West London is not my area of expertise, I admit it. I am not going to try and pretend.
There are two quite simple reasons for this. The first is laziness – the West is not my part of London and I have not devoted enough time to exploring it. Secondly, it tends to be expensive; well the places I want to go to are anyway.
Of course, I’m sure there are many good value local eateries in the suburbs, which if I lived there I might have found. The point is that I am not about to head to West London to find something cheap and cheerful when I can do that in my own backyard.
Some of the finest establishments in the capital can be found in West London, and I have only just begun to scratch the surface. How fortunate then that this is a blogpost and can be updated and added to overtime. I can and will come back to this post and do just that, but for now here are four great restaurants in that part of town.
West London
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Cuisine: British
Website: http://www.dinnerbyheston.com/
Budget: Expensive
In a nutshell:
Worth every penny. This is British food at its absolute best. All the dishes are modern takes on historical British dishes, cooked with utmost precision and elegantly presented. It has all the hallmarks of a fine dining restaurant without the ponce. There is theatre here, but it is theatre of a different kind – try the Meat Fruit, it looks and smells like a mandarin but is in fact a fine chicken liver parfait encased in mandarin jelly. The venue, the service and the atmosphere complete the experience. So long as you like offal and game, you will be hard pressed to find fault with this restaurant.
Other info:
- Dinner by Heston Blumenthal has just become number 9 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, overtaking The Fat Duck, which dropped 8 places this year. See my review here
- Bookings are essential and quite difficult to get, particularly on weekends. Lines open on 1st of the month for the following month and weekend dinner reservations are usually gone straight away. I suggest a weekday dinner or leisurely lunch on the weekend.
The Gate
Cuisine: Vegetarian (international)
Website: http://thegaterestaurants.com/hammersmith.php
Budget: Mid-range
In a nutshell:
The fact that I'm recommending a vegetarian restaurant speaks volumes. I was reluctantly dragged here by a veggie friend a few years ago. I expected to be nonplussed, at best pleasantly surprised, but I had to concede I actually enjoyed it. I only very occasionally order a vegetarian main and it has to be pretty special for me to choose it over offal or rack of lamb. I was amazed to find myself actually stuck for choice. Courgette flower in a light, crisp batter was perfect, giving way to an oozing, creamy centre of goat's cheese. A Middle Eastern mezze selection was packed full of flavour and the falafel one of the best I’ve had in London. OK, so some lamb kofte wouldn’t have gone amiss, but I didn’t need it and that is saying something.
Other information:
- There is a lovely courtyard which is surprisingly peaceful given its proximity to the Hammersmith flyover
- The Gate has just opened a new restaurant in Islington, which I am yet to try. The Hammersmith venue is currently closed for refurbishment but will reopen on 1st October
Nobu
Cuisine: Japanese/Peruvian fusion
Website: http://www.noburestaurants.com/london/experience/introduction/
Budget: Expensive
In a nutshell:
Probably some of the best and most extravagant sushi you’ll ever eat. You’d be foolish, though, to come and eat sushi alone; the most interesting dishes here are the fusion dishes. Try, for example, the signature Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno or the Seared Toro with Yuzo Miso & Jalapeno Salsa. Slightly more traditional, but also a favourite, is the black cod with miso. The venue is sleek and the waiters are knowledgeable and efficient, but can be pushy. This place is frequented by London’s rich and famous, so be prepared to see a familiar face.
Other info:
- Bookings essential
- There is also a Nobu on Berkeley St (and in various locations around the world) which I haven’t been to, but this is the one that repeatedly makes the guides
El Pirata de Tapas
Cuisine: Spanish (tapas)
Website: http://www.elpiratadetapas.co.uk/
Budget: Mid-range
In a nutshell:
I first heard about this restaurant on Gordon Ramsay’s Best UK restaurants 2010. Sadly they missed out on that title, but they did win best Spanish restaurant. It’s not hard to see why. El Pirata manages to be at once traditional and modern, taking Spanish ingredients and recipes and cooking them with finesse. The menu sounds simple but the execution is far from it; take the huevos rotos (broken eggs) with potatoes, chorizo and prawns – in Spain this is a rustic plate of fried eggs, yokes flowing over a jumble of potatoes. Here soft poached eggs were used to bind together the potatoes, chorizo and prawns in a neat circle of perfectly seasoned, creamy deliciousness. The wine list is mostly Spanish, and like the food, well priced.
Other information:
- Bookings recommended on weekends
If you have any suggestions for West London restaurants please leave a comment or email me. I will endeavour to update this post overtime as I try new places.