LDNGuide
The Best Restaurants In Kensington
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Kensington has a lot of things going for it. Historic museums. Beautiful parks. A load of homeowners with bank accounts healthier than Britain’s GDP. It also has some very good restaurants. And, surprisingly, not all of them lean mega fancy. Yes, there’s a lot of caviar and sushi, and more classic Italian restaurants than you can shake a breadstick at, but there are plenty of solid options for crisp pierogi, all-day dumplings, pizza, and more.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Korean Grill Kensington
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This high-end, yet gloriously laid-back, Korean spot near Gloucester Road is filled with people who probably own five of the same black turtleneck and stay in Park Lane when they visit London. So while you don’t have to dress up, at least put on your nice pair of jeans. Servers do all the hard work, flipping and cooking the meat on the tabletop grill, so all you have to do is eat it. The £150 meat board is filled with enough high-quality meat to feed three people—our favourite is the marinated king kalbi. It's a must-try along with the beef ramyun jeongol.
photo credit: Jacuzzi
Jacuzzi—a Big Mamma restaurant—is a stunner. The interiors, with enough chandeliers to cover the whole of Kensington in case of a power outage, and such a large selection of indoor plants that we fear for local garden centres, make us wish we grew up on an Italian vineyard in Tuscany. The upstairs mezzanine, which looks like a very quaint courtyard garden, is the stuff of summer Pinterest dreams. The pizzas are pretty good, and while some things like the lamb ragu are underwhelming, this is still our favourite Big Mamma spot for a date.
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Kensington High Street is excellent for people-watching and a window seat at Samad Al Iraqi is the perfect place to take it all in. Complimentary lentil soup is placed in front of you as you sit down, setting the tone that this is somewhere for warm hospitality and great Iraqi food. It’s a popular place for those reasons—on weekdays you’ll find families having a masgouf lunch (traditional Iraqi grilled fish) in the sprawling wood-filled dining room. Lamb-topped hummus and minced meat-stuffed kubbah are highlights of the menu.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
The only time we’re not craving dim sum is when we’re eating dim sum. That includes 8pm on a Tuesday when it’s kind of hard to find, and that’s when we like to come to Sichuan Popo. This sleek Chinese restaurant on Earls Court Road is a place where dim sum is served until closing, and pillowy prawn and scallop dumplings are inhaled as soon as the steamer hits the table. It’s a haven for in-and-out, last-minute group dinners that involve passing peanutty smacked cucumbers and swirling chewy biang biang noodles.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
They don’t make them like they used to, and certainly not in the case of Daquise. This old-school Polish spot around the corner from South Ken station feels like it hasn’t changed in half a century or so—and that’s a good thing. Fading pictures hang on the wood-panelled walls and its homely tiled dining room is full of faces who hug the staff like old friends. The menu has everything you would expect: vibrant borscht expertly ladeled to the peril of every white tablecloth, piquant herring, and crispy schnitzel that you can’t go wrong with.
photo credit: Pattie Tobin
With fresh pasta for under £15 and moody interiors that make an equally perfect backdrop for a casual first date as it would a last-minute catch-up with your favourite people, Al Dente in South Kensington is a great all-rounder. The servers are friendly, the Italian menu is filled with handmade pastas that make classics like cacio e pepe to an excellent standard, and the prices mean you could pop in for a bowl of gnocchi for a speedy, good-value lunch if you’re in the area.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
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This High Street Kensington spot has been around since the ‘60s, and it continues to serve top-notch Italian food. But what makes it so great? Is it the calamari? The heavy curtain at the entrance that keeps the cold air out? The intimate booths at the back? It’s all of the above, plus the friendly staff and a menu filled with comforting plates of food like nutmeg and walnut gnocchi, veal milanese, and wild mushroom risotto. You could easily spend a lot of time in this old-school restaurant, and you absolutely should.
Dishoom is the kind of restaurant that works for a lot of occasions including group hangs, date nights, and yes, sorting out a serious lamb chop craving after a trip to the Design Museum. The huge all-day Indian spot looks a lot like a grand train station, with big red booths and old-school Bombay portraits on the walls. Expect dishes like prawn koliwada, paneer pineapple tikka, and slow-cooked biryanis. You can also expect a long wait time, but there is a prohibition-style cocktail bar where you can wait with a martini.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Kampai is a cosy yet sleek Japanese spot that knows a thing or two about fish. The understated dining room is usually filled with locals who have popped in after leaving Holland Park, solo diners taking advantage of a free spot at the sushi bar, and groups that span Gen Z to those who still use a landline. It's compact but comfortable, with enough space between each table that you don’t have to worry about elbowing your neighbour’s rock shrimp and baby spinach salad. Load up on nigiri—the scallop is top-tier—and get some of the chef’s special rolls to share.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Happily, there’s no need for a reservation at this airy Persian spot off Kensington High Street, which is ideal for impromptu group catch-ups. Start by getting some freshly baked naan—that you’ll smell as soon as you walk in—and a mixed mezze starter. The chicken biryani at Sadaf is also really great, as are the charred lamb chops, but the koobideh is some of the juiciest around and a must-order. The hefty portions mean you’ll often end up getting some to take away, which you’ll appreciate later.
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
We challenge anyone to come to Launceston Place and not consider hiding under the table in the hopes that you can just live in this charming and quiet corner of Kensington forever. Our favourite thing about this European restaurant is that despite serving things like pigeon with blackberry jus and duck liver parfait, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Case in point: the miniature Henry hoovers used by the suited servers to clear the crumbs from your table between courses. Basically, there’s a whole lot that will make you smile here, not least of all the truly spectacular food.
photo credit: Ognisko
A flute of champagne and a plate of pierogi is a shamelessly decadent way to start a meal, but it feels just right for South Ken. Ognisko is an old-school Polish restaurant—the kind that’s full of white tablecloths, people wearing Chelsea boots, blinis and caviar all over the shop. It’s a classic affair that sings when you play the hits: pork schnitzel, steak tartare, pierogi crisped to a perfect level of brownness and the pastry lovingly crimped. There’s a sense of old-fashioned opulence about the whole thing, perfect for dates young and old.
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Da Mario is a proper old-school Italian joint in a Venetian-Gothic building that fans of interesting old buildings would love. The first thing you notice is that Da Mario’s interior is charmingly a bit rubbish. There are pictures of the late, great Princess Diana on the wall, and the food is home-style Italian, with big portions of pasta and great pizzas at semi-reasonable prices. This is a place for everybody and worth the short walk to avoid the chain-bait restaurants around Gloucester Road station.
photo credit: Yashin Ocean House
Yashin Ocean House is the sister sushi restaurant of nearby Yashin Sushi. But here, expect your meal to come with a lot more theatre. Like the original Yashin, sushi comes with truffle or caviar on top, but you’ll find some new things too—like lobster sitting over dry ice, or candy floss over wagyu beef. This is a great spot for a group meal or a fun date.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Pappa Roma is the place you guide friends to after parting all the tourists like the Red Sea. A five-minute walk from South Ken station, it serves solid Italian food. If you get the pizza, you’ll wish you got the pasta. If you get the pasta, you’ll wish you got the pizza. It all just smells so damn good. You can share one of the giant wood-fired prosciutto pizzas and a bottle of red and leave £35 lighter. In Kensington. Madness. And should you decide to make it £40 by getting the pistachio-topped cannoli for dessert, we really wouldn’t judge you.
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
Jia is an old-school Chinese spot near South Kensington. And by old-school, we mean it doesn’t have a website. The restaurant itself is modern yet simple, and despite there being crispy duck, sweet and sour sea bass, and wasabi king prawns on the menu, the steamed dumplings are where it’s at. The curried king prawns, scallops, and black cod shu mai dumplings are among the best we’ve had in London, but FYI things can get pretty expensive, pretty quick.
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
On the tick list of things that make a great pub, The Builders Arms rates pretty high. An exciting menu of updated British classics for mostly under 20 quid. Check. Five different roast options on its Sunday lunch menu. Yep. Outdoor seating for those summer days and drunken evenings. You bet. And that’s without even starting on the hefty wine list, open fireplace, and local craft beer tap takeovers. If it’s your local, we’re jealous. If it’s not, well, the ridiculously tasty scotch egg alone is a good enough reason to risk the Circle line.
