The January Comfort Food Guide: Where To Go For Pure Indulgence
One of the least comforting things about January is how reluctant everyone is to lean into comfort. To me, January is a time to get back on top of all those things you may have been meaning to do last year, sure, but it’s also the coldest, most brutal month of the year.
In my humble opinion, January should be a month where you actually let yourself warm up, cosy up, comfort up simply because of how horrible it can be (can you tell what my least favourite month is?). So, enough with all the restrictions and shame and guilt, from pubs to asian food and everything in between, here are the best restaurants in London to get a bit of comfort food so that the -5° weather and sludgy snow and rain might every so often be partnered with an indulgent mac and cheese or noodles, not just a healthy salad. It’s all about balance.
Pub classics
The George
As we can probably all concede, there is nothing more comforting than comfort food in a pub, and if you know much about London restaurants, you have probably heard about The George and their comforting vibe and even more comforting food. Notoriously known for their toastie with Turkey Keema and cheddar with mint yoghurt and masala ketchup, The George is rightfully on every foodies list (including mine). Dishes to note to make January a bit more bearable are the confit goose leg scotch egg and The George Dog, which is exactly what it sounds like.
I love a London pub that goes the extra mile and The George is it. From their excellent Sunday roasts to my favourite filthy black pudding scotch egg, gorgeous pulled pints of Guinness to dreamy interiors, this spot is near-perfect.
Astrid, Contributing Fashion & Lifestyle Editor
Where: 55 GREAT PORTLAND STREET, LONDON, W1W 7LQ
Website: www.thegeorge.london
The Sun Inn
There’s something about Barnes in winter that makes finding London’s best Sunday roast feel like a non-negotiable activity. The Thames, the cobbled streets, the slow pace — it all points you straight to The Sun Inn. A Grade II-listed pub that knows exactly what it’s doing when the weather turns, this is the place for their Sunday Sharer. Built for indecision, it comes with rump of beef, half a roast chicken and Dorset lamb striploin, all on one table and best tackled between two. Like any great Sunday roast, lean in for a long lunch, a second glass of wine (probably a third, too) and a roast that makes the trot home feel earned.
Where: 7 Church Rd, Greater, London SW13 9HE
Website: www.thesuninnbarnes.co.uk
Cellar at Kindred
Cellar works because it feels like a neighbourhood spot that was made for the winter. Plates come out built for sharing, lingering and ordering one more thing than you planned. The food is seasonal and comforting without leaning on a January that is centred around punishment. You’ll end up staying longer than expected, tucked away downstairs, warming up properly before heading back out into the cold.
Where: Bradmore House, Queen Caroline St, London W6 9BW
Website: www.wearekindred.com
Asian Comforts
Yú Gé
Yú Gé is an envious location that delivers comfort through precision. Peking duck arrives carved and glossy, dim sum and dumplings come neatly folded and still steaming, sweet and sour pork balanced rather than sticky. The cooking leans rich but controlled, designed for sharing across the table rather than piling up on one plate. Pair it with Chinese leaf teas or something from the wine list, of course.
Where: 7 Nine Elms Ln, Nine Elms, London SW8 5PH
Website: www.hyattrestaurants.com
Sticks’n’Sushi
For the month of January, Sticks’n’Sushi will be giving it large with their Karē Setto set menus. It starts with grilled edamame slicked in soy and sesame, followed by a straightforward miso soup, before landing on the main event: Tori Karē. A mild Japanese curry built around mushrooms, tsukune and karaage, with a soya-marinated egg, rice and pickles on the side. It’s balanced, filling and quietly generous — the sort of meal that makes a cold weekday feel far more manageable. It sits at £21.50 per person, available Monday–Friday, 12–5pm, from 5–31 January, across Sticks’n’Sushi locations.
Where: across London
Website: www.sticksnsushi.com
Supa Ye at Arcade
Winter at Supa Ya goes rich. The Lobster & Truffled Shiitake Special arrives built on a deep miso and yuzu broth, topped with a chilli-oil-poached lobster tail, truffled shiitake purée and a soft, fudgy egg that melts straight into the soup. Pickled ginger and green onions cut through the richness. At £24, it’s generous, warming and unapologetically indulgent — the sort of bowl you order when you want something heavier than usual.
Read our full list of the best restaurants for lobster in London here.
Where: 103-105 New Oxford St, London WC1A 1DB
Website: www.arcadefoodhall.com
Bars
Smith’s Bar and Grill
When January calls for steak, Smith’s answers in full. This is classic comfort done without overthinking it: choose your cut, add garlic butter or peppercorn sauce, and get the truffle fries (trust). It’s confident and indulgent and exactly what you want when the priority is a proper plate of food and a glass of red, no questions asked.
When the priority is a proper plate of food and a glass of red, no questions asked.
Where: Central, 25 Sheldon Square, London W2 6EY
Website: www.smithsbarandgrill.co.uk
The Leopard Bar at The Montague on the Gardens
The Leopard Bar earns its keep in winter. Warm, low-key and eccentrically cosy, it shifts naturally from afternoon to evening without much fuss. The food leans reassuringly traditional: chicken noodle soup, a proper mini chicken pie, mac ’n’ cheese, prawn stroganoff with basmati rice, and cod and chips when nothing else will do. Add live music later in the week, and it becomes somewhere you settle into, not rush through.
Where: 15 Montague St, London WC1B 5BJ
Website: www.montaguehotel.com
Stables Bar
Stables Bar is built for comfort. The menu’s like a greatest hits of cold-weather comfort: a Westcombe cheddar cheese sandwich that arrives molten and unapologetic, steak sandwiches cut thick and meant to be eaten slowly, and a smash burger with crisp edges and plenty juicy. If you’re sharing, prawn toast and sticky sesame chicken come out hot and fast, with bowls of popcorn keeping hands busy while you wait. Churros dusted in sugar finish things properly. Let the bar do the rest.
Where: 1-3 Kensington Ct, London W8 5DL
Website: www.milestonehotel.com
Dining Rooms
STK
If January calls for something unapologetically rich, STK leans all the way in. The Mac & Cheese sides are the place to start, whether you go classic, smoky with bacon, or push it further with the truffle version. Steak is still the main event, finished properly with truffle butter melting straight over the cut or shaved black truffle if you’re committing to the truffle thing wholeheartedly. Sundays are a different kind of comfort. STK’s Sunday Roast is served family-style and feels designed for lingering: smoked BBQ brisket, slow-cooked lamb shoulder, lemon rosemary chicken, duck-fat potatoes, honey-glazed carrots, Yorkshire puddings and plenty of port gravy to pull it together.
Where: Across London
Website: www.stksteakhouse.com
Rosi at The Beaumont Mayfair
Rosi’s menu takes familiar British classics and gives them a bit more oomph: corn-fed chicken Diane comes coated in a deep, mushroom-heavy sauce, John Dory fish fingers turn a childhood staple into a nostalgic yet grown-up dish, and the steamed steak & ale suet pudding does what it should without evading richness, its dense and hearty and made for cold days with no pressure. Dessert promises a date and walnut sponge flamed tableside, warm all the way through… not one to share.
Where: 8 Balderton St, Brown Hart Gardens, London W1K 6TF
Website: www.thebeaumont.com
Everything Inbetween
Andy’s Greek Taverna
While Greek food is not always pinpointed as quintessential comfort food, Andy’s Greek Taverna is a worthy edition to this list for the soul reason being Kleftiko, their Lamb dish. Established in 1967, Andy’s has been a cornerstone of the Camden community and a cult classic, and while it seems like quite the humble joint, it ranks at number 7 out of almost 23,000 restaurants on TripAdvisor. In short, it’s one of the best Mediterranean restaurants in London. The lamb, a massive sharing plate with potatoes and a rich tomato sauce from the roast, is one of the most tender cuts of meat you can get in the city and transports you out of your own world and into the one that only exists in Andy’s dining room. A true classic, and the pitas and dips are not ones to skip over.
Where: 23 Pratt St., London NW1 0BG
Website: www.andystaverna.com
Gerry’s Hot Subs
In terms of comfort, or a post-pint craving, there’s nothing quite like a sandwich shop and a hot box of chips. While they have chips at Gerry’s, they raise you one better, the best poutine in London alongside cheesesteaks, pulled pork subs and hotdogs, among other things. It is authentic American subs in the middle of Exmouth Market, coupled with chips drenched in gravy with cheese curds, what better to have along a strip of some of London’s best cocktail bars?
See my top 5 sandwich shops in London.
Anyone who knows me knows that they can find me on Exmouth Market, and Gerry’s has been one of my favourite finds on the block. Especially on a sunny day, a quick pit stop for a spiked iced tea and box of poutine is one of the best detours on the perfect pub crawl.
Mallory, Food & Lifestyle Writer/Creator
Where: 50 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE
Website: www.gerryshotsubs.com
Mareida
If Chilean wasn’t in your running as a player in the comfort food competition, it should be now. Mareida has just launched their new winter menu inspired by the comforting flavours of the Andes and redefining what it means to be comforting. Dishes like Croquettes, Sobrasada, Wagyu sliders, and pumpkin-roasted milk (I know, right?) are pushing the boundaries of winter menus and putting Chilean food on the map.
Where: www.mareida.co.uk
Website: 160 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5QA
