Diners' Choice: Hot spot restaurants in London

OpenTable

Updated December 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants that are the best hot spots in London? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Yauatcha City

4.6

4.6 (2537)

£25 and under

Chinese

Liverpool Street

About the restaurant

Yauatcha City opened in May 2015 in Broadgate Circle, just outside Liverpool Street Station. This is Yauatcha’s second UK location following the success of its award winning restaurant in Soho.

Yauatcha City is an all-day dim sum teahouse, where friends and family gather to catch up over a wide selection of dim sum, wok dishes, tea and cocktails. To complement the cuisine, the drinks menu comprises nearly 40 types of tea, as well as cocktails inspired by Chinese ingredients and a broad wine and Champagne list.

Yauatcha’s first standalone patisserie, Yauatcha Patisserie, is located just below the restaurant, where Chinese heritage and modern European cooking techniques have inspired the pastry team to create a range of unique macarons, petits gateaux and chocolates.

Top review

steve

Dined 4 days ago

Lovely food good guidance from server great value

Discover more

Experience

Unlimited Yum Cha Brunch and a Cocktail £45pp

Experience

Unlimited Yum Cha Brunch and a Cocktail £45pp

FKABAM

4.6

4.6 (66)

£41 and over

Fusion / Eclectic

Highbury/Islington

About the restaurant

FKABAM is a place for fun. We take our food seriously, but not ourselves. Tables are close together, and the atmosphere is loud and vibrant. Reservations are available four weeks in advance for parties of 1 to 4 guests. For parties larger than this, please email info@blackaxemangal.com

We keep a few spaces free for walk-ins as first come first served.

We serve an A La Carte menu which is published on our Instagram @fkablackaxemangal. Limited numbers of new and old fave dishes will be available to add to your meal each night. We also have options for vegetarian/vegan diners available upon request as well as some Gluten Free options- unfortunately we cannot cater for soy allergies.

Please note our cancellation policy and do not ask us to waiver fees if you forget to cancel within the time frame.

Top review

Nenagh

Dined 5 days ago

Nothing to fault. The food was delicious, everything we ate was new and exciting flavours. The staff were all lovely, the service was quick despite being busy. Cannot recommend more!

Dalston Jazz Bar

4.6

4.6 (177)

£25 and under

Seafood

Dalston

About the restaurant

“A stones throw away from Dalston Kingsland Station you will find The Dalston Jazz Bar. It’s a full on restaurant up until 10 PM. They serve an array of fresh seafood as well as yummy beer from a local brewery and cocktails. The live band plays throughout the night with a few breaks. After 10 PM they clear all tables and chairs to create a dance floor and this place then really starts to rock! We don't do vegan or vegetarian food. We specialize in fish. Tuesdays are our LGBTQ night, but everyone is welcome. Tuesdays will now feature live jazz bands."

Top review

Sarah

Dined 7 days ago

The best kind of organised chaos, staff are rushing around placing new dishes on your table constantly. The feel of the place is lovely, quite intimate and romantic. Food is amazing, so fresh tasting and they will replace things like the chips and bread for hot fresh plates. Fish is spectacular. The seafood special is the way to go. No faults really, only marked ever so slightly down because, the toilet is not very nice but no real problems just cold and damp, and overall the place is cold, and the door is left open so it basically feels like your outside but its alright and didn't really bother me but if you go this time of year be warned to wear a nice jumper for when you take your coat off. But I would 100% recommend to anyone looking to book! arrive on time for the best tables so you don't have to share!!

Hakkasan - Hanway Place

4.5

4.5 (6352)

£41 and over

Chinese

Fitzrovia

About the restaurant

With 12 restaurants across the globe, located in the United States, Middle East, India, Asia and Europe, Hakkasan offers guests a world-class culinary experience.
Established in 2001 in London, Hakkasan Hanway Place is the original Hakkasan restaurant. Now, two decades later, Hakkasan Hanway Place continues to offer guests exceptional modern Cantonese cuisine, innovative mixology, and dramatic design.
The menu uses the finest ingredients and expert traditional techniques to create timeless yet innovative signature dishes such as the Chilean Seabass and Crispy Duck Salad.
The wine list is one of the most influential in the industry, and the bar team ride the waves of innovation, ensuring they are always ahead of the curve.

Top review

AbhineetVIP

Dined 7 days ago

This is an amazing Michelin star restaurant. The food, service and ambience are top class. We enjoyed my birthday celebration with the family. The set menu was fantastic and totally worth the money spent. It is pricey though but to be expected with such a restaurant.

Discover more

Experience

The Devil Wears Prada - 3 courses & cocktail

Experience

Weekend Brunch

Experience

New Year's Eve Lost in Shanghai £178pp

Bardo St James’s

4.5

4.5 (60)

£41 and over

Italian

Piccadilly

About the restaurant

Bardo St. James’s is an Italian restaurant bringing a multi-sensory experience; dishes using the best produce sourced from both the UK and Italy, a meeting place comprising a walk-in wine cellar with an extensive fine wine selection, private dining room, private lounge, and a beautiful long marble bar providing a gorgeous focal point for guests to enjoy a drink.
With a decor that complements a well thought out menu, expect opulent marble and solid wood flooring, Italian furnitures, bespoke Murano glass chandeliers and wall lights. Bardo isn’t confined to a food only experience. Playing host to a different live band each evening, guests can expect an engaging atmosphere that makes for an unforgettable night.

Top review

Steven

Dined on Dec 4, 2024

Loved it. Music was fantastic. Service and ambience off the charts. Definitely will be back

Discover more

Experience

2-courses pre-Theatre Menu

Experience

3 courses pre-Theatre Menu

The MAINE Mayfair

4.5

4.5 (38)

£41 and over

Global, International

Mayfair

About the restaurant

The MAINE is a New England Brasserie with five distinct rooms, split across three floors of a converted Georgian Townhouse in the heart of Mayfair. Each room offers a unique experience, whether you are after long lunches in the outdoor garden Terrace, intimate candle-lit dinners in the vaulted Tavern, dinner and entertainment in the Brasserie or you are hosting a private event in the Drawing Room, The MAINE delivers an experience you will not soon forget. The menu boasts a range of shellfish to snails, fresh fish to bespoke steak cuts and variety of pasta, vegetarian and vegan dishes for the most diverse and discerning clientele.

Top review

Steven

Dined on Oct 31, 2024

I loved this place. Music was lovely. Food and service fantastic. Definitely be back. Scallops were delicious

Mary's by Jason Atherton

4.5

4.5 (5)

£26 to £40

Grill

Mayfair

About the restaurant

Mary's est. 2024 is a new grill house and burger bar brought to life by Irha and Jason Atherton.

Taking note from the long-reigning chophouses of New York City's - think Minetta Tavern, Gallagher’s, and Peter Luger Steakhouse - Mary’s is the unpretentious refuge where colleagues can de-stress, families can feed the little ones, solo adventurers can feast and everyone in between can find their perfect seat.

The menu, crafted by Alex Parker, is dedicated to flame-grilled meat, fish, and vegetables. At the heart of the offerings are Cumbrian steaks from Britain’s Lake District, featuring single-serve options like the 8oz dry-aged fillet sirloin and Hereford fillet on the bone, alongside the Boston rib Côte de boeuf, priced per 100g for sharing with the table.

As for those less carnivorously inclined, we’d recommend the romesco-spiked Globe artichoke barigoule to start and the Cornish Turbot on the bone dotted with Atlantic surf clam pil pil to share.

Top review

wendy

Dined on Oct 3, 2024

So wonderful that I have eaten there twice in the same week and have already booked for the following week! Everything was perfect 😍

Inca London

4.3

4.3 (136)

£41 and over

South American

Soho

About the restaurant

Located next to the iconic London Palladium in the heart of the capital. With alluring dining and entertainment, Inca will transport guests to a high-energy world of colour, synonymous with the spirited South American way of life.

With unique entertainment, superstar DJs, immersive theatrical dining and modern twists on authentic cuisine, Inca encompasses a lively atmosphere from the restaurant through to the Night Lounge, coinciding with the move from day to night.

Inca offers a sumptuous menu of South American influenced dishes, inspired by Latin flavours, colours and textures. These are expertly combined with influences from Nikkei Kitchen, modern touches as well as the unique flavours from fire and heat.

Inca is a lively enticing new venue which was built to inspire togetherness, bringing people together through the rich tapestry of Latin American culture.

Top review

rakan

Dined on Nov 22, 2024

200£ in Friday is overpriced but lovely ambiance am coming back for it

Chet's

4.2

4.2 (27)

£25 and under

Thai

Shepherd's Bush

About the restaurant

A Thai-Americana spot combining the fragrant flavours and smoky textures of Thailand and the surrounding region with comforts from the classic American diner.

With a bar slinging American filter coffee, milkshakes and beer plus excellent food that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Chet’s is the place to eat, play and hang all day.

Expect smoky, spicy plates which pack a punch, with a menu from Kris Yenbamroong, Founder of LA Thai hotspot, NIGHT + MARKET

Top review

MikeVIP

Dined on Dec 13, 2024

Pre gig meal before The Empire. Interesting food full of flavour, lovely ambience and great services. Will be back.

Ping Pong Southbank London

4.0

4 (253)

£25 and under

Asian

Southbank

About the restaurant

Our restaurant on the Southbank has 2 floors, featuring the floating Lotus Lounge, a buzzing cocktail bar and an outside terrace. With its variety of spaces we are perfect for any party booking.
Whether you are looking for lunch, dinner, drinks or a party booking – let Ping Pong Southbank take care of you.

Offering:
Happy Hours Monday to Friday 3-6pm ( last order 5.30pm) excluding Bank Holiday & December
Half price on selected food and drinks including cocktails and beers!
Saturday Free Flowing Drinks Brunch - 12-5pm ( booking slots 12/12.30/1/3/3.30pm from £35pp
Sunday Lazy Sumday unlimited food for 90 minutes on selected items £26.95pp

Top review

Sue

Dined on Nov 11, 2024

Waiter and staff excellent would return xxxxxxxxxx

Explore Diners' Choice best of London

Explore more Diners' Choice lists