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Jikoni
Jikoni

The best restaurants in Marylebone

Marylebone teems with bougie restaurants and chic cafés. Here's where to go if you're after a cheap eat or a big blowout

Leonie Cooper
Edited by
Leonie Cooper
Written by
Time Out London Food & Drink
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Marylebone is certainly one of London's swankier districts, its streets teeming with tourists, thrill-seekers and well-heeled locals. But that doesn't mean you have to resign yourself to boring, overpriced food. The area is chock-full of great restaurants, whether they're peddling haute cuisine or down-to-earth fare.

You'll find fine dining, relaxed neighbourhood restaurants and hot new openings from hyped chefs sitting side by side in this fashionable corner of the West End. Venture off Oxford Street and seek out a meal to remember.

RECOMMENDED: London's 50 best restaurants.

The best restaurants in Marylebone

  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Marylebone
  • price 3 of 4

St John Marylebone benefits from its intimacy – upstairs there’s an open kitchen and big windows, but downstairs is a cosy basement, where the lack of natural light might just lead to that brilliant thing – a lunch so lavish that you forget what time it is, only to stumble out at 5pm, pleasantly dazed and happily full. Unlike the other two St John restaurants, the menu here is small and seemingly ad hoc. Chalkboards explain the day’s offerings. There’s only a handful of starters and mains up for grabs. All are made for sharing, but by God you don’t have to if you don’t want to. The brevity of such a menu is never an issue; everything is exceptional.

  • Restaurants
  • British
  • Marylebone

A hidden gem – abeit one that's hiding in plain sight – this family-run café-cum-deli has been serving up homemade nourishment since 1900. Lately its beef goulash has been making waves (and stains, dribbled down T-shirts from over-eager eating). It’s a smoky soup that’s so thick you could almost call it gravy, chock-full of hearty vegetables and tender chunks of beef. It’s rich, dense and perfect for dunking one of the café’s gigantic sandwiches into.

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Marylebone
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended

Jikoni, which means ‘kitchen’ in Kiswahili, blends Asian, African and Middle Eastern cuisines. If you’re looking for ‘authentic’ food from any of those regions, you’d better go elsewhere. But if you want a charming and playful evening of culinary surprises, which includes a prawn-toast scotch egg with banana ketchup and adorable diddy pickled cucumbers (as good as it sounds), Jikoni won’t disappoint. 

  • Restaurants
  • Marylebone

Earthy pink terracotta walls, tropical hanging fronds and handmade paper lanterns from Oaxaca combine into the breezy, chic Cavita, Marylebone’s new modern Mexican hotspot. Chef Adriana Cavita serves up an everchanging menu of street food, raw bites of seasonal seafood and big sharing plates, full of bold Mexican flavours and convivial atmosphere.

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  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Marylebone

This chic Marylebone Village restaurant serves exemplary pasta dishes at appealingly reasonable prices you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere in W1. The tagliolini with black truffle is a must: but don't stint on the gorgeous array of antipasti, either, and it's worth lingering in their art-deco bar for a cheeky aperitivo. 

Ibérica
  • Restaurants
  • Spanish
  • Great Portland Street

Standing proud like some Andalusian mansion in Marylebone, this smart branch of the Ibérica chain dishes up a wide-ranging menu covering everything from matchless jamón, charcuterie and cheeses to small plates and hot stews. Service is very Spanish, and staff are happy to help when it comes to choosing from the patriotic list of regional wines and sherries. Also check out the deli next door.

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Restaurants
  • Taiwanese
  • Marylebone
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended

Bao Mary is the Taiwanese mini-chain's latest outpost following Shoreditch, Borough, King’s Cross and the original Lexington Street digs. It’s the first all-day-ish branch of Bao, and here focus is on dumplings, but it's the new selection of cold dishes (and the bao, of course) that really impress. Don't miss the jammy and caramelly, soy-boiled egg, in a sweet thick sauce that’s also pudding-worthy (and possibly the best thing you can get for £3 at any central London’s restaurant).

Blandford Comptoir
  • Restaurants
  • Marylebone
  • price 2 of 4

Just luxe enough for Marylebone, this snug brasserie from sommelier Xavier Rousset (ex-Texture) promises a polite blend of English and Mediterranean comfort – with a strong emphasis on excellent wines by the glass. The food is Gallic, meticulously crafted and pitched just the right side of fussy – think juicy roast quail with truffle boudin and turnip. The best seats are at the buzzy counter.

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  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary European
  • Marylebone

The heat (and the hype) may have died down and you no longer need celeb cred to guarantee a table, but Chiltern Firehouse is still in demand for business or pleasure. Staff ooze professionalism, standards are sky-high, and the food (overseen by red-hot chef Nuno Mendes) is stunningly inventive modern stuff. Perching at the counter is the most fun you can have here.

  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Marylebone

Once one of Marylebone’s best-kept secrets, Dinings now has a reputation larger than its pokey townhouse setting. It may be cramped, and the downstairs room does resemble a concrete bunker, but the Nobu-inspired modern Japanese food is indisputably excellent – with some noticeable Peruvian flourishes added to its ‘tapas-style’ line-up. With polite, efficient chefs and waiters too, Dinings is a top performer.

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  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Marylebone
  • price 3 of 4

One of London’s more highly regarded Italian chefs, Giorgio Locatelli presides over this glamorous, well-groomed destination, allowing the dining room’s suave interiors to soothe his well-heeled clientele while his kitchen doles out food that deserves to be relished as well as admired. Superb hand-crafted pasta is the top shout, but everything screams quality. Wines offer a positively educational survey of Italy’s regions.

  • Restaurants
  • Spanish
  • Marylebone

Donostia is the Basque name for the prestigious gastronomic hotbed of San Sebastián, and this minimalist tapas joint rightly basks in the reflected glory of its namesake. Understated flavour revelations are the order of the day, from pintxos skewers to veal fillet with ratte potatoes. The drinks list is also worth careful consideration, from biodynamic riojas to natural Basque cider poured from a great height.  

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  • Restaurants
  • Indian
  • Marylebone

Located within a naan’s hurl of Oxford Street, Roti Chai offers Indian thrills on two levels. Office workers pack the ground-floor ‘street kitchen’ for lunchtime ‘shack snacks’, ‘railway’ curries, dhals and the like, while the sexier basement room comes into its own for full blowouts in the evening. Wherever you’re seated, a bevy of alert, young multinational staff keep things pacy.

  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Marylebone
  • price 3 of 4

The piece de resistance of this Big Mamma Group resto is a circular, floor-to-ceiling mirrored loo that’s more Studio 54 than manky cubicle. Here, all bathroom selfies (of which there will inevitably be many) are presided over by the Virgin Mary with a ring light for a halo. Where tradition and overt, unashamed Instagrammability meet: this is the Big Mamma way. It's more about the look than the food (big bowls of pasta, huge hunjks of burrata, etc), but if you're looking for a photo op, this is your spot. 

 

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  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Marylebone

Set up by chef Maurizio Morelli (ex-Latium, RIP), Briciole is as close to a proper Italian trattoria as you’re likely to find in London, complete with effusive staff who greet everyone like long-lost friends. The food follows suit, with a wide-ranging selection of small plates, first-class salumi, cheeses, pastas and regionally inspired mains – it’s rustic Italian cuisine at its most honest and inviting.

  • Restaurants
  • Vegetarian
  • Marylebone

A handy option if you’re stuck for something veggie in Marylebone, this branch of The Gate mini chain is a bit like that good-on-paper date – nothing to complain about, but no real spark. The interior is understated, sleek and minimal, while the food mixes up flavours and influences from around the globe. On the plus side, they have a brilliant selection of organic wines.

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Hoppers
  • Restaurants
  • Sri Lankan
  • Marylebone

Hoppers’ second branch is larger, smarter and more grown-up than the sexy little Soho original – and you can book. You’ll clock most of the old favourites on the menu (including the eponymous ‘hoppers’ and bone marrow varuval), but also expect some more fusion-style offerings (not always successful, we have to say). Downstairs is for big parties – and brain-freezing cocktails while you wait.

Fischer's
  • Restaurants
  • Austrian
  • Marylebone

A little taste of Mittel Europe transported to Marylebone, this grand café from Messrs Corbin & King has its culinary compass set to Austria, although it also absorbs ideas from neighbouring countries. Everything about Fischer’s is polished, from the acres of smooth, varnished woodwork to the all-encompassing menu, which satisfies from breakfast to late suppertime. It’s as seductively captivating as a full-dress Viennese waltz.  

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Pachamama
  • Restaurants
  • Peruvian
  • Marylebone

Named after Peru’s ‘Mother Earth’, Pachamama is certainly a place to revere if you’re a Marylebone hedonist – this gorgeous-looking low-lit basement hotspot has it all, at a price tag mere mortals can afford. To eat, there are modish (but never wacky) Peruvian plates full of finesse and flavour, all accompanied by party-time DJs at the weekends. Psst: the bottomless brunch is a local legend.

Kintan
  • Restaurants
  • Japanese
  • Regent Street
  • price 1 of 4

It’s all about roll-your-sleeves-up DIY at Kintan – a bargain-basement Japanese eatery specialising in yakiniku, a variant of Korean BBQ involving a smoky thick-ridged grill built into each table. The fully illustrated medley ranges from USDA kalbi short-rib to tiger prawns, although we’re hooked on the pre-marinated spicy pork. Wipe-clean menus are splashed with red-sticker deals, while extended ‘happy hours’ add extra value.

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  • Restaurants
  • Argentinian
  • Marylebone

It’s mostly about deconstructed, small-plates Argentinian cooking at this counter-focused restaurant – and with dishes as good as this you’ll want to hoover up as many mouthfuls as you can. Alternatively, get your chops around a classic sirloin, ribeye or asado – a flank steak served with grilled hispi cabbage, oxtail and oyster mayo. All you need is a side of hand-cut chips ‘provenzal’.  

Boxcar Butcher & Grill
  • Restaurants
  • Grills
  • Marylebone
  • price 2 of 4

A butcher’s with an in-house restaurant (or is it the other way round?), Boxcar spreads itself over two floors: downstairs there are tables overlooking the open kitchen; upstairs looks like a deli, with fridges of meat on two sides. Expect a brief menu ranging from burgers, pies and well-hung rare-breed steaks to seasonal salads and calorific puds – plus some daily specials. Bespoke cocktails too.

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  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary European
  • Marylebone

Neapolitan chef Eduardo Tuccillo has embraced the small-plates tapas concept and given it a twist by loading his little dishes with high-quality British produce. It’s a casual, fun-loving idea that yields lots of colourful fusion riffs – all served up by unfailingly attentive, smiling staff. The wine list is diverse enough for most palates, while set lunches and weekend breakfasts are also worth checking out.

Les 110 de Taillevent
  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Marylebone

Occupying an old banking chamber deep in upper-crust Marylebone, Les 110 is only slightly more approachable than its starry elder sibling in Paris – so sit up straight, polish your accent and be sure to use your cutlery in the right order. The food is lavish French fine dining at its best, while 110 (yes!) wines by the glass cater to novices and connoisseurs alike.

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Delamina
  • Restaurants
  • Middle Eastern
  • Marylebone

Manna for the ladies who lunch, the high-ceilinged Delamina brims with shabby-chic elegance, while the food has a supposedly ‘wholesome’ imprint. Emphatic Middle Eastern and Mediterranean accents shine through, although we suggest staying with the snacks and mezze, before homing in on the must-have pud (two slabs of tahini halva with date syrup and hazelnuts). Ask for a street-side table if you’re into people-watching.  

Lurra
  • Restaurants
  • Spanish
  • Marylebone

A tiny Basque enclave in Marylebone, Lurra is the baby sister of Donostia just down the road. Lap up the buzzy atmosphere and smoky aromas as you pick from a menu of rustic-luxe tapas and pintxos inspired by the bars of San Sebastián. Also, don’t ignore the appetising drinks list with its sprightly, spritzy txakoli wines alongside other indie regional tipples.

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  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary Asian
  • Baker Street

As the exclusive name suggests, this premier link in the Royal China chain has an air of quiet five-star elegance, right down to the faint tinkling of a piano. Lunchtime dim sum is a star attraction, but the kitchen also turns out consummate Cantonese cooking based on prized ingredients such as abalone and lobster. Meanwhile, polished staff make everyone feel like a visiting dignitary.

Orrery
  • Restaurants
  • French
  • Marylebone

Serene and elegant, with bucolic views through its arched windows, Orrery achieves the almost impossible – serving up a lunchtime menu of exceptional beauty, glamour and flavour in demure grey-toned surroundings that are the toast of Marylebone. Yes, the three-course deal is a business no-brainer, but Orrery’s refined French-inspired food and gorgeous wines are equally seductive for a romantic evening à deux.

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Phoenix Palace
  • Restaurants
  • Chinese
  • Marylebone

Decked out in lavish oriental style with banners, screens and dragons galore, Phoenix Palace is a favourite of international businessmen – although its easy-going bustle also suits local Chinese families who crowd round circular tables for the excellent weekend dim sum (reservations are a must unless you fancy queueing). Tip: dinner is a firecracker fest during the Chinese New Year.

La Fromagerie
  • Restaurants
  • Pâtisseries
  • Marylebone

There are cheese boards and then there are La Fromagerie cheese boards. We’d like to live in a world in which we were only ever served the latter – carefully sourced, themed by nation (with suggested wines to match) and prettily arranged on a wooden slab at the back of a shop filled with wonderful chutneys and handmade French tableware. A slice of cheese heaven.

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28°-50° Wine Workshop & Kitchen
  • Restaurants
  • Contemporary European
  • Marylebone

One of a trio of high-quality wine bar/restaurants dreamed up by chef Agnar Sverrisson of Texture, 28°-50° is all about quality. Staff are bright as a button, the wine list is a thing of joy (with up to 30 offerings by the glass or carafe), and the French-inspired menu offers sharing platters, cheeses, deli staples and more refined examples of French bourgeois cooking.

  • Restaurants
  • Burgers
  • Marylebone

Just getting into this cult destination can feel like cause for celebration. Not only is the queue epic, but Meat Liquor employs ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategies to manage it. Inside, it’s dark and violently loud: more hell-raising nightclub than restaurant. The Deep South-style cooking is gutsy stuff (crunchy-coated ‘bingo wings’, cheese steaks, dogs etc) although the real show-stoppers are the burgers.

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  • Restaurants
  • Indian
  • Marylebone

They now have a string of hits to their name (think Gymkhana, Hoppers and Bao for starters), but this is where it all began for the all-conquering Sethi siblings. The setting is smart and quietly conservative, while the kitchen thrills punters with its interpretations of Indian regional cuisine – especially seafood from the south. And the thrills continue with Sunaina Sethi’s globetrotting wine list.  

Patty & Bun
  • Restaurants
  • Burgers
  • Marylebone

It may be a squeeze, but Patty & Bun’s original bare-bones branch has carved out a reputation for serving some of London’s finest burgers. All-day queues are testament to the fact that its amiable staff have the format spot-on: they don’t mess around with ingredients (British wherever possible), the menu is witty without seeming contrived, and they’ve even had the nous to offer takeaways.

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