LDNGuide
The 17 Best Restaurants In Mayfair
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Even if the only experience you have of this area in central London is being fined £2000 for rolling an unlucky number during a heated game of Monopoly, you should still know that London’s most expensive neighbourhood has some great places to eat. From an old-school Japanese spot serving top sushi, to a small cafe serving a banging full English, and fluffy french toast (that won’t lead you to take out a mortgage), here are some of our Mayfair favourites.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: The Dover
The Dover is a dimly lit Italian restaurant with big-plate parmigiana and an if-you-know-you-know feel to it. Inside, it feels like an invite-only members' club, except at this one, it’s all smiles and "buon appetito" from the friendly servers, and the food is excellent. Couples flirt on intimate corner tables lit by tall candles, and friends poke their heads around the prawn cocktail tower to get a word in. Get the branzino, which is served with a smoky olive caponata and will convert you into the kind of chic person who says “I’ll have the branzino” without even looking at the menu.
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
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Sabor is known for two things: its buzzing downstairs tapas counter where vino flows and gooey tortilla spills, and for its pig upstairs. Not a pet one, mind. Just the suckling pig you can only get in its upstairs restaurant ‘El Asador’. The split between this Spanish restaurant means that it suits all manner of occasions, from on-a-whim dates downstairs to big celebratory blowouts involving octopus and pig upstairs. When the food is good, it is really excellent. Aside from London’s finest swine, there’s luscious seafood rice, tender lamb sweetbreads, and all kinds of elegant small plates that very easily pile up.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Once you look past the Picasso on the wall, the Matisse behind you, and the silver butt plug-shaped salt and pepper shakers, Mount St. Restaurant is a totally normal place to eat. The British restaurant is from the people who own Hauser & Wirth gallery, so it’s little surprise that everything down to the vibrant red furniture is an aesthete’s dream. What’s more surprising is that this place isn’t all looks. The omelette Arnold Bennett is a decadent, gooey, and cheesy mix of smoked haddock and egg, and the lobster pie for two is almost too rich, but it suits the champagne-popping surroundings.
photo credit: Murger Han Mayfair
Murger Han is a small-ish Chinese restaurant just off Piccadilly that serves Xi’anese food. That means you might want to begin things with their hand-pulled noodles. A single bowl of excellent biang biang noodles will satisfy most appetites, but if you’re sharing you should get involved in a pork murger and a bowl of their steamed rice noodles. It gets busy so if there are more than two of you you’ll probably need to book, but you should know that there’s more space downstairs which makes it a pretty good spot for an inexpensive low-key birthday dinner.
Koyn’s lobster tempura maki is presented alongside a whole lobster head and tail. It feels OTT, but this high-end Japanese spot works just as well for an all-out dinner when you’ve got the corporate card, as it does an anniversary date at the gorgeous sushi counter. Just know that you’re probably going to spend three figures. You’ll find your overpriced edamame and California rolls with a high profit margin, but there are no frills in the form of dramatic smoke-filled domes or truffle foam-topped rolls, because Koyn’s high-quality fish speaks for itself.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
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Tendril is mostly vegan (bar a couple of cheesy dishes) but instead of fobbing you off with a suspicious lump described as ‘faux sausage’, it makes tasty dishes with vegetables. The spot straddles Soho and Mayfair but, with its soft yellow townhouse exterior and wrought iron gates, it feels more like the latter. Dishes draw inspiration from Europe to Asia, but never feel confused and are excellent. The dining room—decked out in teal and dusty pink paint—is buzzy, even midweek, and it’s a pretty place to have a classy catch-up.
Like finding a tenner in some long lost jeans, coming to Bibi feels like making the ultimate discovery. Hidden in plain sight on a corner just seconds away from the chaos of Oxford Street, this Indian spot is small but significant, with a menu of incredibly designed dishes. There’s the melt-in-your-mouth orkney scallop in a tangy lemonade dressing, and tender grilled chicken in a cashew and yoghurt whey sauce that you’ll want to lick off the plate. We could also gush about the counter seating or the fun mocktails, but the reason you should come—and the reason you’ll definitely return—is for the sensational food.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Stork does an excellent job of adding unique twists to pan-Afro-Caribbean favourites. The peppery BBQ octopus suya is a perfect example. Served on a bed of yam fries, it's like a dish of calamari and chips served off the Côte d’Azur, reimagined for the warm breeze of the Gulf of Guinea. The mood is kind of fancy, but never stuffy. The plush interior with soft lighting and modern West African art makes this spot an all-round winner when you’re trying to impress someone.
Mention Noble Rot to anyone who knows anything about London restaurants and you’ll probably see a twinkle in their eye. Tell them they’ve got a Mayfair location and they might just give you a hug. The bungalow-ish, maroon-toned dining room den in Shepherd Market leans in humming, sipping, and forking. Standards feel as high as its spots in Bloomsbury and Soho—though starters like Sicilian prawns may get you going more than modern European mains like the späetzle.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Apricity is a fine dining restaurant in Mayfair that has thrown the snoozefest, tasting menu playbook in the bin, and replaced it with a warm, chatter-filled dining room where seven wildly creative courses cost less than £100. The food is best described as globe-trotting, with dishes like lip-smacking smacked cucumber, a tempura take on sauerkraut, and exceptionally meaty Scottish scallops with rich black pepper pork belly. Come with your closest friend or for a sophisticated date night that revolves around spicy natural wine and hand-feeding each other sourdough.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Roji is a plan ahead, book in advance, get-excited-for kind of spot. The 10-seater, high-end omakase restaurant is a special place that comes to mind when we get the inevitable “what is your favourite restaurant in London?” question. The intimate setup, with wooden wrap-around counter seating, gives you a front-row seat to the open kitchen. Description of each course, from the oyster limushi to the eight rounds of nigiri, only adds to the anticipation, especially when you see the wide-eyed astonishment of people served before you.
photo credit: Tony H Photo
At Ikeda there’s a personal note from Paul Simon by the toilets. There’s one from Steven Spielberg too. Fergus Henderson says it’s one of his favourite restaurants. But the reason you should visit this old-school Japanese spot is for the sushi and sashimi. Ikeda’s so-called ‘supreme assortments’ are just that. Each one comes with a mix of fatty to very fatty tuna, yellowtail, octopus, and more. It’s delicious, high-quality fish that melts away until you’re mourning it. And, importantly, the rice is perfect—warm, with a touch of vinegar. It’s pretty low-key but if you can get a seat on the counter opposite the chefs, you’ve done very well.
We’re pretty sure someone royal was conceived in Claridge’s. That, or, someone comes from the palace to spray the place with royal air once a week. That’s one of the reasons why you’re going to be paying £90 for afternoon tea. Another is the Mayfair location, the live pianist and cellist, and the fact that everything—from the sandwiches to the scones—tastes just a bit better than it does almost everywhere else. You’re also going to want to spend some time with the pastries. The vanilla bourbon religieuse alone blows the sweet section of every other afternoon tea out of the water.
The first thing you need to know about this upmarket Chinese spot is that it serves some of the best dim sum in London. Think creative takes on prawn toast, excellent soup dumplings, and prawn cheung fun you’ll happily ghost their decent duck for. This place is huge, with leather seating, an amber-clad bar, white tablecloths, and some pretty hefty price tags. It’s perfect for a business meeting that’ll impress your boss’ boss or splashing out on your day off. The atmosphere is a little dull but what it lacks in buzz it makes up for in baked venison puffs.
If you haven’t eaten in The Wolseley then frankly you’re doing London wrong. This is a truly classic establishment. Although the brasserie-style food isn’t as good as it once was, the art deco setting is about as grand as you can get. It’s still worth visiting for a classy breakfast or brunch—including one of London’s best fry-ups—and pretending this lifestyle is completely normal for you.
photo credit: Jamie Lau
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Gymkhana is one of London’s best Indian restaurants. The food and atmosphere manages to be both refined and unprecious simultaneously. Wild muntjac biryani and soft shell crab are must-orders. They’re the kind of things you’ll think about wistfully when taking your grandchildren out for a McDonald’s in the future, because you spent all your money on this meal.
photo credit: Quaglino's
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A grand jaw-dropper of a hall hidden beneath Bury Street, Quaglino's has been serving stylish debauchery and cocktails since 1929. It has a truly inspiring history of getting Very Important People pissed—Queen Lizzie popped by for dinner in 1956 and made history as the first reigning British monarch to eat at a public restaurant. These days it’s still host to a live band, slick cocktails, and lots of outfits you definitely can’t put anywhere near a washing machine. It’s perfect for a night of lobster dishes and Sinatra singalongs with friends, or a romantic late-night drink after a particularly schmoozy date.
