Fresh and finely zested ceviche, sharing-style plates, wine pairings, and vibrant terraces. Just like that you’re flung along Europe’s sunniest coastlines without ever leaving the capital. These are the best Mediterranean restaurants in London.
Mediterranean cooking is loved around the world for its brilliant simplicity and joie de vivre approach to food and eating. While the Mediterranean coastline spans many countries across Europe and further afield, these restaurants all focus on seasonality alongside naturally ripened, good-quality produce, and freshly caught fish, allowing flavours to sing.
From Michelin-starred spots you’ll want to fight to get a booking for to London’s favourite tapas haunts (who are hosting excellent Spanish chefs next month) these are the Mediterranean spots to try in London.
Lita
Tucked just off Marylebone’s high street, Lita has introduced a refined style of European cuisine to London. And it shows: just less than a year after opening in March 2024, Lita was awarded with the most prestigious award in the industry: a Michelin star. Founded by Daniel Koukarskikh with a menu headed up by head chef Luke Ahearne (previously at Luca, The Clove Club, Corrigan’s), the menu offers an appreciation for core Mediterranean produce, with the likes of Kentish radishes served with smoked cod’s roe, chopped Hereford beef with Amalfi lemon, and Fuentes Bluefin tuna with corno peppers and capers. Start the evening off with a rhubarb pisco sour at the bar.
Toklas
London foodies will know about Chris Shaw’s central London spot, Toklas. Mediterranean fare at heart – with a core focus on seasonality – these are plates that will see you through the approaching sunny afternoons. Share the red mullet served with Toklas’ take on a Greek patatas yahni and meats grilled over an open fire. Beautifully designed by Miria Harris with potted plants and blooming flowers, Toklas’ sun-trap terrace is officially re-open for summer – the perfect central spot for a golden hour aperitif. If you’re in the area in the morning, make sure to stop by the Toklas bakery for Basque cheesecake or marzipan and strawberry brioche.
Barrafina
This Spanish tapas bar fuses plates from Central Spain as well as the Southern European country’s Mediterranean coastline in an energetic menu that tributes the founders’ mothers who grew up on the Balearic island of Mallorca. Regional Spanish dishes appear via tortillas, patatas bravas, anchovies, and grilled chorizo, while all the classics are here too, from grilled prawns to scallop crudo. There are five spots across the capital, with the flagship on Soho’s Dean Street, and each features a daily special menu chalked up by the spot’s head chef based on seasonal produce. It’s at the flagship that this September, Aitor López of Citrus del Tancat, the one-Michelin-starred restaurant in Alcanar, Tarragona is serving up a special eight-course tasting menu as the latest in the restaurant’s quarterly guest chef series.
Wildflowers
Chef Aaron Potter (from both Michelin-starred Trinity in Clapham and Elystan Street in Chelsea) and interior stylist Laura Hart are the two well-versed creatives behind Belgravia’s neighbourhood brasserie and wine bar Wildflowers. On the menu, you’ll find high-quality, seasonal dishes offering a flavour of the Mediterranean, with a seasonal produce-led approach to assure incredible flavours and traditional simplicity. Both the modern but romantic interiors as well as the courtyard terrace are where plates of Norfolk asparagus and spaghetti alla vongole are best enjoyed with a crisp glass of white wine and great conversations with friends. If you’re just on the lookout for a drink, head upstairs to the wine bar for a European-focussed carte.
La Petite Maison
La Petite Maison puts the riviera glamour into European cuisine, one freshly shaken tomatini at a time. You’ll find the restaurant across the world, spanning Dubai, Miami, Mykonos, and Hong Kong, but the London outpost is its first, and one well worth the visit. Across the menu, you’ll find all the fresh sharing plates that stick out as Mediterranean favourites, from warmed prawns doused in olive oil and lemon juice to salt baked seabass served with artichokes and tomatoes, accompanied by an excellent dessert menu too. Despite its well-versed feel and sophisticated menu, the overall ambience here is relaxed and exudes that convivial European charm from its white-clothed tables to a sun-trapped terrace ideal for warm evenings in the city.
Alba
This newly opened (February 2025) spot in Knightsbridge calls to the Amalfi Coast via a joyful menu that champions fresh fish and classic pasta, while its clever culinary twists of courgette flowers stuffed with crab and saffron-butter crab ravioli lend well to keeping up with London’s very active restaurant scene. While the menu is extensive enough to entice you in for a long, lazy dinner, Alba does also offer a 55-minute lunch for a taste of Italy’s stylish riviera while on the go. The interiors (spot the classic Italian homeware brands peppered about, including Ginori) are incredibly photogenic too, which never goes amiss when catching up with friends over the yellowtail crudo.
The Ninth
This Michelin-starred spot on Charlotte Street still bears all the charm of a neighbourhood haunt, from its green-toned intimate terrace to its menu of seasonal, Mediterranean-inspired sharing plates. Talented chef Jun Tanaka is the figure behind the star, curating a seasonal-led menu of home-made pastas topped with fresh tomatoes or cuttlefish, as well as lots of fish and meat plates to tuck into. There are plenty of vegetarian options too, from chargrilled celeriac to hispi cabbage, truffle pasta, and more.
La Maison Ani
French sophistication meets the sunny attitude of our favourite European seaside spots at La Maison Ani, where chef Izu Ani serves up a crowd-pleasing menu of fresh salads, thin-crust pizzas, Wagyu beef burgers, and a selection of risottos, gnocchi, and pastas. The plates of grilled harissa crevettes, fresh garlicky snails, and lobster and quinoa salad hit all the pleasure points without trying too hard, and without requiring you to leave the city for your summery food fix. On a sunny weekend, hop over to West London’s leafy borough of Kensington for breakfast here, where you’ll find freshly baked viennoiseries, great coffee, and a selection of warm plates waiting for you.
Lead image credit: Barrafina, Dean Street
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