London restaurant recommendation pls - very specific criteria!

[mixandmatch]

Hi - I live in London and know lots of restaurants but I'm looking for something quite specific for a special occasion meal which is a really nice restaurant (for me, DH, one teen, one tween). Happy to consider all sorts of cuisine, but what I care about most is the vibe. So needs to feel special and treaty but not unbearably cool and/or noisy and/or dark. So many good restaurants are one or all of these things now. I also don't want silent/unbearably stuffy and starched white tablecloths either. But just nice and relatively laid back, a bit special and not too loud or dark and small-platesy. Any ideas?

Ivy Asia
park Chinois Mayfair
lilibets
hakkasan
Ambassadors clubhouse

This place is nice.

Less cheesy than the rest of big mama.

Thanks all! Some really good suggestions here. Ivy Asia and Hakkasan both too loud and dark for me though, despite the excellent food.

And I'd rather avoid small plates if poss, but can flex on that more than I'm willing to flex on the noisy/dark thing!

Fine for it to be pricey - it's a treat!

Sushi Samba in Covent Garden

@TokyoSushi I like the idea of Circolo Popolare but is it not massively noisy and full of instagrammers?

It is both, but kind of fun

Yeah that rules it out I'm afraid (not the instagrammers, but the noise!) I am so sick of having to shout in restaurants like I'm in a club.

@mixandmatch

www.balthazarlondon.com

14 Stories?

Duck & Waffle? Not dark or especially loud, feels special because of how high up it is and the glorious views, not small plates and always really tasty food.

Shame

Scott’s. Timeless, great service, great food.

Bocconcino, Balthazar, Glorias (same company as Circolo Popolare butdifferent vibe), the Ned (love the live music in the evenings, can be loud though), berners tavern

Definitely more ‘buzzy’ than overly noisy, but is noise is a big consideration then maybe not.

For anybody else, go, it’s lovely!

This is quite a good shout for the kids actually.

This is quite a good shout for the kids actually.

How about Fallow ?

Hawksmoor.

I liked the duck and waffle, although there were famous influencers there when we went who waved goodbye making a big thing about leaving (dh and I had no clue who they were).

Recently we went to Luciano by Gino D'Acampo with 4 teens and it felt nice without being stuffy. Food was lovely and service very good.

One of the St John restaurants

https://stjohnrestaurant.com/

Oma in Borough Market is gorgeous food, great vibes, not too dark or noisy in my experience. Trishna in Marylebone for gorgeous Indian food. Ledbury obviously for a no holds barred sort of dining experience. Best service in London in my experience, and faultless food.

This was pretty loud and hectic when we went. tables too close together, stressed staff. It was December though, to be fair...

It's been a while since I've been, but is Bob Bob Ricard still a thing?

Same experience @2026Y, but not December. I think really overrated too.