8 Best Restaurants in South of the Thames, London

This bistro on Bermondsey Street near the Fashion and Textile Museum is as French as a pack of Gauloises, from the yellow walls and red-and-white checked tablecloths to the perfectly executed classics like lapin à la moutarde (rabbit in a creamy mustard sauce), suprême de volaille aux mousserons (chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms), escargots, and île flottant (meringue on a vanilla custard base). The daily changing menu offers three reasonably priced options per course, and the wine list (French, of course) goes off the beaten path with discoveries from small local producers. The limited amount of space means that diners are in close proximity, but everyone is usually too busy scarfing down the excellent food to notice.

Sit at the galley kitchen counter and you can watch the chefs toss hot pans of authentic handmade (on-site) Italian pasta, generally considered among the best in London. The acclaimed but amazingly affordable small plates include ravioli with Neal's Yard ricotta and sage butter, burrata with Puglian olive oil, papardelle with a slow-cooked beef-shin ragù, and Dorset crab tagliarini with chili and lemon. An Italian cocktail favorite like a Negroni or Aperol Spritz (plus Italian wine on draft starts at £4.50) make the perfect accompaniment. Lone diners might get a stool at the counter overlooking the kitchen right away. Otherwise, leave your name at the door or join the "virtual queue" and they will message you when your table is ready, but the combination of high quality and low prices means you could be waiting an hour. The early bird catches the table.

This is a cluster of small shops specializing in jewelry, art, clothing, and ceramics by designer-manufacturers, with an adjoining cluster of informal restaurants and cafés, most with outdoor seating. A project of the Coin Street Community Builders, a social enterprise group, it bustles with activity. The same group converted the nearby Oxo Tower Wharf, an art deco warehouse with three levels of designer studios that also serve as retail outlets. The Oxo Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie, a pricey restaurant operated by the swish department store Harvey Nichols, occupies the top floor, and you can see the same spectacular views from an adjacent free public viewing area (open daily).

Renowned chef José Pizarro has managed to re-create an authentic, slightly rustic Spanish tapas-and-sherry bar. With just 30 seats and no reservations, it's always packed after 6 pm, but it's worth the wait for remarkably fresh, perfectly prepared classic tapas plates like patatas bravas, croquetas, skewered prawns with lemon and garlic, and clams with fino sherry. Everything's impeccably sourced, from the peppery Marqués de Valdueza olive oil to the top-flight acorn-fed Ibérico ham; you'll also find more than 50 Spanish wines and sherries.

This long-standing favorite specializes in French haute cuisine done right, with an emphasis on luxurious dishes like caviar, oysters, lobster, and Dover sole (served meunière) along with bistro classics like rabbit with mustard and steak frites. Standards, like the prices, remain high, and the swanky dining room takes inspiration from the art deco liner SS Normandie. Weather permitting, grab a table on the terrace to make the most of the wonderful views of the Thames, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. A weekday lunch/early-bird dinner set menu (two courses for £30; three courses for £35) lets you sample this expense-account favorite with minimal damage to your wallet.

Exceptional Brit-focused fish and meat dishes at wallet-friendly prices fly out of the open kitchen at this permanently packed, no-reservations (apart from Sunday lunchtime) gastropub in Southwark. Steamed Icelandic cod fillet with gratin dauphinois and tapenade, roast and confit duck with grilled semolina gnocchi and braised chicory, and a three-cheese and hazelnut soufflé with winter greens and cream punch above their weight in terms of taste and tenderness. Mains are well priced at £18–£25, but keep in mind it's noisy, usually packed, and you may have to wait for (and then share) a table. That said, there are great dishes to share—like the seven-hour lamb shoulder with root vegetables or a cassoulet.

This restaurant run by two alumni of celebrated The Fat Duck in Bray was recently awarded its first Michelin star for its meticulous but unfussy modern cooking that features "prime ingredients expertly prepared" and an eclectic but outstanding wine list. Starters include sweetbreads with smoked maitake mushrooms and pickled lingonberries in a cumin-infused sauce and scallops and black winter truffles in broth, while entreés like charcoal-roasted squab breast with persimmon slices or grilled venison with turnips in a pepper sauce display a similar inventiveness. An attached shop sells wine and glassware.

This canteen-style outpost of the eco-conscious chain serves mildly spiced Mexican food like a buttermilk fried chicken taco or ancho mushroom enchiladas, plus the usual burritos and quesadillas along with rainbow bowls. There's also a street-food truck parked beside the river.