Leonie Cooper

Updated October 2025: We’ve refreshed our list of best restaurants in London following the latest Michelin star announcements and a bunch of new openings. Recent additions include Soho’s Berenjak, which topped our Best Middle Eastern Restaurants in London list, Legado in Shoreditch from Nieves Barragán Mohacho (of Sabor fame), The Lavery in South Ken, the return of cult Thai spot Singburi, and newly-opened Chingford chophouse, Gina.  Best Restaurants in London: Our Critic’s Picks: 🍸 Best Michelin-star restaurant: The Dover, Mayfair - New York-style dining with a newly awarded star in 2025. 🔥 Best Thai restaurant: Singburi, Shoreditch - cult London favourite known for fiery dishes. 🥩 Best Middle Eastern restaurant: Berenjak, Soho - buzzy Persian grillhouse with counter seating and charcoal-smoked kebabs. 🍜 Best affordable restaurant: Lanzhou Lamian Noodle Bar, Covent Garden - late-night noodles for a great price. 🥧 Best British restaurant: St John, Clerkenwell - trad dishes in a former smokehouse. 🍝 Best Italian restaurant: Trullo, Highbury - perfect pasta in a cosy neighbourhood classic. 🍻 Best gastropub: Rake at The Compton Arms, Islington - great pub food in lowkey surroundings. London doesn’t stand still and neither do we. We’re constantly adding new restaurants to the list and taking away ones that no longer make the grade. From freshly starred fine-dining rooms and hidden gems to neighbourhood favourites, these are the 50 restaurants we think you need to be eat

Want a drink? You've come to the right place. This is Time Out’s list of best bars in London, our curated guide to London’s drinking scene, featuring the buzziest bars in the capital right now. These are the 50 places we'd recommend to a friend, because we love drinking in them and have done many, many times over. From classy cocktail counters to delightful dives, sleek hotel bars, rooftop bars, liquor lounges and places to quaff wine, London's got them all. But what makes a truly good bar? Our critieria for inclusion on this list is simple; a menu of genius drinks is important, but so is overall vibe – there’s no point having the perfect paloma if you have to drink it in a bar that smells of bin juice. To make our Top 50, a bar has to be fun, friendly, and inclusive, as well as looking (and tasting) the part.  July 2025: Congrats to the newly-opened bars that have made the immediate jump into our hallowed Top 50, such as Ellie's – a lowkey Dalston cocktail bar recently anointed by Charli XCX, who chose it for the site of her wedding afterparty, and House Party, a rowdy Soho bar co-founded by Stormzy. It sits alongside some proper London classics which have returned to this list due to their outstanding excellence and unerring commitment to getting us tipsy in style, like the Keith Floyd-core Covent Garden wine bar Le Beaujolais. Now go forth and drink. RECOMMENDED: Like bars? Then you'll love London's best pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor, and

If you know where to look, there are some great places for wine, spirits, craft beer and beyond in buzzy King’s Cross. Take a look at our list of the best places to drink in the historic – and revamped – neighbourhood, from old-school spots and elegant DJ bars to wonderful wine caves. Try the bracingly hip Sweeties at The Standard, after visiting one of the best restaurants in King’s Cross.  RECOMMENDED: These are the best King’s Cross pubs.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

Every week, a frankly silly amount of brilliant new restaurants, cafés and street food joints arrive in London. Which makes whittling down a shortlist of the best newbies a serious challenge. But here it is. The 20 very best new restaurants in the capital, ranked in order of greatness and deliciousness. All of them have opened in the past year and been visited by our hungry critics. So go forth and take inspo from this list, which is updated regularly. Check in often to find out what we really rate on the London restaurant scene. And look here for all the info about the best new openings in October.  London's best new restaurants at a glance: 🐟 Central: Island, King’s Cross 🍠 North: Belly Bistro, Kentish Town 🍜 South: Lai Rai, Peckham 🍝 East: Osteria Angelina, Shoreditch 🥗 West: The Lavery, South Kensington October 2025: New additions include Chingford chophouse Gina, Filipino freshness at Belly Bistro in Kentish Town, indie disco turned gastropub the Macbeth in Shoreditch, and Spanish smashers at Legado in Shoreditch. Hungry yet? Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED: The 50 best restaurants in London. The hottest new openings, the tastiest tips, the spiciest reviews: we’re serving it all on our London restaurants WhatsApp channel. Follow us now to tuck in.

It’s time to bellow your favourite anthems surrounded by similarly uninhibited friends. London’s best karaoke bars provide the perfect spaces for hairbrush heroes and air-guitar maestros to realise their pop-star dreams, whether in a private room with mates or in front of an audience of strangers. Cue up your tune and step up to the mic at one of these joints that make embarrassing yourself in public fun. Best karaoke in London at a glance: 🍻 Best for a pub session: Mannions Prince Arthur, Tottenham 💃 Best for a private party: Three Colts Tavern, Bethnal Green ⏰ Best for a last-minute booking: Lucky Voice, various locations 🎤 Best for getting messy: Rowans, Finsbury Park  RECOMMENDED: The 50 best karaoke songs. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor and she'll be singing the best of Meatloaf and Sheryl Crow. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.

October 2025 update: With the 2025 Emmy Awards winners crowning Adolescence and The Pitt as must-watch series, we’ve updated our list of the best new TV Shows and streaming series of 2025 so far.We’ve all heard the phrase ‘TV’s golden age’ enough times over the past couple of decades to get wary of the hyperbole, but this year does seem to be shaping up to be a kind of mini golden age for the TV follow-up. Severance, Andor, Wednesday and Poker Face have all built on incredibly satisfying first seasons with equally masterful second runs. The third season of The White Lotus has proved that, whether you love it or find it a touch too languorous, there’s no escaping Mike White’s transgressive privilege-in-paradise satire. Likewise for season 7 of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian-flavoured sci-fi Black Mirror. Watercooler viewing is everywhere at the moment, and that’s not going to change anytime soon, with Stranger Things coming to an end and about a zillion other things still come. Here’s everything you need to see... so far.  Best TV and streaming shows at a glance: 📍 The Pitt (Emmy Best Drama winner) – watch on HBO Max in the US📍 Adolescence (Best Limited Series winner) – watch on Netflix worldwide📍 Severance season 2 (multiple acting wins) – watch on Apple TV+ worldwide📍 The Studio (Best Comedy winner) – watch on Apple TV+ worldwide📍 Andor season 2 (Emmy-winning writing) – watch on Disney+ worldwide 

The humble brunch is perhaps one of the greatest inventions of the modern age. Breakfast is too early to really get stuck into, while eating eggs and downing buckets of coffee at lunchtime seems odd. Brunch, then, is the one true morning-ish meal, especially if it incorporates pancakes, bacon and those aforementioned eggs. Or you can enjoy a totally vegan take on proceedings at LD’s at The Black Heart. London is particularly well stocked with places to indulge in the famous breakfast/lunch hybrid – one of the latest additions to this list is FKA Black Axe Mangal in Highbury, (don’t forgot to order a pig cheek and prune donut). Let us guide you to the best restaurants for a fabulous brunch, from a traditional full English to innovative twists on the majestic meal, such as a bacon bao brunch or fried eggs on chilli-cheese crumpets.  Best brunches in London at a glance: 🌽 Best for vegans: LD’s at The Black Heart, Camden 🍖 Best for Spanish-style brunch: Lolo, Bermondsey 🏰 Best for a spectacular setting: Aram, Somerset House 🌳 Best for an al fresco brunch: Pavilion Cafe, Victoria Park  RECOMMENDED: Like unlimited fizz with your fry-up? Here are the best bottomless brunches in London.  Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. October 2025: Now that we're fully into cosy season, we've highlighted some of the more appropriate seasonal spots for a morning meal. Sulk in the dark like a massive (vegan) go

September 2025: The arrival of cool, crispy weather and increasingly less daylight can only mean one thing - Sunday roast season is finally here. Not simply just a decent hangover cure, Sunday lunch is one of the most autumn-y things a Londoner can possibly do. Our latest update to this list has prioritised the cosiest pubs in town, with extra points for roaring open fires, as well as nooks and crannies to hunker down in as the city gets darker, colder and way more snuggly.  London’s best Sunday roasts at a glance: Central: Quality Chop House, Clerkenwell North: The Angel, Highgate South: Old Nun’s Head, Nunhead East: The Nelson’s, Hackney West: The Mall Tavern, Notting Hill Sunday lunch. There’s nothing quite like it. An elemental meal, one that Londoners take incredibly seriously. Debates about what constitutes the ‘perfect’ Sunday roast have been known to last for hours. There is no shortage of top roasts in London. We’ve rounded up the city’s best Sunday meals from a host of pubs, restaurants and breweries all around town. What makes a good roast? For us, it’s simple; a welcoming room is a good start, maybe in a pub with an open fire. Then it comes to the plate – we need perfect roast potatoes, well-cooked lamb, beef or pork and a decent plant-based option too. A Sunday roast is more than just lunch - it’s self-care. From snug neighbourhood staples to more bijou gastropubs, and even a heavy metal boozer in Camden, we’ve got something for every taste (if that taste is f

With over 6,000 islands, a seemingly endless coastline, ancient sites and lively party towns, it's easy to see why Greece is such a top tourist destination. Plus, it’s a country that caters to all tastes and all budgets. Whether you’re looking to tuck into Cretan dakos and assyrtiko wine in a taverna run by a feisty grandma, explore Athens’ overabundant art scene, or just install yourself by an infinity pool overlooking the Adriatic, you’re well covered. Accommodation options range from wallet-friendly, family-run digs to some of the most exclusive (and expensive) hideaways in the world, offering all manner of appealing extras; from yachts and private beaches to billiard rooms and free bikes. Here is our pick of the best hotels in Greece. RECOMMENDED: 🇬🇷 The best places to visit in Greece🏨 The best hotels in Mykonos This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.

Year round, London’s restaurants and breweries are ablaze with barbecues and smokey, live-fire cookery. Here’s our selection of the best grills the capital has to offer including street food hot spots as well as taproom pop-ups. Here you’ll find everything from Jamaican jerk and Scandi-style wood-fired cookery to Texas platters and Korean BBQ. Want to DIY during the summer? Then here’s a list of the London parks that will let you set up your very own grill. And if you want advice from an expert, it’s over to chef and food writer Melissa Thompson on her fave BBQ spots in the city. RECOMMENDED: A guide to the best fried chicken in London. Leonie Cooper is Time Out London’s Food and Drink Editor. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. 

The smog and stress of London can really take its toll on your skin. That’s why there’s nothing better than a regular facial (or a one-off treat) to give you that much-needed top-up, leaving you feeling glowing, fresh-faced and dewy.  Just thinking about what we put our skin through is enough to give you frown lines. That’s thanks to the combined efforts of pollution and air-conditioned offices, as well as the added bonuses of harsh weather, booze, sun exposure, dehydration and – our least favourite – the inevitable passing of time. Happily, there are loads of great spas, treatment rooms and estheticians in London who can give your face a break and a much-needed zhuzh. Whether you’re after a relaxing, soothing facial massage, some instant radiance, a total skincare overhaul or something a little more intense such as microneedling or laser treatment, read our pick of facials in London.  RECOMMENDED: The best spas in London. 

For those wanting to take their taste for tequila to the next level, there’s only one answer; get drinking its smoky, sumptuous sibling, mezcal. Unlike tequila, which is made only from blue agave in select regions in Mexico, mezcal is made from the heart (or piña) from up to over 30 species of the agave plant. The piñas are cooked in underground pit ovens, which gives the spirit its distinctive flavour, before being mashed and left to ferment. The liquid produced is then distilled in clay or copper pots, again altering the flavour. Of course, the best way to get to grips with mezcal is to try a whole bunch of it. Which is why we’ve traveled the length and width of London to find the best bars to drink mezcal.  London’s best mezcal bars at a glance:  Best in central London: Side Hustle, Covent Garden Best in north London: Cinco, Stoke Newington Best in south London: Santo Remedio, London Bridge  Best in east London: Hacha, Dalston Best in west London: Kol Mezcaleria, Marylebone RECOMMENDED: The best Mexican restaurants in London.

With its instantly recognisable white-washed aesthetic (complete with chalkboard menu, and army barracks coat-pegs as far as the eye can see) the newest, and by far the most lowkey, incarnation of St John looks as if it’s been there for decades, despite only launching a week before we slip inside for a swift luncheon. Taking over the London Review Bookshop cafe in the shadow of the British Museum, it’s an ideal place to enjoy one of their joyfully utilitarian doorstop sandwiches with fillings plucked straight out of a Stella Gibbons novel c.1932. There are just 10 small tables (perfect for two, but could seat three at a push), and the menu here offers all of the St John Bakery with all manner of pastries, Eccles cakes, madelines, and doughnuts on offer, as well as warm savoury bakes (ham or courgette tart, pig cheek or potato and wigmore cheese pie) and a short but salutary wine list. A glass of claret might not be the first thing on your mind if you’re here early doors (it opens at 8am), so you’ll be happy to hear that coffee is also on hand. It shuts at 6pm (the same time as the bookshop), but for a place to enjoy an afternoon cinnamon bun next to a performative male reading Ursula Le Guin, we can think of nowhere more charming.  Time Out tip Want a St John feast post-6pm but have simply forgotten to book a table? The original Clerkenwell outpost has a walk-ins only bar which serves pretty much that same menu as the sit-down Michelin star dining room. 

This Soho institution may have mellowed somewhat since self-proclaimed ‘London’s rudest landlord’ Norman Balon finally hung up his polishing cloth in 2006, but there’s still plenty to make it stand out from the crowd, including a rotating cast of excellent independent ales and their own line of merch. Decor, meanwhile, is stuck firmly in the past, with carpets worn threadbare by decades of post-work sessions as well as wood-pannelled walls from the 1970s, and vintage logos of Double Diamond and Ind Coop displayed behind the bar. It all adds up to a curious mix of old-timey standards and progressive ideas which, crucially, work together like a charm.  Time Out tip They might not serve food, but they do have an impeccable array of crisps aka ‘London's greatest tuckshop’. Make ours a bag of pickled onion Monster Munch. 

There’s luxury, and then there’s the Hotel Bel-Air. Tucked away in one of Beverly Hills’ most exclusive hillside neighborhoods, this is the kind of hotel you’ll never want to leave, with sprawling verdant grounds, and airy, ultra private-feeling rooms. The main part of the estate was built back in the 1920s as the planning office for the newly-minted Bel-Air locale, and converted into a hotel in the 1940s. It remains a paragon of old Hollywood glamour, and you’ll feel like you’re in your own little world in this secluded retreat halfway up one of L.A.’s many hidden canyons. Grace Kelly loved it so much there’s a suite named after her, and it’s also where Marilyn Monore staged her last ever photoshoot. Warning: don’t book the Hotel Bel-Air if this is your first trip to L.A., as you’ll struggle to see anything else the city has to offer. Why stay at Hotel Bel-Air? If you ‘want to be alone’ you can do your best Greta Garbo here. A proper hideaway, the Bel-Air Hotel was made as a private sanctuary. The dusty pink-painted mission-style property features 60 acres of gorgeously landscaped gardens, with over 1,200 different types of plants, from jasmine to fruit trees as well as the stunning purple lonchocarpus tree that drapes itself wantonly over the hotel restaurant’s al fresco terrace. There’s also a hidden grotto with ducks, a lake with swans and a redwood grove, plus modern art—sculptures by Michael Wilding Jr (aka Elizabeth Taylor’s son) pepper the lobby and on the exterior pa

Welcome to the ‘Hotel California’. Looking just as dreamy half a century later, the legendary pink spires of the Beverly Hills Hotel were immortalised on the cover of the Eagles’ best-selling 1976 album of the same name, peeking out from behind hazy palm tree fronds in a twinkling, twilight-lit photo. Still the first port of call for the biggest names in film and music, The Beverly Hills Hotel is a celebrity in its own right. As well as its starring role on the ‘Hotel California’ album cover, photographer Slim Aarons’ took a number of glamorous shots of the picture-perfect property and its pool in the 1950s, helping to seal the mythology of one of L.A.’s most historic hotels. It remains impressively chic; the old school, country club-styled salmon-pink exterior largely untouched. As such, it remains a go-to for the Hollywood set (we end up having to change our booking date due to an Emmys party taking over the entire hotel). But parties or not, at the Beverly Hills Hotel a celebrity encounter in the lobby is pretty much guaranteed. Why stay at The Beverly Hills Hotel? To walk in the footsteps of icons. To stay at the storied Beverly Hills Hotel is to do as Hollywood royalty has done since the hotel opened in 1912, the first major property to be built in the dusty, largely untouched area of Beverly Hills. At first, it attracted silent movie era stars, from Buster Keaton to Charlie Chaplin, as well as Gloria Swanson, who took up residence in one of the hotel’s stand-alone bung

Hotels don’t come much more iconic than the Chateau Marmont. As much of a celebrity as the movie stars and rock gods that have resided in this stunning West Hollywood building over the decades, the fact that mere mortals can also set up shop in the Chateau (dropping the ‘Marmont’ is proof that you’re in-the-know), is, quite frankly, wild. Built in 1927, for its first few years the Chateau was a residential building for transient members of the moving picture industry. Thanks to its niche look—there were many English Tudor mansions and Spanish casitas in Hollywood, but very few French castles—the Chateau attracted a steady stream of business. In the 1960s the rock stars discovered it—if you had a record deal, a fondness for psychedelics and a dislike of haircuts, it’s likely you had a good time at the Chateau—and today, it remains a favorite of the movie and music industry. Why stay at Chateau Marmont? Courtney Love summed up the hotel’s eternal appeal best, calling the Chateau: ‘The setting of the most wonderful thrashings, trashings, wreckings, best-kept secrets, true lies, velvet mornings, bougainvillea purple hazes, honestly lovely purely lazy sexiest days that Los Angeles has ever had.’ Hidden away behind that blooming bougainvillea and a dense thicket of evergreen trees, the hotel’s entrance is more of a test than a front door. But if you work out how to get inside—the trick is to keep on walking past the garage and turn left at the end of the gray paving slabs—your kin

Along with the Chinese Theatre just across the road, The Roosevelt is surely one of the most imposing buildings on Hollywood Boulevard. The 12-story, Spanish Colonial and Art Deco-styled hotel opened in 1927 and was named after the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. A super starry proposition in name as well as in construction, it was partially funded by two of the biggest silent movie stars in the world; Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, and was home to the very first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929. That event took place in the Blossom Ballroom, which remains used for industry events to this day. Restored to its original glory after a multi-million dollar revamp in the 1980s, the Roosevelt remains one of the chicest places in the often hectic Hollywood. Why stay at The Hollywood Roosevelt? To be in the thick of it. If you’re in LA to soak up the Walk of Fame, Chinese Theatre and be seconds away from a branch of In-N-Out Burger, then you couldn’t be better situated. It’s by far the classiest joint in this increasingly rough-and-ready neighborhood, but retains an air of old school glamour. Though the rooms on the cheaper end of the scale can be a little basic, the communal areas are what this place is really all about; there’s the fabulous pool, of course, but the grand lobby, with its Spanish tiles, wrought iron chandeliers and fountains, is simply glorious. Rather than gutting the hotel and doing away with its original features, they’ve simply spruc

For a reasonably priced room in the middle of the action, the Whisky Hotel really does the job. Situated just off Hollywood Boulevard, some of the town’s major sites are within walking distance from this glossy new-build hotel. It’s right around the corner from the Hollywood Bowl, the Walk of Fame (in fact, you’re basically right on it), the Fonda Theatre, Hollywood Museum, Chinese Theatre, Egyptian Theatre, and the home of the Academy Awards; the Dolby Theatre.  The Whisky Hotel opened at the start of 2025, and despite the fact that the paint has only just dried when we visit, they’ve attempted to conjure up an old world gentleman’s club feel to the place, adding a hint of Hollywood rock heritage to the mix. There are dark wood veneers, patterned Persian-style rugs, gilt-mirrors and deep green walls. This isn’t breezy classic California style, but something far moodier. The first US hotel from restaurateur Adolfo Suaya—who runs local Los Angeles-based Argentinian steakhouse chain Gaucho Grill—it’s the kind of place the guys from Motley Crue might have hit up for a cocktail c.1987. Why stay at the Whisky Hotel? The biggest draws are most definitely the price and location—it’s an excellent base for exploring Hollywood, or as a place to stay if you’re in town for a show at the nearby Hollywood Bowl, Fonda Theatre, or Hollywood Palladium. Expect to see smaller touring bands knocking about the corridors as well, crashing for the night after playing various local venues. Bear in m

One of Florence’s most renowned luxury hotels, the Hotel Savoy wears its high-end status lightly. Sure, it's got genial doormen who’ll trip over themselves to make sure you don’t have to open a single door yourself, as well as plush, elegant suites and an acclaimed restaurant, but it’s the understated glamour of the place that makes it truly appealing. And that’s before you even consider the superlative location – it’s find it right in the middle of the stunning and almost hilariously historic old city, as well as a short stroll from every fabulous Florentine attraction you’ll likely be checking out, from the Uffizi Gallery to the Duomo and Ponto Vecchio.  Why stay at Hotel Savoy? For convenience with a touch of class. The Hotel Savoy is only a 20 minute drive from Florence airport, and not much longer if you take the tram into town. Located on the ornate Piazza della Repubblica (but to be honest, there’s not much about Florence that isn’t ornate), you’re basically staying in a mini Mayfair; Gucci, Mui Mui and Pucci are all within stumbling distance, and speaking of Pucci, the storied Florentine fashion house have actually collaborated with the hotel. Emilio Pucci’s daughter Laudomia designed the lobby and a colourful Pucci print of Piazza della Repubblica can be found on the cushions in the small foyer as well as on the chic scarves of the helpful check-in assistants. The hotel dates back to 1893, but was relaunched in 1998 as a Rocce Forte hotel, the luxury Anglo-Italian ho

It takes me a minute to work out what’s so unique about Nina; a post-Fellini glamourpuss that can be found curled up and purring contentedly in a sparkly Marylebone basement. It’s not the menu, which is full of the kind of Italian-ish dishes London seems awash with these days (crudo, cacio e pepe, truffle fries and etc), nor the drinks list, which features cocktails named after cigarette brands (make ours a Silk Cut).  An extremely ample chicken Milanese is accessorised with a lump of intoxicating parmesan butter It is, we suddenly realise, the fact that there don’t seem to be any men dining here. Like, at all. Sure, there are a couple of blokes taking orders and working behind the bar, but almost every table is taken over by women, either in mid-sized groups or conspiring couples like some kind of unholy union between Handmaid’s Tale and Sex and the City. It’s clear that  what we’re witnessing is the natural evolution of Brat, in which the trope trots off to university, gets a 2:1 in social anthropology and still longs for a grubby sesh, but has to make do with bottarga linguine and a Golden Virginia spritz with kumquat.  Nina, which opened in spring 2025, quickly became a social media smash, due in part to its clubby energy and scrunchie girlie-friendly aesthetic. The music is loud, the walls are leopard print and all the surfaces are mirrored; think Big Mamma Group if their preferred movie reference was Scarface over Barbarella. Your average nonna would probably cross her

Flute has absolutely no chill. Perched on the top of new-ish Soho hotel the Broadwick, this is a bar that will grab you off the dancefloor, tell you all of its most intimate secrets, maybe try and snog you, and then waltz back into the night, never to see you again. In other words, Flute is a good time - if a little intense. There is a wraparound rooftop balcony (see the Blue Posts like you’ve never seen it before!), which is all well and good, but the magic really happens inside this glammy 7th floor beauty. There are palms on the carpet like the decorators have been gifted offcuts from the Beverly Hills Hotel; there's animal-print upholstery on the cosy armchairs; a DJ booth that looks like the inside of a glitterball; naughty mirrored ceilings, and a weighty black onyx bar in the middle of it all. Extra? Extra extra.    Of course, such lavishness doesn’t come cheap. Cocktails are in the market of around £20 to £25, and the signature specials all come with loose links to Soho; Secrets of a Windmill Girl is a champagne, gin and rose cordial tipple that flashes its ankles at the historic burlesque club around the corner, while a sherry, Campari and melon liqueur offering is named in tribute to jazz bar Ronnie Scotts. As befitting of a bar named Flute, there is also a serious Champagne and sparkling menu, with glasses starting at £22. Want something to nibble on? There’s a Champagne and caviar bump deal for £35, but also a more substantial food offering that spans a range of s

Want to feel like you’re in Paris (when you’re actually in Waterloo)? Lower Wine Bar is here for you. Opened in 2024, Lower rolls out onto one of our favourite streets in the city - the resolutely old-school Lower Marsh - and offers wines by the glass and bottle, as well as providing a bottleshop take-out service. All your most in-demand wines are on offer, from chilled reds to pet-nats. There’s also a small blackboard food menu to power you through the list. Lovely stuff. Time Out tip Lower Marsh is also home to the excellent Maries, a tiny caff that by day is a full-on greasy spoon serving gut-busting fry-ups, but by night is an informal Thai restaurant packed with nattering cabbies and spice-loving locals scoffing authentic food at bargai prices – think chicken satay, sum tum salad, stir-fries, the aforementioned curries, noodles and desserts such as banana fritters. Find it at 90 Lower Marsh, SE1 7AB.

Mayfair isn’t as stuffy as you think it is. Honest!! Take, for example, Wine Bar. Yes, a silly name. A somewhat impossible-to-Google name. But, an extremely apt one. Wine Bar isn’t out here trying to impress you with paintings of tigers and sofas made of gold (unlike some bars around these parts). Instead, it feels a bit like a kitchen in the Cotswolds; all white-washed brick walls, and a rustic, rural energy that seems ideal for eating large hunks of cheese and washing them down with big, bold glasses of red, or juicy whites with a hint of skin-contact.  Of course, Wine Bar’s credentials are covertly fancy. It’s part of the Artfarm family, the hospitality wing of mega gallerists Hauser and Wirth, who also run the glitzy Mount St Restaurant and tarted-up Audley pub across the road, as well Farm Shop upstairs, a kind of Marie Antoinette cosplay countryside store full of goodies from their outpost in Bruton, Somerset.  Down in the bright, airy basement the knowledgeable team will happily guide you through their 150-strong list, which features wines from their own estate and cider from their orchard. Better still is the cheese list, which comes from a temperature controlled room and is delivered to you alongside serious slabs of charcuterie. More ravenous than that? There’s also chicken from the in-house rotisserie. A very classy joint.

The extremely attractive dining room at the St Pancras London Hotel (formerly known as St Pancras Renaissance Hotel) has had a bit of a rough ride of late, but that’s all set to change thanks to the Hawksmoor group, who’ll be reopening the Grade I-listed restaurant as Hawksmoor St. Pancras at the end of November. The historic spot closed with no warning in July, after only five months under new head chef Victor Garvey. The space was previously known as the Midland Grand Dining Room, and Patrick Powell was behind the iconic room’s relaunch in 2023. However, Powell left in 2024 and is currently cooking at One Club Row in Shoreditch.  The dining room and hotel was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and opened in 1873 and known as the Midland Grand Hotel until it closed in 1935. The building was then used as railway offices until reopening as a hotel in 2011. Marcus Wareing’s The Gilbert Scott operated the venue for almost a decade until the pandemic.  Photograph: Hawksmoor St Pancras The new, meaty restaurant will seat 95, and have a private dining room and chef’s table. ‘There are very few buildings that Huw and I have always spoken about as dream Hawksmoors, and this is one,’ says Hawksmoor co-founder Will Beckett of the new opening. ‘As we approach the 20th anniversary of our first Hawksmoor restaurant, it feels perfect to be able to bring everything we’ve learned in London and beyond back to one of the most dramatic and gorgeous buildings in our hometown.’  Co-founder Hu

It’s a match made in culinary heaven: Godet, one of London’s best wine bars, is welcoming one of London’s top chefs for a year-long residency.  Kicking off on October 8, Ling Ling’s will be serving up their Chinese and pan-Asian menu at the Islington venue for the next 12 months. The menu will include new dishes including hot and spicy tartare, Sichuan hibiscus octopus and turnip cakes with a soy pomegranate glaze, and mala beef ragu with udon noodles, as well as steamed prawn, chicken and Thai basil wontons and matcha tiramisu.   Ling Ling’s, which is headed up by chef Jenny Phung, has previously held residencies at the much-missed Hackney pub The Gun, as well as The Bluecoats in Tottenham, and Bambi in London Fields.  Though Ling Ling’s are known for their Sunday roasts, they’ll be trying something a little different to close out the weekend at Godet. Launching in November, they’ll be serving a traditional Chinese family meal every Sunday.  Other dishes on the menu include Carlingford oysters with orange sambal and curry leaf, Hot, 'Caesar’ salad with fried chicken and parmesan, Dad’s aromatic duck salad with house hoi sin, bitter leaves and herbs, and glass skin chicken with shimeji mushrooms and Thai basil.  Ling Ling’s will be in the kitchen at Godet from 5-10pm every Wednesday to Friday and from 3pm on Saturdays and 3-8pm on Sundays. Godet, 382 Essex Road, N1 3PF.  The best Chinese restaurants in London, according to Time Out. North London’s legendary Seven Sisters Mar

October sees a an excellent bunch of modern classics returning to the London restaurant scene in various guises, including a revamped east London pie and mash shop and a Soho pub, as well as a new name for a big-shot Mayfair hotel restaurant, an official cafe takeover of the most extra building in Stoke Newington, and a new south London home for one of Time Out’s former fave restaurants in the capital.  If you’re looking for more delish things to do this month, then why not visit Acme Fire Cult in Dalston and sample their special month-long globally-inspired Chop House menu (make ours a double-cut Tamworth pork chop with quince and apple mustard), or check out the third branch of acclaimed bakery Forno, which opens at the start of the month inside the Ragged School Museum in Tower Hamlets, and will be serving up brunch, lunch, coffee and their trademark pastries.  Here are 10 other restaurants – alongside a couple of kitchen takeovers and charity pop-ups – that we’re most excited about this October.  Caitlin Isola   1. The returning icon  Doma, Sydenham  When Spasia Dinkovski closed down her Mystic Burek British-Balkan bakehouse, we were gutted - not least because we had to remove it from our Top 50 restaurants in London list. Thank goodness then for the brand’s return as Doma. Taking over a kebab shop space in south London, Doma will do things differently, opening almost every weekend for comforting second-generation Macedonian cuisine, including those legendary filo pies

The National Bakery Awards is a beast of a thing. This year 229 bakeries across the UK have been nominated for their brilliant bread (and assorted pastries and cakes), all of them vying to be named National Bakery of the Year.   But who will rise to the challenge? Well, six of the nominated bakeries are in London, including Toad in Camberwell – which Time Out recently named London’s coolest neighbourhood for 2025.  Also tipped for yeast-y greatness is Fortitude Bakehouse in Bloomsbury, as well as Dusty Knuckle in Dalston and Milk Run in Balham, which is the new bakery wing of popular coffee and brunch spot Milk. See the full list of London-based nominations below.  London bakeries nominated for National Bakery of the Year 2025 Chestnut Bakery (Belgravia, Covent Garden and Piccadilly) Fortitude Bakehouse (Bloomsbury) Harrods (Knightsbridge) Dusty Knuckle (Dalston and Harringey) Milk Run (Balham) Toad (Camberwell) The winner will be announced at an event on November 25 at Big Penny Social in Walthamstow. As well as National Bakery of the Year, the county and regional winners will also be announced, as well as Social Enterprise Bakery of the Year, Young Baker of the Year, and Outstanding Contribution to Bakery.  You can find all the bakeries across the UK nominated for National Bakery of the Year 2025 here. The best bakeries in London, according to Time Out. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out L

Forno is on the path to total east London focaccia domination.  The Italian bakery – which is from the same legends that run much-loved riverside restaurant Ombra – opened its first spot in Hackney in 2023, following it earlier this year with a second outpost in Leytonstone.  In October Forno goes again, with a double-pronged opening at the Ragged School Museum in Mile End. Following in the footsteps of V&A East Storehouse, which recently welcomed E5 Bakehouse as its in-house lunch spot, Forno will take over the museum’s cafe, serving up brunch, bakery goods, coffee and pastries all day from October 9. There will also be a takeaway space in the museum’s former conference room, which will open a little earlier, on October 1. This is situated on the Regent’s Canal, and you’ll be able to grab a drink, bakes and deli goods on the go. Expect cornetti – aka the Italian croissant – as well as sweet Italian patisserie and cakes, such as torta caprese and maritozzi cream buns.  The Ragged School was founded in 1877 by Dr Barnardo, and was one of London’s largest free schools. It opened as a museum in 1990, and lets visitors tour the school’s canalside warehouses and see what Victorian classrooms were really like. The best bakeries in London, according to Time Out. Plus: six London bakeries have been named the best in Britain. Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel. Stay in the loop:

When Spasia Dinkovski closed down her British-Balkan bakehouse and cafe Mystic Burek, we were gutted – not least because we had to remove it from our top 50 restaurants in London list. Thank goodness then for the brand’s return. Taking over a kebab shop space on Dartmouth Road in Sydenham, south London, the new venture will open under the name Doma (which means ‘at home’) and will do things a little bit differently. They’ll be opening up for ticketed dinners and special events (almost) every weekend. For the evening dinners only 25 tickets available for each night, but you’ll be able to walk-in during the day and choose from an ever-shifting menu which will include homemade kajmak, as well as preserves, cheeses, sausages, and grilled meats, all of them celebrating traditional cuisine from Dinkovski’s Macedonian heritage. Doma will open up for their first service at the end of October at 172 Dartmouth Road. And if you still miss Mystic Burek, don’t worry - Doma will serve their legendary filo pies and baklava on the last Saturday of every month. The opening dates for the first few weeks of service are below: Sat October 25: OPENING DAY. BUREK & BAKLAVA BUNS walk ins only, eat in or take away Sat November 1: SKARA Balkan BBQ walk ins only, eat in or take away.  Sun November 9: MEKICI & SAUSAGE BAPS Mekici is fried dough, served with cheese and jam walk ins only, eat in or take away  Saturday November 15 RUCHEK Dinner event Tickets will become available via the website on Octob

A bunch of new London bars have been added to the prestigious Pinnacle Guide, which is kind of like the Michelin Guide but for bars instead of restaurants.  The Pinnacle Guide launched last year and hands out one, two or three ‘Pins’ to bars that are either ‘excellent’, ‘outstanding’ or ‘exceptional’. And a bunch of new one and two Pin bars have just been announced, including 10 in London. Dover Yard – the bar at 1 Hotel Mayfair – and Murder Inc on Hanway Street in Fitzrovia, have been been given two Pins, while eight more London boozers have been honoured with one Pin. The new one Pin bars are: Eve Bar in Covent Garden, Florattica Rooftop in Aldgate, Scales in Mayfair, Soma in Canary Wharf and Soma in Soho, as well as The Cocktail Trading Company in Shoreditch, The Pisco Bar at Coya Mayfair and The Royal Cocktail Exchange in Fitzrovia. They join one-Pin bars Equal Parts in Hackney – which you can also find out Time Out’s own Best Bars in London list – as well as The Bar Below, which is part of Hide restaurant in Piccadilly, and The K Bar in South Kensington’s The Kensington hotel, which is one of our Best Bars in Kensington. Kioku Sake Bar at The OWO on Whitehall was also given two Pins earlier this year.  The three-PIN category is still solely represented by Lyaness, a multi-award winning bar in London’s Sea Containers Hotel owned by mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana and known for its clever use of ingredients.  There are now 146 pinned bars across 14 countries, with the UK le

Raise your glasses please, because in a couple of weeks the brand new list of the World’s 50 Best Bars will be revealed. The 2025 edition will be unveiled at a swanky ceremony in Hong Kong.  But before that, a bit of a tease. The bars ranked from number 51 to 100 in the list have been announced – and three of them are in London. Well done, London! We knew this city’s dogged commitment to the sesh would make us proud one day. Cocktail-shaped congratulations are due to A Bar with Shapes For a Name in the Haggerston/Shoreditch hinterlands, which is placed at No.73, with Kwãnt Mayfair at 79 and Three Sheets Soho at 80. Two of these bars also feature in Time Out’s own list of the Best 50 Bars in London, which you can read here.  But who decides which bars make the grade in the prestigious World’s 50 Best Bars ranking? A panel of over 800 professional boozehounds, that’s who – with bartenders, drinks writers and cocktail specialists among them. The World’s 50 Best Bars will be announced on October 8. Last year’s list saw four bars from London making the grade, with Tayēr + Elementary in fourth place, Connaught Bar in 13th, Satan’s Whiskers at 29th and Scarfes Bar at 37. London bars in the World’s 50 Best Bars 2025 Longlist A Bar with Shapes For a Name (73) Kwãnt Mayfair (79) Three Sheets Soho (80) The best bars in London, according to Time Out. Plus: the 50 best pubs in London. The vibrant south London area that is officially one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world. Get t

Does eating food while bobbing about on water float your boat? You’re not alone. An east London restaurant has just been named the ninth best in the world for ‘one of a kind’ dining experiences in the annual TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards. Barge East, which is based on a 125-year-old Dutch barge on River Lee Navigation in Hackney Wick, was also named the best in the UK in the newly created ‘one of a kind’ category in the awards. Barge East opened in 2018, and is permanently moored by London Stadium. The floating restaurant has been awarded 2 AA Rosettes for Culinary Excellence for the past three years, and prides itself on sustainability, with a hyper-local riverside kitchen garden. Speaking about the TripAdvisor nods, Head Chef Kayla Dimmick commented: ‘To now be awarded and recognised by TripAdvisor’s global audience shows how far we’ve come in putting sustainable, creative British dining on the map. We’re so grateful to everyone who’s dined with us and shared their experiences. We’re making waves and can't wait to welcome more customers aboard.’ The floating restaurant is open from 4pm on Thursday and Friday and from midday until late on Saturday and Sundays. Their current menu offers the likes of gilthead bream crudo, pea and broad bean tartlets with smoked cods roe, harissa barbecued hispi cabbage, and a roast on Sundays.  Co-founder Tommo Stuart Thomson added of the win: ‘To be recognised not just nationally, but globally, as one of the top 10 most unique dining

Consider yourself a true London sandwich cognoscente? Then the opening of All’Antico Vinaio should please you very, very much. A favourite in Florence, a Soho branch – the UK’s first – opened on 61 Old Compton Street over the weekend, joining 47 other locations of All’Antico Vinaio, which can be found across Italy, as well as in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The brand has been going for over 30 years, started up by the Mazzanti family, who bake the Florentine flatbread schiacciata fresh and then stuff it with all manner of delicious Italian fillings. The Old Compton Street space - which was once home to much-loved Italian deli I Camisa & Son - is serving up the brand’s classic offerings; La Favolosa (sbriciolona salami, homemade pecorino cream, artichoke cream and spicy eggplant), La Schiacciata del Boss (prosciutto crudo, pecorino, truffle cream and arugula), and La Toscana (salami, pecorino, sun-dried tomatoes and onion cream), as well as a number of unique creations made especially for London’s own sarnie squad.  Photograph: SERGIO V S RANGEL / Shutterstock.comA All’Antico Vinaio shop in Florence, Italy In 2014, All’Antico Vinaio was the most-reviewed restaurant in the world on TripAdvisor, and 10 more global locations are set to open by the end of the year. ‘I’m truly honored to open our first location in the UK, especially in such an important city like London,’ said Tommaso Mazzanti. ‘This marks a crucial milestone in All’Antico Vinaio’s growth, and we hope t

When it comes to dining, London has a thing for eating on boats. From Caravel in Islington to Hackney Wick’s Barge East, The Cheese Barge in Paddington and Feng Shang Princess in Camden, there are plenty of floating restaurants on this city’s canals and waterways. And now a new pretender looks set to be joining them. If it’s granted a licence, a new cafe and restaurant will open up in a boat called The Aphrodite at Town End Pier in Kingston, reports South London News. It adds that the restaurant would have space for 40 people inside the boat and 24 on two outside decks. ‘The aim is to bring together the traditions of the River Thames and the vibrant café and eating scene in Kingston upon Thames to create a comfortable, friendly and relaxing atmosphere down on the river,’ says the project’s licence application documents. It plans to open every day of the week, closing at 10pm from Monday to Saturday and 9pm on Sundays.  Sadly, one of London’s nicest floating foodie spots, the cocktail and nibbles joint Bruno’s, closed down earlier this summer. Bruno’s was opened at the end of 2022 by brothers Fin and Lorcan Spiteri next to their restaurant Caravel on the Regent's Canal. Happily, we still have Tamesis Dock, a beautiful 1930s green and yellow Dutch barge moored between Lambeth and Vauxhall bridges, with incredible views down the Thames.  More London food news from Time Out: A legendary two Michelin star restaurant in Chelsea has been forced to close.  Plus: These are the 14 best

September is busy. In a pique of giddy back-to-school energy, it seems like everyone and their dog is opening a restaurant over the next few weeks. We’ve sifted through the menus to bring you the best of the bunch, including a fair few fancy hotel launches, some Basque brilliance, spenny sushi and posh pasta. And it wouldn’t be a restaurant openings piece without yet another pizza parlour.   The best new London restaurants in September 2025 Royal Opera House 1. Angela Hartnett hits the West End Cicoria, Covent Garden  Bona fide national treasure Angela Harnett is bringing her classy cookery to nothing less than the Royal Opera House. Cicoria will be on the fifth floor of the Royal Opera House and the accompanying Bar Cicoria will spill out onto the venue’s terrace bar. The Michelin-starred founder of Mayfair’s Murano will offer ‘sophisticated yet simple, Italian-inspired cooking’ at this exciting new launch.  Opens: September 25 Address: Bow Street, WC2E 9DD. Photograph: Alamy 2. The celeb-tastic American import Carbone, Mayfair This one’s been in the pipeline for a while. Finally London will get a taste of Carbone’s iconic spicy rigatoni alla vodka and swish celebrity clientele. Mario Carbone’s eponymous upmarket Italian-American spot quickly established itself as one of NYC’s most famous restaurants when it first opened its doors in 2013, and is a favourite of everyone from Rihanna and Taylor Swift, to the Obamas and Kardashians. This is Carbone’s first European outpost