Cheap Places to Eat in The Carnaby

"Equal parts Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian, SUSHISAMBA – nestled high up on the 38th and 39th floors of 110 Bishopsgate – is the place to see and be seen in the heart of the City of London. Standing tall as the second-highest restaurant in London and with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, this space beguiles its guests with its immersive views of the city at night. Order yourself a moqueca mista – a platter of jumbo shrimp, squid, sea bass and mussels with coconut milk, dende oil and chimichurri rice – and you’ll catch a feeling for why people fall in love with SUSHISAMBA."

"Located just below Duck & Waffle on the 38th and 39th floors of London’s Herron Tower is the equally impressive restaurant with a view – SUSHISAMBA. SUSHISAMBA uniquely blends Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine and culture, with a menu featuring everything from tempura and sushi to churrasco and seviches. As well as the large main dining room with its floor-to-ceiling windows and unusual bamboo roof, SUSHISAMBA also features the highest outdoor dining terraces in Europe, offering unparalleled 360-degree views across the capital."

"Restaurants Brazilian Liverpool Street. Take the glass elevator clinging to the side of Heron Tower, shoot up 38 floors in a few stomach-flipping seconds, walk through the pulsating bar and find your way to the double-height glasshouse of a restaurant, with its magnificent bamboo-lattice ceiling and wraparound views. Japan, Brazil and Peru come together here, making Sushisamba a sure-fire hit for a showy date night."

"Glamorous, moody and somehow still cool, Michelin-starred Cantonese trendsetter, Hakkasan remains the benchmark of all high-end Chinese restaurants and the food is as good as ever. For thrifty-ish dining, keep to the ambrosial dim sum and splash out on the grilled morel buns. For a full treat splurge, try the jasmine smoked ribs, crispy duck salad with pomelo, salty and moreish deep-fried softshell crab with specks of chilli and for full decadence: champagne-poached turbot and Peking Duck with foie gras."

"Hakkasan Mayfair is the second site of the very successful Chinese restaurant originally set up by Alan Yau. The new location is on Bruton Street and while it features a lot of the old favourites from Hakkasan on Hanway Place, the team created some new signature dishes for the Mayfair site. It's very much a celeb hangout too."

"No, you’re not going to put some raw tuna on a seaweed crisp and call it dim sum. Order from high-end Chinese restaurant Hakkasan in Mayfair instead. There’s a whole Peking duck."

"For truly excellent dim sum in a sleek, stylish setting, there are few places in London that match contemporary tea room Yauatcha. Yet another standout Asian offering from Alan Yau (Hakkasan, The Duck And Rice, Wagamama and more), after opening in 2004, Yauatcha was awarded a Michelin star and has held onto it ever since. Located on the corner of Broadwick Street in Soho (although there’s also a newer, City outpost), passers-by line up to stare through the blue glass walls at the rows of picture-perfect patisseries."

"The City outpost of Cantonese-European-patisserie-mash-up Yauatcha is now offering home delivery. Choose from everything from steamed dim sum, open-topped scallop shui mai dumplings, venison puffs and crispy duck rolls to sweet and sour pork and Singapore vermicelli noodles. For the first time ever, the restaurant is also offering Taiwanese pineapple pastries – the sweet buttery cake, which has caramelised pineapple at its centre, is said to hold the key to prosperity and good fortune."

"Chinese , Dim Sum"

"Restaurants American Shoreditch. Just off Brick Lane, Smokestak’s ‘medieval nightclub’ (as we described it when it opened) sits at the foot of an unassuming block of flats, but, cue corny trumpet fanfare, has a massive terrace on both sides of its corner frontage, with a fancy new awning in suitably robust army-green canvas to protect meat-chompers from summer downpours. Cos Smokestak is all about meat – brisket, pastrami – in great smoky chunks or shoved, peasant-style – into buns with pungent sauces and sharp sides."

"Shoreditch restaurant Smokestak keeps its barbecue low, slow and predictably smokey, with no dish showcasing its talent with the tongs quite like its signature 15-hour smoked brisket. Thick slices of its treacly, intensely flavoured, fat-dripping meat are best enjoyed piled high inside a brioche bun, scattered with piquante slices of pickled red chilli. Alternatively, give the restaurant 24 hours notice and you can enjoy an entire brisket cut for the table."

"When to go:When you and your mates have something to celebrate – even if that something is just a shared love of barbecued meat. What to have:Haven’t yet tried Smokestak’s signature beef brisket?. Prepare yourself for moist, smoky meat heaped into a bun and topped with barbecue sauce, bone-marrow butter and pickled chillies."

"Another of the Shard’s elevated eateries, dimly lit, sophisticated Hutong on the building’s 33rd floor serves what our waitress described as “spicy and numbing” Sichuan food. In practice that means an extensive range of dim sum and dumplings, alongside roasted Peking duck, crispy oysters and braised beef ribs in lotus leaf. The highlight of our meal, unquestionably, was the sichuan-style deep-fried lobster mixed with a potent blend of chilli, black beans and dried garlic, while cocktails (most at £16) are innovative and enjoyable, too - is there any other London cocktail counter where ingredients such as squid ink, pancakes and Peking duck are intermixed with the expected mixers and spirits?"

"Restaurants Contemporary Asian London Bridge. Like the original Hutong in Hong Kong, this offshoot halfway up the Shard is a glitzy rendezvous with amazing views, ersatz Old Beijing decor and a Sichuan-Northern Chinese menu. Tuned-in service and high prices come with the territory, but Hutong is a City date restaurant par excellence serving carefully rendered, offbeat food that’s guaranteed to jangle and soothe curious palates."

"London Bridge (33, The Shard, 31 St Thomas St, London SE1 9RY) With a menu which originated in the first Hutong restaurant in Hong Kong, London’s own version is located in the Shard, one of the city’s most distinctive buildings. This enormous skyscraper provides the ideal backdrop for a delicious meal – promising an intoxicating combination of great views and great food. The décor is also designed to reflect Hutong’s roots, with classic dishes from Northern China providing meals worth raving about."

"Serving excellent Italian cuisine, Mamma Ristorante conjures a vibrant menu in a quaint neighbourhood setting. Boasting a cosy front garden, diners are able to bask in the al fresco dining option in the chic Richmond area of London."

"Cantonese cuisine encompasses a lot of Chinese favourites, and there are a lot of Cantonese restaurants in Chinatown. So, when one of you is devoted to dumplings and the other is set on sweet and sour, Orient London is a place that does many things well. This Wardour Street spot is more upmarket and certainly more spacious than most Chinatown digs, but the prices remain firmly affordable – set menus start in their mid-teens per person."

"If you’re in the mood for something sweet, then pancakes always hit the spot. For an authentic American version head to Pickle & Rye in Sheen and dive into their buttermilk and blueberry pancakes, served with maple syrup and a choice of toppings such as bacon, banana, whipped cream, and more."

"For a more authentic, award-winning London Chinese restaurant, there's the Chinese Cricket Club. Named after the Chinese national cricket team who played their first match in 2009 and hosted in a Grade II-listed building, the venue serves Sichuan cuisine that focuses on spicy dishes and Cantonese Dim Sum. The interiors match the quality of the food, with bold greens standing against strong wooden furnishings."

"Bakers Mathew and Andrew met while working in Melbourne and decided to return to London to set up their own business. Chewy Cookie is all about quality, ethically sourced cookies. The doughs are aged for 24 hours before baking (and we can attest to how great they taste)."

"OK, now we know this next suggestion for the best desserts in London, isn’t a restaurant or cafes – but if you’re looking for an amazing dessert on-the-go, then I don’t think you can top Ben’s Cookies for deliciousness and price. Yummy, gooey, tasty cookies that dreams are made of."

"Why: Found a short distance from Harrods and other upmarket shopping destinations, Harry's Dolce Vita is perfectly accomodating for a spot of post-shopping dining. If lugging around all of those bags has worked up a sweat, you can cool down with one of Harry's delicious ice cream sundaes. You're able to enjoy them either inside or out on the terrace, and flavours to choose from include an apricot, mango and yoghurt combination or lemon sorbet topped with candied lemon and whipped cream."

"27–31 Basil Street, London SW3 1BBForget tiramisu and ice-cream sundaes – there’s a new pudding in town and it’s called the Toadstool. It might look like straight out of Super Mario, with its glossy red dome and cute white spots, but the white-chocolate, raspberry and pistachio creation at Harry’s Dolce Vita, the latest venture from Caprice Holdings, is the talk of London right now. And the rest of the menu’s not bad either."

"Restaurants Italian Belgravia. Directly behind Harrods, Harry’s is a glamorous Italian bistro with a breezy European-style terrace out front that’s often packed with people enjoying a spritz and a plate of pasta after a day of shopping across the road. Foodwise, stick to the simple Italian things: seafood spaghetti and fresh antipasti plates."

"Order from Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, which is now offering a selection of its culinary classics for delivery. Three different four course menus are available to order, all inspired by British historic gastronomy – including the vegetarian Royal Cooking Menu, which features a truffle version of Heston’s iconic meat fruit dish. Order at sevenrooms.com"

"Want a bite of Blumenthal without having to first sweatily consult your banking app?. Head toDinner by Heston – the only two-Michelin-star restaurant in London on this list – at lunchtime. You might even get to try a Heston Blumenthal classic like snail porridge."

"With two Michelin stars, sumptuously presented Dinner is a gastronomic tour de force, taking diners on a journey through British culinary history (with inventive modern inflections). Dishes carry historical dates... Sri Lankan in The West End"

"Otto’s may only have been open for seven years, but it feels like it’s been an integral part of London’s restaurant scene forever. And at a time when restaurants were all about sharing plates and open kitchens, this Grays Inn Road restaurant was properly old school from day one - reintroducing Londoners to the joy of Gueridon service with dishes like the steak tartare prepared tableside. But really there’s only one dish to order at Otto’s - the Canard Presse which is one duck for two guests over three courses of sheer theatricality."

"Dinner and a show is a classic way to impress a date – but at Otto’s, dinner is the show. The Holborn restaurant is something of a hidden gem favoured by food critics, and its famous dish of canard à la presse – or pressed duck – is a theatrical performance like few others in the capital’s restaurants. The bird is prepared tableside, often by the charmingly eccentric Otto himself, using a silver press to extract the blood (possibly not one for the squeamish)."

"Properly old-school French, Otto's has carved out a niche for itself because of a serious bit of kit called the duck press. This dish sees the breast sliced, then the rest of the duck (bar the legs) pressed in the special screw press giving a juice to which Cognac and duck liver are added before it's poured over the rare slices which finish cooking in the sauce. Both very rich and very pricey but, by all accounts, like nothing else in town."

"Situated in North London, Highgate Wood is one of the four ancient woods of the London Borough of Haringey (together with Queen’s Wood, Coldfall Wood and Bluebell Wood). Containing an impressive variety of trees and shrub species, the Highgate Wood is the home for many foxes, grey squirrels, as well as multiple species of birds, bats, butterflies and spiders. Besides the fact that it was included among the eight Green Heritage Sites in London, Highgate Wood also attracts visitors with its recreational facilities like children playgrounds, cafés, walking trails and sporting fields."