London restaurants and pubs.
We don’t always take photos of our visits, but I think we’ll do so from now on and add them to this post as I’m occasionally asked for recommendations of places to go when people visit London, and this’ll do the trick.
To save scrolling through the entire page and reading up on every venue, I’ve added some “jump links” to the index below which will take you to the individual journal entry for each restaurant. Most entries have external links to the venues home page which I’ve embedded within their logo*.
At the bottom of each individual page/entry is a “return” link that will bring you straight back here.
- Six-by-Nico (Amalfi menu) – Fitzrovia
- Fallow St. James
- Six-by-Nico (Blind menu) – Fitzrovia
- Cinnamon Bazaar (Luxury Indian) – Covent Garden
- Cheese Barge (British Cheese and more) – Regents Street, Paddington.
- Sky Lounge, Shangri-La Hotel – The Shard
- Six-by-Nico (Themed – Vietnamese) – Canary Wharf
- Caldesi – Marylebone
- Dishoom (Bombay Irani Cafe) and roof bar
- Six-by-Nico (Themed) – Charlotte St. Fitzrovia
- Sadaf Garden (Persian) – Knightsbridge
- Inamo (Pan-Asian)- Covent Garden
- Roast (British contemporary) – Borough Market
- Duck and Waffle – (24/7 European) – Bishopsgate
- Arcade Food Hall (Street Market fast food), Tottenham Court Road
- Viet Box (pop up Vietnamese themed) – Pop Brixton
- Limin (Caribbean) – Southbank
- Hootananny Brixton – Pub and Music venue
- Fortnum and Mason (contemporary) – Royal Exchange
- The Farrier (Contemporary pub)- Campdon Market
- Blues Kitchen – Camden
- Casa Pastor (Mexican) – Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross
- Bezo – Covent Garden
- Pie ‘n’ Mash shops – Bethnal Green, Dalston, Croydon
- Mr Fox (Contemporary) – Central Croydon
- Little Bay (Contemporary) – South Croydon
- Craft Beer Co & Koi Ramen Bar – Brixton
*with the exception of Sadaf, who hasn’t updated their website since moving location to Knightsbridge.
Return to Six by Nico (Amalfi menu) – Fitzrovia
A return to Six by Nico for a six course tasting menu in celebration of Sarah’s 30th Birthday.
The menu this time was Italian, with an Amalfi spin. We chose the wine pairing option, six courses with five different glasses of wines selected to complement each dish.
The weather in London was warm and sublime, so we headed up by train and met up a little early.
Heading in the general direction of Fitzrovia we ended up wandering past a few pubs along the way, plonking ourselves down for a drink or three.
It was a birthday surprise for Sarah, so we didn’t tell her until where we were eating until we walked into the venue – she should have guessed given how much I’ve raved about this place in the recent past…
We were treated to a feast lasting well over two and a half hours! We did a lot of catching up, hearing about their recent trip to the Far East.
The wine pairings worked very well, and the food was delicious, we all had our own favourite, although to be honest all were great.
We left as it was approaching midnight and headed off for the last trains of the night – so we had to get our skates on!
Oh, Six-by-Nico is another one of those modern open plan kitchen restaurants that my sister would have kittens at, ordering the chefs to don hairnets and masks….
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Fallow – St. James
Tonight, in the height of summer, it seemed like the ideal time to redeem a voucher we were gifted by my daughters and their partners at Christmas. They know us well.
We arrived into Victoria by train and meandered our way towards our destination, via Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Pall Mall and St James Square. London was busy, but not overly so; it was a Monday night after all, half full of commuters heading back via watering holes and half full of tourists enjoying the mild English summer evening. With every passing minute the weather was improving, the rain clouds had passed, leaving a beautiful blue sky behind. We took full advantage of the conditions and being a little early, we popped into a couple of pubs along route – why not!
The table was booked for 8pm and we couldn’t wait as we’d heard nothing but good things about this place.
For a Monday night Fallow was bustling with hardly a table spare. It was in stark contrast to many other neighbouring restaurants which were empty by comparison. The outdoor terrace was also full, so it was lucky we had booked in advance.
We were escorted to our table by our waitress for the evening and sat down. We recognised the restaurant immediately as we’d popped in here for a pint of ale a few years ago whilst waiting for a movie to start in a nearby cinema. I’d seen the first showing of Top Gun in Leicester Square back in 1986, so wanted to see its sequel Maverick in the same place in 2022. Quite how we’d ended up here rather than a pub is a mystery, but we did and it was a lot less busy then!
Our table was ideal, half inside and half outside, and gave us plenty of room to experience the atmosphere, it also gave us some space to breathe some fresh air.
As soon as you enter Fallow you can’t help but notice their large open-plan kitchen area. These appear to be all the rage these days and provide restaurant goers with a first hand account of what’s going on and demonstrates just how busy things get. Our waitress was lovely, not too pushy, but assertive enough to explain how things work and the best way to order a meal for two. The wine waiter was brilliant too, she knew her stuff allowing us to order the right bottle for our meal (although the prices are definitely “London”).
We started with off with Smoked aubergine bread, with black garlic, truffle and focaccia, which turned up shortly before two starter plates of Burrata and Cornish Monkfish crudo. The crispy chilli dressing on the Burrata had us both heading for the water! Both were delicious but I was thankful for the Monkfish’s “Tiger’s milk dressing” which helped to calm things down in the mouth a little.
We had a moderate wait for our main course, but it was worth it as it was equally scrumptious. We both went for the “safe” dairy cow options as opposed to the sea options which had us intrigued but not enough to risk it. Smoked cod’s head just didn’t appeal on the night, although I am told it is delicious (maybe next time). Our shared pudding was a Chelsea tart (no jokes), it was divine!
We ended the night with a walk to Embankment via Trafalgar Square and a train back home.
I would definitely recommend this place, It’s on our list to return.
❤️❤️Thanks for the gift, it was a great night❤️❤️
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Six by Nico – Fitzrovia
Another visit to this restaurant, but this time with a twist. There was NO MENU… in essence it’s a blind tasting experience which you are invited to guess what it is and inform your waiter! Hence the title “TRUST”.
Having just returned from a weekend in Kent, we arrived within two minutes of our booking time and threw ourselves into the experience. We both did better than we had feared, except for the final dish which we flunked completely.
I shan’t provide details of the menu just in case anyone reading this hasn’t yet been, but suffice to say it was delicious!
We rounded the night with a visit to a few pubs and a glass of wine in the Charlotte Street Hotel bar, which apart from a snooty waitress was great (she ignored us as soon as she realised we weren’t guests in this £720 a night hotel).
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Cinnamon Bazaar
Covent Garden
This has got to be our favourite Indian restaurant – hands down!
The menu here is nothing like you’d expect in a more “traditional UK based” Indian restaurant. It appears to draw from influences from all over the place. The main dish in the centre of the photo below just about sums up how different this place is from the norm. That’s ice cream in the centre of one of the dishes in our main course! Does it work? Absolutely!! Probably rates as the nicest thing I’ve ever ordered in a restaurant. Would I recommend this place – in a heartbeat! Link above (click on their logo).
We ended the meal and wandered the streets of London, popping in for a pint in one of my old haunts – Punch and Judy
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The Cheese Bar(ge)
Paddington, Regents Canal.
Well this was a little quirky! A floating restaurant on the Regents Canal in Paddington. The weather was kind to us as we walked along the towpath in search of the barge. Emma had heard of this place from a friend on FB, so had booked a table well in advance as spaces are limited this time of year with the upper deck being closed.
We were shown to our table on the waterline and settled down to discuss the menu…. well the menu was as quirky as the location, which meant it was a little difficult to gauge what we should order and how much – so we gave in and simply asked the waitress! Great choice! It was kind of tapas style so we tucked into dishes jointly as they arrived. The British cheeses were accompanied by tasty chutneys and a few glasses of wine.
The rain arrived as we left, but we were ready for it and hid under a brolly as we strolled to our next stop in Marylebone.
We decided against the tube, and walked towards theatre-land stopping at a great pub called the Coach Makers Arms at the half way point – where we topped up with ale!
We’re going to have to come back here one evening to experience the speakeasy bar in the basement. It looks amazing.
We then headed off to the Fortune Theatre to see “Operation Mincemeat” a real wartime story of subterfuge set to a comedy script. I’d read about a body landing on a Spanish beach with fictitious papers in a briefcase that managed to fool the Nazi leaders. A pretty odd topic for a comedy, but it works!
We got home just after midnight given the train and bus connections were perfect. A great day out
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Sky Lounge
The Shard, London Bridge
Now this was an experience to remember.
The views across London are spectacular and I’d certainly recommend it for a special occasion. It’s not your average place to dine. Don’t blink or you’ll miss the journey on the super fast lift taking us to the 34th floor.
It’s the kind of place that you get treated like royalty (just in case you are) and the food is presented like works of art or as a Master Chef competitor would.
We did have a chuckle at the price of a glass of wine or champagne… not to mention the room rates in the Shangri-La Hotel! But then again we did amble past a few top end sports cars parked downstairs.
Yep, it did feel a little pretentious at times, and I don’t think I’ll be rushing back, but it’s absolutely worth going just once in order to see how the other half live!
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Six by Nico – Canary Wharf
An exceptional night out at the Canary Wharf venue. Our second time at this small niche restaurant chain, the last time we visited the Fitzrovia venue.
We started with some “pre’s” near Kings Cross where we found a lovely wine bar called “Bar Rioja” which is hidden in a tiny alleyway just off Pentonville Road. T’was a little bit pricey but has a huge selection of Rioja wines as you’d expect with its name.
In fact we had actually started our evening in a pub just around the corner where Emma tore into her first glass of Prosecco (shhhhh).
We then headed off to Canary Wharf where we had booked at table to try out a six course Vietnamese themed delight. We were looking forward to this one!
Emma had spotted a “Black Friday” sale back in November that was so well priced it couldn’t be ignored (50% off). So we stuck this date in our diary a long time ago.
What we love about this place is the quality of the food, and the brilliance of the wine pairing. Each of the six courses come with a new glass of wine, especially selected for the dish you are about to consume.
We then ended the night in Brixton, and the Blues Kitchen, which at first appeared smaller than the Camden version of the same name, but turned out that it has a HUGE dance floor on the first floor with a very different character to the ground floor live blues music venue. It ended up being a late one!
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Caldesi
Italian – Marylebone
Another gathering of Emma’s old Uni friends and partners brought us this time to a lovely Italian restaurant called Caldesi. It was my first time here, and as usual with this group of friends, far too much vino was consumed!
It’s always a blast with these guys, and we did our best to confuse the table waiters by swapping seats every now and again in order to chat with people we’ve not seen for a while. The staff did incredibly well keeping up! I intended to take a few more pictures but ended up getting sucked into the occasion and enjoying the moment.
After Cicchetti (delicious breads, olives etc) we tucked into our starters and mains, which for me was Beef Carpaccio and Taglionini Truffle, and although we weren’t seated close to each other, Emma and I shared our dishes 50/50 as we always do, which meant I also got to tuck into some Parmigiana and Caldesi Linguini. To be fair, everyone else ended up sharing portions of their meal – tapas style, so it was a very communal meal!
I’d definitely recommend this place based on quality or food and service – from what I can remember (like I said, too much wine)…
Emma and Alison somehow managed to get lost between the table and restrooms – those two should never be permitted to venture anywhere alone without a responsible adult!
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Dishoom
Shoreditch + Columbia Road and Rooftop Bar.
We spent the morning exploring Columbia Road flower market, this is an old market that has been going for over a century and a half in this part of London. I didn’t realise until recently that the unusual trading day was switched from Saturday to Sunday to accommodate the local community, who were predominantly Jewish at the time. I’ve not visited here for years, but used to come here often as a kid given my great nan lived on this road, in the Guinness Flats at the end of the market. I was born and spent my early years just around the corner in Bethnal Green.
We then headed for Dishoom, an “old Bombay” styled restaurant in Shoreditch which is an Indian restaurant with a difference. The menu is a little unusual: it has real tasty food with subtle spices and beautiful flavour.
After the feast, we headed along the High Street and found a tiny rooftop bar at 100 High St. This has great views over the City and wasn’t too pricey.
We ended the day in the Blues Kitchen Shoreditch… and after a final peek of my great grandmother’s place we planned our journey back home across the river. Things have changed in these parts from when I was a nipper.
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Six by Nico – Fitzrovia
This has got to be our favourite find of the year. It’s run by a chap called Nico Simeone who switches the menus around every six weeks or so. They offers a six course tasting menu which has the option of having a carefully selected accompanying glass of wine (which pushes the price up a bit). For someone who knows what wine he likes, I was a little dubious at first, but shouldn’t have been. Not in a million years would I have selected some of the wines that came with the individual courses but it worked 100% – perhaps the chef knows what he’s talking about, and I ought to be a little more adventurous.
The night was a little special too, as I was heading away a few days later, so we wanted to enjoy a special evening out, which started with a bottle of fizz at home.
There are lots of pubs and places to see in the Fitzrovia area of London. It’s also a sector I’ve not explored too much, but given the concentration of eateries we will be back.
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Sadaf Garden
Knightsbridge
Although this was a restaurant I’d certainly recommend, especially if in the area, we popped in unplanned on the way back from Notting Hill Carnival. The food was delicious.
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Inamo (Pan-Asian)
Covent Garden
This is a great way to enjoy a meal, tapas style and sharing dishes. We had a gift from Emma’s kids, but the staff managed to give us an accidental upgrade which meant an absolute feast of a meal which was also incredibly good quality with selections of dishes from all over the Far East. We started and ended the evening with a walk around this part of London. It included another sneaky pint in the basement arches of Punch and Judy, and a walk through ChinaTown.
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Roast, Borough Market
British dining
We had a traditional Christmas meal here with friends.
Hidden in the heart of Borough Market, this place was beautifully decorated for the season and had great quality food and wine.
Given its within a few minutes walk from London Bridge Station it was ideally located for us, coming in from Saaaf London.
We didn’t feel the urge to detour to the Duck and Waffle like last time we were out with this group, which was good for our liver and wallet!
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Duck and Waffle
Well, what can I say.. I’ve been here a few times, usually after a great evening when I simply didn’t want the night to end. This is a true 24/7 restaurant, and is one of the highest in Europe. We have always managed to find a table with a great view over the City of London. The last time I came here was after a Christmas meal with a couple of Emma’s old University mates, Sally and Julian.
Needless to say – things got a bit messy!
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Arcade Food Hall
Tottenham Court Road
Well, we chose this simply because a whole bunch of us were heading up to London for a tour around the museums followed by a visit to the theatre to watch Derren Brown in “The Greatest Showman” at the Apollo Theatre.
The food was “filling”, great value and did the trick ahead of the show at the Apollo, which was awesome by the way. Not usually my cup of tea, but glad we saw it.
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Limin
Southbank, Caribbean.
OK.. So the weather wasn’t playing ball, as we headed along the Southbank from London Bridge station popping into the Anchor pub before seeking out “Lumin Beach” a Caribbean themed food-shack just past the OXO tower. We headed inside (for warmth) despite the lure of golden sand surrounding the venue and ordered some hearty food. The menu was full of dishes like spicy chicken, curried goat and other warm Caribbean delights.
We ended up heading for The Lyric Theatre in order to watch the Bob Marley musical “Get Up Stand Up” before heading back the way we came along a Southbank at night.
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Fortnum and Mason
Royal Exchange
Never been here before, but walked past it many times. Again, we doubled up a trip here with a wander around London both before and after. I don’t have any photos of the food, but we really enjoyed the evening.
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The Farrier
Only pub in Camden Market
I can’t honestly remember where we ate on this trip up town, but we spent a few hours in the only pub in Camden Market, The Farrier. It’s a really nice place with lots of room to stretch out and enjoy a glass of wine or three.
We played scrabble and connect four for a few hours before heading off to one of our favourite venues the Blues Kitchen, just up the road.
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The Blues Kitchen
Camden
We’ve been here a few times…. it’s a great pub, which serves good bar food and local beer… and has some great live music most evenings from 9pm. We usually end up getting a late tube/underground back, or walk to one of the main line stations serving South London.
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Pie ‘n’ Mash – various
Cockneys of Croydon
G Kelly – Bethnal Green
F Cooke – Broadway Market
Being in London I couldn’t stick a post on here without a mention of my favourite East End dish, Pie ‘n’ Mash. Now the problem with Pie ‘n’ Mash is that almost everyone who wasn’t brought up on it, or ain’t from the East End, turns their nose up at it! Well do I care? Not in the slightest, as they are all obviously very, very wrong!
I was weaned on it, and of all the comfort foods in the world this one is my favourite.
Unfortunately, my two “go to” places in the East-End have permanently closed down, my favorite was G Kelly on the Bethnal Green Road. A combination of gentrification, competition, and the ever evolving London landscape has meant these old traditional pie shops are starting to disappear, and like the Routemaster buses, and red telephone boxes will soon be assigned to a distant memory of old London.
However, I’m lucky to have an established Pie ‘n’ mash shop close to Emma’s place. Cockneys of Croydon isn’t far from Surrey Street market, tucked away in a side street a few hundred yards from the Dog and Bull, so my sister and I dragged the northerners there when she last visited!
We did have another one closer called “Shaw’s Pie and Eel Shop” but it only opened in 2020 and suffered greatly as a result of COVID – bad timing!
The pictures below are when I took my son to G Kellys in Bethnal Green a few years ago!
The following two pictures were taken a couple of years back when I visited F Cooke in Dalston just before they closed after 100 years of trading.
I took Emma there and got a snap taken with Bob Cooke, he is the great grandson of the chap who founded the business.
Emma, predictably didn’t like her portion of Pie ‘n’ Mash, and even suggested it’d be better with brown gravy on (Sacrilege – so I hushed her voice to avoid her offending the locals). It wasn’t a problem though as I scoffed it up, with extra lashings of white pepper and vinegar!
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Craft Beer Co & Koi Ramen Bar
Brixton
A lovely night out in Brixton, grabbing a few Belgium beers in the Craft Beer Company in Brixton Station Road, and a take out from Koi Ramen Bar just opposite. OK – it arrived in what looked like small buckets you’d use for crabbing at the sea side, but it tasted fantastic! The Craft Beer Co has their neighbours menu in the bar – a nice symbiotic relationship!
We then headed off to the Electric Brixton, a music venue to watch Matt Maeson, an American singer songwriter who was doing an acoustic tour across Europe.
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