The top London restaurants open right now

If you’re anything like us you will have missed restaurants. A lot. Don’t get us wrong, whipping up an umpteenth Baked Alaska with a YouTube tutorial is thrilling but not as thrilling as seeing your filet mignon arrive at the table, aromas wafting, companions ‘aah’-ing, wine glass simultaneously topped up with a quaffable, rich red. Fortunately for the sanity of everyone, restaurants are back. Without further ado, here’s the lowdown on our favourites open now. Banana bread, anyone?

Dishoom

Remember the days of queuing for Dishoom? Yes, you got a chai but didn’t you secretly wish you could actually book which would make your life one hundred times easier – and ensure you didn’t run out of conversation before your first roomali roti. Well thanks to lockdown, all is redeemed. Bookable and with Shoreditch, King’s Cross and Carnaby now open, you’ll be eating the house black daal before you know it.

The River Café

If there was ever a setting that made you feel less London, more Lake Como, it would be The River Café. The iconic riverside eatery does understated, exquisite Italian cooking exceptionally well. Think pillowy ravioli bursting with buffalo ricotta, lemon zest and garden herbs. Or wood-roasted pigeon with unashamedly moreish Tuscan roast potatoes. Founded by Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray, the institution has trained the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver – and we’re among the fans.

The Ivy Chelsea Garden

The delightful Kings Road hangout (with its joyful, blossoming floral exterior) is back. With a huge garden, elegant settings, pleasing menu and truffle arancini, it’s the ideal spot for a summer lunch – or dinner or brunch for that matter.

Seabird

We love a rooftop restaurant and it doesn’t get more pretty (or more tropical-feeling) than Seabird. If you can possibly tear yourself away from the insane views afforded by the palm-fringed terrace, you’ll find the longest oyster list in London, heavenly sea-to-table small plates and inspired cocktails.

Minnow

We are all for a neighbourhood restaurant – the kind of place you can daydream over a lazy brunch, people-watch and, for maximum enjoyment, bring a cuddly, four-legged dining partner. Minnow is all of this and more. With an idyllic frontage overlooking Clapham Common and a sumptuous menu featuring local produce and a BYOB Sunday Roast Club, you’ll come once and never want to leave.

The Cheese Bar

Sit back, we’re just going to read you the menu. Oozing Burrata; intense, porcini-flavoured Camembert; silky, raw-milk Brie … if you ever pictured just eating cheese for the rest of your life, you could definitely fulfil that dream here. The popular marble-topped bar is open again, serving cured meats, chutneys and cheeses that you never would have imagined had been all crafted in Britain.