London doesn’t have a restaurant problem, if anything there’s too much choice. There’s somewhere for the big celebration, somewhere for the intimate catch up, somewhere for the client dinner you need to get right, and somewhere for the Tuesday night when you just want to be fed well without thinking too hard about it. The city has a restaurant for every version of a good night, the hardest part is which to choose.
Every restaurant in this edit embodies a different energy, chosen specifically for the night it suits best. Monday feels nothing like Saturday and a Wednesday dinner is its own thing entirely. This is the Table for Two guide to dining all seven nights of the week in London.
Monday
Josephine, Chelsea
On a Monday there are really only two things worth doing: eating somewhere healthy or eating somewhere that feels local. Josephine is the second one.
Walking into Josephine feels like stepping into a Parisian neighbourhood bistro. Well dressed Chelsea locals, cosy room, the kind of place where nobody is trying too hard.
Perfect for a quick dinner with your partner, a catch up with a friend, or a double date that doesn’t need a big occasion to justify it. Josephine makes a Monday feel more special than a Monday typically does and that’s exactly why it’s on this list.
Order this: the steak tartare, the pan fried salmon, or if you want to splurge on a Monday, the beef fillet. Always a side of frites.
Tuesday
Ria’s, Notting Hill
Monday called for something local and considered. Tuesday calls for pizza.
Ria’s is a small pizza spot in Notting Hill that opened two years ago and has been delivering some of the best Detroit pizza in London ever since. The room is dimly lit, the focus is entirely on the food, and there is no extensive drinks menu to distract you from the reason you came (which is probably for the best on a Tuesday!)
Best for a catch up with a friend you haven’t seen in a while. It’s not going to be a late night and it doesn’t need to be. Sometimes Tuesday just needs good pizza and good conversation, and Ria’s delivers on both.
Order this: the Dave’s Hot Pep or the pepperoni. Don’t overthink it.
Wednesday
Fonda, Mayfair
By Wednesday, you’ve earned something that feels a little more celebratory. Not quite the weekend, but close enough to let your hair down.
Fonda is the little sister restaurant of Michelin starred Kol, and it brings the same level of care and creativity to Mexican food, and is one of my favorite restaurants in London. Every ingredient is UK grown, which means the kitchen has to get inventive with how it builds flavour and inventive it is. The interiors are stunning, the kind of room that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into Mexico City, and it’ll be full regardless of what night of the week you’re there.
The crowd is a real mix, work dinners, groups of friends, date nights, and because it’s Mayfair, plenty of suits with a button or two undone, the midweek version of relaxed.
Order this: the Mexican cheese and salsa from the snacks, the yellowfin tuna crudo, the sea bass ceviche, and the Baja fish tacos which are non-negotiable. The short rib mole for the main.
Thursday
Nina, Marylebone
Thursday is not technically the weekend but Nina will make you feel like it is.
The details on the walls set the tone immediately, prints that say “pasta, sex, wine… joys of life,” and the crowd matches the energy. Nobody in this room looks like this is their last stop of the night.
Best for meeting your husband after work.
Order this: the beef tartare and the anchovy bruschetta to start, the yellowtail crudo, the Caesar salad, and the rib eye steak.
Friday
The Hart, Marylebone
Hot take: Friday doesn’t always call for a big night out. After a long week, sometimes what you actually want is somewhere to decompress, drink good red wine, and let the weekend arrive slowly.
The Public House Group opens one elite restaurant after another and The Hart in Marylebone is no different. It’s candlelit, warm, the kind of glow that makes a rainy Friday feel like exactly where you should be. Book a table in the restaurant upstairs (you can barely squeeze into the pub downstairs) and settle in.
The crowd also seemed to have the same intention. Nobody’s in a rush, and tables seem to linger. We went on a rainy Friday night and stayed for hours over red wine, which is my favorite way to spend a Friday.
Best for a double date or a small group of friends who want a Friday that feels restorative rather than rowdy.
Order this: the Jerusalem artichoke to start and the steak as a main with a side salad. The dirty vodka martinis are a must.
Saturday
Oma, Borough Market
Oma is the kind of place you go to celebrate. Even if that celebration is just the fact that there’s no work tomorrow.
Situated on top of its sister restaurant Agora in Borough Market, Oma is dimly lit with both indoor and terrace seating. The terrace is covered by the roof of Borough Market so weather is never an excuse. The clinking of tableware, a burst of laughter from the table next to you, the smell of something incredible coming from the kitchen. Oma riles up all the senses.
The crowd is groups celebrating birthdays and date nights, all sharing plates and staying longer than planned.
Order this: the spreads to start, the hummus, tahini and hot honey and the baba ganoush with tahini and Jerusalem artichoke crisp. The hot potato crisps are non-negotiable. The Cornish sea bass ceviche, the spanakopita gratin, also non-negotiable, and the dry aged Cornish lamb clay pot for the table.
Sunday
Cadogan Arms, Chelsea
Sundays are for a pub roast.
My first pub roast was shortly after I moved to London, an early date with my now husband. I remember him being genuinely stunned I had never had one before. We went for a walk through Hampstead Heath and ended it at a roast, and he told me you had to earn your roast first. All these years later that rule still stands. A roast must go hand in hand with a walk, or some form of exercise, or at the very least the intention of both.
Cadogan Arms is one of my favourite pubs in London, lovely seven days of the week but especially on a Sunday. Located in Chelsea, the crowd is well dressed, the lighting is right, and the energy of the place somehow takes you out of the immediate post roast slump that lesser pubs leave you in.
Order this: the Sunday Sharer Board… just make sure you earn it first!