The 18 Best Restaurants In London

From two-Michelin-star restaurants helmed by some of the world's most renowned chefs to a seasonal French café, from high-end Chinese to flawless Indian, we've rounded up the 18 best restaurants in London.

The 18 Best Restaurants in London (Slideshow)

Try to find the words that perfectly encapsulate London's food scene and you will find it near-impossible. Think of Paris, and fine dining comes to mind. Think of Naples, and pizza seems apt. Or give Barcelona a go, and Catalan cuisine seems to fit. However, think of London and what do you get? Street-food, gastro-dining, cafés, Michelin-starred restaurants, posh food markets, and any new trend in the food scene.

With its rich and eclectic mix of high-quality eateries, it would be fitting to say that food in London is world-class. Never before has culinary London seemed so exciting, rich, experimental, evolving, and fresh. There is an overwhelming amount of choice in the capital! Along with the city's recent resurgence in sourcing and creating great food, and its quest to keep up with its New York and Parisian counterparts, the quality of food and culinary expertise in London keeps getting better and better. A visitor to London may think, at first glance, that the West End is where it's at when it comes to food. Not completely untrue, but the fact remains: the diversity in gastronomic influences is so wide that great restaurants are dotted all over the city.

In fact, Brixton and Hackney are two very distinct areas that are thriving with acclaimed restaurants and cafés that create outstanding dishes whilst setting and following trends. Sure, you may have to travel that extra bit further but it's truly worth it in the end — and that's what discovering great food is all about. This illustrates the difficulty of conclusively defining London's varying food scene. Where else can you find modern gastronomy, tasty Mediterranean concoctions, authentic Vietnamese cafés, fine dining, and good quality fast food? One word: London.

In order to assemble our ranking, we combed reviews and pre-existing grades in both print and digital of the best restaurants in London and the world, and our criteria included reputation, quality, value, and level of renown. We also strived to not only integrate high-end fine dining restaurants, but also the best Indian, Chinese, and vegetarian restaurants, with an eye toward good quality for good value.

So open your mind and prepare to be pleasantly surprised by London's magnificent food scene.

18) Kitchen W8

Opening in 2009 in Kensington, Kitchen W8 has already garnered a Michelin Star. With everything sourced in the UK, the food is exquisite. The restaurant has described its menu as "English food with French soul." You can expect such decadent dishes as shoulder of lamb with heritage carrots and new season's peas, and, for dessert, Barkham Blue with hazelnut bread, port and raisins. It's affordable, too – the set lunch menu is £21 ($35.61) for two courses and £23 ($39) for three courses.

17) Amaya

Amaya has to be one of the best Indian restaurants in the city. It has a great open kitchen where you can watch the chefs in action. Their menu is constantly changing but all you need to know is that the food is super tasty! Immediately served after being freshly prepared, highlights from The Michelin-starred restaurant's menu includes char-grilled jumbo Madagascan prawn, soft mouth melting griddled foie gras, and flash-grilled rock oysters cooked in coconut.