Restaurants

Garufa

Argentinian food near the Arsenal

Highbury: 104 Highbury Park, N5 2XE

Gaucho Tower Bridge

Having already given London it’s smartest steakhouse in W1, Gaucho naturally had to have a restaurant among the glass towers near London Bridge and the view as you...

Tower Bridge: 2 More London Riverside, SE1 2AP

Glistening Waters

The Thames doesn’t glisten much on the dreary riverside walk from Kew Bridge station to the characterless concrete block that houses Glistening Waters,. But inside...

Brentford: 5 Ferry Lane, Ferry Quays, High Street, Brentford, Middx, TW8 0AT

Hawksmoor

We know that Christ Church Spitalfields is down the road, but even so, the owners of this cocktail bar/steakhouse were cheeky in naming it after such a notable London...

City: 157 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ

Jerk City

This small café is the perfect antidote to the fury and fast pace of nearby Oxford Street. If you’re not already a Caribbean convert, Jerk City’s welcome of...

Soho: 189 Wardour Street, W1F 8ZD

Mango Room

Of all the places in need of some Caribbean sunshine, the corner by Camden tube is high on the list. Set alongside instant eateries for the loud and lairy, the Mango...

Camden: 10-12 Kentish Town Road, NW1 8NH

Taqueria

With its real-deal tortilla-making machine from Guadalajara, this place shows what Mexican street food is about. The menu explores the versatility of masa (maize...

Notting Hill: 139-143 Westbourne Grove, W11 2RS

Bodean's

What looked to be a wafer-thin gap in the market turned out to be a mile-wide chasm. Five years after its speculative Soho opening, Bodean’s now has five branches...

Soho: 10 Poland Street, W1F 8PZ

Bodean's

Fulham: 4 Broadway Chambers, Fulham Broadway, SW6 1EP

Bodean's

Clapham: 169 Clapham High Street, SW4 7SS

Bodean's

City: 16 Byward Street, EC3R 5BA

Bodean's

Westbourne Grove: 57 Westbourne Grove, W2 4UA

Boho Mexica

Mexican cantina in Spitalfields

Shoreditch: 151-153 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ

Cottons

Cottons has long set London’s benchmark for West Indian cooking. Both branches attract a smart set of Caribbean connoisseurs, although it’s this outlet that’s...

Farringdon: 70 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QP

Cottons

Chalk Farm: 55 Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AN

El Vergel

For the perfect lunch here, arrive late when most of the local office workers have returned to work. Then, armed with a magazine or book, indulge in a tortilla...

London Bridge: 8 Lant Street, SE1 1QR

Gaucho Piccadilly

Piccadilly: 25 Swallow Street, W1B 4DJ

Green & Red

Tequila bar Green & Red is miles away from the world of studenty tequila slammers. The staff’s knowledge may be patchy, but only 100% agave tequila is served....

Shoreditch: 51 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA

La Constancia

New Argentinian nails it

Bermondsey: 52 Tanner Street, SE1 3PH

Mestizo

Mestizo isn’t far from the kind of sleek hotel restaurant you might find in Cancun, with neon Aztec artwork and backlit shelves displaying colourful bottles of more...

Fitzrovia: 103 Hampstead Road, NW1 3EL

Santa Maria del Sur

When Alberto Abbate opened this steakhouse in December 2006 (originally as a sister to Buen Ayre, see right), it looked like a high-risk investment: the block he chose...

Battersea: 129 Queenstown Road, SW8 3RH

Savannah Jerk

It’s no coincidence that two Caribbean eateries have set up shop side by side. When business partners split in 2006, Mr Jerk was renamed Jerk City and The Original...

Soho: 187 Wardour Street, W1F 8ZB

The Diner

The accents are bright red rather than dark green, and there’s a little more nostalgia-inducing Americana around the place. However, from the contents of the menu to...

Soho: 16-18 Ganton Street, W1F 7BU

40 Degrees

Brazilian meat grill

Wandsworth: 40 Upper Richmond Rd, SW15 2RX

ACE Fusion

'The food is lovely,' a woman whispered to me as we went into this new Caribbean restaurant ten minutes' walk from Clapham Junction. Either she was cunningly planted...

Clapham: 110 St John's Hill, SW11 1SJ

Amber Grill Rodizio

Brazilian all-you-can-eat buffet

Willesden: 47 Station Road, NW10 4UP

Automat

Forgoing the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ approach of the Ivy, this self-described ‘American brasserie’ is happy to talk up its celebrity clientele. Its website...

Mayfair: 33 Dover Street, W1S 4NF

Bamboula

Cheerfully decorated in green, yellow and orange, this popular restaurant-café makes as good a stab at recreating the vibe of a Caribbean beach shack as is possible...

Brixton: 12 Acre Lane, SW2 5SG

Benito's Hat

Budget Mexican caff

Fitzrovia: 56 Goodge Street, W1T 4NB