Sunday Times Pick of Britain’s Best 100 Restaurants - Part One

THE TOP 100

London Listings

A selection of dishes, Clipstone

Welcome to a special issue of The Dish, featuring The Sunday Times annual guide to the top 100 restaurants in the UK. We’ve clocked up thousands of miles to find the most exciting and memorable places to eat in the land. It was a tough job, and I’m not joking — there are now so many great places, with such a variety of cuisines, that whittling them down to 100 was near impossible.

PRICING (PRICES CALCULATED ON MEAL FOR ONE, INCLUDING A GLASS OF HOUSE WINE)

• ££££ £100+
• £££ £56 - £99
• ££ £31 - £55
• £ Under - £30

THE TOP 100

Overall winner: The Clove Club

Shoreditch, London EC1
Modern British £££
Star dish Buttermilk fried chicken and pine salt

Take one risk-loving chef, two dynamic fronts of house, mix them together in a spartan east London former town hall and what do you get? Our restaurant of the year: the Clove Club. Sure, that’s the understated version, but then, pared-down is the Clove Club’s currency.

When it was launched in 2013 by Daniel Willis, Johnny Smith and the chef Isaac McHale, a trio who had dabbled in supper clubs and pop-ups together, it was a game-changer. Here was a room proletarian in its starkness — without tablecloths, theatrics or fussy service — offering knockout dishes that manage to be familiar yet original, unflashy yet deeply clever, all at the same time.

Hot on the heels of a similar movement in Paris termed bistronomy, the Clove Club introduced a new style of fine dining to the UK. Now the idea that you can do smart food in casual surroundings is a given for all ambitious chefs.

In the four years since it opened, the Clove Club has quietly become more sophisticated. And as its coffers have grown, so has the restaurant. There are curtains, for a start, smart cutlery, a sommelier and even a full-on wine cellar.

Risk-loving chef Isaac McHale

Meanwhile, McHale’s idiosyncratic cooking is only getting more spectacular. Now 36, he started out in kitchens at the age of 14. He worked in some of the best restaurants in the world, including the Ledbury and Noma, but wanted to make “consciously different” food that couldn’t be brushed off as copying. “Sometimes, chefs get carried away with splodges and swooshes and garnishes, and you lose the original idea. I like to cut down to the essentials,” he says. His dishes may be rooted in simplicity, but they come with inspired adornments: coffee with monkfish, dried seaweed with loin of lamb. “I like there to be wow moments that stop people in their tracks,” he says.

Roast Hebridean lamb with white carrot, spinach and seaweed

His signature dish is still buttermilk fried chicken and pine salt. It’s a snack served on a nest of locally picked pine twigs and is much more than a raised middle finger to fine-dining snootiness: the meat is tender, lightly infused with fragrant pine, the outside shatteringly crispy.

Unless you visit for lunch or eat at the bar, the only menus available are tasting ones — yes, the sort that often provokes grumbles. Here, it’s a good thing, because it makes you try McHale’s wackier dishes, such as slow-poached oyster in beef jelly. And these are the courses that make you pause and realise you’re eating something that’s uniquely, explosively brilliant. 

Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT; 020 7729 6496thecloveclub.com

London Listings

LYLE’S
Shoreditch, E1 
Modern British
Price ££
Star dish Nettle soup
The first thing you notice about Lyle’s is it is stark, utilitarian even. There is nothing warm or sensual: the welcome is intellectual and aesthetic, but the service is relaxed and inclusive. The set dinner menu, which changes daily, isn’t playful or cosmopolitan, it’s straight-talking, beautifully made, born-again English grub. Almost perfect restaurant-critic bait. Go when wild garlic is in season — no restaurant puts it to better use.
Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ; 020 3011 5911,
lyleslondon.com

ANGLO
NEW Farringdon, EC1
Modern British
Price ££
Star dish Cheese and onion on malt loaf
It’s the bread and butter that lets you know, as soon as you sit down, what you’re in for: the sourdough is wonderfully light, the yeast-infused butter deeply savoury. All the dishes that follow are similarly brilliant in concept and execution. There’s an à la carte or tasting menu for lunch or dinner. The clever but unflashy British menu changes daily. Don’t expect much in the way of decor — Anglo is sparsely designed, but that allows the food to sing.
30 St Cross Street, London EC1N 8UH; 020 7430 1503
anglorestaurant.com

ST JOHN
Farringdon, EC1
Modern British
Price ££
Star dish Roast bone marrow and parsley salad
Until 1994, offal usually went in the bin. Then Fergus Henderson opened St John and pioneered cooking long-forgotten cuts with flair, harnessing big flavours. It makes you reassess your preconceptions of liver or cold terrines, and the crispy pig’s cheeks and lamb’s brain on toast keep diners coming back. A cool, canteen-like design, killer negronis and great-value house wine also help to keep the place fresh and accessible.
26 St John Street, London EC1M 4AY; 020 7251 0848
stjohngroup.uk.com

MORITO
Finsbury, EC1
North African
Price ££
Star dish Spiced lamb, aubergine, pomegranate and mint
Moro first opened in 1997, serving excellent Moorish cuisine. In 2010 it took over next door and set up a hip tapas joint, which spawned a second Morito last summer. Our heart still lies with the original Morito, though. It’s little more than a corridor, with diners thrown together at the bar and a few more squeezed around three tables. The intimacy fits with sharing plates: terracotta dishes of salt cod croquetas with aïoli, smoky aubergine and crisp fritura mista.
32 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE; 020 7278 7007
morito.co.uk

THE LAUGHING HEART

NEW Hackney, London E2
Modern British
Price ££
Star dish Chicken hearts with sprouts and Sichuan pepper
From the dinky drawers used to stow cutlery in each table to the central trough filled with ice and open bottles, everything is rooted in fun and good taste at this self-styled “late-night wine bar, dining room and off licence”. The eclectic menu includes chicken hearts with sprouts and Sichuan pepper, while the Basque cheesecake is a savoury slice made with goat’s curd, paired with a glass of chilled muscadet.
277 Hackney Road, London E2 8NA; 020 7686 9535
thelaughingheartlondon.com

HutongPAUL WINCH-FURNESS

HUTONG
Southwark, SE1
Chinese
Price £££
Star dish Red lantern of soft shell crabs
This offshoot of the Hong Kong original is on the 33rd floor of the Shard: almost a more authentic Chinese setting than Chinatown. The ceiling is opium-den dark, with yellow and red lanterns lighting the tables. The northern Chinese food is refined and modern — it’s rich food from the new masters of commerce and it tastes like it. Historically, oriental service has ranged from the perfunctory to the grudging; here it’s urbane and assured.
Level 33, The Shard, 31 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RY; 020 3011 1257
hutong.co.uk

STORY
Southwark, SE1
Modern British
Price ££££
Star dish Bread and dripping
Chef Tom Sellers uses nostalgia for the tastes of childhood in his well-designed Nordic dining room. The paper-thin fish skin starter is like a leaf from a mermaid’s psalter. Then there’s a lighted candle with bread to dip in the melted wax. It isn’t wax, of course, it’s beef tallow — fun and deliciously Dickensian. The menu has a deceptive simplicity; the produce is foraged, wild, local and earthy: wood pigeon with summer truffle and pine, mackerel with strawberry and barley grass. It sounds understated but what goes into your mouth is complex, surprising and very, very good.
199 Tooley Street, London SE1 2JX, 020 7183 2117
restaurantstory.co.uk

PADELLA
NEW Southwark, SE1
Italian
Price £
Star dish Pici cacio e pepe (pasta with parmesan, black pepper and garlic)
Padella is constructed from a wholly admirable endeavour — to offer quick, fresh, dexterously made pasta costs not much more a Pret sandwich. The starters are all deli-counter simple — not fashionable or delicate, but brilliant. The pasta is perfectly made and ideally cooked. Tagliatelle with smoked eel and Amalfi lemon is just meltingly divine — everything you could want from an eel and a lemon.
6 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TQ
padella.co

CLIPSTONE
NEW Fitzrovia, W1
Modern European
Price ££
Star dish Calves’ brain meunière on toast
The compelling menu, with dishes featuring nuts and lemons, pickles and soured things, shows a kitchen working out its own variations. Dramatic, unexpected combinations are made without fuss, fanfare or vanity: lardo with caramelised walnuts; char with white peaches and sour cream; gobbishly inspiring scallop with walnut pesto and lemon zest. And the calves’ brain meunière on toast — creamy, sweet and savoury, with a soft veil of brown butter, parsley and lemon — is a five-star reason to visit.
5 Clipstone Street, London W1W 6BB; 020 7637 0871
clipstonerestaurant.co.uk

BARRAFINA
Covent Garden, WC2
Spanish
Price ££
Star dish Crab croquetas
Bar stools surround an open kitchen at this buzzy Spanish joint. There are no reservations and no tables, so enjoy a glass of sherry and a plate of pimientos de padron (£6) at the bar. The small-plate menu and changing specials include wedges of pan con tomate licked with garlic and piled with fresh tomatoes (£4), while the tortilla (£7) has a perfect fluffy edge and oozing centre. Meat dishes don’t shy away from authentic ingredients and include melting Spanish suckling pig (£13) and milk-fed lamb’s kidneys (£9).
Adelaide Street, London WC2N 4HZ; 020 7440 1456
barrafina.co.uk

Cornish monkfish with celeraic, mushroom and black garlic, FrenchieNATHAN PASK FOR THE DISH

FRENCHIE
NEW Covent Garden, WC2
Modern European
Price £££
Star dish Bacon scones
This spin-off of a Les Halles eaterie was as pleasant a surprise for Londoners as that was for Parisians. It’s a sophisticated place that neither denies nor slavishly adheres to its origins. The brief menu includes eggs mimosa with black truffle; bacon scones with clotted cream; ricotta tortelli with lapsang souchong tea and lemon caviar; Basque salted pork with Buddha’s hand — the kitchen has a thing for outré citrus. All of it is exactly what you want to eat the minute you put it in your mouth.
6 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8QH; 020 7836 4422
frenchiecoventgarden.com

THE ARAKI
Mayfair, W1
Sushi
Price ££££
Star dish Tuna sushi
Mitsuhiro Araki’s nine-seater bar shows just how good sushi can be. Each dish on the £300 set menu is prepared with immaculate care, and the master places it directly on your palm. Cuts of fish are precision-sliced. No expense is spared: abalone, South African squid, albino caviar — the world’s priciest ingredient. Tuna comes in several guises, including tartare, chopped and marinated in soy and dressed with balsamic vinegar and truffles, and sushi. Outrageously expensive, yes, but cheaper than flying to Tokyo.
12 New Burlington Street, London W1S 3BH; 020 7287 2481
the-araki.com

Crab and sevruga caviar, The Ritz

THE RITZ
Piccadilly, W1
Modern European
Price ££££
Star dish Crepe suzette
It’s impossible not to embrace the theatrics here: a rib of beef sliced at the table, or flames leaping up from the crepe suzette trolley. It’s Fabergé opulence, with ornate cornices, gilded detail and heavy curtains framing the vast windows. The 65-strong team produce a menu appealing to traditionalists — beef wellington with Périgord truffle — and the adventurous — agnolotti pasta served with a rich, tangy pecorino sauce, and langoustine matched with orange wine. A stalwart that’s not afraid to break with convention.
150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR; 020 7493 8181
theritzlondon.com

THE WOLSELEY
Piccadilly, W1
Modern European
Price £££
Star dish Viennoiserie
The late AA Gill’s favourite restaurant serves a menu of classics from the tradition of the grand European cafe — shellfish, snails, steaks and schnitzels — from lunch until late-night dinner, along with a full English afternoon tea. But its forte is breakfast. Adrian loved the breakfast here so much, he wrote a book about it. His ideal breakfast, though, was homemade porridge, eaten in silence, in his own kitchen. (For his full review, see this section).
160 Piccadilly, London W1J 9EB; 020 7499 6996
thewolseley.com

A selection of bao buns, Bao

BAO
NEW Fitzrovia, W1
Taiwanese
Price £
Star dish Classic bao
Bao’s Taiwanese buns are deceptively simple, but steamed yeast is labour-intensive, and the fillings are complex. The braised pork with fermented vegetables, coriander and sprinkled peanuts is a perfect mouthful of flavours. These are food memes, instant fun, a manga munch, a junkie hit of pleasure combining the gastro dopamine of soft, crisp, sharp, hot and umami in close harmony. Branches in Soho and Hackney.
31 Windmill Street, London W1T 2JN; 020 3011 1632
baolondon.com

HONEY & CO
Fitzrovia, W1
Middle Eastern
Price ££
Star dish Cheesecake with feta, kadaif pastry and Greek thyme honey
Workers and tourists go elbow to elbow in this bustling café. They come for the Middle Eastern mezze — perfect little bowls of hummus with tahini, plump mushrooms or tomatoes — and slow-cooked main dishes of chicken, lamb and half an aubergine barbecued with a tahini and wine glaze. Most of all they come for the breads, cakes and biscuits, the baking of which dictates the rhythm of the tight-packed kitchen. These are not just sweet treats, but have substance and flavour. “When I bake a date cake, I want it to taste of dates and not sugar,” says Sarit Packer, who founded Honey & Co with her husband, Itamar Srulovich.
25A Warren Street, London W1T 5LZ; 020 7388 6175
honeyandco.co.uk

PORTLAND
Fitzrovia, W1
Modern British
Price £££
Star dish 14-year-old dairy cow, alliums and pickled mustard seeds
There’s no pretension or snobbery here: a functional room, very Scandinavian; the menu and its production are also Nordic in their ideas, but with a distinctly oriental accent. A brave and brilliant dish of charred brassicas with smoked-egg emulsion, soy and winter truffle was matched by a tartare of mackerel, oyster, turnip and wasabi. An aged steak came with allium. Wood pigeon was served with enokitake mushroom, parsley root and a separate shot glass of onion consommé made with its stock. What a joy.
113 Great Portland Street, London W1W 6QQ; 020 7436 3261
portlandrestaurant.co.uk

A selection of dishes, Gymkhana

GYMKHANA
Mayfair, W1
Modern Indian
Price £££
Star dish Wild muntjac biryani
The theme here is colonial — an Indian restaurant in Mayfair, lined with ceiling fans, sepia portraits and dark green banquettes. The menu spans wild muntjac biryani, tandoori guinea fowl and wild boar vindaloo. The gol guppas are crunchy and interesting: little, crisp puffs of bread filled with a cool spicy soup, usually sold as street food in India. In all, this conjures up the final days of the Raj in a gastronomic delight.
42 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JH; 020 3011 5900
gymkhanalondon.com

POLLEN STREET SOCIAL
Mayfair, W1
Modern British
Price ££££
Star dish Cartmel Valley venison loin
Jason Atherton is opening new places all over London, but his original restaurant, with its lively bar, still flies the flag for British- grown seasonal produce, with food miles noted. It pays as much attention to the ingredients once they arrive, with a special ageing cupboard, drier than a fridge, for the meat. Simple, elegant, pretty food demonstrates advanced kitchen skills — one suckling-pig dish takes days to prepare.
8-10 Pollen Street, London W1S 1NQ; 020 7290 7600
pollenstreetsocial.com

FERA AT CLARIDGE’S
Mayfair, W1
Modern British
Price ££££
Star dish Halibut with roe sauce, courgette and lemon verbena
The dazzling chef Simon Rogan, who led the trend for foraging, brings the countryside to town. He has his own farm near L’Enclume, his original Lake District place (see North), and at Fera serves dishes garnished with Cumbrian edible flowers and leaves: apple marigold leaves are a key botanical in the food and cocktails. In the kitchen, experimentation with extracting the essence of flavours continues, but guests are not guinea pigs. Some dishes, including the stewed rabbit with lovage emulsion, have been on the menu since day one.
Brook Street, London W1K 4HR; 020 7107 8888
feraatclaridges.co.uk

LOCANDA LOCATELLI
Marylebone, W1
Italian
Price £££
Star dish Cod ravioli with chickpea purée and rosemary oil
For a seductive Italian dinner, look no further than this smart, hushed, dimly lit room. The cuisine is rooted in Lombardy, but with a fondness for the south and Sicily. Tagliatelle with goat ragu is rich without being strident; ravioli of cod and chickpeas even better. Fillet of john dory is punctuated with pungent green olives; calf’s liver with balsamic vinegar comes with charred pine kernels and raisins. None of this is revolutionary — it’s just excellent ingredients, cooked with care and authentic flair.
8 Seymour Street, London W1H 7JZ; 020 7935 9088
locandalocatelli.com

THE PALOMAR
Soho, W1
Middle Eastern
Price ££
Star dish Yemeni pot-baked bread
Both Jewish and Muslim, Israeli food is the coming together of so much that has difficulty getting on together: a recipe can do what an army can’t. Starters include Yemeni pot-baked bread with tahini and beef kubenia — a clever variation on steak tartare. Then come Persian oxtail stew with chickpeas and bitter turnips, and sardines with fennel and orange. Dessert includes malabi, a set milk pudding with raspberries and meringue, like a polite eton mess. It all comes with such generous hospitality, it’s impossible not to feel well fed and wanted.
34 Rupert Street, London W1D 6DN; 020 7439 8777
thepalomar.co.uk

HOPPERS
Soho, W1
Sri Lankan
Price £
Star dish Bone marrow varuval with roti
The heat in these Sri Lankan dishes is ramped up so every bite becomes a dare, but it tastes so good you’ll want to do it again. And for each torched kari there is cooling rice and yoghurt, chutneys and roti. Pungent dishes range from hot lamb-bone marrow varuval to mutton rolls, and then the hoppers themselves — edible crisp bowls with an egg at the bottom. This is a modest restaurant with an authentic, swaggering kitchen.
49 Frith Street, London W1D 4SG
hopperslondon.com

KILN
NEW Soho, W1
Thai
Price ££
Star dish Baked noodles with pork belly and brown crab meat
Chef Ben Chapman first opened Smoking Goat, a raucous, late-night Thai joint that deals in big meat. Then came Kiln, which is about as ambitious as restaurants come. Here the offering is northern, rural Thai, with quality ingredients cooked in clay pots and woks. The short menu is a thing of splendour: melt-in-the-mouth grilled meats, fiery dry curries, spiced fish, and fragrant vegetable offerings. There’s nothing else like it.
58 Brewer Street, London W1F 9TL
kilnsoho.com

BOCCA DI LUPO
Soho, W1
Italian
Price ££
Star dish Carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style artichokes)
Jacob Kenedy’s “small and humble trattoria”, one of the first to introduce small plates, offers exquisite dishes, identified by region yet without being stifled by provincial tradition. It goes to show how harmoniously regional specialities, such as Venetian sea bream carpaccio with orange and rosemary, or Piedmontese raw chopped veal with crostini, can work together.
12 Archer Street, London W1D 7BB; 020 7734 2223
boccadilupo.com

QUO VADIS
Soho, W1
Modern British
Price ££
Star dish Grilled whole mackerel with pickled rhubarb and horseradish
This Soho institution needs no song or dance to lure diners into its revamped dining room. Service is attentive but not fussy, Jeremy Lee’s dishes are free from flourishes, and his smoked eel sandwich (£10) has a cult following. Whether it’s a plate of ox liver and onions or a green mandarin sorbet, his aesthetic sets the tone, ensuring that Quo Vadis remains a timeless classic.
26-29 Dean Street, London W1D 3LL; 020 7437 9585
quovadissoho.co.uk

Rhubarb and hibiscus, Dinner by Heston BlumenthalNATHAN PASK FOR THE DISH

DINNER BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL
Knightsbridge, SW1
Traditional British
Price £££
Star dish Meat fruit
Here are dishes you could eat every day, and will probably want to, but are no less experimental or clever for that. On the back of the menu are explanations of their origins, from medieval meat fruit (a mandarin stuffed with chicken-liver parfait) to a 19th-century pork chop. This is an exemplary menu of perfect balance and brilliance. The preparation and the concept manage a very British contrariness, both comforting and surprising, inventive but familiar. There isn’t a mouthful that doesn’t insist on the next mouthful.
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, 66 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LA; 020 7201 3833
dinnerbyheston.co.uk

CAFE MURANO
Westminster, SW1
Italian
Price ££
Star dish Truffle arancini
Angela Hartnett’s elegant cafe in Hanoverian St James’s is inspired by Venice, so start with a plate of cicchetti, salumi with thin flakes of glossy carta di musica, and arancini, devilish little balls of silky risotto with truffle and parmesan. The octopus stew is a sexy pile of pert, melting tentacles and nutty chickpeas. The sea bass is crisp and soft and served with brown shrimps and wilted lettuce, and the cheeky vitello tonnato is pink and lush — as it should be. The puddings include a quivering panna cotta with toasted nuts and an exquisite mandarin sorbet.
35 St James’s Street, London SW1A 1HD; 020 3371 5559
cafemurano.co.uk

THE MANOR
Clapham, SW4
Modern British
Price ££
Star dish Galician octopus, poached bantam egg, monk’s beard
This five-star kitchen sends out plates made with enthusiasm to a room of exposed brick in a Clapham side street. Cauliflower with grué de cacao, medjool dates and kefir is rewarding, the octopus with poached bantam egg and monk’s beard memorable. Pig’s belly with braised head meat is an inspired way to reinvent this cut. The Yorkshire rhubarb with tonka bean custard, kalamata olive and hazelnut granola is almost too good to eat in front of strangers.
148 Clapham Manor Street, London SW4 6BX; 020 7720 4662
themanorclapham.co.uk

Dead leaves, Five Fields

FIVE FIELDS
Chelsea, SW3
Modern British
Price £££
Star dish Dead leaves: pumpkin, seeds and wild mushrooms
Chef-proprietor Taylor Bonnyman and head chef Marguerite Keogh use seasonal produce — wild mushrooms, roe deer, Herdwick mutton — without straying into cliché. The room is contemporary, low-ceilinged, with lush furnishings. The menu descriptions are understated and what arrives is technically flawless, dramatic and wonderfully surprising.
8-9 Blacklands Terrace, London SW3 2SP; 020 7838 1082
fivefieldsrestaurant.com

SIX PORTLAND ROAD
NEW Holland Park, W11
Modern European
Price ££
Star dish Skate with brown shrimps, lemon and dill
There’s something retrospective about Six Portland Road’s obsessive reliance on exceptional ingredients from out-of-the-way places, with preparations based on classic French skills, all presented on modest white plates. A fine lunch begins with a simple combination of plump fresh mussels with wine, cream and parsley, followed by sweet and soft lamb neck served with harissa chickpeas and preserved lemon — a restrained French version of the Maghrebi original. Skate can have a clinging urine tang to it, but here it tastes fresh and clean. The terrific boudin noir, with a panache of spring vegetables, is made by Christian Parra, a chef from the Basque country.
6 Portland Road, London W11 4LA; 020 7229 3130
sixportlandroad.com

THE LEDBURY
Notting Hill, W11
Modern British
Price ££££
Star dish Cornish mackerel, cucumber, oyster and shiso
The Ledbury lives in a grown-up room, like a visiting ambassador from a small but pedigree European country. It’s bright and elegant and speaks of discreet money, chummy power and impeccable manners. The cooking is refined and calm; it resists unnecessary exclamations or startling contradictions. Grilled mackerel is very good indeed, and the quail with peas, Spanish ham and mousserons a softly spoken, earthy dish. Cornish lobster cooked in brown butter with a light, creamy masala of Indian spices is amusing and shows that lobster is far more versatile than its special-occasion reputation suggests. Finally, a brown sugar tart with poached grapes and ginger ice cream is the business.
127 Ledbury Road, London W11 2AQ; 020 7792 9090
theledbury.com

Chargrilled lamb with beetroots, spinach and fresh horse radish, River CafeIAN HEIDE

RIVER CAFE
Hammersmith, W6
Modern Italian
Price ££££
Star dish Turbot on the bone cooked in the wood oven
Has any restaurant had a comparable impact on the way we eat in Britain today? That seems unlikely: the riverside Italian opened by Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray back in 1987 went on to nurture Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and countless other top chefs — and sold a million cookbooks. “We prepare the best ingredients, simply” has become a restaurateur’s cliché: here it is unfailingly true. Seasonal menus change twice daily and ingredients are sourced painstakingly on fact-finding trips to Italy. It is eye-wateringly expensive, of course, but most people abandon their suspicions of being fleeced once they tuck into the squid with chilli.
Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, London W6 9HA; 020 7386 4200
rivercafe.co.uk

HEDONE
Chiswick, W4
Modern European
Price £££
Star dish Parmesan custard with umami jelly and chia seeds
Everything about Swedish chef Mikael Jonsson’s kitchen implies an unrelenting and committed search for ingredients, which are prepared with an intensely cerebral and emotional attachment to true flavours and sound combinations. The set menu changes from day to day, even table to table, and is full of revelations: vitello tonnato served in a tiny tea-powder cornet; crab flesh so delicately poached you can see its capillary system and served in dashi with horseradish, dill and hazelnut mayo; sika deer, the only venison that has marbling in the muscle, making it particularly unctuous, impeccable with beetroot and beetroot purée.
301-303 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London W4 4HH; 020 8747 0377
hedonerestaurant.com

SANTA MARIA PIZZERIA
Ealing, W5
Italian
Price £
Star dish Margherita
Pizza is divisive: fat or thin? Run by Neapolitans, Santa Maria’s are in the lean camp. Pizzas are cooked in a wood-fired oven. They come with thin bases, poofy and charry crusts, chewy and salty dough. There are many brilliant pizzerias in the UK, but this gets our vote because everything is right-on, from the perfectly cooked base to the quality ingredients, which include San Marzano tomatoes. This isn’t where you come for innovation, it’s where locals and pizza-obsessives come for the best pizzas north of Italy. There’s also a new branch in Chelsea.
15 St Mary’s Road, London W5 5RA; 020 8579 1462
santamariapizzeria.com