Unrated: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.

Qima Cafe is a chic, minimalist Yemeni cafe that makes you feel automatically cool. It’s a great place to go when you’re hoping to get a fun snack with your coffee. Or in Qima’s case, your matcha fizz or fruity ruby latte. If it’s on the menu, it's crucial you get the mushroom truffle croissant at lunchtime. The béchamel-filled pastry has a perfect balance between the creamy, peppery sauce and earthy mushrooms.

If textures are what you’re after in your sandwiches, Banh Mi Town’s bánh mìs have got you covered. This tiny spot has what we like to refer to as ‘the peanut button’. Press the peanut button and your pork special, filled with pâté, cả lụa, caramelised belly, and ham, will also get a sprinkling of peanuts on top. We very much like it, and it's a really useful and cost-effective place to know about in central.

Homesick Brazilians flock to Feijão Do Luis (Portuguese for Luis’ beans) for live music, big Brazilian football matches, and even bigger plates of beef ribs, chicken parmigiana, and stroganoff. The feijoada, a hearty black bean stew, is as good as any you’ll find in the city, with plenty of pork ribs and smoky sausage. Served with buttery farofa with caramelised onion, it makes for a nap-inducing lunch.

Next door to sister spot Naroon is Counter By Naroon. We prefer this daytime Persian cafe for a coffee catch-up or sit-down lunch, and you can construct your own wholesome lunch bowls. Our go-to order is the saffron rice with table tennis-sized meatballs in a rich tomato sauce. Add a couple of salads on the side, like the yoghurty mast o khair or citrussy shirazi chopped salad, and take a seat in the courtyard-like area at the back.

After relocating from Brixton, Chishuru's new home is right in the thick of things in Fitzrovia, and the modern West African restaurant is simply thrilling. Its two-floor spot is spacious and cosy all at once, with terracotta tones and a changing tasting menu featuring spices and sauces you’ll want to mainline. When we visited, moi moi with duck liver and a sour, pungent duck egg sauce stood out.

Cutting into the gooey, oozing slice of jamón tortilla at Broken Eggs, a Spanish spot, is the most chic we’ve ever felt eating eggs. The whole restaurant is like a Kinfolk shoot come to life. Come during the day for excellent tortillas filled with smoky meat, grilled courgettes, and soft, buttery potatoes. In the evenings, tables fill up with glasses of fruity sangria and simple but elegant dishes: cheesy croquetas and pan con tomate topped with fresh, juicy tomatoes.

Somewhere between sitting down at 64 Goodge Street, taking a tear of warm complimentary (yes, complimentary) bread, and swiping up the remains of scallops with a luscious beurre blanc sauce, you’ll realise that this is some of the finest French food in London. The corridor-sized, dimly lit room knows its crowd (those who welcome food so rich it’s debaucherous) and duly delivers. Every bite and sip is like being welcomed into heaven by a block of beurre d'Isigny with wings.

This Philadelphia-inspired spot is a casual dive bar where you’ll find an excellently messy, shredded rib-eye steak-filled sub that’ll leave your hands sticky and your tummy happy. The walls and ceilings are chaotically covered with dollar bills and Philadelphia Eagles memorabilia, and there are TV screens that switch between American football and Danny DeVito films. It’s the type of restaurant that you can head to for a quick in-and-out lunch, or happily spend an entire evening.

The George is a delicious and decadent take on a pub. The downstairs bar is Great Portland Street’s usual mix of slurring suits and those trying to ignore the slurring suits, while the upstairs dining room gives off an energy that mixes the Tudors and the posh bit of the Titanic. The friendly staff will very much encourage you to eat the foie gras and order the fruit trifle for dessert—don’t resist. The George isn’t just extravagant, it’s also extremely enjoyable.

Carousel has cracked the eternal question of “how can you be a hot restaurant and also be timeless?” The answer is: have a rotation of impressive guest chefs from across the world in your buzzing open kitchen and also have a classic all-day neighbourhood wine bar up front. Cool and charming, it’s perfect for low-key birthdays, casual date nights, and catch-ups with that friend who’s really into the food scene.

Circolo is from the same people as Gloria and Ave Mario, and just like its loud, proud, and Aperol-fuelled sisters, this Italian trattoria is a restaurant to party in. It’s a Disney-ish take on the Italian riviera, with thousands of bottles of spirits lining the walls, fake plants hanging from the ceiling, and enough chintzy tableware to make an Antiques Roadshow superfan faint. The food is the back-up dancer, but that doesn’t really matter because you’re here for the scene.

The celeriac shawarma at Rovi is kind of a big deal. In fact, it’s borderline life-changing. Then again, pretty much all of the vegetable dishes at this Middle Eastern-leaning spot on Wells Street deserve a shout-out. The kitchen specialises in non-meat dishes that rival most carnivore options. The restaurant itself is bright and charming, in a minimalistic way. It’s a great spot for a grown-up, sit-down meal.

Portland is perfect for anyone who’s curious about the Chef’s Table experience they’ve seen on Netflix, but doesn’t want to commit a huge chunk of their salary to dinner. Order from the brilliant menu of small plates—a three-course lunch is around £60, and there’s a pricier six-course tasting menu for dinner. The modern British food is creative and tasty. Think Iberico pork with sticky black garlic ‘jam’, or a crisp chicken skin bite with a light chicken liver mousse.

Fitzrovia is to friendships what Clapham Junction is to trains. All pals are going to pass through here at some point, and when you do, head to Yalla Yalla. This Beirut spot has a long menu of classics like lamb kibbeh, moussaka, and tahini. But this place really comes into its own when sharing, with mezze feast set menus and shawarma platters, plus cosy interiors which make it prime casual catch-up material.

Clipstone is the younger and even more informal kid sister to Portland. The food takes after its older sibling with lots of tasty small plates—tempura courgette flowers, twice-baked comté souffle, venison tartare with potato crisps—but the modern European cooking is never show-offy. And it’s another good spot for anyone looking to dip their toes into fine dining, but without the price tag or time commitment.

Meraki is a big, bright Greek restaurant run by the people behind Zuma and Coya, but you wouldn’t know it. Things here are pretty relaxed. It’s a spot where you could eat with your cool east London mates or messy baby brother without fuss. The food is great overall: get the chops, any of the mezze options, and make sure you try at least one of their pasta dishes.

London has some pretty nice sushi spots where you don’t have to deep dive into your sofa to fund a dinner. Sushi Atelier does excellent raw fish at a decent price, and it also comes with some exciting twists. Expect your sushi to be topped with anything from foie gras to BBQ sauce to parmesan—things that sound like they wouldn’t work, but actually do brilliantly.

We like to visit Sagar for the kind of vegetarian food that tastes home-cooked. It’s comfortable and you can always get a table, and the South Indian food is consistent and tasty. There are the usual dosas and thali set menus if you’re famished, and don’t miss the papadi chat, which is a mixed salad of lightly fried bread, potatoes, tangy sauce, and yoghurt.

Koba is a swish Korean spot that’s perfect for giving friends an intro to the joys of Korean barbecue, bubbling stews, and pajeon. The seats at the bar are nice, but the sleek restaurant at the back is where the real action is. Koba’s a little pricey, but for the experience, and a few sizzling rounds of short ribs and seafood, it’s worth the cost and it’s especially good for a small group hang.