BIG BEN'S SHADE

Head Chef Sriram Aylur and his team offer a comprehensive tour through the classic flavours of southwest India and the Malabar Coast. Just try the lemon rice or paratha with your fish curry or kori gassi and you immediately know you’re in safe hands – and do start with the delicious pepper shrimps. There’s a separate vegetarian menu along with the tasting and à la carte options, so everyone will be happy. The spacious and comfortable room, run by a smart and knowledgeable team, also feels authentic to the south with its use of sandstone and rattan.

The Goring is a model of British style and understatement and its ground floor dining room the epitome of grace and decorum. It appeals to those who ‘like things done properly’ and is one of the few places in London for which everyone appears to dress up. The hotel has long enjoyed a reputation for serving classic British dishes like eggs Drumkilbo, but the kitchen makes judicious use of modern techniques and superb ingredients to produce dishes that display an impressive understanding of balance, flavour and texture.

With its stunning Louis XVI decoration, this is a room that will take your breath away, and there’s a flamboyancy in the delivery of the dishes that lives up to the surroundings. Equally impressive is the cooking itself, displaying balance, refinement and depth of flavour at every turn. You need only take one glance at the menu featuring dishes like langoustine 'à la nage' to see that classical French techniques and luxury ingredients both play a big role in proceedings. The sharing ‘Arts de la Table’ dishes allow the impeccable service team to keep the theatre of the gueridon trolley alive.

On the ground floor of the mightily impressive Raffles hotel – which opened in 2023 and occupies The Old War Office – sits this elegant, comfortable and discreet dining room. The sophisticated, technically elaborate cooking offers intriguing flavour and texture combinations, while displaying an emphasis on over 70 varieties of British fruit and vegetables – the plant produce is always listed first on the menu. The wine list is comprehensive, the pairings are well-considered and the service is pitched just right, being both structured and relaxed.

The clubs of colonial India are the inspiration for this impeccably run restaurant. It's spread across two levels: the ground floor booths are perfect for lunch, while the vivid red basement has a more intimate feel. The extensive menus are predominantly Northern Indian in style, featuring superbly executed, traditionally based dishes. Balance, sophistication and depth are all present in the cooking, with options like tandoori masala lamb chops and kid goat methi keema standing out.

The Peninsula’s rooftop restaurant is a celebration of the world of speed; it’s named after the famous Surrey racetrack and a scale model of Concorde hangs from its ceiling. When it comes to the kitchen, it’s clear there’s a high level of skill on board, as the team is run by the experienced Claude Bosi. Expect finely detailed, exquisite cooking that showcases the best British ingredients, like Lake District lamb and Cornish squid, in delicate yet rewarding dishes. The floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto a fantastic terrace.

There’s a wonderful fusion of setting and cooking at Cornus. A sister to long-standing Chelsea restaurant Medlar, it’s a refined, simply decorated restaurant with linen-laid tables and understated quality. The same goes for the dishes, which are based around superb produce, much of it seafood from the southwest coast. The likes of sweet Devon crab and roasted Cornish cod are made all the more delicious by the kitchen’s restrained approach and consummate technical skill. The chefs know they’re using brilliant ingredients, so never overcomplicate matters.