The Most Extravagant Restaurants in London

Described as a wow-factor venue by many of its diners, SushiSamba on Heron Tower’s 38th floor is a trendy restaurant with show-stopping floor-to-ceiling views of London’s impressive skyline. Enjoy coffee & chocolate boulevardier or banana batida cocktails before ordering from the menu that promises a thrilling fusion of Japanese and Latino cuisine. Peruvian skewers, kobe beef, and ceviche are just some of the many enticing dishes on the menu.

Just off Oxford Street, the follow-up to Gloria knows how to impress. With 20,000 bottles of alcohol lining the walls, an armada of plants dangling from the ceiling, religious knick-knacks and lights festooned everywhere, dining at Circolo Popolare is an experience. Most of the 280 seats are given to walk-ins, but be prepared to queue. Dishes on the pizza- and pasta-led menu will be between £12 and £18.

For traditional French food served at a remarkably good value, look no further than Piccadilly’s Brasserie Zédel. A two-course prix fixe menu during both lunch and dinner will cost you no more than £10.95 and may include classics such as steak haché, soupe à l’oignon or ile flottante. The bustling Parisian brasserie hosts a spectacular 1930’s original interior and live music plays every night from 9:30 pm until close.

You’ll want to head to self-proclaimed ‘café-restaurant in the grand European tradition’ for breakfast as an occasion. The scope of the menu is commendable, with everything from oysters, eggs Benedict, or steak tartare, via wiener schnitzel or fried haggis and duck egg, to apple strudel, tarte au citron, and other pastries – and, of course, a complimentary newspaper.

Berners Tavern’s arrestingly baroque space within the London outpost of Edition hotels features lavish plasterwork, double-height ceilings, bronze chandeliers and walls hung with hundreds of gold-framed pictures. Leather and mohair booths, pink velvet chairs, and an illuminated amber backdrop complete the glamorous interior. The food served is a celebration of traditional British cuisine.

A brasserie renowned for its atmosphere and service, Balthazar came to London from New York in 2015. The all-day menu offers classic French dishes, a New York-style afternoon tea and a brunch menu combining French and American breakfast favourites – think moules frites, French veal t-bone, omelette “aux fines herbes,” macaroni cheese, and New York pancakes. We’re ready for the ride.

A restaurant with a button for Champagne is hard to forget, and one with a Gatsby-like dining room even less so. Bob Bob Ricard in Soho serves up luxury British, French and Russian inspired cuisine, in glitz and gold surroundings whichever way you look. Celebrities hide out in cloistered royal blue booths to enjoy caviar, beef Wellington, and boeuf bourguignon – opulence galore.

Located in an old warehouse close to the station, the King’s Cross Dishoom branch deliberately evokes a railway café in old Bombay during the 1920s. Both the breakfast and all-day menus offer unforgettable meals that include dishes such as the legendary signature black dhal, floppy roti bread, biryani, kebabs, and fiery-crusted lamb chops served with refreshing yoghurt raita for dipping. Never omit the house chai during colder days or the fruity lassi during hotter ones.