Food
Not content with bringing us modern Peruvian food, pisco sours and cocktail slushies, NYC import Llama Inn is giving us a real Shoreditch suntrap. The restaurant’s terrace, which has room for 50, boasts uninterrupted City views and as much sunshine as possible thanks to a south-facing position. And with new dishes like lamb empanada with olives & aji chimichurri, braised leeks with aji gazpacho & yuzu, and grilled chicken with baby gem salad & aji crema joining classics like the scallop, yuzu kosho & nori ceviche and whole baked seabass, you’ve got even more reason to get up on that roof.
Mexican–Japanese fusion spot Los Mochis has opened a second site in the City, taking up residence in a 14,000 sq ft space on the rooftop of 100 Liverpool Street, comprising a dining room, an agaveria bar and lounge, two private dining rooms and a massive 3000 sq ft covered and heated terrace. Not only is it one of the largest outdoor terraces in the capital, it’s got a 3am license, so after feasting on tacos, kushiyaki and rare tequilas, you can party until the early hours.
TAQUIZA
Under the arches and adjacent to the famous music venue Carpet Shop Peckham (sister site to Corsica Studios) is the Mexican restaurant Taquiza. The site is led by head chef Sam Tarneberg and his partner, who, through travels and previous roles have both obtained plenty of knowledge of authentic Mexican cuisine. It’s off the beaten track, and its cosy interiors and dim lighting give a neighbourhood feel to it, ideal for date night. As tacos go, Taquiza’s tacos are relatively large and packed full to the brim with filling. They come in singular portions and it’s recommended you choose two per person when dining. Their taco menu is short and sweet, consisting of five different variants, all their inventive takes on the classics. As for dessert, though there’s only one on the menu (the lime zest flan Napolitano), in our eyes, it’s so good you wouldn’t want anything else.
Mallow is one of those 100% plant-based restaurants that you can easily bring your not-so-plant-based mates to. With its excellently thought-out and executed vegan dishes, it’s pretty tough to miss the presence of meat or dairy. Plus, the menu has also been designed to be as low waste as possible, with many ingredients like vegan feta and labneh to garden pickles and jams made on-site, as well as vegan wines and cocktails on the drinks list – bonus points there. While you can go down the starter and main route, we reckon sharing everything is the best way to eat at mallow, mainly because the small plates section is so good (especially the makhani mille feuille and their signature green oil gyoza). Other highlights include the green amok with five-spice tofu and the lahpet pilau. And make sure you save room for dessert, you won’t wanna leave without trying the chocolate caramel mousse cake. YUM.
DEAR JACKIE
With lavish and glamorous interiors courtesy of Martin Brudnizki, the 57-room Broadwick Soho is no wallflower, and that maximalist design philosophy is proudly on show in the hotel’s signature restaurant Dear Jackie. It’s got red silk walls adorned with decorative plates, Mediterranean-inspired tiles on the tabletops, chintzy fabric on the banquettes, Murano lighting and vintage-style table lamps, which are as much function as form as the lighting, though flattering for the face, is so low you won’t be able to read the menu without them. The restaurant self-describes as part la dolce vita, part disco, we see it more like the older, moneyed aunt of Big Mamma’s Gloria on holiday at a White Lotus resort. Head Chef Harry Faddy (ex-Aquavit and The River Cafe) is aiming for sophistication with his menu, peppering it with luxe ingredients and both classic Italian and Mediterranean flavours. The menu includes dishes like scallops in champagne sauce with trout roe and finger lime, pumpkin tortelloni with nduja butter and amaretti, pork collar with salsa verde with treviso, fennel parmigiana, and tiramisu. We’re not totally sold on the substance of Dear Jackie but the place has style in abundance, so if vibes are high on your requirements when choosing a dinner venue, you’ll be happy here.
Glaswegian Gregg Boyd, the man behind Auld Hag, has been flying the flag for Scottish food in the capital for the past few years, and now he’s opened London’s very first Scottish deli. The Shoap (from the Scottish slang for ‘shop’) is stocked with the best produce from across Scotland, including Glasgow’s Bare Bones Chocolate; charcuterie from East Coast Cured in Leith; preserves from the Isle of Arran; and a range of cheeses salts, cakes, biscuits, Mackie’s crisps, haggis, square sausage, Stornoway black pudding, and Scottish beers. The counter is filled with Dundee cake, Ecclefechan tarts, shortbread and tablet for all your sweet treat needs. And if you’re eating in, you can choose from Glasgow morning rolls with square sausage, tattie scones, macaroni pies, and toasties in the daytime, with small plates on in the evenings. Basically it’s your one-stop-shoap for all things Scottish.
Ramen Moto, from the same team behind Moto Yakitori & Sake Bar in Hong Kong, menu centres around a selection of authentic ramen bowls and Japanese small plates. Expect chewy, 100% Hokkaido wheat flour noodles and creamy, miso and shoyu broths, including the likes of creamy chicken (with soft chicken, pork chashu, seasoned egg, deep-fried burdock, spring onion, sliced fungus and onion); yuzu (with yuzu paste, soft chicken, pork chashu, wakame, spring onion and sliced fungus); spicy miso (with soft chicken, pork chashu, seasoned egg, wakame, sweetcorn, spring onion and sliced fungus); and veg/ spicy veg (with a kombu & mushroom broth, miso/spicy miso, konnyaku, sweetcorn, deep-fried burdock, deep-fried bean curd and nori) Plus, there are smaller plates and snacks like onigiri with truffle butter, chicken karaage and crispy shrimp rolls.
Ippudo is a massive ramen chain in Japan and, just as chain restaurants should, it provides a consistent and reliable ramen every time you go in to one of its four London branches. Tonkotsu, with pork belly chashu, sesame kikurage mushrooms, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and spring onions, is Ippudo’s speciality, which they’ve upgraded with the likes of miso paste and garlic oil (to make the Akamaru Modern bowl) and spicy miso, sansho pepper and roasted cashews (to make the Karaka-Men bowl). You can get these signatures with a range of different toppings, as well as add additional ones, with dishes like takoyaki, gyoza, karaage, hirata buns and donburi also on the Ippudo menu.
Tenmaru, which started in Finsbury Park in 2019 and has since expanded to a second site in Oxford Circus, aims to replicate the izakaya experience you’d find in Japan right here in London. And it does so through its menu of small plates like gyoza, cucumber salad, karaage and vegetable cakes, and its ramen selection. Tenmaru specialises in chicken broth ramen, including the tori paitan (with sous-vide chicken chashu, seasoned egg, black fungus, bean sprout and spring onion) but it also does a soupless mazesoba and a great range of vegan bowls, such as the spicy miso and tofu and the basil pesto ramen. If that sounds up your street, just remember it’s walk-ins only at both branches.
This Camden restaurant may be low-key in its vibe but it delivers big when it comes to ramen. With miso, shoyu, and tonkotsu ramens available, as well as veggie broths on offer instead of chicken and pork broth, there’s a bowl to suit all tastes – all you need is some gyoza on the side and you’ve got yourself a very good meal. And even better, it’s friendly on the wallet too, with the lunch options being a particularly good cheap eat.
Frog by Adam Handling opened in 2018 and a lot has changed since then – there’s been the closure of The Frog E1 and Adam Handling Chelsea on the one hand, and the flagship Covent Garden restaurant winning a Michelin star in 2022 on the other. As well as a new star, the restaurant has a new tasting menu at £195, which comes with a lot of food as standard plus the option to add on supplements. The snacks are a particular highlight, with the crab tart perfectly encapsulating the invention, skill, and zero-waste philosophy at Frog. The bread and chicken butter course; BBQ scallops; wagyu beef with morel mushroom and black truffle; and caramel hazelnut mousse and praline mousse with vanilla caramel custard, milk sorbet and chocolate biscuit are also all excellent. Frog by Adam Handling is a seriously impressive restaurant. Big flavours, intricate dishes, and a zero-waste approach combine to make this one of London’s best Michelin-star spots.
Don’t miss this gem of an Indian restaurant in South London. Instantly recognisable by the life-size tiger that protrudes above the door, Babur has been serving up top-notch food to locals for almost 40 years now and it has plenty of accolades under its belt, including the ‘Best Fine Dining Restaurant’ award at the 2023 Asian Restaurant Awards. Babur’s food menu includes classic dishes from all over India, elevated with the chef’s take on traditional recipes, including beetroot cutlet, crab bonda dumplings, tikka butter masala, and baby monkfish tail caldeen. The restaurant’s mango chutney has also been deemed London’s best by podcast Off Menu.
BAMBOO MAT
Former Chotto Matte chef, Denis Gobjila, and his business partner, Victor Rosca (who is best known for Sushisamba and Lucky Cat), have joined forces to put their own stamp on Nikkei cuisine – a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian flavours – and showcase it at Bamboo Mat in Stratford. Situated in East Village, Bamboo Mat has a luxury 9-course tasting menu for just £55 – you can also add wine pairing for £25, which we highly recommend you do for the full experience. All of the dishes are presented in a sharing style, including ceviche deluxe, hamachi tiradito, chicken anticucho, ox cheek in teriyaki sauce and a sushi platter piled high with dragon maki, bluefin tuna nigiri, and A4 grade wagyu beef aburi nigiri.
Right in the heart of Chelsea, Ixchel is a modern Mexican restaurant bringing a taste of the Yucatan peninsula to London. The concept comes from restaurateur Fraser Carruthers and Mexican chef Ximena Gayosso Gonzalez (previously of Brat, Ella Canta and Madera at Treehouse London in the capital and at Dulce Patria in Mexico City) and borrows its name from the Mayan goddess of the moon and textiles – you’ll find hints of her influence throughout the restaurant, including moon motifs and contemporary macrame. The interiors at Ixchel are stunning, it’s been fitted out with furnishings made using natural materials and handcrafted artwork that draw both on London’s brutalist architecture and Mexican folk art. Fair warning: it’s beautiful and in Chelsea, so expect the full ‘influencers in the wild experience’, ring lights and all. Also expect a show-stopping food menu from Ximena that includes a selection of ceviches, tacos, tostadas and sharing plates. There are a lot of highlights, but you don’t want to miss the short rib with smoky adobo and pineapple salsa or the crispy potatoes with salsa verde. Drinks-wise, they’ve got a comprehensive selection of well-executed twists on the classic margarita, devised by bar manager Manuel Lema (previously of Cavita and Le Bodegra Negra). Plus, their bar boasts one of the largest collections of tequila in Europe, so if you’re a fan of agave-based liquor, this is a must-visit.
A beloved local fave (it’s even taken the top spot for London restaurants on Trip Advisor a few times), the 40-seat, family-owned Trattoria Raffaele has been serving up handmade Italian food since 2008. All the food is seasonal and fresh, including the pasta made from scratch and and the handmade bread and sauces for the pizzas. The regular menu is full of classic dishes but the specials board is where the real gems are to be found.
MARLOW FISH BAR
This chippy has a strong claim to being the best in all of south London. Run by Moses Adamou, who opened it way back in 1962, Marlow Fish Bar does all the classics – cod, haddock, rock, plaice, battered sausage and fresh chips cut by hand. A true local institution.
Naïfs is a hidden gem on a quiet residential street in southeast London. The Peckham neighbourhood restaurant serves up a seasonal set menu and is one of only two vegan restaurants in the Michelin Guide – impressive. It’s also very reasonable, at £30pp for four knock-out dishes, sharing style. Our tip would be to save room for their desserts – we’re still dreaming of the Naïfs chocolate mousse.
JUNO
Juno, hidden above Japanese-Mexican fusion restaurant Los Mochis in Notting Hill, is the smallest omakase experience in London and also the first one in the world to be gluten and nut free. Run by Los Mochis Executive Chef Leonard Tanyag (ex-OKKU and Zuma) and Head Sushi Chef Han (ex-Nobu and Roka), Juno mirrors the downstairs restaurant by incorporating Mexican flavours, particularly through inventive seasonings made in-house. As omakase means ‘I leave it up to you’, the chefs base the 15 courses around the freshest fish they have available to them at the time. The first burst of dishes is where you can really see and taste the Mexican influences, like madai (red bream) on a lime aioli and finished with a Oaxacan-inspired chicatana (that’s flying ant) and arbol chilli seasonin, and kinmedai (snapper) and cucumber as aguachile with grasshopper seasoning. Then it’s onto the nigiri section, which includes the likes of sweet Hokkaido scallop with yuzu salt; super creamy botan ebi (prawn) with green perilla salt; and an A5 wagyu nigiri, seasoned with a salt made from agave worm and seared using molten bone marrow. If you’re looking for a blowout meal, and you wanna try an omakase unlike any other in town, it’s well worth nabbing one of the seats at Juno.