Where should you eat in London?

Love a slice of cake I do!
Love a slice of cake I do!

I’m a food blogger so I should know the best places to eat right? Then how come when people ask me where to eat in London I always find myself stuck for words. I encounter the same mind blank when trying to decide what restaurant to book for #datenight each week. It’s not that the knowledge isn’t there – I spend hours a week researching the latest food trends, looking at menus and reading other blogs – but the vast choice in eateries in the capital is so over whelming my brain turns to mush.

Girls from work at the Living Room, City Hall
Girls from work at the Living Room, City Hall

People’s question to me about where to eat is usually met with the same response “What type of dining experience are you after”. Their reply is usually along the lines of “somewhere nice to take my other half”. I’ve been to plenty of “nice” London restaurants such as Clos Maggiore, Four O Nine, Maze, Grain Store (click on the links for our reviews), but none have stood out enough to be that one place I instantly recommend.

Sam and I on #datenight
Sam and I on #datenight

I do have a small notebook full of places to eat and drink in London which I add to every time I read a good review, hear a positive recommendation or see a tasty sounding menu. Unfortunately this book has become so large that choosing from it proves just as overwhelming. To help me decide on the destination of future #datenights and help Sam keep his sanity (by not having me talk non-stop about where to go) I’ve decided to compile a list of places I would like to visit before the year is up.

The gang at Barts, Chelsea
The gang at Barts, Chelsea

The below London eateries are places I have repeatedly heard/read good things about and I hope to visit by 2014. Once visited, I’ll update this list to include a review to help answer that all important question: “where should I eat”.

Restaurants

  1. Five Fields, Chelsea
    The hype may have died down since it’s opening but the positive reviews have continued for this profoundly British Restaurant. Definitely one for a special occasion (my birthday/anniversary is coming up *hint hint*!)
  2. Lima, Fitzrovia
    The majority of people I know don’t share my love for beautifully-presented minute portions so I’m making Sam come with me for #datenight next week and in return will foot the bill. Recently receiving their first Michelin Star, will Lima live up to expectations?
  3. Poplo, Soho
    This popular restaurant chain incorporates my love of sharing plates and fine Italian food. I’ve heard good things, I’m sure you have too.
  4. The Dairy, Clapham
    On my list since opening last summer, the menu sounds wonderful with a focus on fresh country produce and just down the road from me too!
  5. Pitt Cue, Soho 
    A new found love of red meat has put Pitt Cue on my list to check out the apparent “best ribs in town”. Are they? We’ll have to see!

Brunch

  1. Lantana Cafe, Fitzrovia
    Known as “a little bit of Australia in Fitzrovia” – why wouldn’t you want to visit!
  2. The Attendant, Central London
    I’ve always wanted to dine in a loo! Coffee by Caravan, cakes by Bittersweet Bakers, this former toilet certainly offers something different.
  3. Brickwood Coffee & Bread, Clapham
    Newly opened by the people behind Entrée, this looks like the perfect brunch spot. Rumour has it they do TimTam muffins too!  
  4. Caravan, Kings Cross
    The coffee sounds awesome, as does the coconut bread, with lemon curd cream cheese and rhubarb!
  5. Bistro Union, Clapham
    From the guys behind Trinity, Bistro Union offers non-fuss British brunch. The cakes look pretty good too!

Treats

  1. Comboco, Soho
    These guys seem to have disappeared off the radar in recent months after announcing their new breakfast gelato. With flavours such as Pancakes & Maple Syrup I can’t understand why!
  2. Nordic Bakery/Bageriet, Central London 
    Both traditional Swedish bakeries and both are meant to have incredible cinnamon buns. Something I’m yet to get my hands on!
  3. You Doughnut
    Delicious looking doughnuts found at various food markets and festivals across London. Hot doughnut bites – yes please!
  4. Snowflake Gelato
    Recently opened their second London brand in Soho, Snowflake offer huge hearty looking sundaes alongside traditional scoops.
  5. Kahalia Cafe, Shoreditch
    This trendy east end coffee shop is in fact a charity. The cakes are meant to be exceptionally tasty and I’d be helping the community too!

Events

  1. Kerb, Various
    I’m always stuck in the office during lunch time trading but hip-hip-hurrah they are opening on Saturday’s as of this week!
  2. A Supperclub
    Most require a heavy wallet but a visit to a Supperclub is a must for all Londoners. Let me know if you hear of any particularly good one!
  3. Diners Union, Shoreditch
    £15 set menu every one eats the same at one long table. Cheap as chips although I have a feeling I’d be cold due to it’s unusual location.
  4. Venn Street Market, Clapham
    I’ve been before but not since Global Fusion started trading – the BEST banana bread you’ll ever taste.
  5. Eating London, East London
    New food tour exploring the culinary delights of London’s food scene.

If time and money would allow:

  1. Pollen Street Social, Savile Row
    Part of Jason Atherton’s restaurant empire, highly regarded by critics and the holder of awards aplenty.
  2. Restaurant Story, London Bridge 
    Innovative and experimental menu from Tom Story. My kind of cooking.
  3. Hawksmoor, Covent Garden
    Still new to the steak scene, I need to experience some of Hawksmoor’s meat. Just to see what the fuss is about.
  4. The Shard, London Bridge
    I have to go up, and what better excuse than to dine at one of the restaurants. I just haven’t chosen which one yet!
  5. Meat&Wine Co, Various
    £59 for a 350 day grass fed, pampered, bed sleeping, non-fatty, steak (sides cost extra) – it must be good surely?

Now I could go on forever, I even have a B list of those who didn’t quite make the cut but I’ll leave that for the new year. If you need any recommendations then feel free to get in contact. I have a whole host of knowledge just waiting to get out! If you need more information on London restaurants, I find Square Meal a good site to visit. If you’re planning a trip to London (or anywhere in Europe!), we’re offering our readers an exclusive 25%  discount on  accommodation at Millennium Hotels this December and January. Click here to get your discount code!  

Living life, loving London,

H x

19 Comment

  1. […] a week’s break to answer that all important question “Where should you eat in London”, Sweet Treats is back with with a round-up of the sweetest treats we’ve eaten this week. Here’s […]

  2. […] Dairy was on Helen’s list – take a look here.  Helen’s quest to get through a list of ‘must visits’ in London before 2014, […]

  3. […] The days I spend with my mother, the other half of livelifelovecake, are precious now that I live in London. Although, our distance is probably for the best as whenever we are together all we do is indulge in our favourite food and drink, after all, we need to taste good food in order to share it with you! I invited my mum up one Friday for a girls day out or in our case, a food day out. After a glorious meal at The Dairy the previous evening we were up early to make the most of our day with the first stop being Brickwood Coffee and Bread in Clapham, not far from The Dairy. Like The Dairy, Brickwood is on my list of “must visits”. […]

  4. […] after publishing my list of “must visits before 2014″ I went straight to work ticking each London eateries off the list. After all, what better excuse […]

  5. […] let a hangover keep me in so I decided to take Sam for brunch. After consulting my list of ‘must visits‘ we headed to Bistro Union in Clapham to tick off another […]

  6. […] Delicious ricotta crumble from Venetian bàcaro, Polpo in Soho, London. Another place ticked off my list. 2. Heavenly tasting mincemeat & mascarpone calzone from Pizza Pilgrams, Soho, London. 3. […]

  7. […] flat. Why have I come all the way to Fitzrovia, I hear you ask? Well, Lantana Café has been on my “must visit in London“ list for quite some time and I wanted to visit before the year is up. Sadly, their wifi is […]

  8. […] restaurant empire, highly regarded by critics and the holder of awards aplenty. This was on my list of ‘to do’s’ in the ‘if time and money will allow’ section. 2. […]

  9. […] before our wedding anniversary. What I should have done was looked at Helen’s blog post of where to eat in London. How stupid of me, it had places for brunch too which I could have done with for the following day. […]

  10. […] it was just my kind of place, very similar to one of my favourite brunch spots in London called Caravan, King Cross. Like Caravan, Beaufort Street Merchant was clearly a trendy place, but with many types […]

  11. […] I’m a big believer that it’s worth taking the trouble to travel across town to get my hand on some good food and coffee, but isn’t it nice when you can roll out of bed and take a short stroll somewhere decent? That’s one of the great things about Melbourne, good great food and coffee can be found everywhere, even more so than London.  […]

  12. […] to researching about the latest Melbourne opening or event. I was exactly the same when I lived in London, always looking up new things to do and the ‘hip’ places to go. When I heard about Like […]

  13. […] it was just my kind of place, very similar to one of my favourite brunch spots in London called Caravan, King Cross. Like Caravan, Beaufort Street Merchant was clearly a trendy place, but with many types […]

  14. […] backpacker bites I have become accustomed too. It was like I was back home reviewing top-class London Restaurants, tasting a little bit of […]

  15. […] so much choice on where to eat and drink in London (< check out my previous post on this) we wanted to visit as many places as possible, so we […]

  16. […] backpacker bites I have become accustomed too. It was like I was back home reviewing top-class London Restaurants, tasting a little bit of […]

  17. […] I’m taking my parents there in January as a Christmas present, as this was the earliest Friday/Saturday evening available. This worries me that as more and more people shout about their fantastic experiences at The Five Fields, it will become near impossible to get a table. However it’s certainly worth the wait and in my mind a cut above the rest. I even received a lovely email from the manager with a list of everything served that evening after I asked him to remind me what our pre-starter was! Outstanding. This restaurant will remain top of my “must visit in London” list. […]

  18. […] the big Buddha on Lantau Island but the views were well worth it. Similar to the Oyster card in London, the Octopus card can also be used in shops like 711, one of the wonderful additions to the […]

  19. […] who Tom Sellers was and looking back at our archives she has Restaurant Story on her list of ‘if time and money would allow‘. Alas, it seems it never […]

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