London chefs share their favourite restaurants in the Capital

Thomasina Miers, co-founder and chef at Wahaca Mexican restaurants

To create great food you must know good food. Thomasina Miers agrees. ‘I love St John (26 St John Street, EC1, stjohnrestaurant.co.uk) and its amazing bakery,’ says Thomasina. She also recommends Tom Pemberton at Hereford Road (3 Hereford Road, W2, herefordroad.org) – ‘Tom does great things with home-grown produce.’ Smaller eateries also crop up on the Miers taste radar – like the Dock Kitchen (Portobello Docks, Ladbroke Grove, W10, themoveablekitchen.co.uk).

Vivek Singh, executive chef and CEO at the Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen

Meanwhile, Vivek Singh enjoys the hunt for the perfect curry. ‘If I am near home and want a good Indian, I go to Babur in Brockley (119 Brockley Rise, SE23, babur.info),’ says Vivek. ‘If either of our restaurants was closed, I’d recommend Rasoi (10 Lincoln Street, SW3, rasoi-uk.com) in Chelsea or Mayfair’s Benares (12a Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, W1, benaresrestaurant.com).

David Jones, head chef at Momo

Hunting out perfect ingredients for his restaurant finds David Jones touring the streets of the Capital: ‘I like to cook with spices. Not crazy hot ones, but fragranced types, like Spanish smoked paprika,’ says David. ‘A favourite place is The Spice Shop (1 Blenheim Crescent, W11, thespiceshop.co.uk) – there’s so much knowledge in that little space, and going there always inspires me to experiment.’

Take a global culinary tour without venturing beyond the M25

Head to South Norwood, SE25, to try Ghanaian cuisine at The Gold Coast (224 Portland Road, SE25, 020 8676 1919, thegoldcoastbar.com). Fat Boy’s Diner (Trinity Buoy Wharf, 64 Orchard Place, E14, 020 7987 4334) is an authentic 1940s American mobile diner with burgers, shakes and cherry pie. The Gallery (256a Brixton Hill, SW2, 020 8671 8311) hides behind a fried chicken shop, but inside you’ll find an amazing Portuguese restaurant. Try Saigon Saigon (313-317 King Street, W6, 020 8748 6887, saigon-saigon.co.uk) for the fresh flavours of Vietnam, from summer rolls to steaming bowls of pho. For kaffee und kuchen, Austrian-style, visit Café Strudel (429 Upper Richmond Road West, SW14, 020 8487 9800, cafestrudel.co.uk). Numidie Bistro (48 Westow Hill, SE19, 020 8766 6166, numidie.co.uk) serves up Algerian-inspired dishes such as lamb sausages, tagines and couscous. Eat fiery East African dishes at Zigni House (330 Essex Road, N1, 020 7226 7418). Zeitgeist @ The Jolly Gardeners (49-51 Black Prince Road, SE11, 020 7840 0426, zeitgeist-london.com) is a German gastropub with regional beers and dishes. Louis of Hampstead (12 Harben Parade, NW3, 020 7722 8100) has been dishing out Hungarian sweets and savouries since 1963. Drop in at Dotori (3 Stroud Green Road, N4, 020 7263 3562) for sizzling Korean hotpots and great sushi.

Love... variety. ‘An Ethiopian stew in Brixton, a Kurdish kebab on Green Lanes and a Pakistani curry in Whitechapel.’ Sacha Smith-Laing [EC1]

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Illustrations:Emma Dibben, Michael Frith