Best known as the neighbourhood in which you’ll find Harrods and Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge is undoubtedly one of the world’s finest districts for high-end shopping. Thankfully for those who find themselves spent (both physically and financially) at the end of an intense bout of retail therapy, the area is also home to some seriously good restaurants. From modern vegan dining to decadent Japanese dishes, here’s our guide to the best restaurants in Knightsbridge.

Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor Café

Not merely a destination for fabulous frocks and trend-setting beauty brands, Harvey Nichols’ flagship boutique is also a must-visit for foodies thanks to its chic Fifth Floor Café. Boasting both an elegant indoor dining room and gorgeous year-round rooftop terrace, which sports different themes throughout the year, the Fifth Floor Café is open seven days a week for breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea and all-day dining, so it’s ready and waiting for a post-shopping refuel. 

While the core menus promise a range of upscale classics, including Caesar salads, Wagyu cheeseburgers, and fish and chips, for the full experience be sure to take advantage of its innovative seasonal set menus. For summer 2024, Harvey Nichols has partnered with Fever-Tree and Mirabeau to create a delicious three-course menu, complete with a refreshing Fever-Tree x Mirabeau Rosé Spritz. Sip on your cocktail as you peruse a decadent offering featuring watermelon salad, grilled octopus, or chicken satay to start, followed by roast beetroot with coconut labneh, seabass with Asian vegetables, or cornfed chicken with radish and herb salad for mains. For dessert, there’s strawberry chocolate mousse cake, pistachio tiramisu, or lemon and blueberry meringue tart, with all three courses priced at just £35 per person. Available until 18 August, the menu will also be served at Harvey Nichols’ OXO Tower Restaurant and Brasserie, as well as its stores in Bristol, Edinburgh and Leeds.

109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RJ, visit harveynichols.com

ABC Kitchens at The Emory

Housed in London’s new all-suite hotel The Emory – the latest addition to the starry Maybourne Group portfolio situated directly next door to its equally glamorous sibling, The Berkeley – the combination of cuisines found at Abc Kitchens is a first for acclaimed French chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Although it only opened its doors in April, the Rémi Tessier-designed and Damien Hirst-adorned space has already made waves on the capital’s culinary scene thanks to its blend of vegan and Latin American flavours, offered alongside Vongerichten’s signature fare made famous at his Abc Kitchen, AbcV and Abc Cocina restaurants in New York. Book a table in the amber-hued space, featuring an open kitchen and glass wine cave, to sample delectable plates of avocado pizzette, pea guacamole (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it), crab toast and crispy fish tacos. Light, fresh fine dining doesn’t get much better than this. 

The Emory, Old Barrack Yard, SW1X 7N, visit the-emory.co.uk

Chai Wiu

As the longest-standing residency in Harrods, Chai Wu has been serving haute Asian cuisine from the fifth floor of the iconic department store for the past decade. While the food offering here is centred around Chinese fare, the menu is a kaleidoscope of Asian flavours, blending traditional and unconventional dishes with impeccable service that will barely let you lift a chopstick. Taking inspiration from the five elements of Chinese philosophy – wood, metal, water, earth and fire – expect a thoughtful fine dining experience as the open kitchen allows a glimpse into the intricacies of pan-Asian cooking.

Menu highlights include the Beijing duck served with pancakes and pillowy mantou bread buns, and the steamed dim sum platter including fillings of truffle, lobster and caviar, and plum topped with flakes of gold. Don’t miss the Wagyu puffs – tender chunks of high-grade Japanese beef encased in buttery flaky pastry – and Chai Wu’s sweet and sour chicken which is served in crunchy tempura inside a carved dragon fruit. 

Harrods Fifth Floor, 87–135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL, visit chaiwu.co.uk

Sale e Pepe

A Knightsbridge stalwart, Sale e Pepe has long been a destination for the well-heeled, attracting a glittering clientele of politicians, film stars, fashion icons, and royalty (Rod Stewart and Diana Ross are loyal fans). Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024, the elevated Italian restaurant is inviting both Londoner’s and out-of-towners to enjoy a slice of la dolce vita at its summer terrace, serving classics such as vitello Milanese and linguine all’aragosta to be shared ‘famiglia’ style under the sun.

The terrace mimics the chic design of the restaurant, painted in the classic Sale e Pepe navy blue, lined with white Italian flowers and tables dressed in crisp, white tablecloths. For mains, choose from a summery selection of branzino alla griglia – delicately grilled sea bass in a bright lemon butter sauce – and fregola pasta with grilled vegetables and warm ricotta, before tucking into the signature tiramasù della casa scooped tableside – what sweeter way to end a summer evening?

9-15 Pavilion Road, SW1X 0HD, visit saleepepe.co.uk

Studio Frantzén

Opened in late 2022 on the rooftop of Harrods, Studio Frantzén is the brainchild of eponymous chef (and the proud owner of six Michelin stars) Björn Frantzén. Spanning the top two floors of the department store, and boasting a beautiful al fresco terrace, this is mid-shopping pitstops taken to a whole new level. Menus riff on Frantzén's Nordic heritage blended with Asain inflections and highlights include the likes of tuna and red deer tartare, cannon of lamb with truffle and yuzu or the unique Sweden vs Japan: Swedish ox tail, Japanese Wagyu, lemongrass jus & Japanese mustard. Don't have time for a full meal? Take a seat at the chic bar for signature cocktails such as the best-selling Hartass (lingonberry, blackcurrant, sloe gin, yuzushu and gold champagne) and Wabi-Sabi (Nuet Dry Aquavit, Japanese melon, apple, nettle and citrus).

87-135 Brompton Road, SW1X 7XL, visit studiofrantzenlondon.com

Harry's Dolce Vita

If you’re craving an Italian escape, but can’t quite wangle the annual leave, a quick trip to Harry’s Dolce Vita should scratch that itch. Set just a stone’s throw from Harrods, this elegant trattoria, decked out in warm autumnal tones, deep greens and colourful Murano glass, is a veritable time portal, transporting guests back to the illustrious heyday of Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.

Food is, unsurprisingly, Italian. Expect decadent truffle arancini, creamy burrata and a range of hearty classics, including lobster ravioli, pappardelle al ragu bolognese, Harry’s margherita pizza and frutti di mare. Thirsty? Turn your attention to Harry’s grappa trolley, replete with every aperitif and digestif you could imagine, as well as an impressive list of fine Italian wines and classic cocktails imbued with a dolce vita twist, including the Sicilian margarita (tequila blanco, Cointreau, blood orange and lime), or Harry’s Infinite Negroni.

27-31 Basil Street, SW3 1BB, visit harrysdolcevita.com

The Aubrey

Filling the space where gourmet burger joint Bar Boulud once resided, The Aubrey first opened its doors in early 2022. A joint venture between the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and Hong Kong-based restaurant group Maximal Concepts, this ultra-luxe, eccentric reimagining of a traditional Japanese izakaya has continually set tongues wagging throughout the capital’s foodie community. Sophisticated and sensuous, set over a salon, lounge and library, resplendent in plush velvet, marble and rich woods, The Aubrey leans into its Japanese origin, with walls generously layered with art inspired by the Japonisme movement and 19th-century British artist and illustrator, Aubrey Beardsley.

Dinner menus comprise small sharing plates and bar snacks that burst with flavour, including Japanese oysters, charcoal chicken karaage with yuzu mayo and an indulgent Wagyu sando. Lunch is based around the classic Japanese bento box, and sees a selection of a la carte options available as alternatives. For drinks, sake is king here, but if that’s not your bag there are plenty of Japanese spirits and creatively-conceived cocktails to choose from; The Black Cat (an old fashioned twist with Teeda Rhum, umeshu, Laphroaig and Okinawa sugar) and Torii (rice shochu with homemade grapefruit soda) get the thumbs-up from us.

66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA, visit mandarinoriental.com

Sette

The London outpost from New York’s hugely popular Scarpetta restaurant group, Sette boasts a menu of indulgent Italian classics with a focus on seasonal, local ingredients. Located in an airy, tastefully designed space on Knightsbridge Green, its all-day dining options mean it’s the ideal spot for a breakfast meeting, intimate dinner date or weekend lunch with your parents. For a memorable night out, arrive in time for aperitivo hour and order a La Dolce Vita cocktail (carpano bianco, ginger, lemon and aranciata San Pellegrino) while grazing on cicchetti of arancini, short rib and bruschetta. Once retired to the main dining room, be sure to try the signature Scarpetta tomato and basil spaghetti – it’s made a name for itself on two continents for a reason.

4 Knightsbridge Green, SW1X 7QA, visit settelondon.co.uk

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

The proud owner of two Michelin stars and four AA rosettes, no culinary tour of Knightsbridge would be complete without a stop at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. Housed in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel, the menu, as the name suggests, is high concept and inspired by the changing perceptions of ‘dinner’ throughout the ages. Dishes are based on historic recipes unearthed by Blumenthal through extensive research and include the famous Meat Fruit, based on a recipe from circa 1500, and salmon dressed in champagne – served with asparagus, parsley, caviar and seaweed butter – dating back to 1730. Elsewhere, meats are roast on a spit using a pulley system inspired by that of the royal court, in full view of the dining room. This is as much theatre as it is an exceptional meal.

66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA, visit dinnerbyheston.co.uk

Sumosan Twiga

The West London sister venue of the much-lauded Sumosan restaurant, which now sports locations in London, Moscow, Monaco, Dubai and Courchevel, Sumosan Twiga opened in 2016 to offer a full-service entertainment venue complete with restaurant, bar and club. If you hadn’t twigged by the group’s locales (or the fact that Twiga was created in partnership with Flavio Briatore), prices for Sumosan Twiga’s Asian-Italian fusion fare are eyebrow-raising, to say the least.

They are, however, not necessarily unwarranted. Served in an elegant dining room decked out in sumptuous velvet chairs and pristine white tablecloths, from the Italian kitchen comes Venetian classics, including veal scaloppine and king prawn gnocchetti, while the Japanese kitchen offers contemporary dishes and Sumosan signatures, such as chicken yakitori, duck gyoza and Wagyu sando sandwich. This is a restaurant with access to the best ingredients – and the expertise to treat them properly.

165 Sloane Street, SW1X 9QB, visit sumosantwigalondon.com

Pétrus

Occupying a plush, modern space in the well-heeled neighbourhood between Knightsbridge and Belgravia, this Michelin-starred restaurant from the Gordon Ramsay culinary stable is all about traditional French cooking applied to great British ingredients. Named, as it is, for one of the world’s foremost winemakers, the wine list alone is enough to make Pétrus a destination. Château Pétrus is, of course, the main focus with the restaurant being the first in Europe to offer many of the vineyard’s vintages by the glass, but many other top European winemakers are also present. The food, which includes a full vegetarian offering alongside Prestige and Chef’s Table tasting menus, boasts equal provenance, with Isle of Skye scallops, Herdwick lamb, and Cornish cod constituting some of the highlights.

1 Kinnerton Street, SW1X 8EA, visit gordonramsayrestaurants.com

Read more: The best restaurants in Mayfair