lots of fun. The menu has a French accent, featuring dishes like steak tartare; chanterelle, shallot and marsala cream vol au vent; burger au jus; brown butter monkfish with cavolo nero and brown shirmp; and cherry meringue with pistachio cream and amarena cherries, and the cocktails are cracking too. And if you wanna take your dinner up a notch, you can get a show (often drag) as well in downstairs space The Cockatoo. No wonder it’s been a fave with the fashion set since it opened in 2004.
London’s first Park Hyatt hotel opened up in a new luxury high-rise in Nine Elms in October 2024, together with some interesting restaurants and bars. The key one is a high-end Cantonese restaurant called Yú Gé, helmed by chef Eng Soon Yeo, who spent many years at Hakkasan and was most recently at MiMi Mei Fair. The main (but not the only) reason to come here is for the signature roast Peking duck – a glorious bronzed duck that is carved tableside. You are first given slithers of golden crisp skin to dip in a tiny bit of sugar, before being served beautiful slices of duck, together with fresh pancakes, hoisin sauce, cucumber and onion. It’s exceptional stuff. Then comes the traditional second serving for which you have a choice – stir-fried duck with ginger and spring onion, or stir-fry salt and pepper duck. The supreme dim sum selection, crispy citrus prawns, honey glazed sea bass and double boiled soup are also worth ordering, and there’s a selection of Chinese wines available by the glass, including a Riesling from the Kanaan Winery in Ningxia.
Los Mochis in Notting Hill has Juno Omakase, and now Los Mochis in the City has Luna Omakase. Where its sister in W8 only has six seats and serves a Mexican-Japanese fusion omakase menu, Luna Omakase has 12 seats, set around a wooden counter (with the City skyline forming the backdrop), and offers Sosaku-style Edomae omakase, a modern take on traditional Edomae sushi. Whereas Juno is more experimental thanks to its use of Mexican flavours, Luna leans more traditionally Japanese, with Executive Head Chef Leonard Tanyag basing the 12-course menu around the best sustainable seafood available to him at the time. That means dishes will change but you can expect plates like Spanish bluefin tuna tartare with aged wasabi, caviar, and a sushi rice cracker, presented in a bowl that looks like a smoking piece of moon rock; bream nigiri lightly torched with a glowing piece of binchotan charcoal; onigiri with hamachi tartare, serrano chilli and fresh truffle; sweet potato loaded with caviar; a seared Hokkaido scallop on a sesame truffle sauce; and a buttery A5 wagyu sando with wasabi leaves.
After a host of successful pop-ups, winning a Young British Foodie award and smashing a crowdfunding campaign, siblings Ifeyinwa and Emeka Frederick opened Chuku’s in Tottenham in 2020. The restaurant serves up Nigerian tapas, with a backdrop of contemporary art and an afrobeats soundtrack designed to give you a little taste of Lagos. The menu includes jollof quinoa, moi moi, suya meatballs, caramel kuli kuli wings, egusi bowl, banga prawns and plantain waffles, alongside Nigerian beers, palm wine & coconut cocktails and spiced hibiscus iced tea.
After founding Mexican Seoul when he was furloughed in 2020, Ashley Chipchase has gone on to trade at a range of London markets and festivals across the UK; won an array of awards at Wing Fest; and opened a permanent location in Bow Wharf, right on the corner of Victoria Park. There he serves up Mexican-Korean fusion dishes like elote-style corn ribs with pecorino cheese and miso mayo; tuna tostadas with guacamole, oi muchim & fried leeks; spicy pork belly tacos topped with Korean slaw, lime crema, fried onions & homemade salsa verde; and Honey Buffanero and Gochu-Gang chicken wings. You can pair your tacos with Kimchi Bloody Marys, Sesame Old Fashioneds, Soju Martinis and Somaek (that’s a beer and soju combo).
James Dye (co-owner The Camberwell Arms, Frank’s, and Bambi), Benjy Leibowitz, (formerly of JKS, inHouse and The NoMad in NYC) and Patrick Powell (ex-Allegra, Midland Grand Dining Room and Chiltern Firehouse) have restored historic Shoreditch pub The Knave of Clubs back to its former glory. Patrick and fellow chef Attila Gellen have created a concise menu of dishes that fit the relaxed vibe of the pub, including upgraded pub snacks (like venison sausage rolls and prawn scotch eggs) and rotisserie chicken. The birds, sourced from Turner & George, come in whole or half portions (we recommend getting it with the chermoula spices for an extra citrusy hit), are soft and succulent, and come with insanely crunchy roasties cooked in chicken fat, a sharp green salad, aioli and slices of baguette. The bar is stocked with beers from independent breweries, Guinness and Allsopp’s Double Diamond, plus there’s a short wine list on offer and they do a mean negroni too.
At the Chai Guys Bakehouse on Portobello Road, Abhilash Jobanputra and Gabriel Unger are showcasing a range of bakes and artisanal pastries, made with the best British ingredients and quality spices, that draw on food traditions from the likes of France, India, Japan and Scandinavia. You can find the their signature cardamom-infused chai spice milk bread with salted butter on the menu alongside a seasonal selection of sweet and savoury treats. Of course all the classic chais, including masala chai, kadak chai, Kashmiri chai and iced chai are on offer to pair with your pastries.
Founded by Daniel Land and named in tribute to his late sister Lesley and the phrase she’d often say, Don’t Tell Dad is half bakery, half restaurant. Head Baker Keren Sternberg (ex-Layla), has created quite the buzz on social media with bakes like hazelnut brown butter croissants, bergamot and cardamom doughnuts, and artichoke, sage and Lancashire cheese pain suisse. The restaurant is going down a storm too thanks to Head Chef Luke Frankie’s French and British-influenced menu, and dishes like truffle and cheddar beignets; crab tart with watercress; chicory, pear, candied walnut and comté salad; skate wing with potatoes, clams, and wild garlic; and rhubarb & almond tart. Don’t Tell Dad looks the part; it’s deep red and cream palette, beautiful tiled floor, and a tapestry depicting Queen’s Park life by local artist Martha Hussey on the large sharing table, make it stylish but still warm and inviting, and the food mirrors that vibe to a tee.
This spot inside Peckham’s Rye Lane Market is doing some of the best tacos in the city. Owner Manny makes the corn tortillas by hand and as well as getting them as chips for the namesake guac, you’ll want to get the birria, carnitas and tongue tacos (yes there are veggie and fish fillings available too. Finish with a squidgy square of tres leches cake topped with whipped cream. And if you wanna try everything, head down on Tuesdays to take advantage of the £3 Taco Tuesday deal.
At just £5.50 for a falafel wrap filled with sauces, three falafels and salad, Baban’s Naan has got to be one of the best cheap eats in town. All the naans are made on site – varieties include za’atar, peshwari, cheese, garlic, and chilli – and you can get them filled with minced lamb Kurdish kebabs and kubba as well as falafel. Already a steal if you buy them filled to eat then and there, the breads are even cheaper if you wanna take them home, so get down there and stock up.
Founded by hospo power couple sommelier Honey Spencer and GM Charlie Sims (who between them have worked at the likes of Lyle’s, Brunswick House, Evelyn’s Table, Osip and Noma) Sune on Broadway Market is the culmination of their years of experience. Named after Honey’s mentor Sune Rosforth (and pronounced ‘sooner’), Sune is an intimate and unpretentious neighbourhood spot that serves a seasonal modern British menu, with dishes like Carlingford oysters with pomelo mignonette, charred flatbread with horseradish creme fraiche, stracciatella with orange and kohlrabi, pork chop with madeira and green peppercorn, brown butter grilled potatoes, and Tunworth ice cream with poached pear and hazelnut. Honey’s wine list is wide-ranging but carefully curated, showcasing the depth of her knowledge as well as the producers and bottles she loves.
Cult sandwich slingers Mondo Sando have given their ever-changing menu of crowd-pleasers a permanent home by opening their very own shop in Camberwell – right next door to TOAD Bakery. What started as a lockdown side hustle – inspired by the food in Miyazaki films, Redwall novels and the Beano, as well as from delis, diners and drinking dens across the world – has grown into a fave of sandwich-loving Londoners, and Mondo’s held a series of popular residencies since launching (most recently at the Grove House Tavern, which will continue alongside the new venture). Now the team are moving up to the next level with Cafe Mondo, a fully-licenced sandwich shop on Peckham Road. As well as beer and sandwiches, the new site is doing wine, cocktails, slushies, pickles (all at affordable prices) and a sunny front porch to eat/drink on.
No prizes for guessing what this New Malden spot specialises in. If you want Korean fried chicken and beers (or soju) in KT3, this is the place to head for. Said chicken comes as a whole bird broken down into 14 – 15 pieces (you can also order wings, nuggets and strips if you want a slightly smaller portion), which you can get covered in sweet chilli, spicy sweet chilli or garlic soy glazes. With supremely crispy batter on the outside and juicy meat on the inside, you’d be more than happy with just the plain fried birds but the soy glaze is the winner out of the other options.
Completing the Goodbye Horses trio, made up of the restaurant and wine bar, and coffee shop Day Trip, is ice cream parlour The Dreamery. The space, dominated by a large stainless steel bar, is serving up a seasonally changing menu of ice creams created by Jack Coggins, Head Chef at Goodbye Horses, with flavours like Christmas pudding, gingerbread, mint chocolate chip, croissant, and custard. And if you want a drink to go with your scoops, there’s a selection of light glou-glou wines from small and indie producers on offer too.
Named after the place in Seoul where owner Mr Cho first met his wife, Jin Go Gae aims to bring the experience of eating BBQ in the Korean capital to London. There’s an extensive selection of banchan and an-joo, including kimchi, pickled radish, pajeon, tofu kimchi bokkum, tteokbokki and gae jang (raw crab in spicy chilli sauce), plus hotpots, soups, rice and noodle dishes, and Korean fried chicken. But the BBQ is where its at, so order up bulgogi, beef tongue, pork belly, squid, prawns and get grilling.
Ogam is a Korean cocktail and tapas bar in Angel which is a go-to for anju plates (side dishes and snacks usually eaten with alcohol). The food menu includes kimchi pancakes, cheese buldak , japchae, tteokbokki, pork belly with ssamjang, and fish cake soup. The drinks really are the standout here, especially the makgeolli, a Korean rice wine that’s milky and lightly sparkling, which is brewed in-house. There’s also sojo, plum wine and other Korean spirits on offer – try them in one of the cocktials, like the K-Negroni, Jeju Mule and Andong Sour.
Hongdae Pocha (a pocha is like a Korean pub) in Soho is decked out in a retro 70s style and is the perfect entryway into Korean drinking culture – soju features heavily on the drinks list alongside Korean beers and rice and plum wines. Hongdae Pocha isn’t just about the bevs though, there’s a full food menu of dishes that are designed to go with the booze like crispy kimchi pancake, japchae glass noodles, corn with mozzarella cheese, gochujang popcorn chicken, bulgogi beef, ramyun, mandoo, and a range of different hot pots.