Top 10 Chelsea restaurants
Top 10 Chelsea restaurants
From classics to innovators, here are the top dining spots in Chelsea
Pictured: Ixchel
Here’s our top picks of the very best restaurants in Chelsea that offer varied menus, carefully sourced ingredients and a fabulous atmosphere. Whether you fancy something simple or refined, lively or elegant, here are a few spots to head to after a day shopping in Chelsea.
1
Elystan Street
Co-owned by Rebecca Mascarenhas and top chef Phil Howard, Elystan Street offers a fabulous blend of simplicity and refinement with a focus on vegetables and a lightness of touch. The menu is sublime – from best cuts to sophisticated desserts, and every meal can be accompanied by a glass of wine from the restaurant’s extensive collection of popular and niche brands.
2
The Chelsea Corner
The phenomenal Italian menu and the understated charm of its décor make The Chelsea Corner a special place on the dining map of London. Ingredients are carefully sourced and kept seasonal, including daily landed fish, and vegetables from New Covent Garden Market. From simple penne arrabbiata to calf’s liver cooked in sage and butter sauce, you can expect the highest quality in every single dish. And did we mention the fabulous selection of coffee?
3
The Five Fields
Located in the very heart of Chelsea, The Five Fields opens its elegant yet intimate door to the most demanding customers in London. Since 2013, chef patron Taylor Bonnyman and his team have received numerous awards including one Michelin star. The menu might include the likes of bird offal and preserved potato sauce or fallow deer saddle with field mushroom and black truffle. The restaurant offers dishes that are not only delicious but also carefully and ingeniously constructed. In addition, The Five Fields sources herbs and vegetables chiefly from its very own garden, situated in the idyllic Sussex countryside.
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4
Ixchel
Ixchel is a recently-opened Mexican restaurant consisting of an all-day tapas-style menu offering, rich with warm flavours and gorgeous aromas. The menu is designed by Head Chef Ximena Gayosso Gonzalez (previously of Brat), expertly curated with offerings of everything from small plates of hand-dived scallops aguachile to sautéed prawn flour quesadillas and pork belly tacos. The large plates – called Platos Fuertes – include an achiote charcoal crispy chicken thigh and a 28-day aged Hereford ribeye with chilmole sauce. This all pairs with a drinks menu from a bar which contains one of the largest collections of agave spirits in Europe. There’s a choice between seven kinds of margaritas, eight house cocktails – including a delicious Paloma volcan blanco with Cointreau and three cents grapefruit soda – and five Tequila & Mescal flights.
5
Wulf & Lamb Chelsea
Merely moments from Sloane Square, this lovely plant-based restaurant offers a charming interior as well as a palm tree courtyard. With a menu constructed from vegan versions of familiar classics, it boasts mouth-watering dishes such as chilli *non* carne and the jerk jack burger with pulled jackfruit and plant-based cheese. Wulf & Lamb Chelsea welcomes guests for breakfast, lunch, dinner and anything in between.
6
New Culture Revolution
This traditional Chinese jiao-ji mein (dumplings and noodles) restaurant serves up a range of dim sum, handmade noodles and popular dishes in a modern setting interspersed with some fantastical décor. Highlights of the dim sum selection include pan-fried pork and Chinese leaf dumplings and a warm soup-filled Xiao Long Bao. Their noodle menu is not to be outshone though; their noodle master trained in Beijing and this expert training is reflected in delightful dishes of chow mein, lao mein and tang mein.
7
Claude Bosi at Bibendum
Claude Bosi at Bibendum offers one of the most innovative and aesthetically pleasing menus in the whole London area. Located in the iconic Michelin House, the restaurant boasts a menu consisting primarily of simple yet perfectly refined dishes that emphasize the taste of carefully sourced seasonal ingredients. It also offers an original oyster bar with an outstanding selection of seafood and a curated wine menu.
8
Rabbit
Owned by the Gladwin Brothers, Rabbit serves up a delicious seasonal menu of local and wild produce with a focus on zero-waste cookery and sustainability. They use wild and foraged ingredients, as well as sustainable livestock from the family farm in West Sussex. The menu consists of expert small plates dining, or you can try the ‘Local & Wild’ tasting menu: an eight-course experience of wild game and foraged vegetables. You can head there on Sundays for a delicious Sunday roast paired with signature Bloody Marys.
9
Villa Mamas
Inspired by the richness and variety of the Middle East and the flavours of Roaya Saleh’s childhood, Villa Mamas is entirely halal. There is something wonderfully satisfying and indulgent about the restaurant’s signature dishes which include braised lamb shank served with pine nuts, rosemary and vermicelli, as well as machboos deyay: a chicken pilaf that is the national dish of Bahrain. Just save some space for desserts such as saffron ice cream with candy floss and Egyptian bread pudding with rice.
10
The Surprise
A local landmark since 1853, The Surprise is a beautifully designed free house that offers a cosy village pub aesthetic combined with a varied menu, excellent Sunday roasts and a wide selection of puddings. And don’t get us started on their six-pages long list of fantastic drinks! In addition, the stylish Hamilton Room (named for HMS Surprise’s distinguished captain Sir Edward Hamilton, not the Broadway musical) can sit up to 28 people for cocktails and canapés or a private lunch or dinner party.