London's top 50 restaurants
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By Time Out Food & Drink editors
Updated: Thu Jan 29 2009
Indian | Oriental | Italian | Cheap eats | British | Vegetarian | Gastropubs | Best service | Best to impress | Best for grazing
Best Italian restaurants
L'Anima 500
After stints at some of London’s most famous Italian restaurants between them – Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street, Gennaro Contaldo’s Passione and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen – Mario Magli and Giorgio Pili’s modest neighbourhood eatery is up there with the rest of them. Even the bread is own-made, and you won’t find lighter gnocci elsewhere; here, it’s served with excellent Italian sausage in a fennel seed and tomato sauce. Other dishes, such as red snapper ragu with pappardelle, are a refreshing change from the usual carbonaras, bolognese and marinaras.
When to go For incredibly good Italian that veers from the obvious.
What to have Start with the plump Puglia green olives and any of the pastas.
500, 782 Holloway Rd, N19 3JH (7272 3406/www.500restaurant.co.uk). Archway tube or Upper Holloway rail.
L'Anima
Inside, it’s all restrained glamour and minimalist chic, but Calabrian chef Francesco Mazzei commands a kitchen capable of producing immensely satisfying pan-Italian dishes. That classic Venetian speciality, fritto misto (fried seafood) is done faultlessly, while unique ingredients are used to great effect. Look for nduja, a creamy-textured Calabrian spicy salami, or bottarga from Sardinia (dried grey mullet roe).
When to go When you hanker for Italian food – but not as you know it.
What to have Do save room for the imaginative desserts, which are beautifully presented.
L’Anima, 1 Snowden St, EC2A 2DQ (7422 7000/www.lanima.co.uk). Liverpool St tube/rail. Feature continuesAdvertisementFranco Manca
A top-of-the-range Neapolitan wood burning brick oven; sourdough left to rise for a minimum of 20 hours; organic flour, vegetables, meats (from Brindisa), cheese and tipples. We could think of many places that would (and do) charge a premium for such solid efforts, but no – the most expensive pizza at Franco Manca is a jaw-dropping £5.60, the cheapest but by no stretch the least delicious (classic tomato, garlic and oregano) is £3.90. Wines by the glass, unbelievably, go for less than two quid (and contrary to logic, are pretty drinkable). Its location in ragtag Brixton Market only adds to its haphazard charm – a particular brand of speedy service with a smile.
When to go Weekdays, off-peak; unless you fancy joining queues of epic proportions.
What to have We can’t fault any of the six pizzas on offer, but you can always try your luck and ask for something bespoke.
Franco Manca, 4 Market Row, SW9 8LD (7738 3021/www.francomanca.co.uk). Brixton tube/rail.
Bocca di Lupo
There’s no doubt about it: Bocca di Lupo is the food-lovers’ restaurant of the moment. Chef Jacob Kenedy was previously chef at Moro, and has created a very similar approach of serving interesting, varied, daily-changing small dishes to share. The feel is similar too: casual and a bit too loud perhaps, but it certainly has a buzz to it. The big difference when compared to Moro is the origin of the cuisine: Kenedy has plucked classic plus more innovative ingredient combinations from every region of Italy, and presents them simply; ingredient quality is to the fore. Perhaps the most surprising thing is just how Italian the food tastes; this is not like the ersatz tastes you might expect. A simple salad of Castelfranco raddichio (a cream-coloured, slightly tart winter leaf) is simply served with hazelnuts and the maroon-coloured, bitter treviso shoots, reflecting the Italian fondness for bitter flavours. The Jewish-Roman technique of deep-frying young artichokes renders the leaves crisp, the centres soft; these are paired with the melting richness of veal sweetbreads. Our only caveat – this in the early days, mind – is that the tables are packed in far too tightly, and the table service can at times be slow or even careless. Despite this, go if you want really good Italian food at a fair price.
When to go When in Soho, with a lively group of friends.
What to have Small plates of sharing dishes, tapas-style; or the one-plate lunch specials (costing around a tenner) at the bar.
Bocca di Lupo, 12 Archer St, W1D 7BB (7734 2223/www.boccadilupo.com). Piccadilly Circus tube.
Indian | Oriental | Italian | Cheap eats | British | Vegetarian | Gastropubs | Best service | Best to impress | Best for grazing
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37 comments
Well, this is my answer to that seemingly impertinent question. ,
Real Karahi Food - Hot Red Chillies in Eastcote all the way
the best turkish and meze to be found is i Olives and Figs restauarant in a small alley way in Spitalfields.I found the food is great value for money. Bring your own booze near Liverpool Street is just amazing. I am surprised there is no mention of the place.
??? no mention of Tayyab's? the most popular restaurant with the pakistani and bangladeshi community in London - always huge queues for a tabel - and unbeatable home cooked - on Fieldgate street
The Prince of Wales in Putney, is a hidden gem when it comes
down to Gastropubs. I go there regularly with my partner or friends and we travel over the water from fulham to eat/drink there. I really rate this place.. Has anyone been there?
this website rocks
It is one thing to debate about suitability of omnivorous critics reviewing vegetarian cuisine. I do feel that one may find such a standpoint to be a 'slippery slope' argument – surely such logic would conclude that only vegetarians would be competent to review veg meals, and one might similarly go on to argue that as the subtle differences between different Moroccan herbs may be lost to those unaccustomed (i.e. foreign), only native Moroccan food eating people (note: this is irrelevant of their race/colour, such a category only concerns that one's 'home food' is Moroccan) should be deemed truly competent to review Moroccan food, and so on. What I believe (and correct me if I’m wrong) to be the fallacy here is that the herbivores amongst us must remember that the meat eaters go vegetarian quite often (porcini risotto with truffle shavings anyone?) and it is only suitable that critics represent the mainstream. Like it or not, even for dishes which do not contain meat, the omnivorous palette IS the mainstream and therefore justifies an omnivorous critic. In any case, I accept that this itself is a contentious line of reasoning and do believe debate on this topic may not necessarily be unhealthy.
It is, however, a completely different animal (pardon the pun - I couldn’t resist) to talk about ‘the harmful effects to the environment’ eating meat indirectly causes, and I suspect I am not alone in being quite irritated by the veggies’ pretentiousness in the matter. Sure, cattle may consume part of the Earth’s resources. But are you suggesting that we cull all cattle and livestock in order to ensure that there are more resources left for humankind? Or is your proposed solution to let them all go back into the wilderness? For surely, they will consume as much resources in the wild. Why stop at livestock anyway? Why not start terminating humans whom you deem unfit and a waste of Earth’s resources? For surely, humankind as a species uses up the Earth’s resources the most – makes more sense to address the real issue at hand. Yes, I am being sarcastic. All I’m trying to say is- since when did preferring broccoli to beef suddenly make you guys rulers of the universe?
Let’s also not forget that there are a million ways in which veggies themselves can help reduce the burden to mother nature that they themselves are causing. Recycle more. Invest and donate into research for renewable resources. Cycle around, don’t drive. Watch your carbon footprint. Instead of acting like you are the saints of this world simply because of your dietary preferences, get off your high horse, and if you care about the environment so much, go do something about it. Otherwise, the L.s and S.s, and Tommos – you really are just full of organic fertiliser.
Michael,
Buy the Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide. There is a section on Haute Cuisine. Just be aware in London that there are some expensive restaurants that don't have very good food and some cheap ones that have very good food. Also try the red star recommendations in each section, you can tell by the average pricing which are the more expensive/ "exclusive". (Note Hakkasan is expensive & has very good food) but is far from exclusive (as it is basically a canteen style restaurant with a beautiful interior).
Could someone out there please tell me where I could get a copy of a guide/brochure of the best restaurants in London eg Simpson the Strand, Rules, La Gavote, Connaught Hotel,Gay Hussar etc.
In a nut shell - expensive, exclusive, up market!
Vegetarian/Vegans out there do not seem to understand that the majority of people in London are not vegetarian. Hence restaurant numbers in the review are weighted towards those catering to omnivorous diets.
We recently went to Amaya during our first visit to London and had an unforgettable meal. It was one of the highlights of our trip.
M.moss - your argument falls over at the first hurdle!!! If you object so much to the resources it takes to produce wheat, you'll be comforted to know that 70% of grain and cereals grown in the US are fed to animals reared for the meat industry. It takes 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. According to Compassion in World Farming, about 20% of the world's population could be fed with the grain and soybeans fed to US cattle alone!! On top of this, a 2006 United Nations report summarised the devastation caused by the meat industry by calling it "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Need I say more?!
i used to live in Snaresbrook, England and The Carvery was a great resturaunt!
it really bothers me the way that ciprianni, zuma, nobu, jaks ( the most amazing well priced food i have ever had in my life on walton street) are not mentioned. I should be a bloody critic
Hey, i think the following places are worth a shout for ultra cheap eats...all up the west end
Bodean's, best burgers in town from 5quid with chips.....
Indian YMCA...unfussy authentic indian food, curries from 3quid...
Rasa,,,,South Indian food....there lunch box menu is really amazin
Icco....pizza from 3.50.and they are actually really nice...much better than pizzahut....though that wouldnt be hard
Italia Uno(charlotte st)amazin meatballs with rice for