The 10 best Fitzrovia restaurants
Some of the best restaurants in London can be found in central, and Fitzrovia restaurants have long been pinned on London’s psycho-geographical foodie map: from the early 1970s, Whitfield Street was home to Lacy’s, opened by one of the great, neglected names of English cookery writing, Margaret Costa, who helped introduce this country to crazy, far-out flavours such as avocado, olives and mayonnaise. The waiters at Lacy’s, meanwhile, were known for helping themselves to unfinished bottles from the tables. Nowadays, you can expect chic fine dining establishments, or fun, frivolous restaurants loved by the local crowd.
The best Fitzrovia restaurants make the area one of central London's foodiest corners, with some of the city's most talked-about, most-photographed restaurants drawing lines around the block. Here's our selection of the best, as tested by our editors.
Chishuru
Chishuru’s evolution from a supper club twinkle in Adejoké Bakare’s eye to a Fitzrovia eatery is complete. The award-winning chef recently moved her restaurant from its former Brixton Village location to Great Titchfield Street, where she continues experimenting with West African cuisine in exciting ways. It’s a date-night kind of place: a fire-orange lamp by South African designer Mash.T and the pale ochre walls – reminiscent of traditional adobe – cast a warm, peachy glow about the place, while African prints by British-Nigerian designer Eva Sonaike line the seats. The £65 set menu includes punters’ favourite, the homely and pepper soup broth, its belly-warming saltiness offset by the sweet corn tofu chunks. Next was the moi moi (bean pudding) starter which, although surprisingly bland in flavour, let the super-delicious duck liver and duck egg sauce do the legwork and save the day. Meanwhile, the Sinasir, a fermented and beautifully crispy crab cake, was stuffed with white crab meat that wasn’t overdressed and retained its natural sweetness. The pick of the mains was the smokey, melt-in-the-mouth guinea fowl with taro root, ehuru and uziza sauce. Folksy yet exploratory, Bakare knows how to keep things spirited and innovative. Noo Saro-Wiwa
Address: Chishuru, 3 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 8AX
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PATRICIA TOBINCORD by Le Cordon Bleu, St Paul’s
Anyone well-versed in the food world knows that the place to learn traditional cooking techniques is Le Cordon Bleu. It’s where some of the greats were trained: Julia Child, Yotam Ottolenghi, Gastòn Acurio. So when you bring together 125 years of experience to an all-in-one concept fitted with a café, restaurant and training outpost for the institute, expect nothing short of a spectacular dining experience. Enter CORD – in the heart of St Paul’s – ‘bleu’ velvet chairs, gold accents and statement light fixtures fill the space, while the open kitchen allows guests to marvel at the well-choreographed chefs doing what they do best. Begin with the handpicked Dorset crab, crunchy cucumber and radish served with a delicate brown crab dressing. It makes for a refreshing palate cleanser to accompany the duck foie gras and dried fruit chutney, which can only be described as unctuous and silky in the best possible way. Follow up with brill cooked on the bone and baby potatoes, aubergine purée, and finished with the big umami flavours of the miso beurre blanc. But it’s the wild rocket risotto paired with baby artichokes, mushroom pickles and hazelnut pralines that has us wanting to come back for a second helping. It’s tangy, nutty, and faintly sweet all at once – easily making it one of the tastiest vegetarian dishes we’ve had in London. The vegan panna cotta infused with candied ginger, rose poached rhubarb and topped with a generous dollop of sorbet was worth the food coma. Amid the elegant, innovative menus at CORD, what really hits home is the technique and attention to detail that is true to Le Cordon Bleu fashion. From the perfectly turned artichokes to de-crumbing in between courses, this might just be one of the best spots to have recently landed in London’s restaurant scene. Zahra Surya Darma
Price: £££
Address: 85 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1AE
Book online
Clipstone
Clipstone is unfussy - stripped-back but not bare - with an open kitchen staffed by a young team. What they're doing, quite brilliantly, is taking the best of what's in season and making it something wonderful the whole table will talk about without too much tampering. When we visited in summer, raspberries studded a glorious bowl of tomatoes in every shade and slices of unripe peach cut through a meaty-rich crudo of char. Sourdough flatbreads were zingy: a good spritzing of lemon zest lifts scallop and walnut pesto, and marjoram sings alongside baby courgette, Ryefield cheese and a drizzle of honey. Brown butter swims pleasingly around hay-baked carrot and ricotta ravioli and hazelnuts. And the scorched nectarine smells as good as it tastes: the jammy fruit blackened and poached in camomile syrup with a blob of mascarpone, Amaretto and wild meadowsweet flowers.
Cocktails on the night included a tangy loquat gin sour and elderflower and raspberry sangria. Wines are just as described on the menu: 'Beaujolais with a wild side'; 'juicy fruits & a muddy funk'; and 'obscure & glorious'. By Hazel Lubbock
Address: Clipstone, 5 Clipstone Street, Fitzrovia, London W1
Website: clipstonerestaurant.co.uk
Bronia StewartThe Tent (at the End of the Universe)
If like me, dinner plans usually come with a quick stalk of the restaurant’s website and socials to determine exactly what to order – cross-referencing on Instagram to see exactly what each dish looks like – and where best to sit, you’ll be disappointed. The Tent didn’t make things easy; there was no menu to be found and zero pictures of the interiors. Surely, I thought, there isn’t an actual tent in Fitzrovia? Well, near enough. Greeted by a host in a dark corridor we were led through a heavy curtain into a dimly lit room mimicking a Bedouin tent. The walls are mirrored, with a tent-like structure made of wood and canvas framing the entire space. Little fluorescent lights mimic a starry night sky and hanging glowing moons sit above each wooden table. Once your eyes have adjusted to the light, order a cocktail – we loved the Fabric cocktail made with vanilla and chilli vodka, elderflower and honey. The creative menu by John Javier (ex-Noma) is a play on modern Middle Eastern, with influences from Asian cuisine. The hummus and bread were one of our favourite dishes – the smoked hummus is topped with chilli oil and burnt onion powder. If you only order one thing to start, order this. Other starters include lamb shish, whole quail and all the dips – tzatziki, borani and taramasalata. A few plates, cooked on a barbecue out back, are best shared between two. The Iberico pork secreto schnitzel was our favourite; a soft cut coated in a crunchy salty batter served on top of a potent katsuobushi mayo. Served as a pair, the huge bright red wild tiger prawns could easily be mistaken for a small lobster. Other plates include the smokey saganaki cheese – melted and served on a hot plate with sweet pomegranate molasses glaze – the fresh tomato salad with whipped feta and zhoug, the black cod ‘sayadieh’ and the 700g dairy cow rib that is best shared between four people. To finish, order a sweet slice of balaklava oozing with honey. The Tent was initially launched to friends and family, but word has spread and with just eight exclusive tables, bookings have become highly competitive. Open late mid-week with live music it’s the perfect intimate date spot or late-night drinking den. Sophie Knight
Price: ££
Address: 17 Little Portland Street, London, W1W 8BP
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Milo BrownLisboeta
Portuguese-born chef Nuno Mendes has been on a journey that has taken him from kitchens in the USA to talk-of-the-town restaurants in East London, winning two Michelin stars along the way. Lisboeta (backed by the group behind Kol and Casa da Frango) is a return to his roots – drawing more and more on the recipes of his native Portugal. The informal dining room upstairs looks out to Charlotte Street; downstairs is the kitchen and counter bar, from where you can watch Nuno properly back in the kitchen after four years. The menu is divided into snacks, small plates and sharing pots, with guests encouraged to play their orders in a 2-2-1 formation. There are rootsy turnip tops, wild garlic and cauliflower in various incarnations, and plenty of seafood and a whole lot of pork – whipped lard on slices of Coombeshead bread, little pork pies, crumbly blood sausage… Let sommelier Iava Markaityte guide you through some of Portugal’s lesser known vintages, or try a Lisboa Negroni or Madeira old-fashioned. This new opening is a rip-roaring success and a whole lotta fun. Rick Jordan
Price range: £££
Address: Lisboeta, 30 Charlotte Street, W1T 2NG
Website: lisboeta.co.uk
Jérôme GallandCircolo Popolare
Londoners know full well the hype around Circolo Popolare is worth it; the restaurant first opened in summer 2019 to queues around the block, and it’s been a battle to get a table ever since. The over-the-top sister to one of the best restaurants in Shoreditch draws queues in Fitzrovia, but when you do secure a spot, the restaurant is an assault on the senses; in the best way. Walls are lined with live plants, lights and 20,000 bottles of booze, and there’s an outdoor terrace for those wanting to live la dolce vita. Circolo focuses on the cuisine of Sicily and the Mediterranea, and you can expect to feast on spaghetti chitarra served in the whole round of pecorino, truffle pizzas or oxtail ragú in a brioche bun with Parmigiano Reggiano fondue. Of course, no visit is complete without a slice of – somewhat absurd but overwhelmingly delicious – lemon meringue pie. Essentially, you should turn up hungry; we guarantee you’ll find it hard to pick a plate.
Read the full review in our round-up of the best restaurants in London
Address: Circolo Popolare, 40-41 Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia, London W1T 1HX
Website: bigmammagroup.com
Berners Tavern
Since Berners Tavern opened in 2013, George and Amal Clooney have dined here; Meghan Markle has swung by; and – keeping up its reputation as a hangout for the capital’s style set – the restaurant recently hosted the closing dinner for London men’s fashion week.
We visited in summer, when head chef Phil Carmichael sprinkled seasonal ingredients into the regular menu so it included watercress and wild garlic soup – for diners in secure relationships – and fresh tuna crudo with avocado, as well as new sharing plates for more sociable foodies, such as the hearty, slow-cooked shoulder of Herdwick lamb. Steaks come from the butcher who supplies the British royal households and are accompanied by an artful stack of triple-cooked chips. The roasted Dover sole with brown shrimps and crushed Charlotte potatoes is glorious, especially after it’s been meticulously deboned before you, if that's your preference. Round things off with the epic chocolate and hazelnut flaming Alaska for two, served with speculoos (spiced short-crust biscuit), coffee crumble, hazelnut custard – and actual flames, which, as our waiter retorted with faultless comic timing, ‘… is the opposite of light’.
The wine list has a page-long table of contents, while the cocktail menu looks as if it’s taken a course in molecular gastronomy, case-in-point the Loggers Camp: a bacon-fat-washed Crown Royal whisky with blueberry shrub, grape-must verjuice and cranberry. By Becky Lucas
Address: Berners Tavern, The London Edition, 10 Berners Street, London, W1T 3NP
Website: bernerstavern.com
Adam LuszniakROVI
Any restaurant that’s under the Ottolenghi umbrella is worth a visit, and ROVI is something special. The 90 seat restaurant serves a menu with vegetables at its heart but with a fresh focus on fermentation and cooking over fire, so diners can expect to enjoy dishes including coffee-roasted beetroot with basil and grapefruit amazake, grilled octopus with butter bean piyaz, preserved lemon, cascabel oil and sumac onions and saddleback pork chop with kohlrabi and apple kimchi, smoked bacon sauce. Cocktails are a focus, with a menu based on seasonal spices and house shrubs; the milk punch, with Abelha organic cachaça, Chartreuse Verte, curds, citrus, herbs, spices, chillies is a firm favourite.
Read the full review in our round-up of the best restaurants in London
Address: ROVI, 59 Wells Street, Fitzrovia, London W1A 3AE
Website: ottolenghi.co.uk
Harris AhmedOfficina 00
With an already popular site in Shoreditch, Officina 00 has just launched its second restaurant in buzzy Fitzrovia and a new menu to go with it. Pasta lovers, run don’t walk – this is some of the best pasta we’ve tried in London, hand-prepped by skilful chefs (who also run pasta workshops) every morning in all shapes and sizes. Nab a table in the candle-lit, urban-cool dining space with exposed ceilings, steel framed windows, a wooden countertop and an open kitchen.
Make sure you start with the warm baked sourdough bread served with truffle Parmesan butter along with plenty of snacks and starters. The fried raviolo pumped with cacio and pepe is a game changer – a tiny pocket filled with that creamy peppery cheese sauce we all love. I’ll be back for 10 more. You also have to try the sweet and meaty croquettes filled with aubergine, 'nduja and ricotta salsa then drizzled in honey, and the fried panko lasagna with truffle aged provolone and aioli. When cut open, it is a layered work of art.
Depending on how hungry you are, we recommend three plates of pasta between two because it’s too hard selecting just one. The circular-shaped corsetti was our favourite, served in a creamy sauce made with wild mushrooms, house pork sausage, parsley and port. The house favourite of curly pappardelle with beef short rib ragu, meatballs, burrata and basil also deserve a shoutout. For pudding, there’s crunchy tiramisu, hazelnut mousse or traditional ricotta and pistachio cannoli. Sophie Knight
Price: ££
Address: 67 Whitfield Street, London W1T 4DE
Book online
Charlie McKayFlesh & Buns
The first Flesh & Buns opened its doors in Seven Dials years ago – a high-end Japanese restaurant stashed away in a basement, with a heavy rock soundtrack. This was even before cult bun spot Bao opened up around the corner. The concept takes inspiration from Ross Shonhan's travels around Japan and Peru, and is simple: steamed buns (the ‘bun’ part of the restaurant’s deliberately saucy name) packed with whatever meat you like (the ‘flesh’) and topped with pickled veggies and salad. The Fitzrovia sister spot is a little more grown up. This space is bigger, with windows letting in natural light, and there’s a less distracting playlist. Steamed buns come pillow-soft in a bamboo steamer, sticking together snugly. To fill them, choose between fillings such as crispy duck leg, crisp piglet belly with mustard miso and apple pickle, or salmon teriyaki. Sushi comes in the form of Latin-inspired ceviches (the yellow tail with sliced cucumber and red onion is excellent), tiraditos (a sort of fishy carpaccio in a spicy sauce: we recommend the torched salmon) and more recognisable rolls. There are small plates of flaky corn tempura and Korean fried chicken wings, and the veggie hot-stone rice arrives sizzling to be mixed at your table.
This is a fun way of eating – an assemble-it-yourself, tuck-in-to-a-bit-of-everything type of dining. It’s not fussy: flavours pack a serious punch, and portion sizes aren’t scrimped on. At times, Flesh & Buns is a bit flashy, but it all adds to the experience. Sarah James
Address: Flesh and Buns, 32 Berners Street, London W1T 3LR
Website: fleshandbuns.com