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The Most Romantic Restaurants in London

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by The OpenTable Team
Updated 09 November 2023
London is hailed as the most romantic city in the United Kingdom. Full of iconic places to take a date like the London Eye and St. Paul’s Cathedral, London is a city of art, history, culture—and, of course, amazing food. Romance is always in the air, and when it comes to wooing a loved one, it’s true what they say: the way to the heart really is through the stomach. But where are the smartest, savviest diners eating out? Welcome to the Tastemaker 20. We’ve pulled data from thousands of restaurants to find the top spots among OpenTable's most expert, seasoned diners. You’ll find everything from neighborhood gems to British classics, rustic Italian spots to white table-clothed fine dining—all vetted by the types of tastemakers who know the best spots around the city. Impress your date and score a table.
Trinity
4.9 (3608)
£41 and over
European
Clapham
Recommended by diners for immaculate service and imaginative cuisine, Trinity is one of London’s fine dining hot spots. The staff are charming and helpful, and though the food is Michelin-starred level, reviews comment on the lack of pretention. Couples on a date night might want to ask about the house tarte tatin. They only make seven every day, and it’s a sublime sharing dessert to round off your four-course meal. Remember to ask ahead of your visit to avoid missing out!
Top review
Chowhound
Dined 1 day ago
Professional and unobtrusive service, exceptional food, great ambience. Nothing can be faulted.
Recommended by diners for immaculate service and imaginative cuisine, Trinity is one of London’s fine dining hot spots. The staff are charming and helpful, and though the food is Michelin-starred level, reviews comment on the lack of pretention. Couples on a date night might want to ask about the house tarte tatin. They only make seven every day, and it’s a sublime sharing dessert to round off your four-course meal. Remember to ask ahead of your visit to avoid missing out!
Top review
Chowhound
Dined 1 day ago
Professional and unobtrusive service, exceptional food, great ambience. Nothing can be faulted.
Hawksmoor Seven Dials
4.6 (13117)
£26 to £40
Steakhouse
Covent Garden
Steak is a great meal that is both decadent and simple, but doing it well is almost an art form. Hawksmoor Seven Dials gets it just right at their restaurant just around the corner from the famous Covent Garden area of London. Diners regularly comment on how perfectly cooked the meat is, and how well the sides, sauces, and even wine complement the delicious mains. A must for meat lovers and a sure way to impress your date.
Top review
CathyOVIP
Dined 2 days ago
Super attentive service. We were on a time limit as going to the theatre and managed to eat three courses in an hour and 15 which was brilliant! They kindly swapped my fries for sweet potato. Food was delicious and perfectly cooked. I really enjoyed the ambiance. A very enjoyable dining experience all round.
Steak is a great meal that is both decadent and simple, but doing it well is almost an art form. Hawksmoor Seven Dials gets it just right at their restaurant just around the corner from the famous Covent Garden area of London. Diners regularly comment on how perfectly cooked the meat is, and how well the sides, sauces, and even wine complement the delicious mains. A must for meat lovers and a sure way to impress your date.
Top review
CathyOVIP
Dined 2 days ago
Super attentive service. We were on a time limit as going to the theatre and managed to eat three courses in an hour and 15 which was brilliant! They kindly swapped my fries for sweet potato. Food was delicious and perfectly cooked. I really enjoyed the ambiance. A very enjoyable dining experience all round.
Ivy Market Grill
4.3 (18699)
£26 to £40
Contemporary British
Covent Garden
Executive Chef Sean Burbridge prides himself on offering “an eclectic mix of modern British comfort food and international dishes.” So, this is a great place to take a date if neither of you is sure what cuisine you’re in the mood for. Start with a classic prawn cocktail, or make it more exotic and go for the wasabi prawns with salt and pepper squid. A melting chocolate bombe might be a sweet sharing moment at the end of your meal. Lots of choice in an elegantly presented venue.
Top review
SharonG
Dined 2 days ago
Wonderful experience with a lovely waiter which made us all super happy . Good food delivered hot and displayed beautifully . Highly recommend
Executive Chef Sean Burbridge prides himself on offering “an eclectic mix of modern British comfort food and international dishes.” So, this is a great place to take a date if neither of you is sure what cuisine you’re in the mood for. Start with a classic prawn cocktail, or make it more exotic and go for the wasabi prawns with salt and pepper squid. A melting chocolate bombe might be a sweet sharing moment at the end of your meal. Lots of choice in an elegantly presented venue.
Top review
SharonG
Dined 2 days ago
Wonderful experience with a lovely waiter which made us all super happy . Good food delivered hot and displayed beautifully . Highly recommend
Blacklock Soho
4.7 (6036)
£25 and under
Steak
Soho
The City branch of this restaurant is set in an old electricity substation in the basement of a Grade II listed building. The industrial touches this lends to the décor are fun and a great talking point. Staff write the specials in chalk on the pillars, and brickwork archways provide nooks for supplies for the wait staff. Amongst this intriguing paraphernalia, you and your date can enjoy some of the finest cooked meat in London. Skinny chops, big chops, and off-the-bone meat are the core of this menu, with a mouthwatering range of sauces and sides. A carnivore’s paradise.
Top review
AndreaC
Dined 1 day ago
We visit with two friends. Great food and service. Highly recommended.
The City branch of this restaurant is set in an old electricity substation in the basement of a Grade II listed building. The industrial touches this lends to the décor are fun and a great talking point. Staff write the specials in chalk on the pillars, and brickwork archways provide nooks for supplies for the wait staff. Amongst this intriguing paraphernalia, you and your date can enjoy some of the finest cooked meat in London. Skinny chops, big chops, and off-the-bone meat are the core of this menu, with a mouthwatering range of sauces and sides. A carnivore’s paradise.
Top review
AndreaC
Dined 1 day ago
We visit with two friends. Great food and service. Highly recommended.
Portland Restaurant
4.9 (2279)
£41 and over
British
Marylebone
A relatively recent addition to London’s dining scene, Portland opened in 2015 and won a Michelin star in their very first year. Famous for rare and esoteric additions to the wine list, this is a great place to take any budding sommeliers. The food is just as enticing. There’s a tasting menu and an a la carte dinner menu, and a very well-priced lunch menu. Mains include thornback ray with mussels and lovage, or shorthorn beef with black garlic. If you go for a birthday or anniversary, tell the staff; you might just get a little treat!
Top review
Julia
Dined 2 days ago
A wonderful meal, with charming service. We had a terrific time.
A relatively recent addition to London’s dining scene, Portland opened in 2015 and won a Michelin star in their very first year. Famous for rare and esoteric additions to the wine list, this is a great place to take any budding sommeliers. The food is just as enticing. There’s a tasting menu and an a la carte dinner menu, and a very well-priced lunch menu. Mains include thornback ray with mussels and lovage, or shorthorn beef with black garlic. If you go for a birthday or anniversary, tell the staff; you might just get a little treat!
Top review
Julia
Dined 2 days ago
A wonderful meal, with charming service. We had a terrific time.
The Ledbury
4.9 (2840)
£41 and over
British
Notting Hill
Listed as one of the world’s top 50 restaurants, Brett Graham’s multiple award-winning Ledbury is a Notting Hill treasure. A friendly atmosphere and quirky yet elegant décor accompany delicious food matched with wines from small and exclusive estates. The menu includes such delights as frozen English wasabi, clay baked white beetroot, hen of the woods, and brown sugar tart with stem ginger ice cream. The Ledbury manages to achieve that elusive state of being high end without being pretentious. A date night to remember.
Top review
Robert
Dined 5 days ago
Truly outstanding. THE restaurant when anyone asks where you’d want to eat…… The best birthday meal - thank you Brett, Tom, Jack and all the team - world class
Listed as one of the world’s top 50 restaurants, Brett Graham’s multiple award-winning Ledbury is a Notting Hill treasure. A friendly atmosphere and quirky yet elegant décor accompany delicious food matched with wines from small and exclusive estates. The menu includes such delights as frozen English wasabi, clay baked white beetroot, hen of the woods, and brown sugar tart with stem ginger ice cream. The Ledbury manages to achieve that elusive state of being high end without being pretentious. A date night to remember.
Top review
Robert
Dined 5 days ago
Truly outstanding. THE restaurant when anyone asks where you’d want to eat…… The best birthday meal - thank you Brett, Tom, Jack and all the team - world class
Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill
4.6 (2715)
£41 and over
Seafood
Mayfair
A London establishment since 1916, Bentley’s has over a century of serving fantastic British fish to hungry customers wanting a break from shopping and sightseeing. The patron chef is Richard Corrigan, who has cooked for the Queen, so you'll dine on food appreciated by royalty. A great conversation starter for any date! Enjoy a wide range of oysters, all individually priced, or have something a bit heartier like Cornish fish soup. The royal sharing platter is sure to be a big hit with seafood fans.
Top review
Paul
Dined on 20 Feb 2025
Outstanding dinner experience that started with our waiter, Steven, who could sell ice to penguins in Antarctica. He professed Bentley’s to really have the best fish &Chips in London, swore his kids lives on it. He went on to recommend the fish pie and seafood stew as being the best in the UK, swore his wife’s live on it. Then highly recommend the lobster spaghetti, his dog. We tried all three (3) dishes as mains with the lobster spaghetti to share. All were spot on and delicious. Highly recommend this place for quality of food but also, high end attentive service. I will be back.
A London establishment since 1916, Bentley’s has over a century of serving fantastic British fish to hungry customers wanting a break from shopping and sightseeing. The patron chef is Richard Corrigan, who has cooked for the Queen, so you'll dine on food appreciated by royalty. A great conversation starter for any date! Enjoy a wide range of oysters, all individually priced, or have something a bit heartier like Cornish fish soup. The royal sharing platter is sure to be a big hit with seafood fans.
Top review
Paul
Dined on 20 Feb 2025
Outstanding dinner experience that started with our waiter, Steven, who could sell ice to penguins in Antarctica. He professed Bentley’s to really have the best fish &Chips in London, swore his kids lives on it. He went on to recommend the fish pie and seafood stew as being the best in the UK, swore his wife’s live on it. Then highly recommend the lobster spaghetti, his dog. We tried all three (3) dishes as mains with the lobster spaghetti to share. All were spot on and delicious. Highly recommend this place for quality of food but also, high end attentive service. I will be back.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
4.6 (6569)
£41 and over
British
Knightsbridge
Date night should be fun, and few restaurants are more fun and quirky than Heston Blumenthal’s signature venue. The celebrity chef is famous for his quest to perfect familiar dishes by reinventing them in weird and wonderful ways. Dinner comes from a love of gastronomic history, which is evident in dishes such as Plum Meat Fruit, with spiced red wine and chicken liver, or Roast Venison with the classic combination of meat and cherries. The presentation is what makes Dinner fun, so look out for oranges that aren’t really oranges or dry ice rising from the table.
Top review
OpenTable Diner
Dined on 8 Aug 2022
Amazing experience! Outstanding service, and provides excellent detail about thought process behind each dish. Excellent taste. Could use a texture. The duck was outstanding. The steak could’ve been a bit more moist and juicy, but was cooked perfectly otherwise. The triple cooked chips were fantastic, especially with the mushroom ketchup.
Date night should be fun, and few restaurants are more fun and quirky than Heston Blumenthal’s signature venue. The celebrity chef is famous for his quest to perfect familiar dishes by reinventing them in weird and wonderful ways. Dinner comes from a love of gastronomic history, which is evident in dishes such as Plum Meat Fruit, with spiced red wine and chicken liver, or Roast Venison with the classic combination of meat and cherries. The presentation is what makes Dinner fun, so look out for oranges that aren’t really oranges or dry ice rising from the table.
Top review
OpenTable Diner
Dined on 8 Aug 2022
Amazing experience! Outstanding service, and provides excellent detail about thought process behind each dish. Excellent taste. Could use a texture. The duck was outstanding. The steak could’ve been a bit more moist and juicy, but was cooked perfectly otherwise. The triple cooked chips were fantastic, especially with the mushroom ketchup.

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