Cheap Places to Eat in Sydenham Hill Wood

"Sushi Samba is housed on the 38th floor of Heron Tower, offering Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian sushi in a design-savvy setting. With locations in Las Vegas, Miami Beach and NYC, London’s offering is in good company, boasting the highest outdoor dining terrace in Europe. The result is unparalleled, 360 degree views of the City.sushisamba.comDon’t miss our guide to London’s most Instagrammable restaurants"

"Unashamedly fusion, this restaurant and bar at the top of the Heron Tower mixes Brazilian, Peruvian and Japanese influences. One of the coolest things about the experience is being whisked up in panoramic glass elevators, Willy Wonka–style, to what are the highest dining terraces in Europe. There’s probably no better place in the city to drink in the sunset."

"They say: ‘Celebrating the culture and cuisine of Japan, Brazil and Peru.’. The sweet stuff: A chocolate banana cake (which contains rum and serves four), as well as a hard cake, consisting of yuzu ganache, lychee and cherry mousse."

"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."

"If slick and sexy is the date vibe you’re going for, the low-lit labyrinth of Hakkasan’s Mayfair restaurant is one of London’s most seductive spots. Head underground via the waterfall-lit stairs to find tables flanked by peek-a-boo wooden panelling and a gently thrumming soundtrack."

"Hakkasan are all about beloved Cantonese plates at an elevated level as the luxury Soho Chinese restaurant brings you dim sum and duck in a glamorous, date-worth setting of dimmed lights and lush cocktails."

"The ”it crowd” dine on a menu of more than 84 amazing dishes at this sexy dim sum teahouse in Soho. Michelin-star quality and incredible cocktails from behind the fish tank bar brings in big names such as Amanda Seyfried, Gwyneth Paltrow and Gwen Stefani.You don't even have to break the bank to dine here, with a cheap dim sum afternoon tea available Monday to Thursday."

"Dim sum al fresco is just one of those things that we can't resist. And it's even harder to now that the Soho and City branches of Yauatcha open. But we don't care, because venison puffs and scallop shui mai make us happy – especially when they're washed down with a Rose Fortune cocktail."

"London's glamorous Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant has a ground-floor dining room that's a blue-bathed oasis of calm from the chaos of Berwick Street Market; downstairs is smarter, with constellations of... Seafood in The West End"

"You’ll probably smell David Carter’s barbecue joint well before you see it; while the signage is discreet, the tang of smoke meets you halfway up the street. Behind two heavy, metal-riveted doors, it’s a temple to certain ideas of masculinity and to meat—all concrete walls, steel paneling, and rough-planked tables and banquettes (subtext: real men don’t need cushions). The meat comes in many forms here: 15-hour smoked brisket, superb pastrami, and generous portions of ribs."

"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."

"Being outside Smokestak in Shoreditch is already a delightful experience as the smell of the burning wood and charcoals that fire the barbecues is simply irresistible. Couple that with their covered, heated when needed terrace area and there's no reason not to book in with another household immediately, especially if you're in the market for sensational wood-fired cooking."

"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?"

"Sitting on level 33, Hutong is the highest of the restaurants in the Shard. Hutong showcases the very best of northern Chinese cuisine and culture, with its stylish interior sporting traditional red lanterns, hand-carved ‘Moon Gates’, silk curtains and epic views over London, a menu based on the ‘Lu school’ cuisine of China’s Shandong Province and cocktails inspired by ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine. While all of the restaurants in the Shard certainly come with an inflated price tag, popping in for a cocktail and small bite could still prove better value than forking out £32 for a ticket to ‘The View from The Shard’ viewing platform."

"Take the romance to another level – or 33 – at the Shard’s sky-high northern Chinese restaurant, where the panoramic views of the city are simply astounding. Inside, the restaurant is low-lit, dotted with glowing red lanterns, and intricately decorated with antique wooden panels. Things really heat up when you get to the menu: Sichuan spice peppers most dishes, so it’s aphrodisiac-central."

"Originating in New York, Red Farmlanded in Soho back in 2018, bringing with it quirky Pac Man shrimp dumplings and custard bao. Order one of their set menus online to enjoy their contemporary take on classic Chinese cuisine, with bottles of Champagne also available for those extra special occasions. Red Farm's steamed bites are almost too cute to eat...almost."

"The popular New York City restaurant RedFarm recently took over a space in Covent Garden and within a matter of months landed on The Times’ Top 100 UK Restaurants list."

"Nanny Bills at Boxpark won’t disappoint with its choice of hand-pressed burgers and buns. Created in homage to the founder Darren Simpson’s grandma, who operated a thriving café through the ‘70s and ‘80s, Nanny Bills has something of a neighbourhood-minded vibe about it. Classic Nanny Bills burgers include ‘The Dalston Dip’ (a double beef patty with American cheese, onions and gravy) and ‘The Hot Mess’ (a buttermilk fried chicken patty with American cheese, smoked bacon and hot sauce)."

"Award-winning burgers and unrivalled taste, Nanny Bills' vegan and vegetarian range will have your mouth watering. Try their The Lula burger for their famous black bean & quinoa patty, topped with vegan cheddar, vegan burger sauce and glazed pineapple. If you're still craving the taste of meat, their Chick Thing plant-based chicken fillet will fill that fix."

"The Wonderlab exhibition is arguably top of the list of London attractions for kids aged 7-14. There’s something for everyone in this gallery in London with over 50 hands-on science experiments, exhibits and activities. The Science Museum has another three levels of interesting science exhibitions and demonstrations too."

"Regent Street is the main thoroughfare through London towards one of Londons iconic green spaces, Regents Park. (Travelling with kids, visit Regents Park to try all the playgrounds!). Don’t miss the lanes and side streets running off Regent street."

"Restaurants Chinese Shepherd’s Bush. Food-wise at this Chinese restaurant in Shepherd’s Bush’s Dorsett Hotel, top marks go to the exquisitely crafted dim sum – from the signature xiao long bao to sophisticated open parcels of scallop siu mai topped with tobiko – while the dining room reflects the classy comfort of its hotel setting."

"Chinese , Dim Sum"

"Having evidently foreseen its popularity when settling on a name, Dumplings Legend lives up to the myth with an excellent dim sum selection. A lunchtime spend ticking off a list of steamed and fried mouthfuls is a pleasure: the pork xiaolongbao soup dumplings mount a considerable challenge to those that cause four-hour queues at a certain Covent Garden restaurant, while prawn har gau are pristinely folded – particularly impressive for less than a pound per piece. Decor is simplistic, but crisp white tablecloths serve as a pleasing backdrop for a growing mountain of bamboo steamers."

"Dai Tai Fung may have made all the headlines last summer for its long queues in Covent Garden, but Dumplings' Legend is the real deal for an authentic, crazily busy central Chinatown dim sum speciality restaurant. There's a glass-fronted open kitchen where the dim sum are prepared with mesmerising dexterity and all the steamed dumplings are impeccable, especially those mixing minced chicken and prawns. Less adventurous diners will be thrilled with the generous,verdant, vividly fresh chicken stir-fry."

"Try the fried turnip cake (luóbo gāo), stuffed rice noodles (cheung fun) and, of course, plenty of meat-filled dumplings. A glass-fronted kitchen allows diners to gawp at the chefs' magic while it happens."

"Chu Chin Chow has been quietly delivering one of London’s finest fried chicken dishes to those in the area since 2005. Every last piece of the Malaysian Fried Chicken (MFC) is a flavour bundle of succulent meat embedded in shattering layers of chicken skin interwoven with caramelised aromats. Chicken take away for very lucky locals."

"Restaurants Chinese Chinatown. Kitsch Communist Revolution decor meets northern Chinese street food tidied up for London at this lively joint on Newport Court. True to Sichuanese form, red is the predominant colour and chilli fire the overriding taste sensation: dan dan noodles, smacked cucumber salad and crescent dumplings are all good."

"Tuck into traditional street food from Northern China at three-storey Baozi Inn in Chinatown. Choose from light-as-air baozi (steamed buns), house speciality dan dan noodles or hearty noodle broths; all at an affordable price. The decor fuses Chairman Mao-themed artwork and traditional lanterns with modern furnishings."

"This place is kinda fancy, with some not-so-cheap dishes on the menu. But the dim sum selection is pretty wallet-friendly, especially if you come with a group of people. The dumplings here are seriously delish."

"Vanilla cake with coffee chocolate – rich but not too strong – and two hugely generous layers of light, mega fluffy mascarpone, plus cocoa powder to finish. London farmers’ markets"