In the hands of a skilled kitchen, a tasting menu distils the chef’s vision into a thoughtfully orchestrated sequence of dishes that offers guests a perfectly balanced kaleidoscope of texture and flavour. And while once a tasting menu was synonymous with haute cuisine – usually French, often unpronounceable and served against the starchiest and stiffest of fine-dining backdrops – London’s tasting-menu scene today embraces everything from West African and Indian to Mexican and vegan, often without a starched tablecloth in sight.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the sky-high pricing; the figures quoted below are for dinner, but do check before making a reservation as they have an alarming tendency to increase. Eating at lunchtime can be significantly cheaper and represent outstanding value for the quality of cooking and service on offer. Many of the restaurants below also offer vegetarian, vegan and pescatarian tasting menus as an alternative to the meat-based showcase: again, consult the restaurant’s website. After all, why settle for three courses when you can have 13?
Akoko
One of only two Michelin-starred West African restaurants in London, Akoko is more traditionally fine-dining formal than its fellow Fitzrovia Michelin star Chishuru. The 10-course tasting menu draws on techniques gathered from across Africa and applies them to British ingredients with striking results. The chef’s counter overlooking the open kitchen is the best seat in the house, though the terracotta-toned dining room – bespoke cutlery, handmade crockery, a playlist of Nigerian pop – is atmospheric from any angle.
10 courses, £130; wine pairing, £100
21 Berners Street, London, W1T 3LP, akoko.co.uk
Bibi
The JKS group – Gymkhana, Trishna, Ambassadors Clubhouse – has an unerring eye for talent, and Chet Sharma, who swapped a PhD in physics at Oxford for a career in professional kitchens, is among its finest promotions (Sharma was development chef at three-star Moor Hall before JKS). Academia’s loss is hospitality’s gain, with Sharma’s scientific exactitude now applied to an Indian tasting menu of sophisticated spicing and high-end ingredients. Read our review of Bibi.
Five courses, £145; wine pairing, £125 or £395
42 North Audley Street, London, W1K 6ZP, bibirestaurants.com
Bonheur by Matt Abé
Gordon Ramsay has entrusted the former Le Gavroche site to his protégé Matt Abé. The Sydney-born chef has made the space entirely his own – warm ochre and peach tones, yellow leather tabletops – and the cooking follows suit, with Abé’s total creative freedom finding expression in the likes of Cumbrian 125-day-aged Blue Grey sirloin developed exclusively for the restaurant with Lake District Farmers. The option of a five-course tasting menu is a godsend for lighter appetites. Read our review of Bonheur by Matt Abé.
Five courses, £195, seven courses, £225
43 Upper Brook Street, London, W1K 7QR, bonheurbymattabe.com
Core by Clare Smyth
Isle of Harris Scallop Tartare at Core by Clare Smyth
The first and only British woman to hold three Michelin stars, Clare Smyth designed every aspect of her Notting Hill restaurant herself, from the marine-grade leather tabletops to the custom-made glassware and furniture and the bespoke suits worn by the staff. First-timers should order the Core Classics menu of signatures such as the Charlotte potato with dulse beurre blanc and herring and trout roe; regulars, of whom there are many (including many celebrities) go for the latest creations on the Core Seasons menu.
Seven courses from £255; wine pairing, £175
92 Kensington Park Road, London, W11 2PN, corebyclaresmyth.com
Humble Chicken
Half German, half Japanese chef Angelo Sato made his name with the Humble Chicken yakitori concept, before really letting his creativity take flight with a 16-course omakase menu, served to just 13 guests per sitting around a completely open kitchen. His ambition has been rewarded with two Michelin stars in recognition of a personal approach that draws on both his Japanese childhood and his time in top European kitchens. As everything is prepped fresh daily, dietary requirements cannot be accommodated.
16 courses, £235
54 Frith Street, London, W1D 4SJ, humblechickenuk.com
Ikoyi
The lengths Jeremy Chan goes to in order to source his produce – driving to the Pyrenees for citrus, to Munich to select his caviar in person – tells you something about the intensity of what arrives on the plate at this 22-cover open-kitchen dining room, one of only two UK restaurants on the World’s 50 Best list (Kol is the other). The 14-course menu is based on micro seasonality, with daily changing ingredients treated to incredibly labour-intensive preparation and presentation. The result is a thrillingly unique cuisine unlike anything you’ve ever tasted before. And it also won a Wallpaper* Design Award in 2023.
10 courses, £380
180 Strand, London, WC2R 1EA, ikoyilondon.com
Kol
Before opening in Marylebone in 2020, Kol’s chef-owner Santiago Lastra spent two years immersing himself in British produce, learning that gooseberries can replace lime in summer and Bramley apples mixed with pine do the same in winter. The resulting tasting menu is rooted in the flavours and traditions of Mexico but made entirely from British ingredients, as exemplified by the signature dish of langoustine taco with sea buckthorn. Equally creative desserts, meanwhile, are served downstairs next to an open pastry kitchen.
Seven courses, £145; wine pairing from £95
9 Seymour Street, London, W1H 7BA, kolrestaurant.com
The Ledbury
Brett Graham’s three-Michelin-starred Notting Hill restaurant now has a more seductive, evening-appropriate interior of mirrors, marble and softer lighting, but the precision of the cooking remains as laser-focused as ever. Mylor prawn spiked with jalapeño and English wasabi; wild Cornish seabass ‘en farci’; Herdwick lamb served in two courses: the eight-course tasting menu is a procession of impeccable cooking that rewards the kind of diner prepared to give a meal their full and undivided attention.
Eight courses, £295; wine pairing, £160
127 Ledbury Road, London, W11 2AQ, theledbury.com
Plates
Kirk Haworth adopted a vegan diet following a diagnosis of Lyme disease in 2016, and his menus at the UK’s first Michelin-starred plant-based restaurant reflect the healing ingredients he believes have helped him manage the condition. The eight-course tasting menu uses whole, organic produce to achieve multi-layered flavour and texture, served in a low-lit dining room where the centrepiece chef’s counter has been made from reclaimed London timber, and textured walls incorporate ingredients from the menu such as buckwheat and quinoa.
Eight courses, £109; wine pairing, £75
320 Old Street, London, EC1V 9DR, plates-london.com
Sketch Lecture Room and Library
The three-Michelin-starred segment of Sketch is reached via one of the most theatrical approaches in London dining – past Swarovski-encrusted lavatories and artwork that wouldn’t disgrace the Saatchi Gallery – before guests settle into a former Christian Dior atelier where ivory leather walls, tables spaced at almost antisocial distances and a ratio of one staff member per guest set the tone for spectacular cooking overseen by French masterchef Pierre Gagnaire.
Seven courses, £225; wine pairing from £165
9 Conduit Street, W1S 2XG, sketch.london