Traditionally when you think of the capital’s dining hotspots, you may consider bordering neighbourhoods Belgravia, Kensington, and St James’ ahead of Victoria as a foodie destination. But the area is no longer a culinary wasteland, and ever more big-name chefs and restaurant groups are choosing this postcode to open their latest eateries. From Chinese tasting menus to Spanish tapas, traditional Italian fare to table service fit for royalty, here are the best restaurants in Victoria.

A. Wong

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the various menus and experiences at super-swish Chinese restaurant A. Wong. Indeed, China has 14 international borders, with each one adding diversity and richness to the country’s 3,000 years of culinary history – and at A. Wong you get a taste of them all. The dim sum lunch menu flits from one perfect dumpling to the next with its prawn and pork morsels served with pork crackling and black bean relish, salt and pepper French bean fritters, laughing buddha buns, and seared scallop and honey glazed Iberico pork cheung fung.

For a meal to remember, choose the Taste of China dinner: each course smacking your senses with its array of reimagined classics and inventive gastronomic delights. Go the extra mile and book the chef’s table if you want a side of entertainment with your Dong Po suckling pig, soy chicken or grilled chilli butter turbot. You can’t go wong.

70 Wilton Road, SW1V 1DE, visit awong.co.uk

Tozi

There’s nothing better for a true foodie than sitting down to peruse a menu and being told you must order at least half of the options listed. Which is why low-key cicchetti bar Tozi, which is inspired by laid-back Venetian dining traditions, ticks every box, from after-work drinks and snacks to a full flung birthday dinner. Choose at least one mouth-watering dish from each tantalising section – raw, fritti, counter and salad, pasta and soup, grilled and baked, large to share, and sides – for an authentic taste of Italy.

If you’re taking our advice, don’t miss the Sicilian red prawns with sea salt, cauliflower fritti with black truffle mayo, octopus with chickpea purée, fennel and fried capers, and of course, the slow-cooked pork shoulder with braised cannellini beans, rainbow chard and crispy pancetta – along with every pasta listed. The cocktail list is also as appealing, while there’s also a comprehensive wine and bubbles offering. La dolce vita indeed.

8 Gillingham Street, SW1V 1HJ, visit tozirestaurant.co.uk

The Dining Room at the Goring

If the royals are your barometer for all things posh, then it doesn’t get much fancier than the glorious Goring hotel. The only hotel with a Royal Warrant from The Queen (the Duchess of Cambridge took residence here the night before her nuptials in 2011), its famed Michelin star dining room is a regal, epicurean experience not to be missed. Start with the Goring eggs Drumkilbo accompanied by succulent and sweet native lobster, caviar and roasted tomato, or the acquerello risotto, teeming with girolles mushrooms, confit egg yolk and smoked butter and truffle, before moving on to mains.

Order the classic but stunning Longhorn beef Wellington, featuring slow-cooked short rib, pickled horseradish, and onion marmalade. For something lighter, the Dover sole with salt baked celeriac and pickled apple is a treat for the senses. Finish off with a selection of cheeses from the trolley before rolling home in your carriage to sleep it off.

15 Beeston Place, SW1W 0JW, visit thegoring.com

Ibérica

Nacho Manzano, the famed Michelin-starred executive chef behind one of the capital’s most loved Spanish eateries, grew up in the tiny village of La Salgar in the northern Asturias mountains, where he learned to cook with his grandmother and mother. And the food at Ibérica speaks for itself. Cured meats, hams, cheeses and olives are plentiful (may we suggest a tasting platter to sample them all), followed by bite-sized Padron peppers, stewed chicken, grilled octopus, and an array of interesting salads.

Don’t miss the cooked beetroot with coffee butter, raspberries and roasted hazelnuts or grass-fed Black Angus steak with baby potatoes, confit leek and asadillo sauce as well as twice-cooked lamb, paella, and hake tempura. Ideal for a date night or business lunch, Costa del Sol vibes this isn’t.

5-6 Zig Zag Building, SW1E 6SQ, visit ibericarestaurants.com

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