Diners' Choice: Best Ambience restaurants in London

OpenTable

Updated November 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants with the best ambience in London? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favourite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

INIS

4.9

4.9 (52)

£25 and under

Irish

Hackney Wick

About the restaurant

Relaxed and friendly local set on the canal towpath on Fish Island, East London. Serving a seasonal menu of British and Irish food, coffee and drinks. Dog friendly. Outdoor seating.

Open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and Sunday lunch. Evenings from Summer.

Top review

Patrick

Dined 1 day ago

Fantastic food and cocktails in amazing setting with friendly passionate service. A gem!

Bergamot Cafe

4.8

4.8 (82)

£25 and under

Café

Shepherd's Bush

About the restaurant

Welcome to our family-run cafe, where delicious home-style meals and warm hospitality are always on the menu.
Our exquisite foods is influenced by Persian cuisine and prepared by Shirin our chef.

Bergamot is a gorgeous new trendy boutique café that stands out with its elegant design and food.

We also offer a top-notch socializing experience with our supper clubs cooking classes and cultural events, starting with infused Persian food and expanding to other cuisines. Our classes will host renowned chefs and provide a break from the everyday routine. We are also environmentally conscious and strive to reduce waste by using recyclable materials as much as possible, even in our fit-out, mainly using reclaimed wooden furniture.

Top review

Daisy

Dined 6 days ago

Amazing food and service as usual. Was recommended the rose and pink grapefruit drink and it was so amazing.

The Library Bar at The Lanesborough

4.9

4.9 (119)

£41 and over

Cocktail Bar

Knightsbridge

About the restaurant

One of the capital's most celebrated cocktail destinations, The Library Bar – distinguished by its outstanding mixology and venerable "liquid museum" of spirits – offers the warm and intimate atmosphere of a private club accompanied by a vibrant ambiance that makes it a popular choice with Knightsbridge and Belgravia's well-heeled locals as well as hotel guests. The bar, located within Hyde Park Corner's Lanesborough hotel, is home to cognacs dating back to the 1770s, as well as spectacularly prepared cocktails by a team of award-winning experts including Bar Manager Mickael Perron.

Top review

jane

Dined on Nov 10, 2024

This is our favourite bar in London, we go there purely for the cocktails but sometimes we will have a bowl of fries or some small plates. It is truly lovely. The staff, pianist and ambience is simply the best. We never needed to book historically but you do now so do it so you are not disappointed.

Discover more

Experience

Library Bar Lunch Hour

Experience

Martini Sundays with Bombay Sapphire

Experience

The Hennessy X.O Experience

Oi Spaghetti

5.0

5 (349)

£41 and over

Contemporary Italian

Peckham

About the restaurant

My name is Francesco and I cook spaghetti in this cabin restaurant with 3 tables, since 2015. I work solo. I don't serve more than 15 diners a day, and I will take care of your dinner like I would for my mother.

You can watch me LIVE on Twitch under "Francescocooksspaghetti".

Top review

Maria

Dined on Nov 1, 2024

Best pasta place in Greater London! You need to Try it

Reis Grill & Bar

4.7

4.7 (344)

£26 to £40

Steak

Ruislip

About the restaurant

We are passionate about food and providing best in class experience.

Serving our delicious food from authentic charcoal grill, refreshing cocktails mixed with love and spectacular interior design with touch of live entertainment.

We specialise in prime dry aged steaks, mouth-watering classic grill dishes and sizzling hot new recipes. We use the fresh and best produce and ingredients to help flavour our dishes.

Our experienced bartenders serve variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Take a peek at our bar menu for cheeky cocktails or for more classic options such as prosecco or spirits. You may even get a little surprise with your drink.

We welcome you to join us for an immense an experience.

Top review

Mia

Dined 7 days ago

We visited Reis Bar and Grill in Ruislip on a Saturday evening around 7 PM, and the experience was amazing from start to finish. My partner had the tomahawk steak with chips (10/10, by the way), our little one had chicken nuggets and chips, and I ordered the sea bass. The cocktails were not only delicious but also Instagram-worthy, with great presentation. The food was served with a dramatic dry ice effect, which was a nice touch. The waiters were warm and attentive without being overbearing, which made us feel really comfortable. Booking online was seamless, and everything ran smoothly. Unfortunately, my son wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t eat, but I ended up sharing some of the tomahawk steak, and wow—it was incredible. The sea bass was nice, and the sauce was good, but it wasn’t quite my kind of dish (I’m a bit fussy with food). To top it off, we ended up meeting the manager - thanked us for our visit at the end, which felt really genuine. We’ll definitely be back for the fantastic food, cocktails, and just the overall good vibes.

B E H I N D

5.0

5 (39)

£41 and over

British

Hackney

About the restaurant

Welcome to BEHIND. We are an intimate 1 Michelin star fish-focused tasting menu restaurant run by chef Andy Beynon. Situated on the edge of London Fields, Hackney, BEHIND has 18 kitchen-table seats for lunch and dinner sittings, as well as a relaxed wine bar.

BEHIND is Andy Beynon’s first restaurant, opened in October 2020. After just 20 days’ trading it was awarded its first Michelin Star. Andy spent 15 years working in some of the best Michelin star restaurants in the country, including with chefs Claude Bosi, Phil Howard and Michael Wignall.

Top review

Jess

Dined on Nov 15, 2024

Delicious food, the courses were so creative and well thought through. The setting and way the chefs serve the tables was also perfect, not too overwhelming, but really nice to be able to see them plate up each dish in front of you. Also loved the shipping forecast playing in the loos. Delicious cocktails too

Discover more

Experience

NYE at B E H I N D

MARIAGE FRÈRES

4.4

4.4 (395)

£25 and under

French

Covent Garden

About the restaurant

The Mariage Frères flagship houses the largest tea wall in the world where you can shop from a selection of 1,000 teas and tea accessories, a tea museum bursting with history, refinement and heritage, and a Salon de Thé restaurant, serving tea-infused breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner alongside an assortment of decadent French tea-infused pastries all made in-house.

Top review

Gary and Janet

Dined 1 day ago

We have been before and always enjoy, but this time despite my wife advising that it was a birthday celebration nothing extra was done for us. Also brought the tea out before the champagne. Otherwise all was good.

Oblix West

4.5

4.5 (282)

£41 and over

Global, International

London Bridge

About the restaurant

Located on the 32nd floor of the Shard, with panoramic views across the London skyline, Rainer Becker’s Oblix offers a contemporary, sophisticated yet relaxed dining experience. Stir the senses as you enter the main dining room through the excitement of the kitchen; or head to the bar and relax while you dine in the ambience and energy of the lounge. The wood fired oven, charcoal grill and spit roast are the heart and soul of the Oblix kitchen.

Thank you for choosing to dine with us at Oblix WEST.
- Your reservation is subject to a 2-hour return time.
Menus may vary according to date, time, please check menus prior to booking.

Top review

antoine

Dined on Oct 12, 2024

exceptional dinner, great service from Francesco from Bari !

Discover more

Experience

Brunch £58 per person

Experience

Lunch Set Menu £42 per person

Experience

Afternoon Tea £68 per person

Tangawizi

4.9

4.9 (895)

£26 to £40

Indian

Twickenham

About the restaurant

Tangawizi restaurant in London’s East Twickenham, close to Richmond Bridge, earned the well-heeled locals’ devotion right from the off. The chef is ‘trained by and strongly recommended by Vineet Bhatia’ and that’s saying quite a lot. The dining room is very smart, mood-enhancingly lit in saffron and blackberry with details of beautiful sari fabric inlaid in the tables. Dishes are authentic North Indian, but cutting-edge and contemporary, the way we Londoners like them: the freshest of ingredients, little oil, sparkling flavours. Try the mixed platter of starters to share to really browse the possibilities, then choose something like spicy marinated red snapper in tempura batter served with cheddar and Parmesan risotto, with one of the lovely dahls on the side. The traditionally-clad waitstaff are very attentive and the whole experience a winner.

Top review

Leonie

Dined 1 day ago

Lovely food and service - great local restaurant, recommended

The Water House Project

4.9

4.9 (30)

£41 and over

British

Bethnal Green

About the restaurant

The Water House Project is a modern British tasting menu experience in Bethnal Green, East London.

Chef Gabriel Waterhouse opened The Water House Project with his wife, Patricia in Bethnal Green in Autumn 2021 aiming to bridge the gap between fine dining elegance and a more relaxed, comfortable atmosphere.   Here the team serve a seasonally evolving tasting menu which changes every three months.

We rely on local, seasonal ingredients using these when at their best.    We believe in using small amounts of ethically and sustainably reared meat and fish, and partnering with suppliers who share in our values. Our drink pairings are made up of either wines, sourced from small scale producers or a non-alcoholic pairing of teas, tonics and ferments made by our kitchen team.

Seasons Discovery menu - Wednesday 7pm & Saturday 1pm
(£125pp including alcoholic or non alcoholic pairing)

Seasons Signature menu - Thursday - Saturday 7pm
(£155pp including alcoholic or non alcoholic pairing)

Top review

Anthony

Dined on Nov 15, 2024

Beautiful food, beautiful people beautiful restaurant. A true culinary experience that is so intentional in its delivery. Each dish is explained by either the waiter or chef themselves, where staff take the time to get to know the diners whilst eating. It felt like we were at a big dinner party in their house and we were their guests for the night. With dinner starting at 7:00pm each course was plated and served to us at exactly the same time allowing us all to experience at the same time. Even choice of cutlery is specific and intentional allowing us the ability to capture taste and texture as the chef intends. This restaurant reminded me of an art expression, with food used rather than paint, where the chef uses food in clever well thought out ways to flex his creative ideas. For this reason the food is slightly on the expensive side, but due to the size of the restaurant and its chill intimate and private feel it makes sense. We dined for just over three hours, never felt rushed like in many other restaurants these days where you just feel like a number, and left happy & content. I would highly recommend. Thanks Gabriel and the Team.

Explore Diners' Choice best of London

Explore more Diners' Choice lists