Soho’s best restaurants

Whilst compiling this list, it became clear that a) there are a lot of excellent restaurants in Soho and b) there are also a lot of articles claiming to tell you where Soho’s best restaurants are. But you no longer need any article aside from this one, as this is the Quintessentially approved guide to the best restaurants in Soho, featuring hidden chef’s tables, dazzling dining rooms, and new openings our restaurant specialists can’t get enough of.

Aulis London

Best for: tasting the three-Michelin-starred L’Enclume without leaving London. 

Soho’s magic is often in its side streets. Case in point: Simon Rogan’s Aulis London, which is tucked down a narrow alleyway just off Wardour Street. Designed to feel like a home kitchen, it’s a warm and friendly chef’s table experience with more courses (14) than seats (12). And, as it’s Rogan’s only London restaurant, it offers a rare opportunity to try his famed fork-to-table food without leaving the city – when we ate there, the ingredients had been picked that morning from his farm up north.

aulis.co.uk 

SO|LA Soho

Best for: London’s only Michelin-starred Californian cuisine. 

There’s only one Michelin-starred restaurant in London serving Californian cuisine – and you’ll find it just down the road from Ronnie Scott’s on Dean Street. When we say Californian cuisine, we mean chef patron Victor Garvey’s homage to the sunshine state – which comes in the form of devilled eggs, avocado-piled sashimi, and a chocolate egg topped with caviar (the restaurant’s signature dessert). Wines are imported from the US (with an emphasis on the West Coast, naturally) and complemented by a selection of classic cocktails with a Cali twist. 

solasoho.com 

Bob Bob Ricard Soho 

Best for: beef Wellington. 

Champagne and caviar, anyone? You’ll find them both in abundance at this ultra-glitzy spot that’s poured more bottles of bubbly than anywhere else in the UK – and at the touch of a button, no less. Caviar-wise, order the dégustation to try three varieties, all elegantly served on oyster shells with crème fraîche, blinis, and the prerequisite mother-of-pearl spoon. But the real diva here is the beef Wellington: a, quite literally, pint-sized golden parcel with a perfectly pink centre, drizzled with a rich truffle jus. 

bobbobricard.com 

Milk Beach Soho 

Best for: classic Aussie cuisine. 

Next, we’re off to Australia by way of sun-bleached, coastal cool Milk Beach. Its sculpted glass façade feels a million miles (or, at least, 10,000) from Soho’s grungy streets – which, given the restaurant’s Aussie inclinations, is entirely the point. Inside feels a bit like a beach club and the menu is filled with laidback Aussie classics – try the chicken ‘Schnitty’ followed by the tiger prawns and resist the urge to book a flight down under. 

milkbeach.com 

Mountain Beak Street  

Best for: a buzzy atmosphere. 

If you’ve not heard of Tomos Parry, you’ve almost certainly heard of BRAT – his incredibly popular first restaurant in Shoreditch. And as of 2023, you’ve got a new Parry place to trek to: Mountain. It’s a similar wood-fired concept to BRAT, with every (seasonal) ingredient plucked from the Welsh or Cornish coastlines and all bread baked in-house. Save room for pudding – more specifically, the custard-soaked torrija (Spanish-style French toast) and blackberries, topped with a mound of ice cream. 

mountainbeakstreet.com

Sucre  

Best for: Argentinian open-fire cooking. 

In a word, Sucre is dazzling. But to use a few more: it’s a marble-columned dining room illuminated by glass chandeliers (made from former decanters, no less) and centred around a whooshing open grill or parilla. It’s the second Sucre in the world (the first opened in Buenos Aires in 2001) and pays tribute to Argentinian cuisine and its Mediterranean roots; this is as much a story of immigration as it is an open-fire restaurant. Don’t miss the chimichurri-splattered meats or a post-dinner cocktail at basement cocktail bar ALMA.  

sucrelondon.com 

Kolamba, Soho  

Best for: Sri Lankan suppers. 

There are only a handful of Sri Lankan restaurants in London – but by far the best one is Kolamba. Although small and intimate, the flavours are big and powerful – like Aunty Mo’s chatti roast, a moreish combination of slow-cooked beef, hoppers (noodles), and fragrant coconut gravy. Sri Lankan food is also known for its freshness, and this comes across beautifully in dishes like the sweet and sour pineapple fry – a great accent to the richer, curry-style plates.  

kolamba.co.uk 

The Devonshire 

Best for: banking on perfect pints. 

If you’re looking for a man in finance, you’ll definitely find him at The Devonshire. Known for pouring London’s best post-work pint of Guinness, it also secretly sports an upstairs restaurant with handwritten menus (if you can push past the pinstripes). Reservations are really hard to come by, but good things come to those who wait: hand-dived scallops from the south coast with bacon and malt vinaigrette, which the waitress promised live up to the hype – and they do. 

devonshiresoho.co.uk 

MOI 

Best for: shelling out on seafood. 

Yes, Soho is practically swimming in sushi spots – but none have made a splash quite like this two-storey, earthy-toned space from Endo at the Rotunda’s former head chef. It’s all kinds of sexy, with a spiral staircase that die-hard foodies will no doubt recognise from Instagram reels. But the food deserves just as much of the limelight: like the aged steak tartare with egg yolk and oyster emulsion, paired with puffed crackers so you can scoop up every last chunk. 

moirestaurant.com 

Berenjak Soho 

Best for: Persian small plates. 

This popular Michelin-starred Persian spot’s family recipes have been flooding social feeds – and for good reason (well, two, if you count the pop star who recently sang its praises). Non-negotiables include sangak (pebble-baked flatbread) with dips like a mountain of creamy black chickpea hummus, or the coal-cooked aubergine covered with dried mint and onions. But its stardom comes at a cost: dinner reservations are fully booked a month in advance...

berenjak.com 

Marjorie’s 

Best for: girl dinners. 

A cool, candlelit wine bar-slash-French bistro like this could only exist on Soho’s artsy streets. And even cooler sharing plates – fingers of fried courgettes finished with a drizzle of rouille and a line of roe, and steak bavette bathed in a silky egg yolk emulsion – could only come from an ex-Le Gavroche chef. And of course, the wine list is dedicated to French pours. Très Soho. Très délicieux. 

marjorieslondon.co.uk 

Donia 

Best for: traditional Filipino flavours with a contemporary twist. 

Kingly Court has got a new queen – and her name is Donia. The small Filipino restaurant opened at the back end of last year to huge critical acclaim, and the hype has yet to die down. Big, bold flavours sizzle across every plate, with dishes like lamb shoulder pie (a football of meaty, tomatoey goodness) and crab-topped prawn and pork dumplings becoming instant classics. First visit? Order the skewers, the pie, and the dumplings – then immediately book a second reservation to try the rest.   

doniarestaurant.com 

Bébé Bob 

Best for: chicken and Champagne. 

Bébé Bob, the bite-sized, rotisserie sibling of Bob Bob Ricard across the road, is obsessed with the C-word. In fact, all four of them: chicken, caviar, cocktails, and Champagne. We, on the other hand, are utterly obsessed with dishes that fly out of the kitchen, like golden chicken schnitzel crowned with buckets of parsley and garlic butter. The same goes for the separate menu entirely devoted to black truffle – and the fact that caviar bumps are actively encouraged. 

bebebob.com 

Manzi’s 

Best for: shoals of seafood. 

When we say this is a sea-themed restaurant, we don’t mean there are a few fishing nets strung about and the odd shell-patterned plate. We mean there are marble mermaids, painted frescoes lined with glowing clams, and a huge, wall-mounted marlin. Given all that, it’s hardly surprising that you’ll be dining on seafood here; the scallops are good, as are the mussels (order some fries to soak up the sauce), and you can’t beat sitting at the mermaidy bar with a Seaside Spritz.  

manzis.co.uk 

Bocca di Lupo 

Best for: eating your way around Italy. 

Given the buzz at this Italian restaurant, you might think it was new to Soho’s scene. But Bocca di Lupo has been delighting diners with its trattoria-style food since 2008 – and there’s no sign of the hype dying down. The menu aims to take you on a tour around Italy, with the origin of each dish noted on the menu; you could begin in Rome with some fritti, move to Puglia for taglionini, and finish in Piedmont for dessert. Want gelato to go? Pop into the restaurant’s ice cream shop, Gelupo, over the road.  

boccadilupo.com 

Evelyn’s Table

Best for: a 12-seat chef’s counter experience. 

If you squeeze down the narrow staircase at the back of The Blue Posts, you won’t find a beer cellar. Instead, you’ll arrive at a 12-seat, Michelin-starred chef’s counter run by ex-HIDE head chef James Goodyear. How Soho. There are two sittings per evening (6pm and 8:45pm), and the overall atmosphere is much more relaxed than other formal fine dining experiences; you almost feel as though you’re dining amongst friends. A word of warning: being a former cellar, don’t expect too much personal space – this is one of London’s more petite restaurants. 

theblueposts.co.uk 

INKO NITO 

Best for: a pre-theatre tasting menu. 

There’s no business like show business. And there’s no flavour like open-fire cooking. Dishes in INKO NITO’s firing line include spicy tuna tempura maki rolls, still hot from the flickering flames of the central robata grill.  As you'd expect, the crowd is swarming with creatives and hordes of people heading to the theatre. Oh, and don't forget to follow suit by snapping a neon-lit mirror selfie on your way to the washrooms – it’s behind you! 

inkonitorestaurant.com 

Quo Vadis 

Best for: old-school Soho charm. 

For anyone who has forgotten their high school Latin, quo vadis translates as ‘where are you going?’. Meaning that, when debating where to dine in Soho, Quo Vadis is quite literally the question and the answer. The charismatic address has been sitting on Dean Street since the 1920s and offers a slice of old-school Soho – stained glass windows, smoked eel sandwiches, and all. Serious foodie? Keep an eye out for its ‘Quo Vadis & Friends’ series where QV teams up with some of London’s best restaurants. 

quovadissoho.co.uk 

Kebab Queen

Best for: kebabs, but make it fine dining. 

It’s only in Soho that you’d find a fine-dining counter restaurant dedicated to kebabs. Oh, and it’s hidden inside another restaurant – and is a strictly plate-free environment (the food is served directly onto the heated counter). Intrigued? This is Kebab Queen – a 10-seat, fine-dining spot tucked under Maison Bab that will challenge your perception of kebabs forever. Forget doner; you’ll be eating celeriac terrines, kattaifi cannoli, and duck manti here, all washed down by an excellent wine flight.