7 Secret London Restaurants Only Insiders Know About
Running a restaurant is a tough gig, and thus raising the profile of your venue is an important undertaking. Some places however prefer to remain low-key or, even, hidden away from the public, forcing you to actively seek them out in their various hiding spaces – like in the crypts of a church, the basement of a sex shop, or a converted Victorian toilet.
We’ve rounded up some of the city’s best-kept secrets and, well, ruined them by giving away their location. Read on for the best secret restaurants in London.
Rochelle Canteen
This restaurant, situated in the converted bike shed of a school turned arts and media complex, is strictly on a need-to-know basis. Entry is difficult – you have to find the unmarked door on a garden wall and ring the buzzer – but once inside you’ll be treated to a delicious fusion of classic British and modern European cooking.
With dishes like monkfish with cime di rapa and chili and a guineafowl, bacon, and wild garlic pie, there’s a reason this place has only gone from strength to strength since opening in 2004.
16 Playground Gardens, London E2 7FA
Liu Xiaomian
Finding an authentic Sichuan noodle spot that is cheap, in the basement of a mews pub, and in central London feels like the type of place you dream about but doesn’t actually exist. However, Liu Xiaomian is very real.
A Handbook favourite, this gem sits underneath The Jackelope pub in Marylebone and serves up a small menu of delicious spicy noodles. You can either eat in their downstairs restaurant, or upstairs in the main pub with a pint. Either way, it doesn’t get much better at this price.
43 Weymouth Mews, London W1G 7EQ
Juno Omakase
London has no shortage of great options when it comes to Omakase, but possibly its most secret and exclusive is at the back of a Los Mochis restaurant in Notting Hill. Sitting just six diners, Juno serves up a delicious 15-course menu from ex-Nobu and Roka sushi chef Han.
Of course, given the setting, expect a few nods to Mexico throughout the menu that will have you wondering why the jalapeño and wasabi crossover isn’t more of a regular thing. Granted, this doesn’t come cheap – the tasting menu is £180 – but the setting is so intimate it feels like your own private experience.
2-4 Farmer St, London W8 7SN
Evelyn’s Table
Nestled in the former beer cellar of an 18th Century pub, Evelyn’s Table is one of London’s best foodie hidden gems. Just off Piccadilly Circus underneath The Blue Posts, it offers an intimate set menu at a chef’s table that seats just ten diners. The ultimate secret spot for a special occasion.
28 RUPERT ST, LONDON W1D 6DJ
Gremio de Brixton
You know that feeling when you’re in the middle of Sunday service and suddenly find yourself hit with an overwhelming desire for some gambas al ajillo?
Gremios in Brixton capitalises on this very universal urge, serving up a tapas menu in the crypts of St Matthew’s Church. Even better, after dark it shapeshifts even further into a nightclub delivering Balearic beats into the early hours.
St Matthew’s Church, Basement, Brixton Hill, London SW2 1JF
La Bodega Negra
From a restaurant hidden underneath a church to a restaurant hidden below a sex shop – you can’t say we don’t have range. If you brave your way past the illicit neon sign you will find yourself rewarded with some great Mexican food.
Wash some beautiful fish tacos down with mezcal and tequila cocktails in this Hacienda-style cellar.
16 MOOR ST, LONDON W1D 5AP
Clapham WC
Truly, we have no idea how a subterranean wine bar in a converted toilet became the most romantic destination in Clapham, but it happened.
WC shifts from water closet to ‘wine and charcuterie’, and the space has been lovingly restored with bar stools, candlelit tables and private booths.
Clapham Common South Side, London SW4 7AA