These are some of the women leading the way in the food world
We love restaurants here at London On The Inside and given 2026 is our Year of the Woman, we’re shining a light on some of the amazing women in the city’s hospitality industry. The sector is the UK’s third largest employer and though women make up to 70% of the workforce, only 8% of the leadership positions are held by women and they earn 3.45% less than their male counterparts. That’s why it’s important to recognise and celebrate the women who are breaking down these barriers.
Samyukta Nair, Nipotina
Restaurateur Samyukta Nair might just be the queen of Mayfair. She’s the woman behind Bombay Bustle, the Michelin-starred Jamavar, MiMi Mei Fair and Nipotina, which cover fine-dining Indian, high-end Chinese and homestyle Italian food. Not only has she found success across multiple cuisines, she’s put as much effort and detail into the look of each place too, creating truly memorable dining experiences.
49 S Audley St, London W1K 2QD
nipotinaristorante.com
Sophia Massarella, Polentina
Polentina, the Italian restaurant housed inside the ApparelTASKER clothing factory on a Bow industrial estate, is the brainchild of Sophia Massarella. Located in what used to be the factory’s staff canteen, the restaurant celebrates Sophia’s Italian and Austrian heritage with authentic homestyle dishes on the menu (many of which you won’t find elsewhere) and objects from her family dotted around the space.
1 Bowood House, Empson St, London E3 3LT
@polentinalondon
Cynthia Shanmugalingam, Rambutan
After releasing her cookbook Rambutan, celebrating the food of Sri Lanka and her Tamil roots, Cynthia Shanmugalingam opened a restaurant of the same name in Borough in 2023. Rambutan received rave reviews almost immediately and has built a rep for being one of the best Sri Lankan restaurants in town thanks to dishes like mutton rolls, saffron chicken pongal rice, and kottu roti with crab and chilli butter.
10 Stoney Street, London, SE1 9AD
@rambutan_ldn
Asma Khan, Darjeeling Express
Self-taught cook Asma Khan (who was the first UK chef to star in Netflix’s Chef’s Table) took Darjeeling Express from a supper club to a tiny spot in Kingly Court to a Covent Garden restaurant, and then back to a bigger and better spot in Kingly Court. It takes inspiration from Asma’s royal Indian ancestry and growing up in the Bengali streets of Calcutta – the biryanis are particularly special – and she runs the restaurant with an all-female team in the kitchen.
Kingly Court, Kingly St, London W1B 5PW
darjeeling-express.com
Ruth Rogers, The River Cafe
The River Cafe, opened in 1987 by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, is one of the most iconic restaurants in London. The likes of Jamie Oliver, Theo Randall, April Bloomfield and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall were all trained in the River Cafe kitchen and it remains one of the best Italian restaurants in the capital. Its model of using the finest, freshest seasonal ingredients treated simply has been copied by many other establishments.
Thames Wharf, Rainville Rd, Hammersmith, London W6 9HA
rivercafe.co.uk
Adejoké Bakare, Chisuru
Adejoké Bakare was a talented home cook who became a head chef when she won the amateur category of 2019’s Brixton Kitchen competition. She landed a spot on Market Row and turned that space into critically-acclaimed West African restaurant Chishuru. Born in the first year of the pandemic, Chishuru became such a success story that she moved to a larger site in 2023 and won a Michelin star at the start of 2024, becoming the first Black woman in the UK to receive one.
3 Great Titchfield St, London W1W 8AX
chishuru.com
Margot Henderson & Melanie Arnold, Rochelle Canteen
Rochelle Canteen, run by Margot Henderson and Melanie Arnold, has long been one of London’s favourite restaurants. Housed in a former school bike shed on Arnold Circus in Shoreditch, it’s accessible only through an unmarked door that, when buzzed in, leads you through a pretty garden and to a small dining room. Aside from being an excellent setting to enjoy a leisurely meal, the cooking is superb with simplicity and seasonality being the order of the day.
16 Playground Gardens, London E2 7FA
rochelleschool.org
Mandy Yin, Sambal Shiok
Starting out with a food stall in 2013 – which grew into a pop-up and now a celebrated bricks and mortar fixture on Holloway Riad – laksa restaurant Sambal Shiok is headed up by self-taught chef Mandy Yin. Taking inspiration from the food she would eat as a child, the restaurant serves up a variety of Malaysian dishes, with a focus on her deservedly cult Malaysian Nyonya curry laksa. Mandy has also been a vocal advocate for the hospitality industry and speaks openly about the challenges that operators in the sector are facing.
171 Holloway Road, London, N7 8LX
sambalshiok.co.uk
Missy Flynn, Rita’s
Missy Flynn and Gabe Pryce are responsible for one of the city’s cult restaurants. Rita’s, which began life in east London, returned in a new Soho location in 2021 to much excitement, with a menu inspired by the pair’s travels across the Americas and sustainable, seasonal British and European produce. As well as curating the drinks programme at Rita’s, which includes house ‘cheladas, mezcal negronis and mini martinis, Missy is also one half of beverage and hospo design agency Malik Acid, responsible for some of the coolest drinks programmes and pop-ups in town.
49 Lexington Street, London, W1F 9AP
ritasdining.com
Erchen Chang, BAO
Brains behind the BAO restaurants, along with co-founders Wai Ting and Shing Tat Chung, Erchen Chang is often credited with popularising the steamed buns in London. As a kid in Taiwan, Erchen would grab dinner at local night markets, forming her interest in street food that led her to start BAO as a stall. Since then, BAO has exploded across London with restaurants in Borough Market, Soho, Shoreditch, the City, Battersea, and King’s Cross.
Various locations
baolondon.com
Guirong Wei, Master Wei
Guirong Wei has been one of the leading proponents of Shaanxi food, including biang biang noodles and ‘cold skin’ liang pi noodles, which she showcases at her restaurants Xi’an Impression, Master Wei and Dream Xi’an. She’s so skilled with dough that Netflix spotlighted her in an episode of Chef’s Table: Noodles.
13 Cosmo Pl, London WC1N 3AP
master-wei.com
Ellen Parr, Lucky & Joy
Ellen Parr wanted to set up a Chinese-inspired restaurant with that perfect mix of good food and a casual, fun environment, just like the ones she’d visited in NYC. She and her co-founder Pete Kelly went travelling around China and came home with a whole raft of recipes, which they showcase at Lucky & Joy, one of the most popular spots in Clapton.
95 Lower Clapton Rd, Lower Clapton, London E5 0NP
luckyandjoy.co.uk
Chantelle Nicholson, Apricity
With her Mayfair restaurant Apricity, Chantelle Nicholson is showing how a hospo business can run sustainably without compromising on quality, and she’s been awarded a Michelin Green Star for her efforts. As well as working with a low-waste food philosophy, deliveries are made using reusable crates, paper is saved through the use of digital menus, no clingfilm is used in the kitchen, and the restaurant was fitted out using as much existing material as possible.
68 Duke St, London W1K 6JU
apricityrestaurant.com
Ravneet Gill, Gina
Ravneet Gill is a pastry chef (most notably for St. JOHN, Llewelyn’s, Black Axe Mangal and Wild by Tart), author, presenter and founder of hospo community platform Countertalk. She then added restaurateur to her list of professions by opening Chingford restaurant Gina with her husband Mattie. It’s a proper neighbourhood bistro, with an accessible menu and daily blackboard specials.
92 Station Road, London, E4 7BA
ginarestaurant.co.uk
Anna Tobias, Cafe Deco
There are few chefs who do honest, simple food quite like Anna Tobias – given that she spent time in the kitchens of the Blueprint Cafe with Jeremy Lee, the River Cafe and Rochelle Canteen, it’s easy to see where her philosophy came from. She teamed up with 40 Maltby Street to open Cafe Deco in Bloomsbury in 2020 and it’s since become a beloved neighbourhood spot. The menu changes weekly but always features comforting European dishes that showcase seasonal ingredients at their best.
43 Store St, London WC1E 7DB
cafe-deco.co.uk
Amy Poon, Poon’s
Amy’s parents Bill and Cecilia Poon opened their first Poon’s restaurant on Lisle Street in 1973, with the second site in Covent Garden, opened in 1980, becoming the first Chinese restaurant in the UK to win a Michelin star. Since 2018, Amy has been carrying on the family legacy by doing pop-ups, including a wontoneria at Stevie Parle’s JOY and at Carousel, and selling sauces, condiments and Chinese wind-dried meats online and from her new space in Spa Terminus. Now she’s come full circle and opened a Poon’s restaurant inside Somerset House.
Somerset House, New Wing Lancaster Place, WC2R 1LA
poonslondon.com
Abby Lee, Mambow
At her Clapton restaurant Mambow, Abby Lee is doing some of the most exciting Malaysian food in the city. Abby, who grew up in Singapore and worked in family bakeries before coming to London via stints in Malaysia and Italy, started Mambow in 2020 just before the pandemic hit. She was forced to close the original Spitalfields site soon after but she bounced back, pivoting the concept to modern Malaysian and opening in Peckham in 2022, before securing the current permanent site in Clapton.
78 Lower Clapton Road, Lower Clapton, London E5 0RN
@mambow_ldn
Madina Kazhimova and Anna Dolgushina, Firebird
After running establishments in St Petersburg, Madina Kazhimova and Anna Dolgushina moved to London in 2022 to open Firebird in Soho. The restaurant focuses on open-fire cookery and natural wines, with the list curated by Dolgushina. The pair went east for their second venture, opening stylish seafood bistro Noisy Oyster in Shoreditch in 2025.
29 Poland Street, London W1F 8QR
@firebird.london
Katya Milavic-Davies, Llewelyn’s
Modern European restaurant Llewelyn’s in Herne Hill has been a local fave since Katya opened it in 2017. It’s been so popular in fact that she was able to take over the site next door to open wine and deli Lulu’s, serving a more casual, playful menu and hosting fun events. As well as the two restaurants, Katya also runs a group of hair salons in south London, and she’s been a leading advocate for better government support across both the hospitality and hair sectors.
293-295 Railton Rd, London SE24 0JP
llewelyns-restaurant.co.uk
Ravinder Bhogal, Jikoni
2026 marks the tenth anniversary of Ravinder’s Marylebone restaurant Jikoni, which celebrates the differences between cultures through its ‘cooking across borders’ philosophy. It was also the first independent restaurant in the UK to achieve carbon neutral status. Ravinder is opening two new venues this year too – a restaurant at the new V&A East and a South Asian veggie restaurant in Bloomsbury.
19-21 Blandford Street, London. W1U 3DH
jikonilondon.com
