A food lover's 3 days in London, built from critic picks

Three days of eating in London, drawn entirely from restaurants professional critics write about. Dinners are the anchors: The Ledbury on day one, St. John on day two and Dishoom King's Cross on day three. Each day stays in one part of the city — the three stops sit within 3.7 km of each other at worst — so a day is walkable rather than a series of taxis. Nine restaurants in total, no repeats, chosen from 100 critically recognised places in London.

Updated August 2026

Day 1: where should you eat?

Three stops within about 1.6 km.

  1. Breakfast

    Dishoom Kensington

    3 critic mentions including Condé Nast Traveler and Time Out

    $$

  2. Lunch

    The Churchill Arms, Kensington

    2 critic mentions including Time Out and No Reservations

    $

  3. Dinner

    The Ledbury

    7 critic mentions including Condé Nast Traveler and Michelin Guide

    British · $$$$

Day 2: where should you eat?

Three stops within about 2.7 km.

  1. Breakfast

    Dishoom

    5 critic mentions including Condé Nast Traveler and Eater

    Indian · $$

  2. Lunch

    Padella

    3 critic mentions including Time Out and Somebody Feed Phil

    $

  3. Dinner

    St. John

    5 critic mentions including Michelin Guide and Eater

    British · $$$

Day 3: where should you eat?

Three stops within about 3.7 km.

  1. Breakfast

    sketch

    3 critic mentions including Michelin Guide and Time Out

    $$$$

  2. Lunch

    The Tamil Prince

    2 critic mentions including Michelin Guide and Somebody Feed Phil

    $$$

  3. Dinner

    Dishoom King's Cross

    5 critic mentions including Time Out and Somebody Feed Phil

    $$

Questions about eating in London

What is the most critically acclaimed restaurant in London?
The Ledbury, with 7 professional critic mentions — the most of any restaurant on this itinerary.
Where should I have dinner on a three-day trip to London?
This itinerary puts dinner at The Ledbury on day one, St. John on day two and Dishoom King's Cross on day three. Each is the most critically recognised restaurant in that day's area.
How much walking does this London food itinerary involve?
Day 1 keeps its three stops within about 1.6 km of each other; Day 2 keeps its three stops within about 2.7 km of each other; Day 3 keeps its three stops within about 3.7 km of each other.
How are these London restaurants chosen?
They are ranked by how many professional critic publications have written about them — not by user reviews or star averages. This itinerary draws from 100 critically recognised restaurants in London.

How this itinerary is built

Stops are picked automatically from London's critically recognised restaurants: the most-mentioned place in each area anchors that day's dinner, and earlier meals are chosen nearby, varying cuisine and price. The same data always produces the same itinerary. Cities with fewer than 25 critically recognised restaurants get no itinerary at all.

How the scoring works →

See the full London ranking →