A bona-fide London institution with a fine-dining powerhouse at the helm, Bibendum remains London’s nattiest and most heart-warmingly pleasurable dining room – although über-chef Claude Bosi is putting his own dizzyingly technical and dazzlingly creative stamp on proceedings. Prices are unnervingly high, but the food is overwhelmingly excellent – so go on, blow the budget and prepare to be blown away by signature dishes such as the no-rice ‘nosotto’ with English snails, chervil and vine jaune.
Thronging with museum-bound tourists and suited diplomats it may be, but bustling South Ken has a very fertile – if inevitably spenny – food scene. From superlative Michelin-starred spots to upmarket chain restaurants, timeless Eastern European stalwarts and faux-rustic haunts for the Barbour brigade, there’s something for everyone in this flash part of town (with some of London’s outright best restaurants and best dishes chucked in there, too).
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