London (Fodor's 2012) - Fodor's [113]
Tom Ilic
££ | MODERN EUROPEAN | . The eponymous Serbian-born chef cooks with technical brilliance but charges only neighborhood prices at this haven in Battersea. Big on meat, especially pork, gob-smacked locals lap up dishes like pig’s cheek with chorizo, pork, or a trio of lamb with spiced aubergine. Desserts like banana tart tatin are highly rated, and set lunches offer outstanding value at £14.50, or £16.95 on Sunday. It’s south of the Thames, and best approached by taxi or overland train. | 123 Queenstown Rd., South Bank | SW8 3RH | 020/7622–0555 | www.tomilic.com | AE, MC, V | National Rail: Queenstown Rd. or Battersea Park
KENSINGTON
Bibendum.
£££ | MODERN BRITISH | Vibrant Art Deco prints and awesome stained-glass windows of cycling Michelin men set the tone at this former tire showroom and smooth-running London showpiece. Chef Matthew Harris cooks with Euro-Brit flair. Try langoustine salad, escargot, risotto, grilled rabbit, monkfish linguine, ox cheeks, or tripe (just as it ought to be cooked). The £29.50 fixed-price lunch menu is money well spent. | Michelin House,81 Fulham Rd., Kensington | SW3 6RD | 020/7581–5817 | www.bibendum.co.uk | AE, DC, MC, V | South Kensington
PJ’s Bar & Grill.
££ | AMERICAN | Enter PJ’s and assume the Polo Joe lifestyle: wooden floors and stained glass, a slowly revolving propeller from a 1919 Vickers Vimy flying bomber, and vintage polo gear galore. The place is packed, relaxed, and efficient, and the menu, which includes all-American staples like organic Scottish steaks, salads, and brownies, pleases all except vegetarians. Weekend brunch is a must with the wealthy Chelsea jet set. | 52 Fulham Rd., Kensington | SW3 6HH | 020/7581–0025 | www.pjsbarandgrill.co.uk | AE, MC, V | South Kensington
Tom Aikens.
££££ | FRENCH | Wonder chef Tom Aikens trained under French stars Pierre Koffmann and Joël Robuchon and excels at his eponymous place in upmarket Chelsea. The dining room is decorated with sleek grey walls and black leather seats but some say it’s a little subdued. Aikens is prone to flights of fancy in the kitchen, but his food is technically superb. You’ll swoon over his foie gras with Sauternes jelly, sea bass with pickled fennel, partridge with truffle mash, and his honeycomb and poppy seed ice cream. There’s an expert sommelier to help navigate the wine list, and the £49 set lunch offer is a good treat. | 43 Elystan St., Kensington | SW3 3NT | 020/7584–2003 | www.tomaikens.co.uk | Reservations essential | AE, MC, V | South Kensington
CHELSEA
Aubaine.
££ | FRENCH | Loads of pretty women hang out at Aubaine at Brompton Cross in the summer. They love the distressed gray wooden furniture, cut flowers, in-house pâtisserie, terrace tables, and people-watching. Not to mention the figure-friendly menu choices, like prawn and Niçoise salads, risottos, grilled lemon sole, eggplant cassoulet, and chicken tartines. Sit by Brompton Road and enjoy the best free catwalk in town. | 260–262 Brompton Rd., Chelsea | SW3 2AS | 020/7052–0100 | www.aubaine.co.uk | AE, MC, V | South Kensington
Fodor’s Choice | Harwood Arms.
££ | MODERN BRITISH | Modern British game doesn’t get any better—or more inventive—than at this unassuming gastro pub. The co-owner Mike Robinson shoots all the venison on the menu in season, and you’ll find a catalogue of awesome dishes like Berkshire roe deer with Douglas fir sausages or whole North Yorkshire grouse with watercress. Tuck into stout-soaked beef cheeks with Herefordshire snails, or wood pigeon with pickled apricots. Some dishes are served on a slab of wood, and there are popular carve-your-own whole-roast joints for the entire table. | 27 Walham Grove, Chelsea | SW6 1QP | 020/7386–1847 | www.harwoodarms.com | Reservations