Best restaurants in Belgravia

On any given day, the bar at Motcomb’s will be resounding to well-bred voices of a certain age, chatting and laughing together, with overspill around the pavement tables on warm summer evenings. Everyone seems to know each other here, an illusion reinforced by the “amazing” staff, who are sensitive enough to know when to chat and when to leave well alone. Old and new money rub along happily, drinking wine, Champagne and the odd cocktail from a “cracking” list and tucking into an “affordable” menu of pretty smart, user-friendly food such as a salad of scallops, prawn and crispy bacon, lobster linguine, chicken parmigiana and so on. The “half-price lobster and fries special on Friday is a delight, as are the eggs Benedict on any day”, exhorts one fan. In short, an “absolutely perfect gem” and an oasis of old-fashioned Anglo-Irish charm off very international Lowndes Square. 

Enoteca Turi’s move from its longstanding Putney site to a new home in SW1 seems to have been smooth enough, and though the new restaurant is smaller (there are plans to add a private room) it still has the bare-brick charm of the original. Owners Giuseppe and Pamela Turi know many of their loyal customers and are expert oenophiles, while their cooking celebrates the multifarious flavours of Italian regional cooking “at its best”. Expect classics such as wild mushroom risotto from Veneto and a Tuscan lamb ragu with pappardelle, alongside more unusual specialities like a Puglian dish of pancetta-wrapped lamb’s kidneys with Pecorino and herb salad, or marinated beef carpaccio with salt-dried egg yolk and Parmesan from Trentino. Giuseppe’s meticulously annotated 300-bin wine list is a wonder to behold, and with suggestions for every dish on the menu this restaurant more than lives up to its ‘enoteca’ billing.

For more than 20 years Zafferano has managed to maintain the highest reputation despite changes of chef and the vagaries of London’s restaurant scene, so it’s safe to say that this Belgravia sophisticate is now very much part of the capital’s gastronomic establishment. No wonder it’s a go-to for a smart international crowd, who come here in search of reliable, precise Italian cooking with one foot the classical camp. Our all-time favourites include their signature lobster linguine, chargrilled rib of beef with roast potatoes and veal Milanese with saffron risotto, but in keeping with the seasons, there’s a sprinkling of white truffles in the autumn and black truffles in summer. Meanwhile, those looking for more innovative dishes should peruse the daily specials. Zafferano also scores highly when it comes to creature comforts (in the luxurious well-upholstered dining room and on the attractive pavement terrace), while top-notch service and a patrician regional Italian wine list add to its metropolitan kudos.

Sit at the big square marble bar upstairs for a glimpse of the kitchen and banter with the barmen, or go downstairs where there are banquettes and alcoves if you want a bit more privacy; either way, the food and drink will be the same. Expect glamorous cocktails and a fairly hefty wine list to go with a selection of beautifully presented, seriously toothsome Japanese/Peruvian fusion food with plenty of tingle and zing. King crab tacos, set off with lime, chilli and miso is only bettered by the delicate salmon version embellished with cucumber, tomato and mango. There’s also a good selection of tiraditos, sushi and sashimi, including the eponymous uni (sea urchin), some cracking tempura and a roster of robata grills (baby lamb cutlets with miso anticucho, steamed broccoli and cancha corn, say). One warning: although prices look reasonably gentle, portions are morsel-sized, and as the plates multiply, so does the bill.

As pretty as a picture, with white walls, pots of herbs and zinc-topped tables, this big corner venue beguiles the eye even before punters have sat down, and with a broad line-up of all-day favourites, a tempting selection of sharing plates and a dedicated ‘little people’ menu, it seems to have everything going for it. Grown-ups can pick from an assortment that runs from burgers and steaks to moules marinière, or rump of lamb with crushed celeriac and apple, ahead of desserts such as baked vanilla custard with warm roast plums. Service is slow but sweet, but punters amuse themselves by making plentiful use of the wine list and the well-made cocktails. Whether it’s date night, a post-work catch-up or Sunday lunch with the kids, everyone seems to have a good time – even if some think the food is “fairly average at best”.   

A clever combination of flattering lighting and a genius design spec that brings the ‘theatre’ kitchen unobtrusively into the slinky dining room would be enough for most restaurants to make a fashionable leap into the limelight, but Amaya has its Michelin-starred food and brilliant service too.

Readers confirm that this glamorous venue is up there with the Indian big boys thanks to spot-on cooking, “wonderful variety” and a menu that cherry-picks influences from across the subcontinent. Plenty of “superior” high-end ingredients are woven in too: foie gras gets the tandoori treatment, and lightly stir-fried lobster masala also features. Don’t miss the subtly spiced chicken tikkas, the tandoori ocean prawns or the sizzling specialities from the tawa hotplate and sigri grill (white sweet potatoes, wild venison, stonkingly good lamb chops fired with smoked chilli).

Most dishes are designed for sharing and arrive from the open kitchen as and when they’re ready. A spice-friendly wine list matches the food in every department, but it would be a mistake to overlook the cocktails.

Boasting tartan chairs, kilted waitresses, hunting trophies and a selection of whisky to make any crofter sing, Boisdale of Belgravia clearly isn’t shy of trumpeting its Scottish heritage. There’s plenty of Caledonian flag-waving on the menu too, from haggis in various guises (try the mustardy Scotch egg riff with neeps ’n’ tatties) to beef from Buccleuch Estate, salmon, “wonderful” oysters and seasonal game. With classic sauces such as béarnaise and green peppercorn to go with steaks “cooked exactly as requested”, it’s not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but the jolly crowd are mainly here to enjoy themselves in surroundings that make them feel as if they’ve “stepped back in time”. Many scoot upstairs for a snifter whilst smoking something from the walk-in humidor after they’ve eaten; nearly all stay for the easy, lively jazz session that kicks in at 10pm. It can seem a tad expensive, but no one seems to mind. 

A restaurant like they used to make ’em, this blushing rose has been fluttering its eyelashes at customers for more than half a century – “it’s so French and so very romantic”, drools one long-time fan. With a quiet terrace for balmy evenings and a bare-brick interior filled with bushels of dried herbs, flowers and twinkly candles, La Poule au Pot has built up a charming patina over the years – half of London’s ladies and gents must have been here for dates, liaisons and family get-togethers. The menu is as predictably Gallic as the waiters’ accents (think soupe à l’oignon and escargots ahead of bouillabaisse, boeuf bourguignon and magret de canard with foie gras), but the cooking has always been good enough to warrant the fondness it engenders. To drink, the house wine (poured from a magnum) is fine, but prospective fathers-in-law prefer the posh Champagnes and clarets.

It may be more modest and less capacious than some of its neighbours, but this “delicious and different” Chinese restaurant is still going strong after nigh on 35 years in Pimlico. There’s no menu – simply tell staff about your likes and dislikes, indicate your spice threshold (be conservative here) and leave the rest to chef Michael Peng and his team. In return, you’ll be taken on a fascinating culinary trip full of intriguing regional tastes and textures. Staples range from the signature steamed pork broth with ginger and mushrooms to crispy frog’s legs wrapped in fermented bamboo shoots with chilli, but other delights could include spring onion pancakes with daikon and beancurd skin, tempura green beans and braised ox tongue with mangetout, plus indigenous specialities such as wind-dried meats and stir-fried spicy aubergine. Expect around 12 little dishes, and match them with something suitably aromatic from the authoritative wine list, or stick to premium Chinese tea.

If Ametsa’s dining room looks a little clinical with its test tubes of spices undulating in the ceiling, that’s no coincidence – there’s a meticulous, almost scientific approach to gastronomy here. But it’s also worth taking notice of the poppies etched on the mirrors because the cooking has a boundary-pushing, dreamlike quality, intended to astound more than just the taste buds. The menu describes its dishes in a florid style – ‘scallops leaving home’, ‘tuna with cinnamon on fire’ and ‘sea bass with celery illusion’ – and they all deliver “incredible artistry” and Michelin-starred “wows” galore. A dessert of orange toast with spinach has a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity to round off the meal. “Fantastically knowledgeable staff” get their share of plaudits, while the sommelier is “informative and spot-on” when it comes to the Spanish-biased wine list. “Pure theatre”.

The name alludes to Dante’s unfinished masterpiece, and there are quotes from the great poet all around this modern Italian – although most diners simply appreciate the ‘convivial’ atmosphere and admirable space between tables (“one can truly have a private conversation here”, notes a fan). There’s also some “excellent” Italian regional cooking to be had, from indulgent plates of San Daniele ham accompanied by bouncily soft burrata, or crunchy octopus with a rich nduja sauce, to a risotto with roast quail and red onion purée, or veal chop with fresh artichokes (“as good as I get in Venice”, notes one traveller). Handmade pasta is a sound shout for those that want it (we suggest pappardelle with seafood and raw Sicilian pachio tomato sauce), while zabaglione semifreddo drizzled with espresso coffee sauce make a fine finish. The “reasonably priced” wine list lacks informative notes, but staff are more than happy to suggest a decent Italian match for food and pocket.

A quintessentially British restaurant for a top-class family-owned British hotel, the Goring Dining Room is a real experience. Decked out in cream and gold, it manages to stay the right side of pompous thanks to whimsical cherry-tree chandeliers and keen-as-mustard service – a mood of “unrushed efficiency” prevails. Grilled Dover sole and beef Wellington are still there for the old guard, but elsewhere more on-trend dishes delight such as confit egg yolk with chicken wings and prosciutto (“a winner”), and delicate, cured sea trout tartare with myriad specialist tomatoes and seaweed vinaigrette. Roast chicken with truffled potato salad has also “pleased greatly” and we’ve been blown away by the perfectly timed cod with razor clams and shrimps. As you might expect from a Michelin-starred kitchen, it’s all very sophisticated and pretty, although “flavours and textures are a highlight”. The “incredible” cheese trolley gets rave reviews, and the wine list has everything you would expect of such a grand establishment.