They’re open! The best restaurants to tuck into right now
We’ve done the outdoor thing, but there’s no substitute for the buzz of a restaurant dining room, argues Kathryn Flett. Joined by Telegraph columnists as well as our favourite chefs, she reveals the top 25 restaurants we can’t wait to race back to
Right, where were we? Can you remind me? Ah, yes – restaurants! I remember them. Or rather, I remember what they used to be. Whether it was a big, blousy room putting on a seamless show even as it allowed the diners to take centre stage, or a self-consciously curated little space in which the punters’ intimacy with the process was essentially what made the food enjoyable, I remember the way that good (and, indeed, less good) restaurants used to make me feel: thoroughly, in-themoment alive. Which feels like a lifetime ago, does it not?
Aside from the basics, then (and for the sake of argument let’s define that as decent food in convivial surroundings), what is it that we want from our restaurants in these quivering, post-normal times? Well, I know exactly what I don’t want, which is to be constantly reminded of my mortality by overly performative PPE and a robotically rulebook-reading front-of-house. Yet while I am very much up for the proverbial Good Time, things probably should not look and feel too libertarian-louche, either.
The restaurants equipped to succeed in these tough times will be those that can pull off a tricky balance: playing by the rules without feeling the need to constantly remind you that there are any rules. This will take considerable confidence, maturity and skill – and I am pretty sure those who manage it will be rewarded by a river of grateful guests.
I want everybody who works and plays in restaurants to feel entirely optimistic as they embrace the Great Reopening. However, that not everybody will – and that the reasons for failure may be intangibly difficult to predict – is a given. While the idea of a restaurant as apparently effortlessly choreographed theatre will probably work in big hotel dining rooms, my heart goes out to any niche-petite start-up attempting to create an environment and atmosphere that will encourage guests to return regularly. And, of course, there are some people – albeit a minority of Telegraph readers, I suspect – who don’t want to return to restaurants at all. Let’s hope that changes in time.
I still haven’t done any eating out myself yet; I’m not one for huddling under gas heaters in pub car parks during storms, while for reasons of age-appropriate decorum any forthcoming Big Nights will probably no longer include actual table-dancing – they may, conceivably, eschew much standing up at all. Nonetheless, while I have a visceral loathing of anything that smacks of emphatically choreographed “fun”, even I am up for an occasional woohoo-and-wayhay, hands-in-the-air-emoji night out, so I hope it is neither too trite nor too obvious to say that what I crave is not merely pre-Covid “normality” but some post-Covid playfulness.
Though how to justify a proper restriction-lifting whambam-blowout? Well, happily, my youngest son turns 15 on May 18. With one lockdown birthday already under his belt last year, I imagine he would happily share Domino’s largest fully-loaded pizza with a few mates al fresco at the local skate park. However, this year I am demanding that we go out for a meal that is sufficiently urbane and shiny while also being affordable – a birthday dinner that will help us all to slough off our weary Covid-era personae.
And, luckily, it was pretty easy to pick a venue. When I turned 15, I was – lucky me! – taken to La Coupole for the first time. And while a swift trip to Paris is not currently an option (and, even if French restaurants were open, definitely not on a school night), I’ve just managed to bag arguably the closest thing (see my entry overleaf ).
Across these pages my fellow Telegraph writers and some of our favourite chefs and food lovers reveal their numberone choices for a return to indoor eating. Happy dining to you, too, fellow travellers – wherever you choose to be.
TAS FIRIN London E2
Recommended by Debora Robertson
Telegraph lifestyle columnist
This kebab house in east London is the site of many a happy, noisy night out with my friends, Lucy, Lucy and Fi. We over-order wildly. More lamb chops! More grilled quail! Perhaps some aubergines, for health? It hasn’t just been the delicious food I’ve missed, but the laughing to the point of pain, and talking all night so it feels like no sooner have you grazed the meze platter, you’re on the night bus home. This is what I have missed most of all, in this past quiet, underseasoned, wellbehaved year.
160 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 6DG; tas-firin.co.uk
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BRAWN London E2
Recommended by Diana Henry
Telegraph food columnist
My beloved Brawn occupied quite a lot of my mind during the pandemic. It did transform itself into an excellent produce/grocery shop but it’s not the same as eating there. I’m looking forward to Brawn’s evening light – it’s in an urban setting but when the sun is going down and the candles are lit the place is beautiful, the best kind of “small place in a big city” restaurant – the unfussy food (smoked cod’s roe and radishes, stuffed pasta, a scoop of their chocolate ganache with olive oil and sea salt) and their wine list (never dull).
49 Columbia Road, London, E2 7RG; brawn.co
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AKOKO London W1 Recommended by Nky Iweka Chef-proprietor, Pitanga, London
I first went to Akoko last December with my 17-year old daughter and we both absolutely loved it, particularly because we were seated in front of the open kitchen where we could watch all the action.
We opted for the tasting menu, with its innovative take on Nigerian favourites such as egusi soup and beef suya. Everything’s beautifully presented; the crockery is custom-made to suit each dish. Their smoked jollof rice was probably the best I have ever tasted: it was brought to the table with great fanfare, in an earthenware bowl which was opened by the waiter to release a gust of smoke.
Our plans to go back were scuppered by the second lockdown – now I can’t wait to return.
21 Berners Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 3LP; akoko.co.uk
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CORE BY CLARE SMYTH London W11 Recommended by Aktar Islam
Chef-proprietor, Opheem, Birmingham
I was lucky enough to eat at Core in early 2020 before the first lockdown, and I was mesmerised by the experience – so much so that I’d promised to take my team to enjoy it. I’ve been waiting for well over a year now, so I can’t wait – especially since Core received its third star this year. The malted sourdough was incredible, so much so I ate it throughout dinner (I was even tempted to skip dessert so I could get more bread, but I’m pleased I didn’t: the desserts were incredible).
92 Kensington Park Rd, London,
W11 2PN; corebyclaresmyth.com
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IMAD’S SYRIAN KITCHEN London W1 Recommended by Melissa Hemsley Telegraph food columnist
I cannot wait to visit Imad’s Syrian Kitchen. I know we will all be welcomed so warmly by Imad and his family, who have been cooking for the community and volunteering throughout lockdown. We met during the Cook For Syria fundraisers (Imad was a successful restaurateur in Damascus before the war), and I’ve completely fallen in love with his food, and even learnt to cook some of his vibrant veg dishes, comforting family stews and slow cooks
– and of course, his famous falafels. And if the food weren’t tempting enough, Imad will donate £1 from each bill to refugee charity Choose Love.
Kingly Court, Carnaby St, London, W1B 5PW; imadssyriankitchen.co.uk
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NORMA London W1
Recommended by John
Gregory-Smith Telegraph food columnist
The roar of a restaurant is infectious: the clinking of glasses and the chatter of happy diners. I have missed it terribly and can’t wait to get stuck back in. I’m going straight to Norma, my mate Ben Tish’s restaurant. Its dark, decadent, sexy interiors are made for night-time feasting. I love the little cubbyholes you can sink into and chatter away to your hearts content. And the food… oh, wow. It’s seriously good: Mediterranean with a twist of Arabesque and a dusting of
Moorish. Heaven. See you there. 8 Charlotte St, London, W1T 2LS; normalondon.com
I A WONG London SW1
Recommended by Mark Hix
Telegraph food columnist
Although I’m living back in my homeland of Dorset after almost 40 years in London those cravings for great Asian food are still with me. In the old days I’d round off a nightcap or four at the Groucho with a bowl of early morning beef tripe and tendons at Hung’s in Chinatown. Sadly, it looks as though they didn’t make it through the pandemic. But A Wong is most certainly on my hit list for when I’m up in town next, for the first in a series of what I have a feeling could be extremely long lunches.
70 Wilton Rd, London, SW1V 1DE; awong.co.uk
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ZIANI’S London SW3
Recommended by William Sitwell Telegraph Magazine restaurant writer
It’s small, it’s Italian, it’s lively, a bunfight almost – yes, it’s a proper squash and a squeeze. Indeed if you had to socially distance in here you’d have to glue yourself to the walls. So if there’s a party on another table, it’s your party too. This place reminds you of why restaurants were invented.
45 Radnor Walk, London, SW3 4BP; ziani.co.uk
I FM MANGAL London SE5
Recommended by Jackson Boxer Chef-proprietor, Brunswick House, London SW8; Orasay, London W11
I’m a decent home cook, and there’s not much I ever crave eating which can’t be satisfied by my own hands. The exception to this is expertly grilled meat, which I have no way of cooking in my domestic kitchen. Sitting in a smokefilled room, dragging bread greased with lamb fat through astringent sauces and purées, eyes stinging, pressed close to other tables all hunkered down, relishing the primal pleasure of chewing coal-burnished protein off sharp sticks, in familiar company. This is what I miss. 54 Camberwell Church St, London, SE5 8QZ; fmmangal.co.uk
I FOUR LEGS AT THE COMPTON ARMS London N1
Recommended by James Cochran
Chef-proprietor, 12:51, London N1
Four Legs comprises a couple of chefs producing some top-quality food out of an old-school pub kitchen in a tuckedaway boozer on a north London back street. It’s unique places like this that need our post-Covid custom. The menu is ever-changing and they’ve got some good ideas – if you haven’t tried their burger yet, it’s one of the best.
4 Compton Ave, London, N1 2XD; comptonarms.co.uk
I THE CRAB & LOBSTER, West Sussex Recommended by Madeleine Howell Telegraph lifestyle writer
I can think of no better hideaway to dine in than this restaurant, pub and rooms in Sidlesham Quay near Chichester, near the tidal inlet of Pagham Harbour nature reserve. The interior is stylish and relaxed; the menu features produce from Selsey fishermen (with an emphasis, naturally, on crab and lobster), and ice cream from Caroline’s Dairy at nearby Chalder Farm. Perfect fodder after a day on the beach at the nearby Witterings. Be sure to order the Selsey crab and salmon mousse, with fennel, tarragon and bergamot salad, served with a delicious brown crab aioli.
Mill Lane, Sidlesham, West Sussex, PO20 7NB; crab-lobster.co.uk