Best Fine Dining in Epping Upland

"Perhaps the most Instagrammable restaurant in London, Sketch boasts distinctive powder-pink interiors set in an 18th-century Mayfair townhouse. The Wes Anderson-esque space, the work of Paris-based interior designer India Mahdavi, comprises pink walls and matching scalloped, pink-velvet booths, completed by artworks courtesy of David Shrigley, who also designed the restaurant’s flatware. The food is equally well-designed, described by the restaurant as “site-specific sculptural works."

"A post shared by sketch (@sketchlondon) on Jun 5, 2019 at 9:23am PDT. Surprise your partner with an anniversary meal at one of the most Instagrammable and quirky restaurants in London, Sketch. Choose from the collection of unusual restaurants and bars housed within one building: enjoy a cocktail in the fairytale setting of The Glade or the cosy Parlour, before trying modern dishes at art-inspired The Gallery or three Michelin-starred Lecture Room & Library."

"The Lecture Room & Library, also known as Sketch, was a new addition to to the list in 2020 and continues to keep its stars. It’s also one of the 16 Mayfair restaurants with Michelin stars in 2020. The Library offers a sophisticated French menu, with a seven-course meal priced at £120."

"A post shared by London Restaurant Interiors 🇬🇧 (@resturantsoflondon) on Jul 4, 2019 at 11:11am PDT. A cosy and slightly more casual seafood restaurant than its sibling nextdoor, J Sheekey Atlantic Bar is perfect for a first date with a seafood lover. Don't be shellfish and share a platter, or to really impress, ask for the off-menu dessert (frozen berries and white chocolate)."

"A jewel of the Covent Garden dining scene, this incredibly smart restaurant was opened by 1890s fishmonger Josef Sheekey on the permission of Lord Salisbury (who wanted somewhere to eat after the theatre)."

"The first of two award-winning French restaurants from the brothers Galvin. Under the high ceilings of St Botolph’s Hall, the seven-course Menu Gourmand will satisfy your appetite for £85."

"What do you do if you can’t find a unique space for your restaurant on the crowded streets of London?"

"This pudding is so simple you wouldn’t think they’d get away with it. Indeed the apple and sake sorbet is probably there largely to prove the restaurant does actually have a dessert chef. But who cares that it’s so easy to pour molten white-chocolate ganache over a layer of pert, tart little iced berries?"

"The London outpost of Chinese fine dining group Imperial Treasure, which has locations in Shanghai, Incheon, Guangzhou, Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris, is housed in an impressively renovated former bank in St James and offers refined Cantonese classics, which more than stand up to their surroundings. While the menu includes a fine array of dim sum, Char Sui and more unusual dishes (chicken’s feet, sea cucumber and fish maw all make an appearance), the signature here is the Beijing-style roasted duck – a sophisticated take on your local takeaway’s crispy aromatic version that has been steamed, dried, seasoned, hung and then roasted to turn it a deep orange hue with skin so crispy it shatters like glass. Yes, it costs £100 and has to be ordered in advance but, trust us, it’s worth it."

"Restaurants Chinese St James’s. One of only a handful of London restaurants dealing in refined Cantonese food, Imperial Treasure is a grand, high-ceilinged spot in Mayfair with classy service and even better barbecued duck (the delicious kind you’ll find hanging in the window in Chinatown). The prices border on blow-out, so order carefully."

"Imperial Treasure is, hands down, the grandest Chinese restaurant in London. Its sister restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai have Michelin stars and one imagines the first London outpost has similarly lofty ambitions. Just off Pall Mall, it's covered in marble up to its high, original ceilings, with cool, contemporary wooden fittings giving an intimate feel to the enormous, opulent space."

"Stefan Kalmár, the Director of the ICA London states: The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London has been the model for most ICAs that exist in the world today. Since its founding in 1946, the ICA contextualises contemporary culture within the socio-political conditions of the times. The ICA was created as an institute (not a museum), for the contemporary (not just modern) and for all the arts (not just art)."

"The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an art gallery near London's Trafalgar Square. In addition to exhibits on contemporary art, the ICA includes two cinemas, a bookshop, a theatre, and a bar. Established in 1947, ICA creators wanted to create a place for artists and other creative and science folk to debate ideas without being constricted by the rules and traditions of the Royal Academy."

"Restaurants Bakeries Dalston. It may be little more than a hole-in-the-wall behind Ridley Road market in Dalston, but Ararat’s Middle Eastern-style flatbreads (they call them ‘naans’) are the stuff of legend and find their way into countless restaurants and shops across town – as well serving the needs of hungry local boozehounds. The action centres around a huge rotating oven and a trestle table where the naans are bagged up (hot ones are wrapped in paper, cold ones come in environmentally friendly plastic bags)."

"This poky bakery on Ridley Road Market does some of the best flatbreads in the whole of London. This is the spot to visit if you’re in the market for a bread that’s wonderfully chewy, easy to tear-and-share, and practically begging to be dragged through a pool of hummus. Affable owner Chaudhry Zafar Iqbal has perfected each and every blistered bread that comes out of Ararat’s intimidating naan oven."

"This tiny operation on Dalston’s thrumming Ridley Road Market serves London’s most outstanding flatbread. Blistered, pillowy, light, soft — the run of adjectives could go on and on — and wrapped with egg, garlic, or finely-minced meat if a quick lunch is needed, nothing else is needed."

"Cafe de Nata specialise in one thing and one thing only – authentic Portuguese custard tarts (or Pastéis de Nata if you want the real name!) Hundreds of these gorgeous little tarts are made baked by hand every single day in each of their bakeries and if you’re lucky enough you might catch one coming straight from the oven. Takeaway mostly but there are 2 seats in the window if you can grab one."

"Besides coffee, they only serve Pastel de Nata, which are Portuguese Custard Tarts, THE sweet treat of Portugal. If you’ve been wanting to try one, this is the place to do it. They’re baked fresh every day right in front of customers, and they’ve really got it down to an art."

"If you’ve ever had a Portuguese tart (also called a Pastel de Nata) you’ll know why Cafe de Nata is so popular. It’s one of our favourite dessert places in London, and whilst these tarts may be small – they’re also mighty."