London’s most glamorous restaurants

What is it? Glitz, glamour and the feminine urge to dangle a mother of pearl cigarette holder from your lips; Soho’s magnificent Brasserie Zédel might just have it all. 

Why we love it: One might assume the restaurant was a cynically thrown-together faux-flapper playground with MDF balustrades, yet when it comes to authenticity, Zédel is impressively legit. It’s only gone under the Brasserie Zédel name since 2012, but this vast, subterranean space was once the bowels of The Regent Palace Hotel, built in 1915 and rejigged in the early 1930s to give it some extra Jazz Age oomph. In little over a decade Brasserie Zédel has become a London landmark, and, despite its unparalleled size, is never knowingly not rammed. Take your folks, take a date, take an out-of-towner and see their jaws drop as you lead them down the twisting staircase to the main dining room as if you were announcing their debut into high society. 

Time Out tip: The two course set menu for £16.95 is still one of the best in town; oeufs mayonnaise and steak haché is our go-to order.  

Address: 20 Sherwood St, W1F 7ED.

What is it? Simpson’s in the Strand creaks with a very specific kind of history. One of London’s oldest restaurants, this hospitality monolith dates back to 1828 and has the kind of beyond-the-grave guestlist that would make the doorman at Studio 54 puce with envy.

Why we love it: The main restaurant, known as the Grand Divan, is breathtaking. The lighting is immaculate and the attention to detail second to none. Original Edwardian fixtures are polished to within an inch of their lives, and wall-to-wall dark wood makes the room feel like a grand Oxbridge dining hall. It’s been fitted out with lavish new banquette seating, napkins have buttonhole attachments (handier for the besuited men here, less than for the women), and gleaming silver carving trolleys wheel about the place dishing out tableside roast ribs of beef. There’s not a bad seat in the house. 

Time Out tip: Basement cocktail bar Nellie’s Tavern is open until 3am, if you finish dinner and don’t feel like leaving.

Address: 100 Strand, WC2R 0EW.

What is it? A grand dining room in a Grade II-listed former courthouse.

Why we love it: Ride the lift up to the fourth floor and prepare to be transported to another world. This restaurant has the look and feel of a distressed, pastel-hued Tuscan villa, complete with faded plaster walls, beautifully restored double-storey columns, detailed arched windows and a mezzanine from which you can people-watch the diners below. It’s a truly stunning place with an air of fantasy that’ll make you question whether you are in Zone 1 or Narnia. 

Time Out tip: Come by for a divine Sunday lunch that makes a great alternative to a stodgy pub roast.

Address: Old Sessions House, 24 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0NA.

What is it? After well over a century of service, Sheekey’s status as a West End institution with an excellent fish-focussed menu is assured.

Why we love it: With its monochrome photos of stars of stage and screen, wooden panelling and cream crackle walls, and array of silver dishes atop thick white tablecloths, it oozes old-fashioned glamour. The separate booths and secluded tables cry out for romantic trysts – even a simple lunch has the thrill of a secret assignation.

Time Out tip: Order the fish pie – a rich, comforting treat.

Address: 28-32 St Martin's Court, WC2N 4AL.

What is it? A self-proclaimed ‘café-restaurant in the grand European tradition’, the Wolseley combines London heritage and Viennese grandeur.

Why we love it: Its black, gold and cream colour scheme suggests prestige, and you might easily imagine the buzz of conversation and the chink of crockery to have reverberated around the high ceilings since the 1920s. Yet the former car show room only opened as a restaurant in 2003. Nevertheless, it’s now firmly on many a London visitor’s checklist, alongside nearby bastion of tradition Fortnum & Mason.

Time Out tip: The kitchen is much-celebrated for its breakfasts, so get an early booking and scoff an Arnold Bennett omelette.

Address: 160 Piccadilly, W1J 9EB.

What is it? A steakhouse in the stunning space inside the Grade I-listed St Pancras London Hotel.

Why we love it: This flashy room of double-height ceilings, intricate molding, and uber-extra glitz was designed in 1873 by the daddy of gothic revival architects, Sir George Gilbert Scott. Closed in 1935, the dramatic space was then used as railway offices until the building reopened as a hotel in 2011. A number of different chefs have had their fun with the room since then, but its current form seems to suit it the most; a fittingly luxe backdrop for one of London’s most indulgent yet reasonably priced steak menus.

Time Out tip: Begin your descent into gout with a drink at the lavish Martini Bar; which is maybe even more impressive than the main dining room.

Address: St Pancras London, Euston Road, NW1 2AR.

What is it? For Londoners of a certain age - or those in possession of a Coutts bank account - the name Langan’s is synonymous with martini-fuelled long lunches and intoxicating celebrity glamour.

Why we love it: Opened in 1976 by debauched restaurateur Peter Langan and actor Michael Caine, the Mayfair brassiere became a byword for a certain kind of decadence. A ritzy hangout for the likes of Jerry Hall, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando, Langan’s was it. Half a century later, and proceedings are somewhat less headline-grabbing, but still as endearing camp. If ever a building could be described as ‘showbiz’, it would be Langan’s, which is also the only London restaurant with official tube signage directing you all the way from Green Park station towards the front door. Passing the iconic red neon, you’ll enter a contemporary take on the disco era; there’s a gleaming, mirrored bar, gold column lamps on green marble tables, fluted glass chandeliers and suited waitstaff with different colour blazers denoting rank greeting regulars with an easy charm.

Time Out tip: The set menu offers two courses for £25 or three for £30. Not a bad deal for the middle of Mayfair. 

Address: Stratton Street, Mayfair, W1J 8LB.

What is it? The first born restaurant baby from acclaimed chef Jackson Boxer (see also; Vesper and Dove).

Why we love it: A proud Georgian mansion, Brunswick House sits stubbornly amongst the looming, ever-multiplying tower blocks of Vauxhall. You imagine that more than one billionaire developer has gazed upon the prime Thameside footprint this shabby old building takes up, and shook their fists in rage upon hearing of its protected Grade II* listed status. One of the best things about sharing your space with an antiques dealer is the endless, ever-changing decor options. The walls, which are one evening covered with giant Art Nouveau advertising for obscure French chocolate brands, will boast vintage theatre posters, or gigantic maps, the next. A mainstay are the chandeliers, an embarrassment of them drip from the ceiling in shiny gold and glimmering crystal, alongside hanging plants and blousy brocade curtains.

Time Out tip: All of the food is incredibly good, but you simply must order the potato bread with wild garlic butter. 

Address: 30 Wandsworth Road, Vauxhall Cross, SW8 2LG.

What is it? A sky-high Chinese-Japanese fusion restaurant on the top floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Why we love it: If you want to get a sense of the sort of person you’ll see at Shanghai Me, the  then consider this: there was a 12-year-old boy behind us wearing a Maison Margiela t-shirt. Shanghai Me has two other outposts in Doha and Dubai, with another set to open in Monaco. I’m not sure how I feel about our beautiful capital being lumped in with these gaudy Gomorrahs but perhaps that’s just where we are. The interiors are surprisingly tasteful, art deco everything and 1990s Wall Street expressionist paintings on the wall. The menu at Shanghai Me is extensive and unsurprising. All the stars are here; wagyu dim sum, cod and miso, black truffle yellowtail.

Time Out tip: Obviously, request a seat by the window. Our view was punctuated magically by the fireworks from Wembley Stadium at the end of one of the Oasis comeback concerts.

Address: 28th Floor, London Hilton on Park Lane, 22 Park Lane, W1K 1BE.

What is it? Martino’s is from the same team as The Dover, which has remained a searing hot ticket since it opened. Martino’s is a little less New York and a little more Milan, with a simple pasta and meatballs menu, and all-day dining (it’s open from 8am on weekdays). 

Why we love it: People come for rowdy family get-togethers, cheery groups of friends and furtive martini meetings around the majestic oval bar in the middle of the room, which somehow manages to not pull focus, such is the twinkling beauty of every single facet of the stunning space. Like the Dover, it’s very sensual; all glossy walnut walls, film noir-worthy venetian blinds, extremely flattering light, and slinky demi-booths that the Daily Mail would probably accuse of putting on a ‘curvy display’. Staff wear white jackets and black bowties and glide across the parquet floor like Fred Astaire mid-foxtrot. 

Time Out tip: Can’t decide what to drink? Opt for a Martino’s Shakerato; a fabulously fluffy combo of Campari, gin and orange juice.

Address: 37 Sloane Square, Chelsea, SW1W 8AN. 

What is it? A place so majestic that it gave birth to the world’s most flamboyant adjective, it is pleasing to know that more than a century after it was opened by hotelier César Ritz in 1906, The Ritz remains ‘ritzy’ incarnate.

Why we love it: Forever the flashiest gal in town, the main dining room, with its stiletto-swallowing carpets adorned with giant roses, floral swags and crystal chandeliers draped from the ceiling, massive pink marble columns and a shimmering sculpture of Neptune and Aphrodite wearing not much apart from gold leaf, is currently undergoing reconstruction. You can still dine in the pretty fancy Arlington Street Wing though, and the food remains great, with not one but two Michelin stars. 

Time Out tip: Go on a Friday night for live music.

Address: 150 Piccadilly, W1J 9BR.

What is it? Cantonese classics inside of the newest and swankiest hotels in London. 

Why we love it: Entering the Peninsula Hotel in Hyde Park is one of London’s most psychedelically disorientating experiences. After traipsing across one of the city’s smoggiest roundabouts, and scurrying through a dingy system of underpasses you pop out in a cavernous marble atrium in which a balcony-based jazz band perform 40-feet in the air. Moments later you’re squinting (it’s dark) at a blue porcelain fireplace, sheets of undulating Guangdong silk and a ceiling-mounted celestial map. Welcome to Canton Blue. JG Ballard could never.

Time Out tip: If you’re of the opinion that a £130 peking duck cannot be justified or encouraged, probably stop reading. 

Address: The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Pl, SW1X 7HJ. 

What is it? The NoMad’s revamped in-house restaurant is a high-octane tribute to the big, ballsy American brasserie.

Why we love it: Like Manhattan-by-way-of-the-Marais, this extravagant Yank take on the French brassiere, comes complete with excessively high ceilings, balustrades and balconies. ‘Intimate’ it is not, but cosy is overrated, and we’re struggling to think of anywhere else in London that seems at once like peak disco era and the ideal date spot for Romeo and Juliet. 

Time Out tip: They have an entire menu devoted to the martini. Our dirty vodka offering comes with a whole second helping courtesy of a sidecar on ice, as well as three blue-cheese stuffed olives.

Address: 28 Bow Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 7AW. 

What is it? Lots of spots in Fitzrovia are posh, but Berners Tavern is something special.

Why we love it: You sit in booths across its huge, dimly-lit dining room, surrounded by chandeliers. Spectacular art hangings cover every inch of the walls. Couples sit clutching hands in cubby holes, swanky business dinners gather in groups of six, and a few lone eaters settle in for three courses and a bottle of wine. It’s posh but not stuffy; the staff are a laugh and the playlist is banging.

Time Out tip: They serve mac and cheese as a starter and a main. A win in our book.

Address: 10 Berners Street, W1T 3NP.

What is it? A jangly, sparkly, mirrored monument to maximalism, this ain’t your daddy’s high-end Indian JKS Restaurants restaurant.

Why we love it: Ambassadors Clubhouse (the lack of an apostrophe will never not be annoying) is the latest from the group that brought you (among others) Trishna in Marylebone and Gymkhana in Mayfair. So you get very very nice food (in this case from the Punjab region), an opulent and tasteful colour palette, super-attentive staff and a knuckle-whitening bill at the end.

Time Out tip: Intimidated by the cost? Things are slightly cheaper on the three course lunch and pre-theatre set menu, which is available Monday to Sunday from 12-3pm and Monday to Wednesday from 5.30-6pm for £36 per person.

Address: 25 Heddon Street, W1B 4BH. 

What is it? Since 1851, Scott’s has been known for its fish. And with good reason: the seafood here is first class.

Why we love it: The centrepiece of the restaurant is a grand oyster bar where Mayfair denizens sip flutes of Gaston Chiquet and feast on fines de claires by the dozen. In the club-like seating area, diners get stuck in to Cornish sardines laced with parsley, sautéed monkfish cheeks with bordelaise sauce, and scampi provençale. We rhapsodised over the bass ceviche, a cheeky number bolstered by chunks of avocado, pepped up with a decent dose of jalapeño.

Time Out tip: The desserts are magnificent (don’t miss the bakewell pudding). 

Address: 20 Mount Street, W1K 2HE. 

What is it? You know it. That one from Instagram. Space pod loos. Loud art on the walls. Sort of like eating in an immersive theatre experience.

Why we love it: This Conduit Street institution is more than just a place for selfies and soundtracked bowel movements. Over two decades after opening it’s still very much a serious restaurant – and one that’s just had a redesign. In January 2026 Sketch revealed the first major rehang of its main Gallery restaurant since 2022, with Yinka Shonibare’s masks and quilts replaced by Jonathan Baldock’s faces and cocoons. The Gallery remains sunshine yellow, with its gorgeous domed skylight, though woven cocoons now curl down from the ceiling and 84 clay masks line the walls. 

Time Out tip: The Gallery isn’t just a dinner place. It also does afternoon tea, so come by for tea and cake and little sandwiches if you need to impress an auntie.

Address: 9 Conduit Street, W1S 2XG. 

What is it? Cafe Clement is on the ground floor of St Clement, the glammy new hotel from hospitality kingpin and founder of the Soho House empire, Nick Jones. 

Why we love it: From the outside, the brusque building gives ‘glum office block’, but inside a contemporary take on art-deco shimmer puts the nearby Savoy to shame. You enter Cafe Clement up a curvy green-carpetted staircase that feels not unlike you’re negotiating the door at Studio 54. Inside, the vibe is immaculate. Low-slung ceilings and frosted-glass partitions between beige leather booths seemingly stripped from a classic car interior make the place feel like vintage Manhattan on a financial upswing, and oil lamps flicker on the tables offering an upscale Wee Willie Winkie ambiance.

Time Out tip There’s a decent looking set menu for just £28 (ouefs mayo and onglet on our visit), which - when paired with an £8 glass of tap house wine - makes for a cheap-ish visit.

Address: 180 The Thames, St Clement, 12 Temple Place, WC2R 2NF. 

RECOMMENED: The best riverside restaurants in London. 

What is it? Rather than an Italian Italian, The Dover is a self-styled ‘New York Italian’ that’s more Nolita than Naples.

Why we love it: This is not your average nonna’s kitchen but rather a shimmering space to see and be seen, with gorgeous walnut wood walls that seem lifted directly from a 1930s cruise liner and a row of discreet corner booths that line the way from the bar to the raised dining room at the back of the restaurant.

Time Out tip Swing by the no-bookings-needed bar at the front if you can’t land a last minute table in the main restaurant; there’s a very decent menu of bar snacks, including burger and fries for £25.

Address: 33 Dover St, W1S 4NF. 

What is it? High Street Kensington’s ornate Italian restaurant Jacuzzi impressively straddles the line between high camp and high class.

Why we love it: Like being invited into Sophia Loren’s boudoir, it’s at once seductive, sort of silly and kind of overwhelming; plants – in fact, trees – are everywhere, colourful glassware hangs from the ceiling, lavish majolica-style ceramics adorn the tables and – on the very top floor of this labyrinthine four-storey building – there are massive knickers in frames and toilets tiled with hundreds of tiny, artfully painted dicks (which, for our money is far more of a draw than the much-talked about mirror-ball covered ‘disco loo’ in the basement). 

Time Out tip: House wine is a steal at £29 a bottle, but don’t miss the intensely drinkable cocktails, including a Negroni spiked with balsamic vinegar. 

Address: 94 Kensington High St, W8 4SJ.