Updated on 20 August 2019
Eating out in Victoria used to be limited to the fast-food outlets within the station itself or taking a short walk to the high-end restaurants in nearby Belgravia. But, like other London termini such as King’s Cross, Liverpool Street and Paddington, the area around London Victoria has been treated to a facelift which has made restaurants its most attractive feature.
Key to this has been the £380m Nova development, which is home to restaurants from some of the biggest names on London’s food scene, with something to suit every pocket. Neighbouring Victoria Street, meanwhile, has also been spruced up and has welcomed some of London’s better-quality chains and restaurant groups. What’s more, Wilton Road, tucked away south of the station, has been transformed from Pimlico’s scruffy high street into a vibrant strip of chef-owned places to eat and drink.
So, whether you’re catching a train, catching a play at the Apollo Victoria or Palace Victoria theatres, or just catching up with friends somewhere central where no one can complain they can’t get to on public transport, you’re now spoilt for choice for where to eat. Read on to discover our critic-reviewed list of the best restaurants in Victoria.
191 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5NE
Bang opposite the main entrance to Victoria station, Market Hall’s dozen kitchens are a brilliant choice whether you’re having lunch with a colleague or supper ahead of catching the train home. In summer there’s a rooftop terrace, too.
21 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0BD
Sushi – both of the traditional and modern variety – is the speciality of this contemporary Japanese a short walk from Victoria station, which also does a nice line in tempura and hot meat and fish dishes cooked on the robata grill.
7-8 Eccleston Yards, London, SW1W 9NF
This cute offshoot of Shoreditch’s Jones Family Project comes complete with a courtyard terrace. House speciality steaks are sourced from Yorkshire farmer The Ginger Pig but lighter seafood and vegetarian dishes are handled just as well.
41 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6AF
The standards at Quilon are as high – and the cooking as authentic – as you’d expect at a south Indian restaurant housed within the Taj Hotel, one of India’s most prestigious hotel groups. Fish and seafood are highlights.
5-6 Zig Zag Building, 68 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6SQ
It might be a chain but the cooking at this outpost of Ibérica is as good as when there was just the one Ibérica. Tapas classics are done to a high standard while staff are friendly and helpful.
8 Gillingham Street, London, SW1V 1HJ
With its own entrance and airy outlook, you’d never guess that this casual cicchetti restaurant is within the Park Plaza Hotel. Sharing plates are good for groups while a bowl of pasta is quick and easy before or after the theatre.
150 Victoria Street, Victoria, London, SW1E 5LB
With a café at street level and a dining room up above, this Scandinavian restaurant within the Nova development offers something for every eating occasion, from breakfast right the way through until dinner – or just a glass of wine.
The Other Palace, 12 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5JA
This wine-focused restaurant gets its name from its location within The Other Palace Theatre and for being an offshoot of Naughty Piglets in Brixton, which, the story goes, Andrew Lloyd Webber liked so much that he brought it here.
70 Wilton Road, Pimlico, London, SW1V 1DE
Chef Andrew Wong transformed his parents’ traditional Cantonese, Kym’s, into one of the most cutting-edge Chinese restaurants in Europe. Expect thrillingly creative daytime dim sum and modern updates of regional Chinese cooking.
Zig Zag Building, Victoria Street, Westminster, London, SW1E 6SQ
With its cavernous dining rooms, public and private-members’ bars and a mezzanine wine shop, this outpost of the original M in the City is out to impress. M Raw serves Japanese and Peruvian small plates while M Grill is devoted to meat.
143 Ebury Street, London, SW1W 9QN
Handmade pasta, regional Italian cooking and reasonably priced wines are the calling cards of this insider secret tucked away in the southern reaches of Belgravia. Well-spaced tables and convivial staff make for a reliable lunch spot.
76 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1DE
With a former chef from The Square in the kitchen and an ex-River Café sommelier out front, you can expect high standards from the daily changing menu at this whitewashed dining room on the Pimlico/Victoria borders.
15 Eccleston Street, Bristol, Bristol,
It might, strictly speaking, be in Belgravia, but this original outpost of the Boisdale group is well worth the short walk from Victoria for its tartan-clad interiors and fine Scottish produce, whether salmon, steak or Scotch whisky.
8 Sir Simon Milton Square , London, London, SW1E 5DJ
A sibling of Fitzrovia’s Riding House Café, this outpost over the road from Victoria station sticks to the same approachable all-day formula of breakfasts and brunches, globally inspired lunches and dinners, and after-work drinks.
The Goring, 15 Beeston Place, London, SW1W 0JW
The more formal of the regal Goring hotel’s two restaurants, this traditional dining room boasts interiors designed by Princess Margaret’s son Viscount Linley and an egg dish on the menu that was the Queen Mother’s favourite thing to eat.
Want to eat in a smarter conrer of SW1? Check out our pick of the best restaurants in Belgravia.
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