The best restaurants in Fitzrovia

Pulling largely from the cuisines of Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal, Akoko offers a ten-course tasting menu, which in the absence of à la carte is the only thing on offer, but with vegetarian and vegan options. From the opening cocktails – sweet and zippy cacao and date Negronis – to puddings of Ghanaian bofrot doughnuts decorated with elegant flowers – it’s no giddy exaggeration to say that everything at Akoko was spectacular, and packed full of huge flavours that you’re unlikely to stumble across elsewhere in Fitzrovia.

If payday and date night coincide, then it’s off to Hakkasan with you: this slick, sexy Cantonese restaurant has been thrilling spendy Londoners since it burst onto the dining scene in 2001. Hakkasan’s darkened interior, with its carved lattices, sliding screens and thumping music, is a restaurant/club hybrid whose shadows could harbour any number of famous faces. The kitchen’s take on Cantonese cuisine shamelessly name-drops big-ticket ingredients, with luxe offerings ranging from peerless dim sum to signatures such as roasted silver cod with champagne and honey.

Get a slice of sweet Portuguese life in Fitzrovia. Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes, best known for his work at Michelin-starred Chiltern Firehouse, now heads up this chic kitchen that celebrates his homeland’s cuisine. Mendes’s food is rustic in the best sense. The plating is simple, unfussy and sometimes looks thrown together, but that’s how you can tell he is a chef who likes to eat as much as he likes to cook. A casual, relaxed and buzzy place where you can pretend you’re on holiday.

Fill up on authentic curries at school-dinner prices in this utilitarian dining hall attached to the long-running Indian YMCA. The canteen is open to all (not just resident students), so join the merry throng of office workers, tourists and bargain hunters as they line up for their lunchtime nosh – mutton biryani, tandoori fish, dhal and the must-have egg curry.

Carousel is hard to pin down as a restaurant experience. It’s not a pop-up and it’s not a supper club; instead, it hosts short-term residencies from some of the world’s top gastronomic players and restaurants, from London's own Chishuru to Nashville's Husk and New York's King. Check their own listings to see what's in store. The restaurant is just one part of a sprawling creative hub that also features yoga classes, live music, film screenings, exhibitions and even a bit of opera.

This cool, pared-back and thoroughly grown-up Fitzrovia gem serves up bold, powerful and surprising food from its visible open kitchen. Diners congregate at bare Scandi-style tables for small plates and larger sharing dishes or a tip top tasting menu. It's got a Michelin star, too. 

A huge but grotto-esque sibling to Shoreditch’s chintzy cheese-fest Gloria, this Fitzrovia spot looks simply magical with its strings of fairy lights, kaleidoscopic colours and fronds of greenery dangling from the rafters. The kitchen serves up a wide-ranging trattoria-style menu, although we advise sticking to the brilliantly executed small stuff rather than the more substantial pizzas, pastas and mains. Either way, Circolo is a breath-takingly inviting space.

If you’re looking for a casual Yotam Ottolenghi fix within striking distance of Oxford Circus, then warm, buzzy Rovi is your go-to destination. True to form, this goodie touts a breakfast/brunch menu, but its all-day offerings sizzle with bright ideas on small plates – with top marks going to the ravishing ‘fruits of the earth’ stuff (celeriac shawarma with bkeila and fermented tomato, anyone?). In this drab little part of Fitzrovia, Rovi is something quite special.

The forefather of a pioneering group famous for its hybrid Spanish and Italian tapas, this smartly informal Fitzrovia favourite seamlessly combines two gastro-cultures under one roof – although the buzziest vibe is in the bustling low-lit bar rather than the basement dining room. Food-wise, there’s still plenty to enjoy, especially if you stick to the classics - the blistered padrón peppers, the jamón croquetas or the legendary cheese-stuffed courgette flowers drizzled with blossom honey. 

Like its starry stablemate Zuma, this Japanese stunner gets top marks for glitz and glamour. You may need to pull a few strings for a ringside seat at the counter overlooking the robata grill, but service is outstanding and the vibe is infectiously buzzy. Expect to pay a pretty penny for Roka’s top-end sushi and izakaya-style small plates – if we mention beef tartare with black truffle ponzu, you’ll understand what we’re talking about. Still, it’s definitely worth the splurge.

The very model of a smart-casual neighbourhood restaurant, this sibling of Portland is quietly chic, interesting and exactly what’s required for a sociable well-priced business lunch or a tête-à-tête supper. Seasonal small plates, sharing dishes and timeless brasserie classics are all up to standard – cod with girolles, salsify and ponzu butter is typical – while genial staff, twisted vintage cocktails and decent wines (including some by-the-glass rarities) help things along nicely.

A bijou Fitzrovia aristocrat, Pied à Terre purrs like a vintage Bugatti while doling out tasteful pleasures for those who are happy to pay top prices for that very special gastronomic experience. From clever amuse-bouches onwards, the kitchen delivers wave after wave of dishes that taste sensational and look a million euros on the plate. The room is quite small and prices are seriously scary, although you can stay solvent by dropping in for the set lunch. Impressively, it's also London's longest standing Michelin Star restaurant.

All-out glamour in one of London’s slickest metropolitan dining rooms is the promise at this swaggering Jason Atherton venue within Fitzrovia’s splendid Edition Hotel (think opulent chandeliers, wall-to-wall artworks and a bevy of properly elegant staff). Top-drawer cosmopolitan food and smart cocktails add to the fabulousness of the Ian Schrager-designed space, so put on your glad rags and enter the kingdom of the beautiful people. Just remember to bring some serious cashish, though.

Mattieu Germond was co-owner and sommelier at swanky Pied à Terre before taking over this Fitzrovia site (formerly Dabbous), freshening up the decor and pitching the place as an upmarket French bistro/wine bar (with heavyweight prices to match). Expect a seasonal menu full of appetising ideas along the lines of veal tartare with Jerusalem artichoke and truffle emulsion. Wine is taken seriously here, and the owner actively encourages BYOB (although corkage ain’t cheap).

This swish four-storey Fitzrovia townhouse is a clubby colonial-themed mishmash of marble tables, ceiling fans, bentwood cane chairs and designer lighting. Fairly-priced Vietnamese cooking is the order of the day, with bowls of punchy fragrant pho, dumplings, curries, shaking beef and seafood noodles, alongside Pengelly signatures such as crispy duck and watermelon salad. Good for groups.

For years, this elder sibling of Soho’s Copita has been offering fans a proper taste of laidback Spain with smart decor to match. Oak furniture, chequerboard floor tiles and sunny yellow walls set the scene for some impressively consistent tapas – not only Padrón peppers and croquetas, but also ambitious ideas along the lines of chargrilled chorizo with piquillo sauce and saffron-pickled cabbage. There’s a serious list of wines and sherries by the glass too. 

A stylish, upmarket addition to Fitzrovia’s Greek scene. Meraki takes the sun-drenched flavours of the Aegean and serves them up to business folk, tourists and shoppers who want to escape Oxford Street’s bedlam. Wooden trays loaded with dips and meze are the top calls – we can’t get enough of their insanely good kopanisti (barrel-aged feta with Florina peppers).

Big-name chef Jun Tanaka has been around for years, and this chic, contemporary venue in Fitzrovia is the ninth restaurant he has been involved in (geddit?). Although eye-catching small plates with a French slant are the focus, the cooking doesn’t really lend itself to sharing-is-caring – still, Tanaka has a talent for pointing up flavours, creating harmonious marriages and making ingredients sing.

Named after an increasingly hip district in South Philadelphia, this faithfully recreated American dive bar/diner is the real deal. TVs show baseball games, the walls are covered in vintage sports paraphernalia and the menu focuses on Philly classics including cheesesteaks and tender roast pork rolls packed with Parmesan, pesto and tenderstem broccoli. Textbook fries, peanut-butter cookies and choc-chip cannoli also get locals (and US expats) coming back for a ‘real’ taste of America.

This U-shaped Kitchen Table allows up to 20 punters to perch on stools while getting their kicks from James Knappett’s 12-course tasting menus. The day menu gives few clues apart from single-word pointers such as ‘oysters’, ‘chicken’ and ‘gooseberry’, but the chefs enthusiastically introduce each dish, and the result is a procession of modernist, meticulous, micro-sized plates served in surroundings that are neither formal nor hushed. It's not cheap though, at £300 a pop. 

Small but lovely, this sibling of Mayfair’s Chisou offers the best of both worlds: it feels old school, but the music’s upbeat, there’s a vivid geisha mural splashed on one wall, and the kitchen is manned by a brigade of blowtorch-wielding chefs from all nations. Fish fans drool over the modish carpaccios, the market-fresh sushi sets and the outstanding sashimi (including some magnificently silky o-toro tuna). Great fun all round.

Part of the Peruvian wave that hit London back in 2012, Lima is known for its boisterous edge, easy-drinking pisco sours and vibrant gussied up food. The small plates menu showcases classic and modern regional cuisine, which means upmarket takes on the ceviche theme, plus tostadas and tiraditos.

Yopo serves up a fusion of Latin American and westernised small plates in a colourful space festooned with exotic art. Expect everything from bite-sized potato churros with coffee and bottarga to octopus tacos and Argentinian shortbread sandwiches. At night, the colourful room comes to life with a DJ, moody lighting and cocktails. Our advice? Come for the food, stay for the party vibe.

Compared to some new-wave pasta joints, this Goodge Street canteen/pasta ‘lab’/wine shop is refreshingly ungimmicky. The focus is firmly on the artisanal handmade stuff, served al dente and tasting like it has just come out of nonna’s kitchen. Space is limited, with high tables and bar stools along counters, and the short daily menu is peppered with must-haves – don’t miss the spaghetti carbonara if it’s on. Prices are fair, portions are sizeable, and you can wander in without booking.