Warlingham Restaurant Guide

Ignore the “average curry house” looks: this place “turns out adventurous and seductive dishes as good as many of the Michelin-starred Indians”, offering “West End flavours at suburban prices”. It’s owner-operated by “lovely people” – chef Shilpa Dandekar, who trained under both Raymond Blanc and Quilon’s Sriram Aylur, and her husband Faheem Vanoo (although “now without their own day-to-day personal attention with the opening of their new restaurant in South Kensington, Pravaas”, see also). Top Menu Tip – “the best black daal”.

With its red neon signage, black-tiled exterior and bare-brick interior, this well-established steakhouse in the borders between Clapham and Brixton will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2026. The formula is straightforward, revolving around quality beef all supplied by Lake District Farmers (and roasts on Sundays). This year’s biggest criticism? “Good but pricey”.

At Spice Village, we claim that every meal has a story. Interestingly, Spice Village itself has a fascinating story.The story of Spice Village is a story of taste, passion, and excellence exhibited by Nasir & Suleman, two immigrant brothers who journeyed to Lo...

“The latest addition to the Dastaan stable” – Nand Kishor opened this new venue in autumn 2024: a debut that was not only “Surbiton’s No.1 food event of the year”, but comfortably the decade. “Every bit as good as the original (Dastaan), just in a more useful location – it’s much larger than its sibling and a bit of a noisily hectic venue – mostly because it’s so popular – the cooking is astounding (I occasionally feel like I’ve been punched in my face after a visit, and that’s meant entirely as a complement!)”. “The dining room is simple, colourful and that’s about it: very much ‘Home Counties curry house’. It’s the cooking that is very special, every sauce perfect” – “each dish is superb, the rice is world class (it’s the best Indian food I’ve ever had”). “At last, Andy Hayler has a reason to visit Surbiton!”

There’s no name outside so look for the carved stone lintel reading ‘Westminster Library’ when you visit this “fabulous institution” sitting “in the shadow of Westminster Abbey”. “Still great after all these years – Vivek Singh’s “posh Indian” remains one of the Top-40 most commented-on entries in our annual diners’ poll, and is also one of the most popular. The building provides a “very original setting” – complete with wood-panelling, leaded glass and book-lined walls – while transporting you to the subcontinent!”. It’s a “sophisticated” combination, with “classy” and “luxurious” cuisine providing “a paradise of fabulous flavours”, while “the buzz of happy diners gives a nice, comforting backdrop to one of the best meals you can have in central London”. (That is provided you don’t mind sharing the wonderful space with miscellaneous politicos and union leaders… “amusingly, it turns out that the new breed of MPs are just as keen to be fed here as the recently deposed mob!)”. Top Tip – “strong wine list, including a number of wines from India itself”.

The Bunga Bunga restaurant on the ground floor comprises our gondola bar and authentic Italian pizzeria. Enjoy our well renowned Bunga Bunga stone-baked pizza which we consider the best in London, accompanied with a unique cocktail and wine list covering all regions of Italy.

“Atracting a clientele from miles around, despite its unglamorous location” near Elephant & Castle (on St George’s Circus), this Latino haunt is something of “a benchmark for Latin American fusion cooking in London”. “The dishes are sourced from a wide variety of countries” and there’s a “notable freshness to the cooking and restrained use of chili which complements the underlying flavours while allowing them to shine though”. It’s not only for foodies either: “staff are very lively and attentive” and the atmosphere is “always great fun”. There’s also a “splendid serious wine list including many uncommon wines from Latin America”, and art in hot colours for sale on the walls! Top Menu Tips – “staples like guacamole with plantain chips and churros with chocolate never fail”. “Generous cochinita pibil with roasted pineapple and (pleasantly mild) habanero chilli jam. Chimichurri potato fries more average. Excellent chilli chocolate sauce with purple corn churros”.

This Honor Oak Park institution “celebrated its well-deserved 40th anniversary” over the last year and “continues to provide some of the best Indian cooking in London” – it “looks and to an extent feels like a neighbourhood curry house, but the food is in another league”, with diners travelling from beyond southeast London to sample chef Jiwan Lal’s cuisine. They get a warm welcome, too (“I’ve been a regular customer for over 25 years and am greeted like an old friend”). Top Tips – “the good-value Sunday lunch buffet is well worth a trek”; “Swordfish tikka with a well-balanced radish pickle; Champaran mutton curry with excellent quality meat; Mango creme brulee with a very delicate crust”.

“Inventive” Japanese-inspired cuisine (including “great sushi”) wins praise from a big fan club for Robert & Pat Barnett’s “lovely” long-established venue, which is unusually glam and ‘West End-y’ for somewhere in the boonies of Parsons Green. Ever since its Mao Tai days (you’re dating yourself if you recall those) it’s had a forward-looking formula: currently this comprises sashimi, seafood tacos, tempura and kushiyaki and grills from the robata.

“We LOVE this restaurant. Use it for weddings, anniversaries, special occasions… it never disappoints!” – Eric & Sarah Guignard’s Gallic stalwart, 10 minutes walk from Surbiton station is “just the best neighbourhood restaurant” for its army of dedicated fans drawn from the inner London burbs, Surrey and beyond (some of whom have been coming since the place first opened in 2001). It is “a long thin room as it always has been” and perhaps “rather cramped”, but “year-in, year-out” the Gallic cuisine is “excellent”, “beautifully presented” and well-matched with “interesting wines”, all delivered by a “superb front of house crew” who “are very welcoming and remember preferences”. “Brilliant value all round”… “and great bread too at their ‘French Tarte’ patisserie” next door.

This modern, family-run Indian restaurant is a “very useful venue for the area”, delivering food of a “good consistent standard” from a “menu with a bit of thought behind it” – and which includes such unusual dishes as tandoori ostrich fillet and wild boar curry.

“Deliciously-spiced food with friendly and attentive service” inspires very high and consistent praise for Atul Kochhar’s accomplished venue, which is one of the brighter sparks in this thinly provided area of SE London’s outer ’burbs. Breaking news: according to the restaurant’s website and Insta in October 2025, an upgrade is in progress – ‘We’re thrilled to announce that Indian Essence is about to embark on a bold new chapter, transforming your dining experience. We’re blending style, comfort, and innovation to create a space as unforgettable as the food we serve, so expect a fresh look, a reimagined interior, and a few surprises on the menu’.

A “very casual modern British” haunt that’s particularly worth discovering in the culinary wastelands around Oval: an easygoing, modern bistro that’s particularly nice in summer when the cute rear terrace comes into its own. The menu is diverse, but incorporates a strong selection of steaks (it’s a sibling to Clapham’s ‘Knife’, see also).

“A stalwart that never fails to please” say the many silver-haired fans of this enduring “old-style Italian” just south of Sloane Square, founded in 1994 by Paolo Caraffini and Frank di Rienzo and run to this day by their sons and daughters. That the surroundings are “comfortable and calm”; and that service is “so friendly and caring”; and that a meal is “always such good fun” is what keeps it busy (it’s “an unreconstructed monument to the days when eating out was actually going for a meal out, rather than an act of prostration in a temple of vanity”). Regulars “know the menu by heart” – “plain, solid and reliable” fare “of a decent standard but not too fancy”. Top Menu Tips – “Don’t tell anyone, but it’s the only place I’ve found in London where you can get a good sgroppino (look it up), which is hard enough to find in Italy outside the Veneto”; “loved the plate-sized Escalope a la Milanese, and, since it was so big, so did my dogs...!”

Ten minutes’ walk south of Greenwich BR, this Georgian corner tavern is more gastro than pub, with a stylishly updated interior and a “beautiful garden”. Much of the menu – for example, steak, fish, chicken skewers – is prepared on the robata grill, and is “a cut above your usual pub grub”.

2024 Review: Dazzling views from the 48th-floor of a Canary Wharf tower help create a sense of occasion at this family-run, five-year-old Italian restaurant and ‘Sky Bar’. Its long menu of pasta, pizza, grills and other fare doesn’t inspire a huge volume of feedback, but the limited amount we have is all upbeat.

“A superb destination full of generosity and honesty” – Bruce Poole & Nigel Platts-Martin’s “faultless”, “neighbourhood” restaurant, just across from Wandsworth Common, is voted London’s No. 1 favourite in our annual diners’ poll for an amazing 20th year. How do they do it? First off, consistency – a typical report will often start: “we’ve been eating here twice a year for about 20 years and it’s never been other than a brilliant go-to for a special meal”. Secondly, nothing about the enterprise is pretentious or showy: it’s “quietly refined but never pompous”. Chef Matt Christmas’s modern British cuisine is “unfailingly excellent” but impressively straightforward – “there’s nowhere for the chef to hide and he doesn’t need to”; impeccable ingredients are “cooked to perfection”, “every single thing on the plate has a taste, and nothing is just there for colour or decoration”. Thirdly, the service. Bruce is a “sympathic owner and he’s in the the room”, along with his staff who are “friendly but not overbearing and extremely well informed (if you’re a wine buff – there’s an extensive list – they’ll happily advise and discuss. But equally they won’t be snooty if you just want the ‘house red’”). Fourthly, the “plain (in a good way)” dining room, which is perfectly in keeping with the un-forced style of the proceedings. Its “lively buzz (as it’s practically always full)” can occasionally seem “noisy”, and for the odd thrill- seeker it “lacks excitement”. But if your taste veers towards “‘mature dinner party’ rather than ‘wild night out’” it feels for all the world like a “proper grown-up restaurant”. Fifth and finally, the final bill – prices are not give-away, but taken as a whole – with the generous little extras like parmesan biscuits to start, excellent breads and butter, a little truffle at the end – it’s “still astonishing value for money”.

“What could be better for romance?” than this “candle-lit”, “dark and mysterious” “hideaway” in Pimlico. With its “blend of clutter, old church chairs” and myriad nooks and crannies, it’s superbly “snug in the winter months” (or in summer, “ask for a table outside” on the terrace: “there’s no place better!”). “It’s like stepping back in time into another welcoming world, with delicious olde worlde French food” and “professional and friendly” service – if “brusque” in the classic Gallic style. When it comes to the “nostalgic” cuisine, it’s “good but not exceptional (it isn’t meant to be)”. When it comes to the dim lighting, “it can also help improve your date’s looks!”

“It’s very small and I don’t like the music they play… but the food is very good!” – Scott Hallsworth & Adam Hills’s “very small, but lively” duo of funky izakayas in Parsons Green and Balham. Ex-Nobu head chef, Aussie Hallsworth started ‘Freak Scene’ as a pop up, and it has evolved a “very interesting short menu”, with the focus in SW12 more on sushi and robata.