Central
Erika Haigh, Moto
Central is a great location to spend a solo day as it’s so busy — you’re constantly occupied — but it's just as good for meeting people, as there’s so much about. There are some places I always return to, however. 10 Cases (16 Endell Street, WC2H, 10cases.co.uk) in Covent Garden is now considered an institution; I love their wine list, which changes regularly as they only order 10 cases of wine at a time. Lower Wine Bar (19 Lower Marsh, SE1, lowerwine.com) is more of a neighbourhood spot, with a changing blackboard menu; it’s great pre-theatre. Central has some great cocktail places now, too: Three Sheets (13 Manette Street, W1D, threesheets-bar.com) serves really clean and elegant cocktails, and Kwãnt (52 Stratton Street, W1J, @kwantmayfair) is the one for something unique. For food, I love Story Cellar (17 Neal's Yard, WC2H, storycellar.co.uk) in Covent Garden: you can’t go wrong by sitting at the counter and sharing a classic Paraisian-style rotisserie chicken. Noble Rot in Mayfair (5 Trebeck Street, W1J, noblerot.co.uk) is my favourite of all the Noble Rots; it's great for a working lunch — their set menu is really good value. Arôme (9 Mercer Street, WC2H, @aromebakerylondon) in Covent Garden is my go-to for baked goods.
7 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7NA, motoldn.com
Karan Gokani, Hopper’s
I love sitting in the window of the Soho Hopper’s, people watching. You see everyone, from arts people to office sorts to crazy bikers. When we first opened here, I would eat at Dumplings Legend (15 Gerrard Street, W1D, @dumplingslegend) and Rasa Sayang (5 Macclesfield Street, W1D, rasasayangfood.com) at least twice a week. Dumpling’s Legend is more of a late-night spot. They do the best value Peking duck in town, and there’s a karaoke bar upstairs. Rasa Sayang is more my lunchtime treat; they do everything from roti and sambals to crab curries and laksa, if you’re looking for something more substantial. Then there are the more old-school Soho place: Little Italy (21 Frith Street, W1D, littleitalysoho.co.uk), which is iconic. It’s like a poster of Soho. We often find ourselves there late, when it's turned into a nightclub. Algerian Coffee Stores (52 Old Compton Street, W1D, algeriancoffeestores.com) is another one — like the Willy Wonka of coffee. Quo Vadis (26 Dean Street, W1D, quovadissoho.co.uk) gives a sense of having always been there; it defines the Soho experience.
There are parts of London you can walk around and feel like you’re anywhere in the world, but Soho feels like London. So does Marylebone, where we have our second restaurant. The Heron (Norfolk Crescent, W2, theheronpaddington.com), near Edgware Road, is somewhere we’ve been going for years. From the outside it looks like a random boozer, but there’s a family run Thai restaurant, downstairs. We love that it’s a real hidden gem. Then there’s the Golden Hind (71a, Marylebone Lane, W1U, goldenhindrestaurant.com), for fish and chips, and Trishna (15 Blandford Street, W1U, trishnalondon.com), which is very special. It’s where I met my wife, Sunaina Sethi, and it’s still my favourite posh Indian meal in town.
Various locations, hopperslondon.com
North
Ben Allen, The Parakeet
I was born and raised in north London, so I don’t really know anywhere else. I like that it’s not gentrified too much, and everyone is doing their own thing. Go to Clissold Park and you’ll have a Caribbean family next to a Hasidic Jewish family next to a posh white family, all getting on with it next to a splash park and random mini zoo with the biggest goat you’ve ever seen. Eating wise too, it’s really diverse. I love Farang (72 Highbury Park, N5, faranglondon.co.uk) for Thai, and Healthy Wealthy (10 Brecknock Road, N7, 020 7700 0777) for vegan Indian food. If I get a lunch break, I’ll walk down there.
And of course, I know loads of pubs. My dad and I have always gone to the Arsenal games — Compton Arms (4 Compton Avenue, N1, comptonarms.co.uk) before, the Woodbine (215 Blackstock Road, N5 thewoodbinen5.co.uk) after, win or lose. If I’m going out with mates, it’s the Auld Shillelagh (105 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16, theauldshillelagh.co.uk) in Stoke Newington, the Queen’s Head (44 Essex Road, London N1, theoldqueenshead.com) on Essex Road, or here if I’m working, which is most of the time. My grandad used to drink in this pub when he came over to London from Barbados before it was the Parakeet. So to open here, in the place he drank in, is quite special.
256 Kentish Town Rd, NW5 2AA, theparakeetpub.com
Richard Corrigan, Corrigan Collection
I’ve lived in North London for nearly 30 years and it is very much home to me. It’s where my children went to school and I’ve made dear friends over the years. There’s always a great buzz, lots of independent shops, and Crouch End especially has always been a hub for fantastic restaurants and cafes. We recently lost Florians 2 and Banners which were favourites of mine, but have recently welcomed some brilliant new spots.
You can’t miss the ‘Ham, Egg n Chips’ Sandwich at Max’s Sandwich Shop (19 Crouch Hill, Finsbury Park, London N4, maxssandwichshop.com) — Max seriously knows his sarnies. Sourdough Sophia (24 Middle Lane, N8, sourdoughsophia.co.uk) is perfect for a coffee and a pastry on a Saturday morning. Their cronuts are something else! Les 2 Garcons (14 Middle Lane, N8, les2garconsbistro.com) is another brilliant addition: a French bistro run by two industry legends, and the most perfect neighbourhood restaurant. For a cocktail it has to be Little Mercies (20 Broadway Parade, N8, littlemercies.co.uk) - the same team that brought you Three Sheets. For many years The Harringay Arms was my go-to pub but since its closure I like to pop into The Queens (26 Broadway Parade, N8, thequeenscrouchend.co.uk) for a pint. You'll always meet someone interesting in there!
28 Upper Grosvenor Street; National Portrait Gallery; Swallow Street, corrigancollection.com
Ed Smith
My local area — Islington, De Beauvoir, Newington Green — is broad because I cycle everywhere. Indeed, one of the reasons I love it is because it lends itself to cycling; its not great for public transport, but on a bike, Borough Market, Soho and Shoreditch are all less than 15 minutes away. I spend most of my money on bread, coffee and pastries and there’s great access to top stuff here. Bread and pastries are distinct, and I go to different places to purchase them. Bread is Dusty Knuckle (429 Green Lanes, N4, @thedustyknuckle), whilst for pastries I’m at Jolene (21 Newington Green, N16, jolenen16.com) or Popham’s (19 Prebend Street, N1, pophamsbakery.com). There are many independent, local gem restaurants, which have stood the test of time: Trullo (300-302 St Paul's Road, N1, trullorestaurant.com), FKABAM (156 Canonbury Road, N1, blackaxemangal.com), the Drapers Arms (44 Barnsbury Street, N1, thedrapersarms.com), and a few low key hits too, like Sambal Shiok (171 Holloway Road, N7, sambalshiok.co.uk) and Xi'an Impression (117 Benwell Road, N7, 020 3441 0191).
For a pint, I’m at the De Beauvoir Arms (113 Southgate Road, N1, debeauvoirarms.com) or Scholt Head (107A Culford Road, N1, thescolthead.co.uk); for food shopping, Newington Green has a lot to offer, with Newington Green (109 Newington Green Road, N1, allgreens.co.uk) itself, and then a butchers, Stella's (101 Newington Green Road, N1, @stellas_n1), and fishmongers, Oeno Maris (105 Newington Green Road, N1, oenomaris.com), on that corner. De Beauvoir Deli (98 Southgate Road, N1, thedebeauvoirdeli.co.uk) is very good, but De Beauvoir Whole Foods (105-109 Southgate Road, N1, thedebeauvoirdeli.co.uk) — directly opposite — puts it through its paces in terms of value. This area is always evolving, but aesthetically it has a distinct look; if you see it on TV you recognise the architecture and people instantly. It is the first area I moved when I came to London, and when I returned after ten years of moving around, it immediately felt like home.
substack.com/@edsmithfoodwriter
East
James Lowe, Lyle’s
I’ve lived and worked all around here for years and the places I love, which are dear to my heart, are those which haven’t changed too much — even as East London has, dramatically. Towpath (42 De Beauvoir Cresent, N1, towpathlondon.com) and St John (26 St John Street, Barbican, London EC1M, stjohnrestaurant.com) have been there as long as I have been there, and they’ve evolved over time, in ways that reflect some of East London’s changes, but their offering has been constant. Laid back, lovely people, good food. I love the honest, old school affordability of Leyla’s Café — now Leyla’s Deli (15 Calvert Ave, E2, leilasshop.co.uk) — and Mangal II (4 Stoke Newington Road, N16, mangal2.com), though I worry these places may get lost because of rent rise and the way older landlords see them.
To be honest, I was worried the days if indies in Shoreditch were nearing an end, so I’ve been pleased to see places like Nagare Coffee (40 Brushfield Street, E1, nagare.co.uk) in Spitalfields open and Planque (322 Acton Mews, E8, planque.co.uk), which has a good, interesting wine list and really good food. Also, the increase in Asian students around Whitechapel has lead to an interesting rise in regional Chinese restaurants – like YeYe Dumplings (58 Wentworth Street, E1, yeyelondon.co.uk ), which serves the best bao I’ve had outside of Shanghai. East London is still a great place — the canals, the river, the accessibility. I tried to move to Brighton permanently a few years ago, but as soon as I did that I missed it, so now I split my time between there and here.
Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ, lyleslondon.com
Terri Mercieca, Happy Endings
You can do anything you like in east London – and there is always something going on. I live in Aldgate East and love cycling, so I have Brick Lane, Shoreditch, Spitalfields, Dalston — but I love where I live. I love listening to the call to prayer from the mosque; it feels like this is what London is, and it makes me feel really calm. I’ve lived here for seven-and-a-half years, but I’m from Australia originally and the breakfast places I love are both Australian. We do a banging breakfast, largely thanks to [the late] Bill Granger, and Brunswick East (Stamford Works, Gillett Street, N16, brunswickeast.london) and Potter and Reid (20 Toynbee St, E1, potterandreid.com) are fantastic cafés. I love Potter and Reid’s okonomiyaki — I call it okonomiyummy, it’s so good – and their chai latte. Chai latte sounds poncy, but they brew it properly, with spices, not syrups. It’s a nostalgic thing, for me. There’s a café in Melbourne that does great chai latter, so it tastes like Melbourne.
I would like there to be a better pub near where I live. There is one near work, called the Cherry (359 Mile End Road, E3, thecherry-e3.co.uk). They do Eighties song bingo, which is cute. Sometimes I go there if there’s a leaving do, or just by myself on my way home. When I got my new cookbook for the very first time, I went and looked at it there with a beer and a pizza. At lunch — well, I’m always at work, but I can smash Bleeker Burger (across London, bleecker.co.uk) in seconds. For dinner, I love this Somali café called Al Kahf (112-116 Vine Court, E1, alkahf.co.uk). I’ve been going there since the first day you could eat out post pandemic. It’s so vibey, the people who own it are so nice and the food is comforting and homely. That’s another benefit of living near a mosque: during Ramadan, restaurants open really late. Don’t go for iftar; go after. It’s really buzzy.
Happy Endings, various locations, happyendingsldn.com
Raf Cagali, Da Terra and Elis
I don’t live in Bethnal Green, but I may as well, given Da Terra’s location. It’s a young and energetic neighbourhood, with fantastic restaurants in the area, each distinct from one another. Some are on the more relaxed end, while others are classic institutions that reflect the area’s history. Gabriel Waterhouse’s the Water House Project (1 Corbridge Crescent, E2, thewaterhouseproject.com) sits right by the canal and serves a great seasonal tasting menu in a beautiful, relaxed space; E Pellicci (332 Bethnal Green Road, E2, epellicci.co.uk), an institution and an East London classic, is my go-to for a hearty breakfast. Brawn (49 Columbia Road, E2, brawn.co) has a fantastic wine list and great small plates, but I also love Italiana 385 (385 Cambridge Heath Road, E2, @italina385), which is right opposite Da Terra. It’s a cosy independent serving great Neapolitan pizza at a really reasonable price, and it’s so unassuming you could easily walk past it.
Bethnal Green offers a real contrast of paces, which is reflective of what we’re doing within Bethnal Green Town Hall Hotel, with a two Michelin star restaurant, Da Terra, and our more relaxed, playful bistro Elis. There is a lot going on here, which is why I love it. But at the same time, there are moments of peace, such as when I walk my dog Rolo along Regent’s Canal.
8 Patriot Square, E2 9NF, daterra.co.uk
South
Matt Harris, Ploussard
Clapham has a bad reputation, but there are some great places. In the Old Town you have Trinity (4 The Polygon, SW4, trinityrestaurant.co.uk) and Sorella (148 Clapham Manor Street, SW4, sorellarestaurant.co.uk), which I love — and [the team from] Crispin have just opened Studio Voltaire (1a Nelsons Row, SW4, crispinlondon.com). Towards our end, we’re near Soif (27 Battersea Rise, SW11, soif.co), a French natural wine bar and restaurant — one of my favourites — and the Eagle (104 Chatham Road, SW11, camra.org.uk), which is a proper pub. Not many know about it, but it’s really cool. I don’t actually live in Clapham, I live just off Lordship Lane in east Dulwich. Here, we have amazing food shops: Jones of Brockley (53 Grove Vale, SE22, jonesofbrockley.com), the butchers Flock and Herd (155 Bellenden Road, SE15, flockandherd.com), Mons Cheesemongers (153 Lordship Lane, SE22, mons-cheese.co.uk) and Moxon’s fish (149 Lordship Lane, SE22, moxonsfreshfish.com) — it’s lovely to have so many independent places.
Pub-wise, I would say the Montpelier (43 Choumert Road, SE15, themontpelier.net) and the Canton Arms (177 South Lambeth Road, SW8, cantonarms.com); the Camberwell Arms (65 Camberwell Church Street, SE5, thecamberwellarms.co.uk) is closer to me and owned by the same people, but I prefer the atmosphere and ambience of the Canton. It’s a bit more rustic and pub-by. I love being so close to Peckham Rye, which has a few of my favourite places: Levan (12 Blenheim Grove, SE15, levanlondon.co.uk) is similar to us, with a real focus on good produce and good wine, and Forza Wine (133a Rye Lane, SE15, forzawine.com), which is an amazing rooftop to sit in the summer. But Peckham can be stressful at times, so it’s nice to live near enough to walk there, and then be able to walk away.
97 St John's Rd, SW11 1QY, ploussardlondon.co.uk
Cynthia Shanmugalingam, Rambutan
I both live and work in Borough Market and although I was afraid of having a completely unhealthy split between work and life, I just love this piece of London. I love the higgeldy-piggeldy streets, the maze of Dickensian alleyways, the madness of the nonstop noise and most of all, I love the food.
The best food shop possibly in the world is Neals Yard Dairy (8 Park Street, SE1, nealsyarddairy.co.uk), with its team of immaculately turned-out, kind, generous, knowledgeable staff, dishing out cheese and explaining the terroir and textures as if you were attending a wine tasting. With a clean smell and lovely oak shelving it is cooling and you can pick up a great bottle of wine or some jam or eggs or other life essentials. I love Bar Daskal (16 Park Street, SE1, bardaskal.co.uk) for a plate of jamon Iberia and some sherry, a sweet little quiet bar on the corner. I really love new favourite Tou (8 Bedale St, SE1, tou-london.com), a tiny pop up above the Globe Tavern (8 Bedale St, SE1, theglobeboroughmarket.com) with life changingly excellent pork katsu sandos and sliders and a fantastic wine list. It feels like a big honour to be among so many people at the top of their game, and who are so generous at extending their knowledge and passion to you. For coffee, Monmouth (2 Park Street, SE1, monmouthcoffee.co.uk) is just the perfect brew; no one can touch them, even after all these years.
10 Stoney St, SE1 9AD, rambutanlondon.com
Bomee Ki and Woongchul Park, Sollip
With Tower Bridge, the Shard, Guy’s hospital and lots of offices, Bermondsey is an energetic area to which Bermondsey Street itself is a good contrast: it’s full of life but there are lots of locals. It’s a nice balance between business and cosy feeling that makes it feel like our home. There are a lot of people our age, late 20s and 30s, and we are lucky to have many shops, restaurants and fantastic markets right on our doorstep.
Trivet (36 Snowsfields, SE1, trivetrestaurant.co.uk) are our neighbours and good friends. Their food and wines are exceptional, and they are lovely people. We love coffee, and have three WatchHouse cafes (various locations, watchhouse.com) in the area — one right opposite our house! Oma and Agora (both 2-4 Bedale Street, SE1, oma.london) which have recently opened in Borough Market are great, and Flour and Grape (214 Bermondsey Street, SE1, flourandgrape.com) is a good place to go with our kids. Finally, 40 Maltby Street (40 Maltby Street, SE1, 40maltbystreet.com) is our great favourite and we are lucky enough to live next door! We are so lucky to work where we live, it means that we are really integrated into our local community and play a part in our area.
8 Melior St, London SE1 3QP, sollip.co.uk
West
Helen Goh, Ottolenghi
My son describes Shepherd’s Bush Market as sketchy. I know what he means, and I like it for that reason. You can find real gems if you are prepared to dig deep. The regular fruit at Strawberry Fields isn’t great, but I go for the exotics: the mangosteens, water apples, fresh and curry leaves. People come from all over London for the onigiri at Sosaku Onigiri (Market, London W12, instagram.com), which means creative, and she prides herself on her creative flavours, like seaweed and truffle. I also love the fishmongers; I keep a little bottle of tabasco there, and often have an oyster on my way to the station. Further afield, some places are more obviously nice. I got to Chet’s (65 Shepherd's Bush Green, W12, chetsrestaurant.co.uk) in the Hoxton for chicken rice bowls and some of the best Bloody Mary’s in town; I had four last week — two virgin!
On Askew Road, Burnt (163 Askew Rd, W12, burntrestaurant.co.uk) has really good sandwiches, and my kids love Happy Sky Bakery (94 Askew Road, W12, happyskylondon.com) because they’re obsessed with Japanese food. It’s a bit wacky, but they are soft and comforting. They love Berlotti Hammersmith Gelato and Coffee (87 Hammersmith Grove, W6, bertotti.co.uk) on Hammersmith Grove, too. They have bubble-gum blue, but the mango is great and everyone loves the lavender and blueberry. Then there’s Turnham Green terrace, with Natoora (if I’m feeling rich), and the Japanese restaurant Sushi Bar Makoto (57 Turnham Green Terrace, W4, instagram.com). My husband hates it because it’s so small, but the tempura is the best fish-and-chips-with-no-chips in town.
Harry Lobek, London Shell Co
Everything south of Paddington station is pretty crap; generic hotels, crap pubs serving poor examples of fish and chips. But north of it, there are cool things going on, if you know where to look. We have two of the best Chinese restaurants around; Pearl Liang (8 Sheldon Square, W2, pearlliang.co.uk) in Paddington Basin, and Mandarin Kitchen (14-16 Queensway, W2, mandarin.kitchen). Jay Rayner and Fay Maschler both go there. It’s a bit off the beaten track, but the food is incredible. One of my favourite places to explore is Church Street Market. It’s like being in another country. There are fishmongers and grocers, and you pick things, and they cook for you then and there. At the end there are chintzy vintage shops — like a more rough and ready Portobello Road. Tie that in with a walk down the canal toward where you’ll find the the Trader’s Inn (52 Church Street, NW8), where the market traders drink. It’s full of old-school Paddington people who have lived there their whole lives.
Speaking of pubs, I have two favourite pubs in and around Warwick Avenue: the Warwick Castle (6 Warwick Place, W9, warwickcastlemaidavale.com) on Warwick Place, which is on a mews street. The food is terrible but it’s one of the most beautiful places to sit and have a pint. The front is done up with flowers and there’s a huge, lovely lantern that hangs down and is nice to smoke rollies under in winter. Then the Prince Alfred (5A Formosa Street, W9 theprincealfred.com) on Formosa Street, with its glass curved windows and a mosaic wall. Again, the food isn’t great but you can go to Paulette (18 Formosa Street, W9, paulettelondon.com) across the road, which is an absolutely banging French restaurant. My team and I also love going to this wicked BYO Persian restaurant on Crawford Place, called Patogh (8 Crawford Place, W1H patoghlondon.com), where they serve something called Big Happy Bread.
Union Canal, W2 6EP, londonshellco.com
Henry Harris, Bouchon Racine
I’ve lived in West London since 1988, when I married, and I never want to live anywhere else. It has lovely parks, it’s on the river, and there’s a diverse community amongst the bourgeoise charm, which makes for fantastic food. Aritirya (7 Station Parade, W3, atariya.co.uk) is an amazing fishmonger in West Acton. You wouldn’t go there for a fish pie, but if you want reassuringly expensive fish for sushi, that’s the place. Santa Maria (11 Bond Street, W5, santamariapizzeria.com) started in Ealing and is the godfather of the modern Neapolitan pizza movement. You have a lovely Korean restaurant there, too – Park’s Kitchen (24 The Green, W5, parks-kitchen.com) – and, for groceries, the Ealing Grocer (18 St Mary's Road, W5, theealinggrocer.com) by Andy Harris is lovely.
Back in Shepherd’s Bush, where we first lived before moving to Acton, there are two Pakistani takeaways where I love to buy things to take home. I get tabbouleh salad, lamb chops, good hummus and naan bread from Naama (384 Uxbridge Road, W12, 020 8740 0004) on the Uxbridge Road, and chicken curry, lamb curry and good rice from Lahore Village (364 Uxbridge Road, W12, 020 3674 6564). Everyone raves about the Middle Eastern supermarket Damas Gate (81 Uxbridge Road, W12, damasgate.store), and rightly so. As for pubs – we were friendly with the Evans’ when they first opened the Anglesea Arms (35 Wingate Road, W6, angleseaarmspub.co.uk) in 1996, and they were an absolute pioneer of what they did. It’s still very good. And if you can get a table on the terrace overlooking, a pint at the Dove (19 Upper Mall, W6, dovehammersmith.co.uk) is always great.
