Luso

Luso is another stellar entry from the illustrious MJMK team, whose track record of producing beautiful restaurants (KOL, AngloThai, Casa) means that this cool Portuguese spot was always destined to look the part. Sitting below a powder blue townhouse on Charlotte Street, Luso's lemon yellow frontage looks like a scene from a film set, with post-work diners enjoying a couple of Gin Martinis over dinner on the little terrace out front.

Inside, the charm continues. Tiled mosaic floors and dinky wooden bar stools evoke the laid-back warmth of a Portuguese bar, brought up to date with contemporary touches like painted brick walls and exposed pipework. It's not small per se (the restaurant occupies two fairly large floors), but the atmosphere is cosy and energetic, with an open kitchen on the ground floor manned by a brigade of staff ready to cart out slices of sourdough and bowls of thick cream cheese at a moment's notice.

Luso takes its cues from the Iberian land and coastline, serving high-quality ingredients in their purest form. We start with a perfect depiction of this ethos; luscious, salty anchovy slivers steeped in good olive oil, that we regret not ordering alongside some of that sourdough bread. Most things we eat let the produce do the talking: a single scallop served in its shell with garlic butter, then charred courgettes with a sprightly herb puree and a feather-light dusting of Iberico cheese. The best things come next: three shell-on prawns in a smoky pil pil sauce, and a fantastic, risotto-esque rice dish served in a vat-like bowl with lobster cooked delicately over charcoal.

To finish, a dark chocolate mousse drizzled with a lick of olive oil and a few flecks of sea salt makes a fitting finale to the team's purist approach to cooking. Granted, dishes like these have little to hide behind, but Luso proves that sometimes the best food needs the least tampering.

Luso is a beautiful Portuguese restaurant, nestled in the heart of Fitzrovia, on Charlotte Street, with a menu inspired by Portugal and the wider Iberian coast and land.

This site once belonged to Nuno Mendes' restaurant Lisboeta, but after Mendes' departure in 2025, restaurant group MJMK re-styled the site as Luso, which continues the legacy of Lisboeta with a slightly new focus.

Named after the Roman name for Portugal, Luso is a more casual affair than its predecessor. The 90-cover restaurant is bright, airy and modern, blending stylish touches with a homely, welcoming atmosphere. A private dining room - named The Adega - seats six to 12 people, overlooking its own wine cellar, while the upstairs semi-private dining room, can host between 15 and 30 people - both of which are well-suited to intimate occasions and special dinners.

Luso offers slightly elevated Portuguese dishes, that are just as approachable as a lunchtime snack as they are a sit-down evening meal. It is inspired by the flavours of the Iberian Atlantic coastline, bringing the lesser-known tastes of Portugal to London. Portuguese chef Leo Carreira - previously consultant executive chef at The Sea, The Sea in Hackney - takes over the kitchen, tapping into Andalusian, Basque and Galician cooking styles. Dishes are influenced by the sea and wood fire cooking, using high-quality, well-sourced ingredients.

The menu offers a modern take on traditional dishes, with the likes of salt baked wild sea bass, oven-roasted suckling pig, and Cornish spider crab tartare. There’s also slider-style Portuguese ‘prego’ sandwiches with brown butter steak, Portuguese Savora mustard and garlic. For dessert, choose from Tocinho do Ceu (almond cake), chocolate mousse with olive oil and salt, and baked pineapple pudding. Drinks centre around Portuguese wines as well as a concise cocktail list.