Special Occasions
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Where To Eat When You Want To Go *Fancy*
Because sometimes hearing the life and times of the garden pea on your fork makes it taste better.
Where To Go When You Want To Get Dressed Up
14 spots where you’re never going to feel like you’re overdressed.
Where To Go For A Graduation Dinner
Because planning a grad dinner is more difficult than uni ever was.
13 Restaurants For An Anniversary Dinner
Whether it’s one month or one year, these restaurants are perfect to celebrate in.
Where To Take Someone When It’s Your Treat
Fancy-feeling places with set menus that’ll keep the bill under control, to great-value restaurants that feel special—here’s where to take someone when it’s your treat.
5 London Restaurants You’ve Probably Been Told To Go To, But Shouldn’t
Spend long enough in London and someone you know will suggest going to one of these restaurants. Here’s what to do when that happens.
Where To Eat When You’re Taking Your Mum Out
If you’re taking your mum out for a meal, you should definitely choose your destination from one of these spots.
Top rated spots
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Core By Clare Smyth
A lot of high-end, fine dining spots are snoozefests, but if you aren't excited by Core By Clare Smyth, a British restaurant in Notting Hill, you need to check your pulse.
Lavo
Lavo is a huge Italian restaurant in Marylebone where the lively atmosphere, date night lighting, and delicious seafood make it perfect for special occasions.
Arlington
Arlington is a restaurant risen from the ashes of Le Caprice, and at this St. James's spot, it feels like the good times of the 1980s never went away.
Madhu's Of Mayfair
A high-end Indian restaurant inside The Dilly hotel in Piccadilly, as well as serving traditional curry-filled dinners, Madhu's of Mayfair is also home to one of our favourite afternoon teas in London.
Ishtar
Turkish spot Ishtar in Marylebone is great for meals that fall on the more casual end of the special occasion spectrum.
Where To Take Someone When It’s Your Treat
Fancy-feeling places with set menus that’ll keep the bill under control, to great-value restaurants that feel special—here’s where to take someone when it’s your treat.
L’Escargot
L’Escargot is an old-school French spot in Soho with velvet drapes, lots of butter, and a fine prix fixe deal.
Where To Eat When You Want To Go *Fancy*
Because sometimes hearing the life and times of the garden pea on your fork makes it taste better.
The Dover
The Dover is a moody Italian restaurant in Mayfair where the lighting is dim and the bowls of great pasta are huge.
Bob Bob Ricard
Bob Bob Ricard is a larger-than-life modern European spot in Soho that falls firmly into the category of ‘you should try everything once’.
Humble Chicken
Fancy eating 16 courses of inventive Japanese-European food? Then head to Humble Chicken, a casual-feeling Soho counter restaurant.
The Devonshire
The Devonshire is a handsome Soho pub with flawless British dishes and a crowded bar that feels very Dickens-meets-Guy Ritchie.
Sumi
Sumi is an excellent, casual Japanese restaurant in Notting Hill from the same team behind London’s best sushi spot.
9 Restaurants For New Year's Eve Where You’ll Actually Have A Good Time
Places where you're guaranteed to eat good food and have a fun time—and not waste all your money on an overhyped night out.
Signor Sassi
A loud and proud spot in Knightsbridge, Signor Sassi has made a name for itself when it comes to making quality Italian dishes.
Gothic Bar
Gothic Bar in King's Cross is the kind of bar where you could find a supermodel and a vampire cosied up on one of the velvet green sofas, drinking champagne together.
Sweeties
Sweeties is not a casual bar. This King's Cross spot is somewhere to go big during happy hour and celebrate a special occasion with tasty, creative cocktails.
Korean Grill Kensington
A high-end, zen Korean spot near Gloucester Road with BBQ grills on every table and the kind of meats you'll want to double up on.
Pollini at Ladbroke Hall
If you can embrace the slightly cold, museum-like feel of this Italian restaurant in Notting Hill, Pollini at Ladbroke Hall is an impressive place to eat.
Carlotta
Carlotta in Marylebone is unapologetically over the top. Big booths, big ego, big diva energy. It’s a fun spot even if the Italian food is pretty average.
The Rosebery at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
The Rosebery at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is an elegant room inside one of London's most expensive Knightsbridge hotels, and serves an excellent afternoon tea.
Da Terra
Set within the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green, Da Terra is elegant in a very minimalist east London way. Although it serves fancy takes on Brazilian food, the vibe is casual.
Dovetale
Dovetale is a high-end British restaurant in the lobby of a Mayfair hotel, that has none of the usual hotel restaurant stuffiness.
Frigideira
Frigideira in Kensal Rise is a popular spot where the menu spans excellent Brazilian classics.
Mountain
Mountain is a sceney, Spanish-cum-Welsh open-fire restaurant in Soho that's perfect for lovers of small plates and smelly wine.