20 tables near the museums, rankedBest restaurants in London
Where to eat in London before or after a museum: the 20 tables with a history within reach of them, the old fish and game restaurants, the pubs and wine bars, the pie shops and cafés, and the restaurants inside the museums, in the order their customers rate them.
- 20
- Tables near the museums, ranked
- 1667
- The oldest: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
- 8
- Within 500 metres of a museum
- 4.8
- The highest rating: E. Pellicci
The ranking for London
Show
All 20
14.8
E. Pellicci
Café, Bethnal Green
An East End café run by the same Tuscan family since 1900, behind a front of yellow glass, with an inlaid wooden interior so fine that it is a listed building. Ten minutes on foot from the Young V&A.
24.7
The food, at one of the group's cafés. Picture: Scott Dexter, CC BY-SA 2.0
Dishoom Covent Garden
Bombay café, Covent Garden
The first Dishoom, opened in 2010 in homage to the old Irani cafés of Bombay, and the most rated restaurant on this list by a long way. Five minutes from the National Gallery and from Covent Garden.
34.7
Regency Cafe
Café, Westminster
A workers' café of 1946 behind black tiles in a back street of Westminster, known for its breakfasts and for the voice that calls your order across the room. Ten minutes on foot from Tate Britain.
44.7
Wiltons
Oyster and game restaurant, St James's
Oysters, fish and game in Jermyn Street, from a house that began as a shellfish stall in 1742. Five minutes from the Royal Academy and ten from the National Gallery.
54.6
Gordon's Wine Bar
Wine bar, Embankment
The oldest wine bar in London, in a candlelit cellar under a house where Kipling lived, open since 1890. Five minutes from the National Gallery.
64.6
Rules
Grand restaurant, Covent Garden
London's oldest restaurant, serving game, oysters and pies in Maiden Lane since 1798, in rooms of red velvet hung with two centuries of pictures. Five minutes from the Covent Garden piazza.
74.6
Mount Street, not the restaurant. Picture: No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0
Scott's
Seafood restaurant, Mayfair
The seafood restaurant of Mayfair, which began as oyster rooms in the Haymarket in the 1850s and was the favourite of Ian Fleming. Next to the Connaught, ten minutes from the Wallace Collection.
84.6
M.Manze
Pie and mash shop, Bermondsey
The oldest pie and mash shop in London still trading, in Tower Bridge Road since 1902: green and white tiles, marble tables, wooden benches. Fifteen minutes on foot from Tower Bridge.
94.5
St. JOHN
British restaurant, Smithfield
A whitewashed former smokehouse beside Smithfield meat market where, since 1994, British cooking has been done plainly and with the whole animal. Fifteen minutes on foot from St Paul's Cathedral.
104.5
J Sheekey
Fish restaurant, Covent Garden
The fish restaurant of the London theatre, in a covered alley off St Martin's Lane since 1896, its panelled rooms lined with photographs of actors. Five minutes from the National Gallery.
114.5
Swallow Street, not the restaurant. Picture: heb@Wikimedia Commons (mail), CC BY-SA 3.0
Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill
Oyster bar, Piccadilly
An oyster bar in a lane off Piccadilly, open since 1916, with a marble counter downstairs and a grill above. Three minutes from the Royal Academy.
124.5
Sweetings
Fish restaurant, City of London
A fish restaurant of the City that has not changed since 1889: high stools at marble counters, lunch only, no bookings. Seven minutes on foot from St Paul's Cathedral.
134.4
The Wolseley
Grand café, Piccadilly
A grand café in the manner of Vienna, in a car showroom of 1921 beside the Ritz, open from breakfast to midnight. Three minutes from the Royal Academy.
144.4
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Historic pub, Fleet Street
A pub rebuilt just after the Great Fire of 1666, down an alley off Fleet Street: dark panelled rooms, coal fires and cellars on several levels. Seven minutes from St Paul's Cathedral.
154.4
The Ivy
Theatre restaurant, Covent Garden
The restaurant of the West End's actors since 1917, behind diamond panes of stained glass opposite the theatre where The Mousetrap plays. Five minutes from Covent Garden and Leicester Square.
164.4
Ochre
Museum restaurant, Trafalgar Square
The restaurant and bar inside the National Gallery, in high rooms of the old building just off Trafalgar Square. The pictures are on the floor above.
174.3
The George Inn
Coaching inn, Southwark
The last coaching inn in London with its wooden galleries, rebuilt in 1677 in a yard off Borough High Street and owned by the National Trust. Three minutes from Borough Market.
184.3
Rock and Sole Plaice
Fish and chip shop, Covent Garden
A fish and chip shop in Endell Street that gives its founding as 1871, with tables under a tree on the pavement. Five minutes from the Covent Garden piazza and ten from the British Museum.
194.3
Veeraswamy
Indian restaurant, Regent Street
The oldest Indian restaurant in Britain, on the first floor above Regent Street since 1926, where Londoners first learned to eat curry in style. Three minutes from the Royal Academy.
204.2
V&A Café
Museum café, South Kensington
The first museum restaurant in the world, inside the Victoria and Albert Museum: three rooms of the 1860s covered in tiles, gilding and stained glass, one of them by William Morris.
How long they have been open
Each bar runs from the year a restaurant opened to today. The oldest on the list opened 359 years ago, and 10 of the 20 were already open in 1900.
- Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese1667
- The George Inn1677
- Wiltons1742
- Rules1798
- Scott's1851
- V&A Café1868
- Rock and Sole Plaice1871
- Sweetings1889
- Gordon's Wine Bar1890
- J Sheekey1896
- E. Pellicci1900
- M.Manze1902
- Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill1916
- The Ivy1917
- Veeraswamy1926
- Regency Cafe1946
- St. JOHN1994
- The Wolseley2003
- Dishoom Covent Garden2010
- Ochre2021
How near they are to a museum
For each restaurant, the museum or sight it is nearest to, and how far it is in a straight line. Nearest first: the top of the list is where to go when you come out hungry.
- OchreThe National Gallery, 50 m
- V&A CaféVictoria and Albert Museum, 100 m
- J SheekeyThe National Gallery, 250 m
- Gordon's Wine BarThe National Gallery, 350 m
- RulesThe National Gallery, 400 m
- Dishoom Covent GardenThe National Gallery, 400 m
- SweetingsSt Paul's Cathedral, 400 m
- The IvyThe National Gallery, 450 m
- Rock and Sole PlaiceThe British Museum, 550 m
- Ye Olde Cheshire CheeseSt Paul's Cathedral, 600 m
- Bentley's Oyster Bar and GrillThe National Gallery, 650 m
- VeeraswamyThe National Gallery, 650 m
- Regency CafeWestminster Abbey, 650 m
- The George InnTate Modern, 700 m
- WiltonsThe National Gallery, 750 m
- St. JOHNSt Paul's Cathedral, 750 m
- The WolseleyThe National Gallery, 900 m
- M.ManzeTower Bridge, 1.1 km
- Scott'sThe National Gallery, 1.6 km
- E. PellicciTower of London, 2.2 km
The track is 3 kilometres long. A restaurant inside a museum or a monument has almost no bar at all.
What diners say
Each restaurant's overall rating on Google, and how many people have given one. The longer the bar, the more people have eaten there and said so.
- Dishoom Covent Garden4.729,865 Google ratings
- The Wolseley4.48,077 Google ratings
- The George Inn4.37,523 Google ratings
- Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese4.47,417 Google ratings
- Gordon's Wine Bar4.66,309 Google ratings
- Rock and Sole Plaice4.35,899 Google ratings
- The Ivy4.45,444 Google ratings
- Regency Cafe4.75,169 Google ratings
- Rules4.63,811 Google ratings
- St. JOHN4.53,237 Google ratings
- E. Pellicci4.83,179 Google ratings
- Scott's4.63,040 Google ratings
- J Sheekey4.52,724 Google ratings
- Veeraswamy4.32,413 Google ratings
- M.Manze4.62,165 Google ratings
- Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill4.52,132 Google ratings
- V&A Café4.21,526 Google ratings
- Wiltons4.7839 Google ratings
- Ochre4.4438 Google ratings
- Sweetings4.5331 Google ratings
Read on Google Maps. A famous café is rated by a great many visitors who came for the name, which is why the best known are not the best rated. Ratings change, and so will this.
Where they are
Each number is a restaurant, by its place in the ranking. The yellow squares are the museums and sights this site has a guide to. The blue band is the river, the green blocks the parks, and each square of the grid is one kilometre.
- 1E. Pellicci
- 2Dishoom Covent Garden
- 3Regency Cafe
- 4Wiltons
- 5Gordon's Wine Bar
- 6Rules
- 7Scott's
- 8M.Manze
- 9St. JOHN
- 10J Sheekey
- 11Bentley's Oyster Bar and Grill
- 12Sweetings
- 13The Wolseley
- 14Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
- 15The Ivy
- 16Ochre
- 17The George Inn
- 18Rock and Sole Plaice
- 19Veeraswamy
- 20V&A Café
River and green areas: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where to eat in London: common questions
- Which is the best restaurant in London?
- Of the 20 on this list, E. Pellicci: 4.8 out of 5 from 3,179 ratings on Google. Dishoom Covent Garden and Regency Cafe come next. The order on this page follows that rating and nothing else.
- Where can you eat near the Tower of London?
- The George Inn, 1.1 km away; Sweetings, 1.3 km away; M.Manze, 1.4 km away; E. Pellicci, 2.2 km away. Distances are in a straight line.
- Which restaurants are inside a museum or a monument in London?
- Ochre (Trafalgar Square) and V&A Café (South Kensington).
- Which is the oldest restaurant in London?
- Of those on this list, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, which opened in 1667.
- Which are the famous cafés of London?
- E. Pellicci, Regency Cafe and V&A Café are the cafés and tea rooms on this list.
- How is the list made?
- The restaurants are chosen by this site: famous tables with a history, within reach of the museums. Their order is not chosen. It follows each one's overall rating on Google, and where two are level, the one more people have rated comes first. No restaurant pays to be listed or to be higher.
Things to do in London
- 1See the Crown Jewels at the Tower of LondonTower HillMonument, 2.5 to 3.5 hours, ticket
- 2Walk through two million years at the British MuseumBloomsburyMuseum, 2.5 to 4 hours, free
- 3Stand where kings are crowned in Westminster AbbeyWestminsterChurch, 1.5 to 2 hours, ticket
- 4See Van Gogh's Sunflowers at the National GalleryTrafalgar SquareMuseum, 2 to 3 hours, free
Where to stay in London
- The Milestone Hotel4.8Five-star hotel, Kensington Court, facing Kensington Palace
- The Savoy4.7Five-star hotel, The Strand, on the Thames
- Claridge's4.7Five-star hotel, Brook Street
- Corinthia London4.7Five-star hotel, Whitehall Place, by the Embankment
How the ranking is made
Which restaurants are on the list is this site's choice: famous tables with a history, within reach of the museums. Their order is not. It follows each one's overall rating on Google, highest first, and where two are level, the one more people have rated comes first. No restaurant has paid to be here or to be higher.
No prices are given, because they change, and no stars, for the same reason. The button on each restaurant's page leads to its own site, where the menu and the bookings are.