Slightly north of centre, Marylebone sits next to some of London’s most loved residential streets. However, it’s not all Michelin starred restaurants and credit card lunches (although there are some of those); the area has a hugely diverse range of places for lunch and dinner – whether you’re splashing out or popping in on your way home.
Marylebone’s favourite place for a maki roll or two, this humble but high taste sushi place has teamed up with Michelin star chef, Kei Kobayashi to bring a French flavour to this year’s Sushi Shop menu. Try a salmon gravlax roll or maki topped with carpaccio of beef in terayaki sauce.
A favourite Italian restaurant and deli, Briciole is the perfect spot for a long lunch, propped up by plenty of the knowledgeable staff’s favourite dishes. How about fennel flavoured sausage with sprouting broccoli or lemon sorbet with Prosecco – this is proper Italian dining.
Cult meat guys Meat Liquor bring the whole slow and low ethos to central London. It’s hip and pretentious (in a trying to be non-pretentious way) but you can’t begrudge its success, the burgers here are legendary – just don’t skip on the deep fried pickles. There’s cocktails, there’s tattoos everywhere and it’s dark and loud and you’ll end up loving it.
Lebanese gets the design makeover at Comptoir Libanais, which adds a touch of the industrial Leon café style to Middle Eastern sharing plates. Plump for mana’esh – Arabic flatbread pizzas, tagines, salads and lots and lots of hummus.
Roti Chai has repackaged Indian food into something more bite-sized and modern with its soul food kitchen for casual bites on communal tables and a more formal dining room – each with their own menus and kitchens. Plump for dishes inspired by street food hawkers and railways stations like Aloo Papri Chaat at the former, or dishes that use tandoor grills like Kerala duck roast in the dining room.
Giorgio Locatelli is one of London’s most loved chefs. Michelin starred Locanda Locatelli has long been his pride and joy: it’s suitable for a posh family evening out or for trying to impress a date. Locatelli has kept the formality of fine dining but it’s still fun here. Don’t miss the ravioli with pheasant and rosemary jus or roast monkfish with walnut and caper sauce and samphire – pizza doesn’t get a look in.
Just one reason to love The Providores & Tapa Room is that they have an enormous selection of New Zealand wines (the biggest in Europe). Split between an all day casual dining and café space and a more contemporary restaurant upstairs, this is fusion cuisine at its best. There are pop up exhibitions and its less formal than many Marylebone restaurants. Food wise, downstairs it’s tapas style dishes like confit duck croquettes, five spice plum sauce and miso-baked aubergine, pinenuts, dates, feta, crispy buckwheat and tahini yoghurt; upstairs, try the crispy Dingley Dell pork belly, onion and apple puree, chai spiced parsnips and kohlrabi kimchi.
