Whether you’re after a long lazy lunch or need a decadent location to get down to business, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from in the capital. Catering to both and beyond with carefully-curated lunch set menus – designed by head chefs to showcase the very best their restaurant has to offer – book fine-dining fare at 45 Park Lane’s Cut, Mauro Colagreco at Raffles, and Brooklands By Claude Bosi at The Peninsula or opt for concise, creative menus by the plant-forward Ottolenghi team, Japanese restaurant Roka or Chinese cuisine at Gouqi. There’s a lot to choose from and it can be hard to sift the gimmicks from the great gastronomy – but we’re here to help. Here’s where to lunch in London.
Pavyllon London, Mayfair
Michelin-starred Pavyllon, located in Four Seasons Hotel at Park Lane, offers four courses served in 55 minutes for £55.50 per person, making this one of the speediest lunch menus in the capital. Designed to fit into busy schedules, and therefore a perfect choice for business lunches and casual get-togethers, chef Yannick Alléno‘s menu combines traditional French techniques with modern flavours. Think soft egg and tuna tartare with ginger mayo, steamed comté cheese souffle, braised beef cheek in bone marrow crust and strawberry nage.
Hamilton Place, Park Lane, W1J 7DR, visit fourseasons.com
Bocconcino, Soho
Promising one of the best-value set menus in London, Bocconcino in Soho invites diners to enjoy two generous courses for £26, or three courses for £29 every weekday from 12-4.45pm – the perfect post-shopping feast or location for a decadent business lunch. Kickstart your meal with starters of vibrant salmon tartare with avocado or the luscious creamy burrata with pesto, followed by mains including classic carbonara, a selection of roman-style pizzas or the picanha steak with rocket salad. Conclude your lunch on a high note with a selection of desserts, featuring the traditional tiramisu or the authentic Sicilian cannolo – bellísimo!
59 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7JY, visit bocconcinorestaurant.co.uk
The Ivy, across London
Images: Charlie McKay
Step back in time at the original Ivy outpost on West Street with its unique set lunch menu. In 1917, London’s theatreland became home to The Ivy, which became an instant sensation, drawing socialites, celebrities, and the crème de la crème of society from across the world. Over 100 years later, The Ivy continues to celebrate its unique history with a menu paying homage to the classics created over the last century, priced at a mere £19.17 for two courses. Start with roasted tomato soup with red pepper, pine nuts and coriander, before enjoying the signature Ivy Shepherd’s Pie with slow-braised lamb and beef while vegetarians can enjoy chargrilled halloumi with mixed grains, avocado and edamame beans. Elevate your experience with dessert for an extra £5 – try the classic frozen berries with yogurt sorbet and white chocolate sauce.
Visit ivycollection.com
Cut at 45 Park Lane, Mayfair
Steak fans should head to Cut at 45 Park Lane, led by chef Elliott Grover, for lunch from Monday-Sunday to sample its Steak and Salad menu. As the restaurant celebrates premium cuts of meat grilled and prepared to perfection – and offers the widest selection of wagyu in London – the set menu, priced at £45 per person, offers a 28-day dry-aged ribeye steak accompanied by salads such as Caesar or indulgent burrata, heritage beetroots and pickled walnuts, on top of a selection of side dishes. Alternatively, guests also have the option of a roasted cauliflower steak with chimichurri or a Scottish grilled halibut steak for the main – all served in a sumptuously-decorated dining room.
45 Park Lane, W1K 1PN, visit dorchestercollection.com
Joia, Battersea
Image: Matt Russell
Two Michelin-starred Portuguese chef Henrique Sá Pessoa has launched two new set lunch menus on Fridays and Sundays at Joia – the Iberian restaurant set across the 15th floor of Art’otel Battersea – perfect for those mid-shopping spree pit stops. Available on Fridays, the set lunch menu (£45 per person) offers three courses featuring a selection of Sá Pessoa’s favourite dishes, including starters of octopus salad with potato, paprika and red peppers, arroz de marisco – bomba rice with prawns, mussels and razor clams – and an indulgent Basque cheesecake with quince compote.
Sundays, however, see a set menu featuring family-style sharing plates for £55 per person. The perfect alternative to a typical Sunday roast, the menu includes petiscos and tapas of pan con tomate and Iberico croquetas followed by seafood cataplana – a Portuguese fish stew made with clams, prawns and the catch of the day – and a rack of lamb with roast potatoes and rosemary and pancetta sauce. Sides of Tenderstem broccoli with piquillo peppers, and green salad with apple and moscatel dressing accompany the meal, and we’d recommend saving room for the poached rhubarb with red pepper, lime and white port sorbet.
15th Floor, 1 Electric Boulevard, Battersea, SW11 8BJ, visit opentable.co.uk
Luca, Clerkenwell
Luca, the Michelin-starred modern Italian restaurant in Clerkenwell, serves a seasonal express menu from its standalone bar, offering diners the chance to enjoy its contemporary take on Italian cuisine in a more casual format. Diners can choose from a regularly-changing menu by head chef Robert Chambers, all designed to observe the traditions of the cuisine to deliver a menu of modern classics. Example dishes include delectable mezzi paccheri pasta with delica pumpkin and datterini tomatoes, roast coppa with polenta, rainbow chard and salsa verde, and the restaurant’s famed tiramisù. The bar express menu is available daily from 12-2pm, priced at just £26 for two courses or £30 for three.
88 St John Street, EC1M 4EH, visit luca.restaurant
Mauro Colagreco at Raffles London at The OWO, Whitehall
Images: Justin De Souza
For an elevated value meal, opt for the £60 three-course set lunch menu at Mauro Colagreco’s eponymous restaurant, which opened at Raffles London at The OWO last year. Here, the globally renowned chef – who holds three-Michelin stars at his Menton restaurant Mirazur – has created a dining experience that champions circular gastronomy. Available from Tuesday to Friday every week, the set lunch menu offers a curated overview of Colagreco’s best dishes, inspired by more than 70 fruits and vegetables native to the British isles.
The set lunch menu begins with an amuse-bouche and pain partage, before guests are offered a choice of starters, including cep with Westcombe cheddar curd, or potato spaghetti with hazelnut and wild mushroom ragout. To follow, main courses include kohlrabi with Cornish turbot, or parsnip with venison loin and chocolate, before sweet treats of citrus, served in a crispy ravioli shell with black lemon ice cream, and chocolate with rosemary and olive oil. Bon appétit!
57 Whitehall, SW1A 2BX, visit raffles.com
Roka, Aldwych
Famous for its fresh sushi and sashimi, Roka offers a range of set menus catering to all budgets. The Aldwych outpost offers a weekday set lunch menu (£36 per person) from 12-3.30pm every Tuesday to Friday, featuring hero dishes of baby back pork ribs with sansho and cashew nuts and salmon fillet teriyaki, alongside smaller plates of tiger prawn tempura with spicy yuzu sauce, beef, ginger and sesame dumplings and the chef’s three-piece sashimi selection.
71 Aldwych, WC2B 4HN, visit rokarestaurant.com
Gouqi, St James’s
Images: Lateef Photography
Set in the historic centre of St James’s, Gouqi (pronounced “goji”) draws its name from an island in the East China sea, famed for its picturesque fishing villages and eponymous goji berry shrubs. The debut solo venture from Tong Chee Hwee – formerly executive head chef at seven-time Michelin-starred Hakkasan Group – Gouqi offers modern Chinese fine-dining. On Monday to Friday lunchtimes, guests can enjoy a two-course overview of chef Tong’s favourite dishes for £38 per person, including a selection of dim sum (think morel mushroom spring rolls and black truffle har gau), followed by mains of spicy crispy chicken with cashew nuts, and stir-fried cloud fungus, lily bulb, gai lan, and shiitake – all served alongside jasmine rice and claypot silken egg tofu with wild mushroom and vegetables.
25-34 co*ckspur Street, SW1Y 5BN, visit gouqi-restaurants.co.uk
Kolamba, Soho
Opened on Kingly Street in 2019, Kolamba offers a modern take on Sri Lankan home cooking, reviving dishes from founders Eroshan and Aushi Meewella's childhoods in Colombo. Adapted by Eroshan from recipes handed down by family and friends, Kolamba's dishes celebrate the communities of Sinhalese, Tamil, Moor, Burger (Dutch) and Malay descent that call Sri Lanka’s capital their home, bringing bold and vibrant flavours to Soho.
From Monday to Friday between 1-4pm, Kolamba offers a two-course set lunch menu for just £17.50 per person. Starting with street foods: opt for either Nalini’s fish cutlets with curry mayo, or a vegetarian banana blossom patty with spicy sriracha, before enjoying one of Kolamba's classic rice and curry bowls. Forming the centrepiece of the meal, these bowls include a colourful selection of dhal, cabbage mallum, tomato sambol, spicy pol sambol, and mango chutney, served on a bed of rice alongside a choice of Ceylon chicken, jaggery beef, pineapple fry or Kamala’s kalu pol pork.
21 Kingly Street, Carnaby, W1B 5QA, visit kolamba.co.uk
The Grill By Tom Booton at The Dorchester, Mayfair
The Grill By Tom Booton, The Dorchester’s fabled modern British restaurant, offers lunches that showcase modern twists on classic home-cooked favourites. Served Monday to Saturday, the three courses, priced at £35 per person, start with crispy chicken leg served with pistachios and foie gras snow or red oakleaf salad with pear, blue cheese, and walnuts, before larger plates of chicken and mushroom pie drizzled in parsley liquor or poached cod with lemon, basil and courgette. Save room for classic English desserts, including coffee and cream soft serve with hazelnut brittle or English strawberry trifle and custard ice cream – delicious.
53 Park Lane, W1K 1QA, visit dorchestercollection.com
The Campaner, Chelsea
Available in the beautiful Catalonian-inspired restaurant in the heart of Chelsea, Campaner’s fixed lunch menu – available Tuesday to Friday from 12-3pm – is priced at £35 and includes a choice of three courses, ranging from tortilla and croquette of the day to tomato salad with aji amarillo and tuna belly. Mains include catch of the day, Andalusian-style baby squid, corn-fed poussin or rice of the day, before the restaurant’s signature dessert: arroz con leche with passion fruit toffee.
Chelsea Barracks, 1 Garrison Square, SW1W 8BG, visit thecampaner.com
Benares, Mayfair
Sample the best of Michelin-starred chef Sameer Taneja’s dishes via the Mayfair restaurant’s two lunch set menus, available Monday to Saturday. The original – where diners can choose between two courses for £33 or three courses for £39 – showcases a curated selection of the restaurant’s finest plates, such as the creamy goats milk paneer tikka and the spicy tandoori chicken momo. Take things up a notch, meanwhile, with the lunch tasting set menu – a shortened version of the signature featuring six courses priced at £85 per person – including tawa halibut and clam moilee, black truffle and white chocolate galouti kebab.
12a Berkeley Square, W1J 6BS, visit benaresrestaurant.com
Norma, Fitzrovia
Tucked away on Charlotte Street, Norma is inspired by the food and culture of Sicily and offers a set menu that brings these sunshine flavours to lunchtime in Fitzrovia. For just £27 for two courses or £30 for three, the menu – available Monday and Friday from 12-3pm – has been created by executive head chef Giovann Attard to feature freshly-baked focaccia, chickpea panelle with fennel seeds and salsa verde, and caponata with crostini. To follow, pick from two of Norma’s signature pasta dishes: Cornish crab and chilli linguine, or traditional Sicilian pasta alla Norma. Seasonal homemade gelato provides the perfect sweet ending to this unique Italian foodie experience.
8 Charlotte Street, W1T 2LS, visit normalondon.com
The Connaught Grill, Mayfair
Located in the heart of Mayfair, The Connaught Grill redefines the notion of a traditional grill room with an ever-evolving set lunch menu featuring reimagined classics. Showcasing the contemporary culinary creativity of chef Ramiro Lafuente Martinez, and celebrating the finest British ingredients, this is the perfect destination for weekday power lunches or friendly get-togethers over the weekend.
Available from Thursday to Sunday, the weekly-changing set menus are priced at £35 and £45. Expect seasonal produce and quality cuts of meat, with many of the dishes prepared with flame and flair over the wood-burning grill. Start with smoked eel with warm potato and caper salad, or crispy egg with foraged mushrooms and wild garlic to start. Mains include beef rib and onion pie, or cauliflower steak with romesco, pickles and herbs before ending with raspberry mille feuille and pistachio ice cream, or classic bread and butter pudding with coffee ice cream.
16 Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, visit the-connaught.co.uk
Rovi, Fitzrovia
Available Monday to Friday, the set lunch menu at Rovi showcases a selection of dishes sourced from the bestselling 2021 cookbook, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love. In true Ottolenghi form, the Rovi team have taken their favourite recipes and elevated them to create a bold but refreshing set menu in time for spring, served Monday to Friday from 12-3pm. Start with summer courgettes with ricotta and tomato salsa, before tucking into succulent beef kebabs with lime powder and pita or opt for the fish koftas with ancho chilli tomato sauce – and if you have a sweet tooth, don’t miss the indulgent Chocoflan.
59 Wells Street, W1A 3AE, visit ottolenghi.co.uk
Brooklands By Claude Bosi at The Peninsula Hotel, Mayfair
Brooklands by Claude Bosi at The Peninsula London has recently introduced a new Concorde lunch menu, inspired by the bold innovation of its namesake supersonic aircraft. Priced at £58 for three courses and served throughout the week, the menu promises to take diners on a gastronomic journey across the British Isles over the course of a 60-minute lunch. Highlights include English mora farm beetroot with stracciatella and black cardamom, Cornish cod with koshihikari rice and a citrus voluté, and Ringden Farm quince with cocoa mucilage ice cream or a selection of locally-sourced Risely and Spenwood British cheese – the ideal end to a memorable but speedy lunch.
The Peninsula, 1 Grosvenor Place, SW1X 7HJ, visit peninsula.com
Murano, Mayfair
Having celebrated its 15-year anniversary in late 2023 with a chic refurbishment, Angela Harnett's Michelin-starred restaurant Murano is a beloved stalwart on the London dining scene. Here, choose between two (£50) or three courses (£55) and indulge in some of Hartnett's much-loved seasonal dishes from the classic charred Roscof onion with bitter leaves and sunflower seeds and Cornish hake with a lentil and mussels ragu and spic velouté. The perfect hour-long lunch treat.
20 Queen Street, W1J 5PP, visit muranolondon.com
Carousel, Fitzrovia
Image: Aleksandra Boruch
Available Tuesday to Friday from 12-3pm, guests can now enjoy some of Carousel's much-loved dishes for lunch at outstanding value with the new prix fixe menu, priced at £22 for two courses and £25 for three. Inspired by head chef Ollie Templeton's extensive travels and the community of chefs that he has established over the years through his collaborative work in Carousel’s residency kitchen, the dishes build a bridge between those countries and the UK.
To start, guests can choose between domino potato with langoustine sauce and lovage, and burrata with fennel and salsa verde, followed by mains such as red mullet with green harissa, wild garlic pistachio ravioli, and grilled chicken leg on mustard leaves. The meal will be served with a choice of fried potatoes or green salad, and those who opt for the three courses will be able to enjoy chocolate mousse, hazelnut, and olive oil or rhubarb and hibiscus ice cream with honeycomb.
19-23 Charlotte Street, W1T 1RW, visit carousel-london.com
Claridge’s Restaurant, Mayfair
Images: JustinDeSouza
Claridge’s Restaurant has recently introduced a set lunch menu, ideal for a business lunch or a central London pit-stop before soaking up the city’s cultural scene. The menu is a curation of some of the restaurant’s much-loved dishes served in true Claridge’s style – expect white linen tablecloths, soft leather banquettes and dramatic pendant lamps to ensure a glamorous experience.
With the option of either two (£49) or three (£58) courses – ready to order Monday to Friday from 12-2.30pm – guests can expect showstopper starters like Severn and Wye smoked salmon with cucumber, crème fraîche and soda bread, and English asparagus with hazelnut and truffle vinaigrette. For mains, opt for Norfolk black chicken with potato fondant and peas, or the Madeira potato gnocchi served with purple sprouting broccoli, black garlic and pecorino. No meal at Claridge’s Restaurant would be complete without one of its refined but deliciously nostalgic puddings – good luck choosing between the chocolate soufflé tart with cacao nib cream or the traditional strawberry Eton mess.
Claridge's, Brook Street, W1K 4HR, visit claridges.co.uk
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