Home to the lion’s share of London’s Michelin-starred restaurants, if you’ve got pockets deep enough, there are few finer places to settle in for a long lunch or decadent dinner than Mayfair. But, with big-name chefs serving up tasting menus on every corner, where to begin? From fine dining Indian to the capital’s greatest classical French cooking, we’ve found the best restaurants in Mayfair…

Benares

Just like its neighbour Gymkhana (more on that later), the chefs at Michelin-starred Benares are on a mission to change the way diners view Indian cuisine. Executive chef Sameer Taneja leads a kitchen team that turns out exquisite and refined dishes based on natural, sustainable and seasonal ingredients paired with an unusual wine list that selects intriguing bottles from unexpected domains, such as Croatia, Greece and Germany, capable of standing up to complex spicing. For the full experience opt for the 10-course tasting menu including highlights such as baked Malabar Scottish scallops, tandoori muntjac with garlic yoghurt, and baby poussin tikka masala.

12a Berkeley Square, W1J 6BS, visit benaresrestaurant.com

Colony Grill Room

The signature restaurant of the lavish Beaumont hotel, the Colony Grill Room offers a slice of classic London gastronomy given a modern New York twist. The dining room, for example, punctuates the kind of squishy leather banquettes and dark wood panelling that wouldn’t look out of place in the most traditional of private members’ clubs with bright murals of woodland scenes that make the whole atmosphere far more lively. Food, too, is of the refreshed classics category, with must-tries including the Hereford steak tartare, Colony cobb salad and Suffolk Wagyu rib-eye steak.

8 Balderton Street, W1K 6TF, visit colonygrillroom.com

Murano

Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred restaurant on Queen Street qualifies as just about the best Italian food you’re going to find in Mayfair. The bigger sister to Covent Garden’s Cafe Murano, the food here is inspired by dishes Hartnett cooked with her Italian grandmother, elevated and refined using the best seasonal produce from around the UK and Europe. With an emphasis on approachable fine dining, the menu is divided into five categories from which diners are encouraged to choose as many or as few dishes as they want, to be served in any order. Don’t miss the herb agnolotti, red mullet with burnt orange romesco and ricotta-filled courgette flower and the rabbit raviolo. 

20 Queen Street, W1J 5PP, visit muranolondon.com

Sabor

Knowing that ‘sabor’ means flavour in Spanish should give you a hint as to what to expect from Nieves Barragan and José Etura’s Heddon Street eatery. Organised into three distinct areas – the counter, ground-floor bar and upstairs El Asador – the restaurant promises a well-rounded experience of Spanish cuisine. Take a seat at the counter for daily-changing regional seafood dishes prepared by Sabor’s in-house fishmonger or opt for a table in the bar to peruse delectable tapas, including huevo relleno, classic tortilla and prawn croquetas, accompanied by a vast selection of cocktails, sherries, wines and Spanish vermouths. Finally, for something more substantial, head upstairs for specialties from the Galicia and Castile regions, such as Segovian suckling pig, confit cod and monkfish tempura. 

35-37 Heddon Street, W1B 4BR, visit saborrestaurants.co.uk

Kai

Originally opened in 1993, alongside Hakkasan (see below), Kai has been a pioneer in freeing Chinese cooking in the capital from its prison of deep-fried chicken balls and lurid orange sauces by offering diners a more authentic, upscale alternative. In 2009 it became the first Chinese restaurant in London to earn a Michelin star, which it has held on to ever since, with a menu focusing on the flavours and traditions of the Nanyang region, with specialties including yee sang salads, roasted Peking duck served in two courses and Nanyang chilli lobster. For something a little different, try the Chinese Whispers afternoon tea which starts with a tea ‘truth’ potion and dispenses classic finger sandwiches and scones in favour of bao and macarons.

65 South Audley Street, W1K 2QU, visit kaimayfair.co.uk

Portland

If owners Will Lander and Daniel Morgenthau are to be believed, when Portland opened in 2015 it never had any aspirations towards accolades – instead hoping just to be the kind of quietly brilliant neighbourhood restaurant you return to time and time again. Perhaps, then, they have chefs Stuart Andrew and Chris Bassett to thank for the Michelin star that landed on their doorstep later that year (which they retain to this day). Whether you’re dropping in for the surprisingly wallet-friendly £49 three-course set lunch or are going all out with a six-course tasting menu, expect precise cooking, seasonal ingredients pressed into the service of inventive modern European cuisine and a wine list so considered they recommend you reserve your dream bottle in advance.

113 Great Portland Street, W1W 6QQ, visit portlandrestaurant.co.uk

Hide

Ollie Dabbous’s Hide is home to not one but three restaurants, each of which is found on a different floor and has its own identity. Below is principally a bar, where a wine cellar is stocked by the restaurant’s co-founding partner Hedonism, while the main restaurant offers an all-day menu and Above focuses on fine dining, with a tasting menu served for lunch and dinner that ranks among the most expensive in the city featuring delectable dishes of Heritage breed sirloin cooked over charcoal and Cornish turbot with cauliflower and lemon verbena. One of the most hotly-anticipated restaurants when it opened in 2018, Hide secured its Michelin star within just five months of launch, and has held onto it ever since.

85 Piccadilly, W1J 7NB, visit hide.co.uk

Amazónico

Positioning itself firmly in competition with Sexy Fish for Berkeley Square's most exuberant restaurant, the original Amazónico in Madrid has been thrilling diners with its Latin American fare since 2010, and in November 2021 London got its own taste of Sandro Silva and Marta Seco's hospitality. And while its menu of ceviches, sushi and charcoal-grilled meats is reason enough to visit, at Amazónico the food is only half the story. There's also the live band and resident DJs that entertain diners each evening, the six-seater sushi bar where chefs can be observed up close, the tropical cocktail menu and, of course, the rainforest-themed interiors by artist Lázaro Rosa-Violan. Good luck choosing a single photo for your Instagram feed.

10 Berkeley Square, W1J 6BR, visit amazonicorestaurant.com

Ormer Mayfair

Hand & Flowers alumni Sofian Msetfi heads up Ormer Mayfair, which has been praised as one of the best dining experiences in the capital. Found in the basement of the five-star Flemings Hotel, the restaurant serves six- and eight-course tasting menus of seasonal British dishes, made using locally-sourced ingredients and foraged herbs. Expect options such as roast rack of Cumbrian lamb with wasabi, cucumber and lime, cured Cornish mackerel with sesame, kombu and spiced nage, and warm Ibérico ham with parmesan, Bramley apple and nasturtium.

7-12 Half Moon Street, W1J 7BH, visit flemings-mayfair.co.uk

Gymkhana

Inspired by high society clubs of India, where members eat, drink, socialise and play sport, Gymkhana reopened in 2020 following a fire and subsequent refurbishment, which saw the already chic restaurant become all the more elegant. Owned by the same siblings behind Trishna, Hoppers and Bao, Gymkhana is as pleasing on the palate as it is on the eye, with its North Indian cuisine earning the restaurant a Michelin star in 2014. Try the extensive five-course tasting menu for the full experience, with dishes including Muntjac biryani, chicken butter masala and aloo chat.

42 Albermarle Street, W1S 4JH, visit gymkhanalondon.com

Hélène Darroze at The Connaught

There are only five three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the capital, and Hélène Darroze at The Connaught is one of them. Specialising in a traditional French cuisine perfected under her former mentor Alain Ducasse, Darroze serves seasonal tasting menus using largely British ingredients, with the menu detailing the origins of each dish – think John Dory from Cornwall, wagyu beef from Japan and pigeon from Brittany. Refurbished in 2019 by Pierre Yovanovitch to mark 10 years since its opening, the restaurant is an elegant and welcoming space with wood panelling and a soft pink colour scheme throughout.

Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, visit the-connaught.co.uk

Isabel

Isabel is the sister restaurant to Notting Hill's equally glamorous Casa Cruz, owned by Chilean investment banker-turned-restaurateur Juan Santa Cruz. Mixing Chinoiserie with sexy, seventies glamour, the dining room is a glossy milieu of golden tones and dark ebony, with no less than 300 polished brass lamps that have been artfully positioned to ensure patrons are shone in the most flattering light. The cocooning bathrooms are a destination in their own right, beautifully decorated with silk De Gournay wallpaper, hand-painted with Oriental gardens, flamingos and tropical jungles.

Drawing on Mediterranean influences, the diverse menu spans colourful salads, seafood and pasta dishes, while sizzling Wagyu steaks and lamb cutlets are cooked on the grill. Be sure to order the crispy hand-smashed potatoes, which are arguably the best in London. The restaurant buzzes from lunchtime until 2am, allowing dinner to effortlessly segue into cocktails until the small hours.

26 Albemarle Street, W1S 4HY, visit isabelw1.london

Le Gavroche

Founded by brothers Albert and Michel Roux Snr in 1967, Le Gavroche is one of the capital’s most famous fine-dining restaurants, and has churned out almost as many great chefs as it has hot dinners – Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing, Pierre Koffmann and Monica Galetti among them. In testament to its prowess, Le Gavroche was the first restaurant in the UK to receive one, two and three Michelin stars. Michel Roux Jr took over in 1993, and the French restaurant has been under his guise ever since. Don’t miss the signature Soufflé Suissesse, a cheese soufflé cooked with double cream, followed by butter-poached lobster and confit trout with courgette ribbons and grilled aubergine. 

43 Upper Brook Street, W1K 7QR, visit le-gavroche.co.uk

Bombay Bustle

Tucked between the art galleries and high-end boutiques of Maddox Street, stepping into Bombay Bustle is like entering the busy, vibrant hubbub of an Indian marketplace – which is exactly the point. Everything from the communal seating and patterned upholstery fabric on the booths to the extensive menu of upscale Indian comfort food is inspired by Mumbai – and more specifically the city's network of dabbawalas: men who use local transport to deliver home-cooked meals across the city. Tasting menus, Sunday brunch and delivery options are all available but, for the full experience, settle in for a multi-course dinner from the a la carte offerings. Highlights include Malabar lamb curry, Punjabi vegetable samosa and Jalebi cheesecake.

29 Maddox Street, W1S 2PA, visit bombaybustle.com

Hakkasan

Regularly voted the best Chinese restaurant in London, dispel any notions of bright orange sweet and sour sauces or deep fried 'seaweed' because at Michelin-starred Hakkasan, they do things a little differently. And while some favourites remain on the menu – sesame prawn toast, salt and pepper squid and the restaurant's signature Peking duck are all there – these are your go-tos ramped up to 11. That Peking duck, for example, is best served with caviar while Hakkasan's char sui is made using 24-hour slow-roasted Iberico pork. The dim sum is also a highlight here; opt for one of the four set menus to really get a taste of what Hakkasan does best.

17 Bruton Street, W1J 6JB, visit hakkasan.com

Sparrow Italia

Image: Ben Carpenter

Tucked away down a quiet street just off Old Bond Street, Sparrow Italia opened in Mayfair in 2022, adding a rooftop terrace and cigar lounge to its offering in 2023. The first international outpost of a successful LA venture of the same name, Sparrow Italia promises 'coastal Italian' cuisine in seriously decadent surrounds (and lighting seemingly purpose-designed for the best food photography you've ever taken).

Is it cheap? Of course not, this is Mayfair we're talking about. Will its offering of traditional Milanese, perfectly al dente cacio e pepe and light organic salads leave you wondering how soon is too soon to go back? Absolutely.

1-3 Avery Road, W1K 4AJ, sparrowitalia.com

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