London's top 50 restaurants

Hakkasan

Best oriental restaurants
Hakkasan
A secluded alleyway, bouncers guarding the door, a dark stairway and suddenly you’re in an evocation of 1930s-Shanghai-meets-‘The Matrix’. It could be a movie set (it’s certainly been featured on TV’s ‘Hustle’) but this Chinese bar and restaurant is the real deal – a world-leading, critically acclaimed eaterie that also happens to be drop-dead glamorous. Squeezed along the lengthy bar are fashion-conscious punters indulging in superb sakétinis while behind geometric wooden screens diners sit to enjoy directional modern Chinese food made from carefully sourced ingredients. We’re great fans of the lunchtime dim sum (but less impressed that staff don’t bring the dim sum menu unless specifically asked). And be warned, that smitten though we are, prices are steep in the evening and your bill may be higher than you expected – especially if you linger at the (admittedly wonderful) cocktail bar. Earlier this month the former owner Alan Yau sold Hakkasan (and branch, Yauatcha) to an Abu Dhabi-based consortium, but for the time being at least, it’s business as usual.
When to go Lunchtimes.
What to have Ask for the dim sum menu, and order anything from that.
Hakkasan, 8 Hanway Place, W1T 1HD (020 7907 1888) Tottenham Court Rd tube.
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Zuma
An absolutely fabulous Knightsbridge bar and modern Japanese restaurant. The crowd is Knightsbridge meets ‘Sex and the City’. And the food? Modern Japanese, with a lengthy menu featuring umami-rich sautéed Japanese mushrooms with miso, or cubes of fried tofu with a spicy crust served with avocado salad and tiny sprouted herbs. From the robata grill, barbecued tuna with umeboshi (salt-pickled plum) sauce and grilled vegetables is typical of Zuma’s innovation. Zuma has one of the best saké lists in town, with a knowledgeable saké sommelier to guide you around it. And the drawbacks? A meal here doesn’t come cheap, and the two-hour sittings are strictly enforced.
When to go When you need a little glamour in your life.
What to have Saké, sushi, robatayaki and any of the Zuma signature dishes.
Zuma, 5 Raphael St, SW7 1DL (020 7584 1010/www.zumarestaurant.com) Knightsbridge tube.
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Sake no hana
Alan Yau is London’s most consistently innovative restaurateur, so, of course, his latest, most upscale restaurant was bound to ruffle feathers. It’s uncompromisingly Japanese in both menu and drinks list; the dishes are a fusion of traditionally distinct Japanese styles, and the menu is saké-based, with almost no concessions to the fermented grape. The seating is Japanese-style, with your shoes off, and the look of the place is evocative of Shinto shrines and Tokyo modernity at the same time. You will either ‘get’ Yau’s homage to Japan, or fail to see what the fuss is about. Just be prepared for a bill of £70 or more per head if you’re drinking.
When to go When you crave a true taste of Japan.
What to have Saké, and several dishes.
Sake no hana, 23 St James’s St, SW1A 1HA (020 7925 8988) Green Park tube.
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Bar Shu

Bar Shu
Once upon a time, Chinese food in London was Cantonese, and dim sum was only served at lunchtimes. Alan Yau’s Yauatcha turned the tables on the latter rule, and we’ve got Bar Shu to thank for the current surge of Sichuan restaurants. If you love spice, you’ll love it here. Begin with a cold dish of cucumber, wood-ear fungus, bean-jelly ribbon (like a chewy noodle), beancurd skin, and spicy pork. Chengdu dry-braised sea bass combines meltingly tender fish with a complex spicy sauce. Flavoursome gong bao chicken has crunch provided by peanuts and thick, dried sichuan chillies. We’ve always found service extremely helpful, too. Bar Shu isn’t for the faint-hearted, but it’s a joy to taste such wonderful flavours.
When to go When your palate needs a kick-start.
What to have The milder dishes, such as twice-cooked pork, unless you have a cast-iron constitution.
Bar Shu, 28 Frith St, W1D 5LF (020 7287 6688) Leicester Square or Tottenham Court Rd tube.
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Sushi-Hiro
This is the apocryphal brilliant little sushi bar that only real Japanese food sleuths manage to track down. Service can be abrupt, and the place has a slightly municipal feel, but these are our only gripes. Nigiri sets go beyond the usual salmon and tuna standards; the chef puts together a selection of what’s best on the day: sea bass, scallop and organic salmon, perhaps. À la carte sushi is pricier, but the selection, including many off-the-beaten-track offerings, is excellent. Hand-rolled maki, such as squid and shiso or eel and cucumber, are imaginative. To drink, there’s green tea, Japanese beer or saké, the latter served in hefty measures.
When to go When you have an emperor’s craving for sushi, but a monk’s purse.
What to have Sushi, and more sushi.
Sushi-Hiro, 1 Station Parade, Uxbridge Rd, W5 3LD (020 8896 3175) Ealing Common tube.
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