Best restaurants in London 2026: 12 tables worth booking

The best restaurants in London in 2026 come down to 12 tables, from six three-Michelin-star dining rooms to a Clerkenwell bistro that beat them all at the National Restaurant Awards. If you book only one, make it Bouchon Racine on Cowcross Street: Henry Harris's blackboard menu of rabbit in mustard sauce and steak au poivre was named the UK's best restaurant in June, ahead of names with three times its stars.

London holds six three-star restaurants in the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2026, published on 9 February, and none were added or dropped this year. The bigger movement came underneath: Bonheur by Matt Abé, which opened in the old Le Gavroche dining room, went straight to two stars, and Row on 5 added a second star just a year after its first. Four months later, at a ceremony in June, the National Restaurant Awards put a different kind of restaurant on top — Bouchon Racine's bistro cooking beat every starred room in the country to the title.

The list below keeps both results in view, weighing price and ease of booking alongside stars. For a dining room doing this since 1828, see how Simpson's in the Strand earned back its Michelin listing this year. Prices are per person before drinks, as quoted in October 2026.

In London this year, the best table was the one without a single Michelin star.

Bouchon Racine, Clerkenwell

Henry Harris and Dave Strauss opened Bouchon Racine above the Three Compasses pub on Cowcross Street in 2022. The menu is written on a blackboard and changes often — rabbit in mustard sauce, escargots à la Bourguignonne, steak au poivre — and The Times has called its crème caramel the best in England.

In June, the National Restaurant Awards named it the UK's best restaurant overall, two years after it won the same ceremony's Opening of the Year. It holds two AA rosettes and no Michelin star.

The Ledbury, Notting Hill

Brett Graham has held three stars at 127 Ledbury Road since 2024, cooking from his own farm and an in-house mushroom operation. The eight-course dinner menu costs £285; a shorter tasting lunch, served Wednesday to Friday, costs £150.

The Ledbury also placed inside the National Restaurant Awards' top five in June — the only three-star room in the country to crack that list.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Chelsea

At 68 Royal Hospital Road, this is the longest-running three-star restaurant in London, unbroken since 2001. The Carte Blanche tasting menu costs £260, the shorter Prestige menu £210, and a weekday lunch menu £125.

It is the most conservative booking on this list: the format has barely changed in two decades, which is either the point or the problem, depending on who is reviewing it that week.

Core by Clare Smyth, Notting Hill

Clare Smyth's three-star dining room at 92 Kensington Park Road runs two tasting menus, Core Seasons at £275 and Core Classics at £265, with a wine pairing at £175.

Smyth remains the only woman in the UK to hold three Michelin stars, a fact that has not changed since Core opened in 2017.

Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Mayfair

Darroze took over the Connaught's dining room from Angela Hartnett in 2008 and has held three stars there since 2021. The seven-course tasting menu starts at £165, with a cheese course offered as a supplement.

The room on Carlos Place remains one of the few three-star tables in London that still takes same-week bookings with any regularity.

Bonheur by Matt Abé, Mayfair

Matt Abé, who ran the kitchen at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, opened Bonheur at 43 Upper Brook Street in late 2025 — the address where Michel Roux Jr closed Le Gavroche in January 2024 after 56 years. It went straight into the 2026 guide with two stars, the only London restaurant to debut at that level this year. Menus start at £165.

Row on 5, Mayfair

Jason Atherton and chef Spencer Metzger opened Row on 5 on Savile Row in 2024 and won a star within the year. A second star followed in the 2026 guide, and sommelier Roxanne Dupuy was named Michelin's sommelier of the year for Great Britain and Ireland. Dinner starts at £195, lunch at £150.

The Ritz, Piccadilly

The Ritz Restaurant has no Michelin star but finished second to Bouchon Racine at the National Restaurant Awards in June — ahead of every starred kitchen in the country bar none. Dinner is served 6.30pm to 9pm and jackets and ties are required for men; jeans and trainers are barred throughout the hotel's restaurants.

Afternoon tea in the Palm Court, a separate booking from dinner, starts at £76 a head.

Dorian, Notting Hill

Chris D'Sylva, who also owns the Notting Hill Fish Shop, opened this wine bar and bistro in October 2022 with Max Coen, formerly of Ikoyi and Kitchen Table, running the kitchen. It won a Michelin star in 2024 and placed in the National Restaurant Awards' top five in June.

Snacks start at £3.50 and mains average around £25 — modest for the postcode. The wine list runs from £29.50 to £195 a bottle across 89 labels.

Mountain, Soho

Tomos Parry's wood-fired room on Beak Street has held a Michelin star since 2024, cooking turbot, lobster and whole chops over fire. Sommelier Holly Willcocks built a wine list the National Restaurant Awards named the country's best in June.

Three courses with half a bottle of wine, coffee and service average around £98 a head.

Trinity, Clapham

Adam Byatt has run Trinity at 4 The Polygon since 2006, holding one Michelin star from 2016 and a second since 2024. The dinner tasting menu costs £140, the lunch version £75, with a four-course à la carte at £105 lunch and £155 dinner.

Trinity placed in the National Restaurant Awards' top ten in June, the same week Byatt confirmed he was closing his other Clapham restaurant, Bistro Union, after 15 years, to concentrate on this one.

Legado, Shoreditch

Nieves Barragán Mohacho, formerly of Barrafina and Sabor, opened Legado at 185-186 Shoreditch High Street in late summer 2025. It won a Michelin star six months later, in the 2026 guide — one of the fastest turnarounds on this list.

The menu roams across Spain: monkfish tempura costs £16, a skate wing tortilla £22, and the Legado sandwich £12.

Best restaurants in London: frequently asked questions

How many three-Michelin-star restaurants does London have in 2026? Six: Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, Core by Clare Smyth, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Sketch's Lecture Room and Library, and The Ledbury. None were added or lost this year.

Which restaurant won the National Restaurant Awards 2026? Bouchon Racine, Henry Harris's Clerkenwell bistro, beat The Ritz into second place at the June ceremony — without a Michelin star between them.

Where can I eat well in London without three-star prices? Dorian keeps mains near £25, Legado's Spanish plates run £12 to £22, and Mountain estimates around £98 a head for three courses with wine.

Which 2026 Michelin stars were the biggest surprises? Bonheur by Matt Abé opened in the old Le Gavroche room and went straight to two stars, and Row on 5 added a second star a year after its first, with its sommelier named the country's best.

How we chose

We started from the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2026, published in February, and the National Restaurant Awards, held in June, then added bistros and wine bars where they beat starred rooms on value or booking ease. Every restaurant was checked against its own menu or a review published in 2026. Prices are per person before drinks, as quoted in October 2026, and change often.