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Restaurants

London provides a wealth of dining options for every palate and every budget, from nouveau British to country French, and creative Indian to home-style Cantonese. You’ll find celebrity chefs cooking up delicious gourmet storms at pricey destination restaurants, several moderately priced dining options, and downright bargains eats.

Our favorite upmarket restaurants include the Chelsea flagship of the Gordon Ramsay (68–69 Royal Hospital Rd.) gourmet empire, where you can sample Britain’s star chef’s creative French-inspired concoctions; the Soho-based Lindsay House (21 Romilly St.), where Irish master chef Richard Corrigan conjures up trailblazing nouveau British dishes; and Rasoi Vineet Bhatia (10 Lincoln St.), an intimate Chelsea newcomer with the Michelin-appraised chef Vineet Bhatia creating innovative combos of traditional Indian cuisine with a modern twist.

Best mid-range restaurants include Notting Hill’s Cow Dining Room (89 Westbourne Park Rd.), an atmospheric gastropub (read: traditional pub offering upscale pub grub) dishing out superbly fresh and flavorful staples prepared with a creative touch; Al Duca (4–5 Duke of York St.), a good Italian standby in the heart of Piccadilly, with well-priced and wonderfully reliable food running the full gamut of antipasti and piatti; and the trendy Moro (34–36 Exmouth Market) in East London’s hip enclave of Clerkenwell, where you can dine on a fantastic combo of Spanish and North African cuisine.

For best cheap bites, head to the Bloomsbury flagship of Wagamama (4 Streatham St.), the Japanese noodle chain popular for its tasty ramen dishes and other Japanese treats, or Soho’s Masala Zone (9 Marshall St.) where you can enjoy authentic Indian ‘street food’ appetizers and a variety of curries at super-low prices.

Afternoon Tea
Of course, you absolutely must partake – at least once – of the quintessentially British tradition of afternoon tea – scones, jam, clotted cream and all – served daily between 3pm and 5.30pm. For the classiest high-tea experience, we recommend two legendary Mayfair hotels above all others: the sophisticated lounge at Claridge’s (Brook St.), with an exceedingly elegant British atmosphere, an upper crust clientele to match, and soothing piano and violin music, and the plant-filled lobby of at The Dorchester (Park Lane), with a menu of 20 exotic teas and gourmet scones and pastries conjured up by a dedicated tea-time chef. If you want to tell your friends you had tea at Harrods (87-135 Brompton Rd.), the legend among the afternoon tea-taking spots, try their Georgian Restaurant but be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for the experience; the less-expensive Terrace Bar also does afternoon tea in a more downmarket setting with Knightsbridge views.