London’s new openings may have been mostly Italian-focused recently, but there’s no denying this city’s ongoing love affair with classic French restaurants. With Bouchon Racine currently sitting pretty at the top of the UK’s Best Restaurants list, and former Ritz head chef Spencer Metzger unveiling his new French bistro Chez Rose, it feels like time for us to shine a light on where to go for traditional French cuisine in London.
Clerkenwell – Upstairs, 66 Cowcross St, London EC1M 6BP
There was a sense of ‘well duh’ when Bouchon Racine nabbed the No 1 spot in the National Restaurant Awards 2026. As any food-loving Londoner knows, getting a table here is well nigh impossible for a reason. That’s because chef Henry Harris and his frontman Dave Strauss have put together the kind of love letter to classic French food that meets every Francophile foodie’s needs. The chalkboard menu is a hitlist of great dishes from Bayonne ham with celeriac remoulade to rabbit in mustard sauce. And we’re not being hyperbolic when we say that their creme caramel may be the best dessert in London. When you finally get a lunchtime table, clear your afternoon diary and settle in for a long lunch that always ends with glasses of Henry’s Armagnac.
Chelsea and Marylebone
Claude Bosi may have a seriously swanky two Michelin-starred restaurant on the top of the Peninsula London, but for food close to his heart, he turns to his two Josephine bistros. Named after the chef’s grandmother and a nod to the bouchons in Bosi’s hometown of Lyon, the menu here mixes dishes you’d find in classic French bistros with those specific to Lyon (in Chelsea) and the brasseries of Paris (Marylebone). Both very much look the part, from the mirrors painted with the weekly specials to the towers of fruits de mer. And they’ve been huge successes, proving that Bosi has his finger on the pulse of what Londoners want to eat at a regular haunt.
Soho – 48 Greek St, Soho, London W1D 4EF
As London’s oldest French restaurant, L’escargot has been in its current location since the late 1920s, serving what they describe as typical French cooking in the Parisian grand brasserie style. Obviously, you’re going to want to have the signature dish, drowned in garlic butter, but we’d also urge you to save room for their Tournedos Rossini and the devilled lamb’s kidneys. It’s a gorgeous-looking place too, with over 300 pieces of art on the walls. Our tip to really make the most of the time here would be to start any meal here with a trip to the snail bar for a superbly-made martini, or a French 75 if you want to stay on theme.
Crouch End – 14 Middle Ln, London N8 8PL
Crouch End might not be the first place you’d think of for a blowout French meal in London, but you’d be wrong. Tucked away on Middle Lane is where you’ll find this fabulous neighbourhood spot. The titular ‘garcons’ are chef Robert Reid and front-of-house/wine merchant Jean-Christophe Slowik who met while working at Marco Pierre White’s three Michelin-starred The Oak Room. Here in North London, they’re serving up “cuisine bourgeois but with a twist” so you’ll find steak frites, escargots and ox cheek bourguignonne on offer in a room where everyone is greeted like a long-lost friend.
Covent Garden – 21 Monmouth St, London WC2H 9DD
The FT’s Marina O’Loughlin has long been a fan of what’s billed as London’s oldest French restaurant (it’s actually the city’s oldest ‘family-run’ French restaurant, having first opened its doors during the Second World War. And it’s an absolute hit of Parisian bonhomie and hospitality. Here is a menu that starts with such classics as onion soup and moules marinières before leading you through scallops and prawns flambeed with pastis to coq au vin and canard à l’orange.
Mayfair – 5 Pollen St, London W1S 1NE
Having spent years running the kitchens at The Ritz, and then opening the two Michelin-starred Row on 5, chef Spencer Metzger has gone to the other end of the scale for his latest restaurant Chez Rose, Named after his grandmother, this is all about relaxed bistro food with a menu of French favourites you’ll want to return to again and again. Expect classics, executed superbly like poulet rôti with vin jaune, morels and frites. One dish we would urge you not to miss is the crepe suzette; after all, Metzger had plenty of time to refine this during his tenure at the Ritz, and it’s done very well here.
St James’s – 34 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6DF
There’s a strong French restaurant lineage behind this elegant St James spot, with co-founder Francois O’Neill coming from hospitality stock (his dad Hugh O’Neill was behind the much-missed Brasserie St. Quentin in Knightsbridge). Here, working alongside front of house Ed Wyand and Executive Chef Matthew Ryle, the restaurant is where you’re as likely to spot MPs and titled gentry as you are hedge funders coming to enjoy the classic French menu. The charcuterie offering is particularly good – they hold an annual pate en croute competition – and the dessert trolley is something to linger over.
Maida Vale – 18 Formosa St, London W9 1EE
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to have a grand-mère on hand to whip you up some comforting home-cooked food, then you’re in luck at Paulette. This Insta-gorgeous bistro in Little Venice is all about cossetting its guests, from the homely interiors to dishes like gougères au Comté, poulet aux morilles et purée de pommes de terre and the Frisson Isèrois sorbet with its shot of green Chartreuse.
Holborn – 182 Gray’s Inn Rd, London WC1X 8EW
Is there something slightly unhinged about Otto’s? Definitely, but in the best possible way. Set apart from the London restaurant by its knick-knacks and owner Otto Albert Tepasse’s insistence that you wear a horned helmet if you’re taking the lead on one of their signature pressed duck, lobster or pigeon dishes, Otto’s is a place that goes big on hospitality. This is a restaurant where dishes will be sauced, set on fire and otherwise served to you in as theatrical a way as possible. Got something big to celebrate? Then their La Grande Bouffe is a gastronomic feast that’s £500 per person and will have you rolling home happy.
Bermondsey – 109 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XB
When co-funder Herve Durochat opened this Bermondsey bistro, he set out his aim to be as good as Chez Paul in Paris. We can safely say he’s more than achieved that goal. Every day the menu goes up on the board, and it’s a tight edit making the most of what’s in season. Recent dishes have included boeuf en croute with haricots, caille rôtie with asperges vertes, and clafoutis cerises. If the sun is shining and you’ve secured a seat on the terrace with a glass of Rully on the way, you can rest assured you’re winning at life in London.
Islington – 63-69 Canonbury Rd, London N1 2DG
Taking over what used to be Smokehouse in Islington, this saw the same team making a major pivot to become a classic French Bistro. The new French decor feels like it’s been there forever, while the menu goes full classic French. So you’ll find French onion soup, rillettes, snails, steak tartare and more and all done exceptionally well. The pommes puree is properly laden with butter and they’re another restaurant that does a fantastic crem bruleé. There’s an excellent all-French wine list here too, and one of Islignton’s best terraces.
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