Kimchee

Where: Holborn

Cuisine: Korean

Swank Levels: 4/5

Kimchee is an extremely large restaurant standing tall in High Holborn. This expansive space is filled with dark wooden screens making the interior look extremely slick and stylish yet the restaurant balances this by using traditional Korean tableware to maintain a sense of authenticity.

Cinnamon Soho

Where: Soho

Cuisine: Indian – Fusion

Swank Levels: 3/5

Having dined at the beyond prestigious Cinnamon Club in Westminster, I had high hopes for Cinnamon Soho, the sister restaurant found in a slightly dodgy looking street just off Carnaby Street. But this is the problem of being the younger sister of a fabulous sibling, especially if you don’t live up to the standards of grace and splendor that have already been set.

Cinnamon Club

Where: Westminster

Cuisine: Indian

Swank Levels: 5/5

Cinnamon Club has a reputation for being the best Indian Restaurant in London and it certainly lived up to this on my long awaited visit. As the pinnacle of Indian cuisine in London I have been craving to go to Cinnamon Club for years and was beyond excited when the perfect opportunity came up.

Bintang

Where: Camden

Cuisine: Pan-Asian

Swank Levels: 1/5

 

What a strange little place. And I don’t mean that in a wholly complimentary way either. My evening meal at Bingtang was fundamentally a rather odd experience, including the food and décor.

Bill's

Where: Covent Garden

Cuisine: British/Med

Swank Levels: 4/5

 

This little gem tucked away in a corner of St. Martins courtyard impresses at first sight. The glassed walls look into a two floored dining area which is decked out with beautiful chandeliers, ornate candelabras and twinkling candles placed on cleverly aged wooden tables. On these tables are topped off with more candles in in old jam jars and aged oatmeal cans holding the cutlery.

Nam

Where: Soho, Dean Street

Cuisine: Vietnamese Street Food

 

Swank Levels: 2/5

 

Nam is not swanky, it’s cool. Located in an inconspicuous corner of Dear Street, Nam’s lack of gimmicks is strangely alluring. At first glance Nam looks more like a warehouse than a restaurant, with its grey walls and a stainless steel counter. However the clever combination of solid grey and multi cultured paper lanterns bring an edgy chic to the restaurant.
 

Kilis Kitchen

Where: Angel

Cuisine: Turkish

Swank Levels: 5/5

Kilis is the kind of place where love stories start.

From the moment you step into the low ceilinged warmly colored restaurant there is an instant aura of comfort. This restaurant seems to emanate a welcoming glow, and the waiters all emphasis this as they graciously greet diners.

 

Satsuma

Where: Soho

Cuisine: Japanese

Swank Levels: 3/5

This restaurant must have had the most number of refurbishments out of all the restaurants in Soho.

Gilgamesh

Where: Camden Market

Cuisine: Pan-Asian

Swank Levels:

3/5 (for effort rather than outcome)

The only restaurant in the UK in which I’ve had to take an escalator up to, Gilgamesh is known for its swank. Yet it hardly resembles a restaurant.

 

Costing a staggering £60 million to build, this 520 seat space is representative of a high topped steel buffet tent at an army camp than a cosy restaurant you’d want to have a relaxing evening meal in. I have never encountered so large a space where no attempt has been made to break it up into smaller sections.

Suda

Where: Covent Garden

Cuisine: Thai Café Restaurant

Swank Levels: 4/5

Suda is a fairly new restaurant and a fairly strange one at that. It is definitely swanky and it is obvious that it is also new. The entrance isn’t worn out yet by the footprints of regular diners and the interior still gleams.

Zara

Where: Hampstead Heath

Cuisine: Turkish

Swank levels: 2/5 but...

Zara doesn’t aim for a swanky feel, instead it provides a comfortable and homely setting for diners. As you enter the restaurant diners will feel like they are walking into someone’s home, with terracotta floor tiles, cushioned benches lining the sides of the room and Turkish lamps dotted across the ceiling adding to the cosy layout.

Ozer

Where: Regent's Street, Fitzrovia

Cuisine: Turkish

Swank Levels: 3/5

 

Chutney Mary

Where:  Chelsea

Cuisine:  Modern Indian

Swank levels:  5/5

Chutney Mary is a fine dining restaurant to which swank comes naturally.  

Renovated quite recently this is one of those restaurants which takes your breath away whilst instantaneously putting a smile on your face. What’s more this smile keeps growing the further you go into the restaurant.

Kenza

Where:  Aldgate

Cuisine:  Lebanese and Moroccan

Swank levels:  5/5

Kenza oozes swank as soon as you walk through the door.

Daylesford Cafe

Where:  Selfridges Roof Top, Bond Street

Cuisine:  English

Swank levels:  4/5

Smithy's Restaurant & Wine Bar

Where:  King's Cross

Cuisine:  Modern European

Swank levels: 4/5

This has to be King’s Cross’s best kept secret, and a very good one at that.
Smithy’s is in the centre of London but has an intimate feel of a local about it. Only those lucky enough to be in the know wine and dine here and it’s obvious they appreciate the place.

Koya

 

Where: Frith Street, Soho

Cuisine: Udon noodles

Swank Levels:

This restaurant is exactly what you would expect from a small niche Soho eatery. Instead of swank, Koya is the epitome of Soho’s eclectic cool.

Sanzio

Where: Willesden Green, North West London

Cuisine: Italian

 

SamarQand

Where: Marylebone

Cuisine: Central Asian (Russo-Uzbek-Kazakhstani )

Swank Levels: 4/5

A British rapper was filming his bling new video in the bar when we were dining there, giving an indication of the swank levels.

Sarracino

Where: West Hampstead

Cuisine: Italian

Swank Levels:

Situated in a side street in West Hampstead this is a true Italian restaurant in every way.