The young Mexican chef, who is incredibly brilliant, was only entering his thirties when he helped Rene Redzepi start NOMA Mexico in 2017. He had previously worked his way up through the ranks at prestigious restaurants like Mugaritz in San Sebastian and Hija de Sanchez in Copenhagen. Then, though, Covid and his highly regarded restaurant were forced to close their doors until October. But Lastra, as anyone who has come into contact with him would attest, is the kind to emerge smiling, and with KOL easily exceeding the already high expectations, he has many reasons to be happy.

The menu at Lastra, which is prepared by a diligent team in an open kitchen, features Mexican classics like tostadas, tortillas, and tacos. However, these are masterful, elevated renditions of well-known dishes, such as langoustine with sea buckthorn and smoked chilli or grilled octopus with bone marrow, potato, and seaweed macha. Lastra's cooking is innovative without going over the top, and while he incorporates certain Mexican elements (chocolate, corn, and chillis), he also supports British foods (beetroot, cabbage!) that might not often be given center stage. Lastra has also created a mezcaleria in the basement because, as we've already mentioned, he's a fun person. However, if you want the whole Santi atmosphere, the Chef's Table Experience is where the party is.

Address: 9 Seymour St, London W1H 7BA, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 3829 6888
Rating: 4.4/5.0, 261 Google reviews
Website: https://kolrestaurant.com/

This is food with a "fiery island accent," says Dom Fernando's inaugural Soho restaurant, which occupies the tiny space that was formerly Russell Norman's Spuntino. Another courteous caution, or perhaps an encouragement, is provided lower down on the menu: "Some of our dishes are really hot." It's true that some of the dishes on the menu are quite spicy, such as the stir-fried devilled prawns, malu-miris chilli capsicum with chilli, murunga, and burnt lime, or the slow-braised hogget shoulder roll with fermented chilli, but those with Walter-the-Softy palates shouldn't be put off because the flavor is what Paradise packs the most punch with.

Nothing on the small-plates menu, which changes seasonally, that isn't seven shades of delicious, from the pollock curry with winter tomato, chilli (hi again! ), lemongrass, langoustine oil, and crispy leeks to the grilled Ceylonese spiced prawn skewers with seaweed and kelp butter, papaya, palm heart, and mango. A rambutan daquiri and a ginger arrack sour are among the innovative cocktails on the low-intervention wine list. Dan Preston's interior design, which somehow fits a new row of booths along the wall for further buzz, also deserves praise. Paradise is diminutive and ideal in every way.

Address: 61 Rupert St, London W1D 7PW, United Kingdom
Rating: 4.4/5.0, 257 Google reviews
Website: https://paradisesoho.com/reservations

When it comes to establishing themselves, it often seems like restaurants have two options: either become the hippest, buzziest spot in town with reservations flowing in like hen's teeth or choose a more understated, refined level of sophistication and elegance that will keep you coming back for more. With its airy, expansive dining room, perfectly judged lighting, and terracotta-red and olive-green leather banquettes, Luca, established by Isaac McHale, Johnny Smith, and Daniel Willis of The Clove Club, manages to somehow combine both: it feels effortlessly grown-up, yet still has youthful energy - and a lively bar area with all-important conspiratorial booths - that make it a place to be, even five years after it opened.

However, there is one surefire technique to guarantee repeat business, and McHale's crew is virtually unrivaled in this regard. Let's start with the parmesan fries, which you should order if you go, as they have earned cult status all to themselves due to their lightness as an angel's vapour trail. Then there are the antipasti, which are predominantly British ingredients that are carefully prepared with Italian flare. Examples include Hereford beef tartare that has been cured in Nebbiolo and Orkney scallops that have been paired with Jerusalem artichoke and nduja. The primi are prepared in-house in a separate pasta room; they include taglierini that is as airy as an angel's hair and conchiglie that are as delicate as a cherub's ear.

Address: 88 St John St, London EC1M 4EH, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 3859 3000
Rating: 4.5/5.0, 715 Google reviews
Website: https://luca.restaurant/

Any dining establishment worth considering will have a wandering pot of cornichons. It's the kind of small touch that distinguishes a location; it's obvious that the owners are aware of the pickled cucumber's potent potency as well as the fact that some customers would want more than the typical three or four to go with a delicate heap of charcuterie. Maison Francois is a French bistro that gets these particulars right. It is brand-new to St James's in Central London, which is quickly developing into the city's premier cuisine district. The bread is wonderful, the butter is soft and proudly salty, and there are just three varieties of extremely well-cooked potatoes on the list of sides in addition to the many cornichons.

Oeufs en gelée, moules marinière, and jambon persillé are on the menu, which appears to be classically French but is actually restrained, delicate, and not overly filling. For instance, the anchovy, ricotta, and thyme on grilled bread is a remarkable achievement of creaminess, punchy umami, and crunch, and it's not the kind of thing you'd find on a pavement table in Paris. The dessert trolley, a moving assortment of sweet treats that range from the barely calorific to the extravagantly sumptuous, continues the roaming and brings it to a close. Simply place as many or as many orders as you wish. A French bistro with space, at last.

In critical theory, there is a concept that contends that the final component of an event will ultimately influence how that experience is perceived as a whole. For instance, a good film with a poor conclusion will simply be regarded as a bad film. Therefore, if you apply that principle, supper at The Barbary Next Door will always be fantastic as long as you end with the Hash Pot.

The restaurant's character can be best illustrated by the small pudding, one of just two options on the menu. The Barbary Next Door is a subdued homage to two of the most enduring institutions of the London dining scene, The Barbary and The Palomar. The atmosphere at The Barbary is... vibey, and the menu focuses on the cuisine and history of the Barbary coast in North Africa. Deep house, grilled pork, and extremely amazing hummus fuel a night at one large horseshoe-shaped bar that is surrounded by a busy open kitchen. There are only a few seats at the bar in a smaller space at the Barbary Next Door (which is actually next door), and business is conducted in a more relaxed manner.

Address: 16A Neal's Yard, London WC2H 9DP, United Kingdom
Rating: 4.9/5.0, 50 Google reviews
Website: https://www.thebarbarynextdoor.co.uk/

Murano is one of the Greatest Restaurants In London. It can be a little intimidating to enter a fine dining establishment in Mayfair, but head chef and owner Angela Hartnett has tapped into her Italian roots to ensure that meals at her Michelin-starred flagship are warm and highlight the finest of the culinary from her native country.

The set lunch, which costs £37 for three dishes, is a great deal, but the accommodating staff is delighted for you to change it up and select meals from the a la carte depending on what strikes your fancy that day. Whether to choose grilled mackerel or confit duck croquettes with pear remoulade? Simply eat both! Less popular pasta dishes like fagoting or agnolotti are arguably better than any specialty restaurants currently on the market, and a meal bookended with their home-baked focaccia and lemon tart only serves to remember why Hartnett continues to be one of the nation's greatest chefs.

Address: 20 Queen St, London W1J 5PP, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7495 1127
Rating: 4.6/5.0, 515 Google reviews
Website: http://www.muranolondon.com/

In 1987, Ali Dirik relocated to London from Istanbul, where he had been working as a young and aspiring chef. The first Mangal Ocakbasi was established by him and a business partner in the back alleys of Dalston in less than four years. The first of its kind in London, the inventive "ocakbasi" restaurant quickly developed a cult following and won multiple accolades from the press. In 1994, Ali launched Mangal Ocakbasi II and later cut ties with the first establishment. With a bigger seating area, a lot of additional items on the menu, plus an already popular cuisine, Mangal 2 quickly gained a following among the locals.

The moment you enter Mangal 2 and are engulfed by the restaurant's sweet, smokey aroma, everything that touches their enormous charcoal grill is elevated to greatness. These masters of the flames prepare hearty meals like adana kofte and the giant plate of their mixed grill while running the funniest Twitter account in the hospitality sector. In case you were wondering, yes, it is the artistic couple Gilbert and George eating supper in the middle of the restaurant every night. However, be calm and refrain from bothering them with selfies.

Address: 4 Stoke Newington Rd, London N16 8BH, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7254 7888
Rating: 4.2/5.0, 658 Google reviews
Website: http://www.mangal2.com/

Chef and founder Tom Sellers, together with key members of his staff, will be bringing a variety of iconic dishes from the contemporary British restaurant, as well as influences from its temporary home, to the National Museum of Singapore from March 29 to April 29, 2022. A multi-course meal is served at Restaurant Story that is influenced by the seasons. In London, diners are not given a menu when they arrive; instead, they are served whatever is in season, including specialties like Paddington Bear, a marmalade sandwich with foie gras and cardamon. In Singapore, that meal will be available.

Other products were motivated by Sellers' life. For instance, the inspiration for the Rabbit Sandwich (featured picture) came from his memories of going rabbit hunting with his father, who would afterward prepare a rabbit stew. The animal is made the same way at Restaurant Story as it was by his father: a pressed rabbit leg is coated in polenta and then fried with carrots that have been pickled in citrus and a tarragon emulsion.

Address: 199 Tooley St, London SE1 2JX, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7183 2117
Rating: 4.6/5.0, 440 Google reviews
Website: https://restaurantstory.co.uk/menu/

Any newspaper, playwright, or Jonas brother will confirm this for you. That's likely the reason Blacklock, a boisterous steakhouse that boasts of being in a former brothel in a Soho basement, was always going to be well-liked. It is inexpensive. It's also a lot of fun as long as you don't worry too much about what these walls have witnessed. But the true reason you'll return to Blacklock time and time again is the meat—no, not that type of meat, get your head out of the gutter.

You'll be able to tell that this is a genuine steakhouse as soon as you down the stairs from the unassuming black entryway and smell the sirloin frying. All of the different slices and chops are inscribed in white pen on the old industrial beams, and the servers will walk you through them while speaking in a peculiar combination of David Gandy and Del Boy. A large mirror with the words "let's talk about chops, baby, let's talk about you and meat" inscribed in blood red lipstick is on the wall directly across from you. Let's just take a moment to appreciate the fact that a portion of their menu just states "Steak Sarnie" in case that doesn't convey the blend of serious and funny that this Soho restaurant offers.

Address: 24 Great Windmill St, London W1D 7LG, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 3441 6996
Rating: 4.7/5.0, 2685 Google reviews
Website: http://www.theblacklock.com/

Finding a new restaurant that unabashedly places meat at the center of operations in a world that is more and more beset by moral quandaries is quietly exhilarating. And not in the hedonistic, macho-carnivorous manner that the BBQ craze did a few years ago, but rather with care, respect, and artisanship that invariably transforms into delectable, nuanced food. After a successful pop-up in Soho a few years ago, Manteca, a new informal salumeria and Italian-inspired restaurant has now opened a permanent location in Shoreditch.

On a Thursday, Esquire had an early table, and it was already packed with patrons examining plates of house-cured meats and tearing them into large pieces of just-oily-enough focaccia. Both the Puntarelle Alla Romana salad and the fazzoletti with duck ragu and duck fat pangratatto were revelations in their extreme umami-ness. Decadent, tactile, and calming. However, it's the little things that make Manteca worth stopping by and wasting a few hours in; you can begin with a bottled Campari soda, which is on disturbingly few menus, and after the pasta is finished, the staff will offer you additional bread to sop up the sauce.

Address: 49-51 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3PT, United Kingdom
Phone: 020 7033 6642
Rating: 4.5/5.0, 518 Google reviews
Website: https://www.mantecarestaurant.co.uk/

The chef-patron of Gordon Ramsay's flagship Chelsea restaurant is now Clare Smyth MBE. The brilliantly creative menu bears her name, and the chic, beautiful dining area has been updated with unmistakably feminine details, such as panels with lilac-toned silk-screen prints. Over nine beautiful courses, head chef Matt Abe plays fast and loose with foie gras, caviar, lobster, and langoustine. The menu is based on traditional French techniques and incorporates well-timed citrus and pickle punches, but the real genius is in the pacing of the food: portion sizes and the amount of time between the courses are matched to leave customers constantly craving more.

No component of the intricately crafted dishes appears showily superfluous; even the pouring of sauces at the table adds visual and fragrant impact. Dishes tantalize and then thrill the senses. Slivers of summer vegetables in a rock pool of warm, intensely flavored just proved to be the ideal contrast to the snow of frozen buttermilk. Rabbit loin with roasted hazelnuts and shavings of salt-baked turnip provided a salty counterpoint to the sweetness, while the vadouvan-spiced, smoke-puffed wild rice served as a crisp base for the soft mutton.

Address: 79 Royal Hospital Rd, London SW3 4AN, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 7352 4448
Rating: 4.1/5.0, 285 Google reviews
Website: https://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/gordon-ramsay-bar-grill/chelsea/

HIDE is one of the Greatest Restaurants In London. When the restaurant opened back in 2018, Hide's spiraling, tree-like centerpiece spread its serpentine branches throughout every London newspaper and food blog. Today, the centerpiece—a massive oak pulled right from Gaud's garden—remains as daunting as ever. But if you climb those stairs to the appropriately titled "Above at Hide," the slightly more upscale dining option below it, you'll discover even more convincing evidence that you're dining somewhere really extraordinary.

The tasting menu is artfully balanced, creative, subtle, and even a little odd. As an example, the starters include charcuterie speared on (fake) bone and feathers, often known as "Flesh & bone," which is served with iced gem lettuce and broth. The "Nest egg," a smokey characteristic dish made of egg yolk, butter, roasted mushrooms, and cream and served in a cracked shell over a bed of hay, is another option. The steamed turbot in a warm nasturtium soup and the tart fig leaf granita are both standout dishes, but the wine pairings will make it difficult for you to pick a favorite.

Address: 85 Piccadilly, London W1J 7NB, United Kingdom
Phone: +44 20 3146 8666
Rating: 4.5/5.0, 1811 Google reviews
Website: https://www.hide.co.uk/home/above