Best Restaurants in London guaranteed to impress a date

If you want to impress a date with some fine dining in London, then these are some of the capital’s best places to eat with a great atmosphere. With the wow-factor and bonus points for being insta-worthy, they are perfect for a date-night. These restaurants might not all be the pinnacle of haute cuisine, but they all tick the boxes when it comes to having a photogenic atmosphere and menu items or views that are perfectly primed for impressing and sharing on social media. So it’s a bit of a quirky twist on the best restaurants in London but are all my personal favourites.

Sky Garden

Address: Sky Garden, 20 Fenchurch Street, EC3M 8AF

Website: www.skygarden.london

Rafael Viñoly designed the Sky Garden on 20 Fenchurch Street masterfully. The structure is London’s highest public garden as it rises 37 stories, and rhubarb occupies the top three levels, together with the public amenity space Sky Garden, which provides 45,000 sq. ft of high-quality facilities space. There’s enough nature to go around at the beautifully landscaped gardens, providing 360-degree panoramic views of London and everything in between! It really is one of London’s most Instagrammable restaurants with 177k followers on Instagram at the time of writing.

Award-winning landscape architecture company Gillespies designed Sky Garden. To create the extensively planted terraces, the designers selected the drought-resistant Mediterranean and South African species. Because plants work in harmony with the space and sustain full colour all year long, individual plants were selected.

With idyllic views at sunset, it’s easy to turn the romance up a notch with fine dining at a gem in the London food scene.

Decimo

Address: 10 Argyle Street London WC1H 8EG

Website: www.decimo.london

When dining at this exciting restaurant on the tenth floor of the Standard Hotel, you are enthralled by the floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a stunning view of London’s light-drenched skyline, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Shard to the south, and the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel across the road, which must be seen from every angle.

The lighting, deep banquettes, and gold and red hues adorning Head Chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias’ London debut venue all contribute to its charming ambience. The toilets are among the city’s most intriguing as well. A Michelin-starred chef blends Spanish and Mexican cuisines with flawless flair. Your camera can zoom in on the wide selection of food which will give you the most attention on Instagram.

 

NoMad London

Address: 28 Bow Street, WC2E 7AW15

Website: www.thenomadhotel.com

NoMad London gained attention last year with the aplomb when it opened its doors thanks to its remarkable interiors and beautiful dining space that combines grandeur and intimacy and a well-oiled restaurant PR campaign. The NoMad Restaurant, located on Bow Street, is an atrium replicating an Edwardian greenhouse. During the day, natural light floods the space, but at night, the space becomes a sensual, moody setting thanks to its lighting. Roman and Williams, a New York-based firm, created the space with the aim of creating one of the most unique and best restaurants in London.

The menu is focused on local and seasonal ingredients, showcasing British and European food. A wood-burning grill is the focus of the entire dining room.

Isabel Mayfair

Address: 26 Albemarle St, London W1S 4HY

Website: www.isabelw1.london

The eye-pleasing furnishings at Mayfair hotspot Isabel include a gold-lined walls, mirrored ebony bar, polished brass lamps adorning the ceiling, and much more. Juan Santa Cruz, a Chilean banker turned restaurateur who opened the location in 2017, created this restaurant as a more ladylike version of his glossy Casa Cruz in Notting Hill. According to Santa Cruz, the name is a nod to his grandmother.

If you walk down the wooden hallway, you’ll see Art Deco and Chinoiserie-style décor adorning the gilded dining room, where diners are appropriately well-lit thanks to 300 overhead lamps designed to enhance skin tones. We also must mention that the toilet walls are the most Instagram-friendly part of the restaurant, decorated with de Gournay hand-painted wallpaper.

Gloria

Address: 54-56 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3QR

Website: https://www.bigmammagroup.com/en/trattorias/gloria

The bright yellow façade of Gloria, Big Mamma Group’s Italian trattoria in Great Eastern Street, is sure to be a hit with those seeking a luxurious meal. Whether you’ve been there or not, you’ve probably seen it on Instagram, as the interior design (designed by Studio Kiko) was created to be photographed.

Its marble top upholstery, pinstriped upholstery and gilded light fixtures transport diners back to 1970s Capri. Meanwhile, the sight and taste of Gloria’s food are memorable like, for example, the carbonara sharing dish which is served on a wheel of parmesan.

EL&N

Address: Multiple Locations

Website: www.elnlondon.com

EL&N (formerly Élan Café) is undoubtedly the most Instagrammable location in the city, thanks to its never-ending flower and heart wall motifs. Style, flair, and exuberance are all synonymous with élan, and posting the restaurant on your socials is an excellent way to show everyone what they are missing out on.

The restaurant first opened on Park Lane and is fast becoming the favourite hangout of style influencers thanks to its excessive use of pink. The walls are pink, the floor is pink, and the ceiling is, too. It really is that pink.

Sketch

Address: 9 Conduit Street, Mayfair, W1S 2XG

Website: www.sketch.london

Sketch is a unique dining establishment on Mayfair’s Conduit Street, where one can dine, drink, and enjoy art. The toilets are the most photographed in the city and are located above four unique restaurants and a bar. Other Instagram-worthy spots include the Swarovski-encrusted bathroom and the pink Gallery, which is blessed with David Shrigley artwork.

India Mahdavi and Yinka Shonibare CBE RA, project architect and British-Nigerian artist, recently transformed the iconic London eatery Sketch into a sunshine-yellow bumblebee haven. Using stunning dyed fabrics, hand-carved wooden masks, and checkered yellow seating, the restaurant’s interior is a visual feast for the eyes.

Sea Containers London

Address: 20 Upper Ground, South Bank, SE1 9PD

Website: www.seacontainerslondon.com

Sea Container’s Lyaness bar is the newest round of Mr Lyan’s hospitality sorcery, and it’s the finest London experience you can imagine. Lyaness offers spectacular views of the Thames and expertly mixed cocktails, all in one location.

Any Instagram pictures here will be sure to receive multiple likes. If you need to chill you can head towards the agua London spa and if you need to eat, the restaurant is top notch. Any Instagrammer would love to take pictures here from all angles.

 

14 Hills

Address: 14^th Floor, 120 Fenchurch Street, EC3M 5BA

Website: www.14hills.co.uk

There are many rainforest-inspired restaurants in London but visiting 14 Hills should be top of your list. From floor to ceiling, the restaurant is filled with trees, shrubs, and foliage, and the views show London’s skyline at night, which is quite enchanting. You definitely won’t be able to put your phone down here.

You’ll discover sharing pleasures on the menu, such as a herb-crusted rack of spring lamb, spring greens, and ras el hanout jus; and 900g Angus-Hereford cross rib beef, grilled baby romaine, ranch dressing crispy onions, béarnaise, and peppercorn sauce. All these foods sound mouth-watering and we are sure many of your friends and family will be jealous.

Annabel’s

Address: 46 Berkeley Square, London W1J 5AT

Website: www.annabels.co.uk

Martin Brudnizki, a London-based designer, is responsible for Annabel’s unique interior design. The bizarre and whimsical design theme is what makes up the members club’s new design. It is ‘a rabbit hole that one falls into,’ says Brudnizki. Annabel’s reopened in 2019 with the new design after a revamp.

The swan-shaped gold taps adorning the pink onyx shell sinks in the rose-hued pink powder room and the pink silk rose ceiling with the floral wallpaper are just a few of many luxurious touches in the bathrooms in Annabel’s. Elsewhere, a bespoke chandelier, swarming with unicorns and monkeys, traverses through several floors.

The London Edition

Address: 10 Berners Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 3NP

Website: www.editionhotels.com

If you walk into the extravagant Berners Tavern at The London Edition and you’ll be amazed by what you see. It’s difficult to capture a unique image here, so you should feel free to grab a picture of the graffiti-covered walls, the ornate ceiling, and the enormous central chandelier.

The dishes are also tasty; Crispy smoked ham hock, fried pullet egg, BBQ Dingley Dell pork chop, char siu glaze, mashed potatoes, pickled plum jam, roast bok choy, sprouting broccoli, Herdwick lamb rump, white onion purée, and anchovy dressing. So, there will be no need to add a filter to your Instagram pics.

Sexy Fish

Address: Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London W1J 6BR

Website: www.sexyfish.com

Richard Caring’s Sexy Fish is without a doubt London’s most spectacular dining establishment. It is reported to have cost £15 million to construct—a figure most will instantly recognise as worth it. A magical underwater-inspired wonderland is created with Damien Hirst-designed bronze mermaids decorating the bar, a coral reef ceiling, a gold-plated crocodile on display, and water flowing down the walls. In addition, the private dining room has its own aquarium which adds another dimension to the quirky decor. It really is worth a visit if you’ve spent the day shopping in London.