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 vegetarian meals
See more London restaurants for vegetarian food
Saf Saf
A vegan restaurant with an extensive menu of raw food creeping its way into the Top 50? You’d better believe it. Saf confounds the usual expectations of a ‘health food’ restaurant by combining cocktail bar and cool design with beautiful dishes which go far beyond the usual salad bar stereotypes. ‘Cheese’ is made from pressed nuts; breads are made without baking. Nothing looks quite as you’d expect. And in case you’re wondering, no, the food isn’t served cold. The raw ‘pizza’ in particular is a triumph – though we’d not try feeding it to a Neapolitan.
When to go When fancy trying something different – very different.
What to have The beetroot ‘ravioli’ – if only to marvel at how pretty it looks.
Saf, 152-154 Curtain Rd, EC2A 3AT (7613 0007/www.safrestaurant.co.uk). Old St tube/rail.
Ottolenghi
In a prêt-a-manger world, Yotam Ottolenghi’s flagship Islington café stands out with its compelling philosophy. Perhaps its aim to achieve ‘haute couture’ status in the culinary world can seem haughty, but their sober manifesto is counterbalanced by the reality – an exciting space showcasing dishes of explosive flavours and vibrant colours, served in a convivial environment. Expect plenty of bold ingredients with a Mediterranean slant – pomegranates, lemon, pistachio – used to great, and often surprising, effect.
When to go Whenever you want a special treat in Islington.
What to have Anything that catches your eye from the colourful array.
Ottolenghi, 287 Upper St, N1 2TZ (7288 1454/www.ottolenghi.co.uk). Angel tube. Feature continuesAdvertisementNahm
Fronted by the world’s most acclaimed Thai chef, Australian David Thompson (although he spends most of his time in Bangkok), Nahm's standards are very high even in his absence. The Thai dishes are imaginative, and unusual ingredients abound; shards of banana blossom, logans, and grilled chilli jam can appear in unexpected places. Despite this, the balance of flavours – salt, sweet, bitter, chilli heat – is always correct, in the Thai way. Nahm’s expensive and the room a bit insipid, but the cooking is star attraction here.
When to go Lunch is great value.
What to have Vegetarians are particularly well-catered for, with an extensive menu of interesting dishes.
Nahm, The Halkin, Halkin St, SW1X 7DJ (7333 1234/www.nahm.como.bz). Hyde Park Corner tube.
Busaba Eathai
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of Alan Yau’s Thai fast food restaurant – and yet it’s still remarkably kept up with the times. And here’s to at least another decade: Yau secured an equity investment of £21.5 million in summer 2008, which could mean the chain could grow to 20-30 sibling branches in the next five years. That’s a lot of pad Thais. But what has ensured Busaba’s longevity are not only the tried-and-trusted dishes so loved by Londoners (green chicken curry, satay, tom yum soup), but the more unusual dishes which you won’t on the usual roll-call of the Thai top 50.
When to go With a friend or two for for an off-peak lunch/dinner.
What to have Anything you’ve not heard of before.
Busaba Eathai, 22 Store St, WC1E 7DS (7299 7900). Goodge St tube.
Food For Thought
The vegetarian food here is immensely satisfying, with wonderfully fresh produce pepped up with splashes of inspiration. The menu, which usually features a daily soup, quiche/tart, casserole or moussaka, draws in flavours from around the globe. From Jamaican curry to a Roman-style vegetable stew, it’s all good, and served in generous portions. Don’t forget to try their its ‘scrunches’ – raspberry or strawberry depending on the season – cream, fresh fruit and crunchy oats.
When to go When you don’t mind the crush for a great value feed.
What to have The hot stews and curries are perfect for the season, packed with flavoursome veg (such as juicy aubergines and parsnips).
Food For Thought, 31 Neal St, WC2H 9PR (7836 9072). Covent Garden tube.
Sagar
Sagar is a humble Indian vegetarian restaurant in Hammersmith which charges very modest prices for exemplary cooking. It showcases the dishes of the southern state of Karnataka, and the coastal, temple town of Udipi in particular. It cleverly recreates the layered, delicate flavours of the area from the excellent, crisp dosais which are ideal for dipping into soupy sambar (made from lentils sharpened with perky tamarind and softened aubergine). Spicing tends to be mellow rather than fiery, seasoned with curry leaves and peppy mustard seeds.
When to go After visiting The Lyric.
What to have The thali set meals, or the dosais are all reliably good.
Sagar, 157 King St, W6 9JT (8741 8563). Hammersmith tube.
See more London restaurants for vegetarian food
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