The Tube map guide to London’s best restaurants
If there’s one thing Londoners want, it’s a brag-worthy meal and an easy trip home once the cheque’s been paid. That’s why we’ve crowned a winning spot on the six most popular Tube lines (with some honourable mentions along the way…)
29/04/2025
Nadim Cabernet Sauvignon from Palestine and quinoa salad at Akub
Central Line
Where to eat: Akub
Nearest Tube station: Notting Hill Gate
In a nutshell: The best of the Middle East in boho W11
Deeply interconnected with its country, the earthy Akub thistle is said to “embody the essence of Palestine” – just as Akub, chef Fadi Kattan’s four-floor celebration of Palestinian cuisine, does in the heart of London’s Notting Hill. Bring a group (this place is made for sharers) and let knowledgeable staff choose the right spread of intriguing dishes, cooked with British ingredients and showing off the rich, sophisticated flavours of Kattan’s home country. Wake up the taste buds with the chilli shatta and tahini dips (best slathered on Akub’s authentic breads), as well as the trio of individually spiced and hand-rolled labneh balls. The homemade Nabulsi cheese with nigella seed oil, though, might just change your life – halloumi won’t cut it after you’ve tried this. After some fresh mafghoussa – courgettes with garlic yogurt – and hot tomato dagga ghazzawieh, larger, meatier plates roll around. Kattan’s clever reinterpretation of mansaf (rice and delicate lamb shoulder in crunchy pastry bites) paired with a startling jameed yoghurt makes a perfect accompaniment to the knockout slow-cooked neck of lamb. There’s also the opportunity to try wines from Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon, not that common, even in London.
A selection of dishes at The Midland Grand Dining Room
Victoria Line
Where to eat: The Midland Grand Dining Room
Nearest Tube station: King’s Cross St Pancras
In a nutshell: Heady cocktails and fabulous French dishes – one for the over-indulgers
There aren’t many restaurants that elicit a ‘wow’ on entry, but The Midland Grand, housed in the historic St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, is one of them. Mere metres from the station, the dining room of this stupendous building (Grade I-listed, natch) oozes opulence, with vast ceilings, marble columns, gilded cornicework and gigantic Art Deco chandeliers. Safe to say that if you’re looking for a place to impress, this is it. The French-influenced menu is just as elegant, with impeccably executed dishes from chef patron Victor Garvey, the finest of which include smoked eel croquettes, native lobster and rack of lamb. But it’s the desserts that are the real memory-makers: the layered chocolate, coffee and almond l’Opera has become regular daydream fodder. Go all in and visit the adjacent Gothic Bar for a pre- or post-dinner eau de vie-addled Martini or a Moulin Rouge-worthy absinthe cocktail… You’ll be feeling Parisian faster than you can say Santé!
Trivet interior; drunk lobster with Trivet noodles (Tom Osborne)
Northern Line
Where to eat: Trivet
Nearest Tube station: London Bridge
In a nutshell: Collecting Michelin stars quicker than we collect passport stamps
There are some 15,000 restaurants in London and only 20 of them have two or more Michelin stars, so it’s a – *clears throat* – pretty big deal to be in one that does. Trivet, however, bears none of the pomp and circumstance of many of its celestial counterparts. Run by a team you’ll end up wanting to grab a drink with and serving a straightforward à la carte offering from its warm, open kitchen, it might just be possibly the capital’s most approachable, high-end haunt. And while many superstar chefs are nowhere to be seen, you’ll observe Jonny Lake right there, piping and sizzling and slicing right along with the rest of them. His co-founder and Trivet’s sommelier Isa Bal taps away on his laptop at the bar, ordering, we’re sure, some magnificent bottles from somewhere we’ve never heard of. As for the food, we’ll make it easy: sweetbreads are always on the menu for a reason and the grilled venison might just be the nicest you’ve ever had. For dessert, join Lake and Bal on their adventures in Japan (the two are known for bringing home dish ideas from their travels) in the ‘Hokkaido Potato’ mille-feuille with a saké and white chocolate mousse. Like nothing you’ve eaten before.
Piccadilly Line
Where to eat: Taku Mayfair
Nearest Tube station: Green Park
In a nutshell: The literal meaning of omakase is ‘I’ll leave it up to the chef’. At Taku Mayfair, we’re glad we did.
Chef Takuya Watanabe (formerly of Jin – the first sushi omakase in Paris to receive a Michelin star) knows a thing or two about fine dining. And now he’s brought his expertise to the heart of Mayfair as chef patron of Taku (above), where head chef Long NG, having worked with Watanabe for nearly three years now, is his protégé and right-hand man. Tucked down a side street, this brightly lit, minimalist restaurant is intimate, with just 16 seats and two daily evening sittings. Entering the venue has a quasi-religious air. Your coat is quietly relinquished before you are shown to your tall teak stool at a light pine bar. Once all the guests have arrived, the door is locked, and a curtain is pulled across. The service is about to begin. The menu is a daily-changing ode to seasonal and local ingredients. Takuya specialises in traditional Edomae-style sushi, where fish is cured with vinegar – a technique that harks back to the Edo period. Diners are advised to consume the individual pieces of sushi within ten seconds of them being placed on the plate for the most pleasurable eating experience. The meal comprises 20 courses, with highlights including grilled cod marinated in sweet miso for 72 hours, mussel soup, trout nigiri and matcha tiramisu (a delightful Japanese twist on the classic Italian dessert). There’s also a wine matching option featuring Champagne and sake. Yes, it’s pricey, with lunch starting from £180 and the Prestige menu reaching £380, but it’s worth every penny.
Grilled devilled squid at Lasdun (Anton Rodriguez)
Jubilee Line
Where to eat: Lasdun
Nearest Tube station: Waterloo
In a nutshell: Stylish eats, A-star service, and a night at the theatre
If there was ever a Grand Designs x MasterChef mashup, this would be it. Enter the National Theatre, ascend through one of the finest examples of architectural Brutalism in Britain and dine in the modernist architect Sir Denys Lasdun’s namesake. Lasdun feels like the first of new genre – a ‘Brutalist brasserie’ that riffs on the building’s famous exteriors with continued concrete, large panes of glass, crispy clean white tables and post-modern prints. Its modern British offerings aren’t a world away from its publican older sibling, The Marksman (across the river in Hackney), and the place goes to lengths to emphasise the quality of its local ingredients. Staff provide all the structural integrity – their welcoming service puts you at ease right from the start. They’ll sort you with expert pairings and make the menu easy (telling us exactly how special the pot roast ham was – and they were right). Once you finish the last whip of your signature soft serve (the flavour of which is ever-changing), it’s off to your – next – show.
Wildflowers gnocco fritto (Rebecca Dickson)
District Line
Where to eat: Wildflowers
Nearest Tube station: Sloane Square
In a nutshell: Natty wines and Mediterranean small plates in the heart of bougie Belgravia.
Hyper-seasonal, simple coal-cooking – what more could you ask for? Tucked away behind the ever-busy Pimlico Road, Wildflowers, which opened last year, is a warm and already well-honed escape from the outside hustle, with interiors you’ll be reluctant to leave behind (it’s not difficult to tell this is the brainchild of a chef and an interior designer – so hats off to Aaron Potter and interior Laura Hart, respectively). British-grown flowers dot sustainably vintage, dark wood tables, while big windows are dressed in rustic curtains and brick walls with pleasing sconces. Live, fiery cooking will catch your eye in the downstairs restaurant (where the moules farcies, drenched in garlic butter, are already shaping up to be a signature). Dishes are uncomplicated, and yet you’ll have a fun time discussing their wizardry in the upstairs wine bar, where the restaurant’s own wine (plus a very decent white peach sgroppino cocktail) can be enjoyed.
