The list was compiled for the new edition of Harden’s London Restaurants 2026, published today. (Thursday September 11)
Now in its 35th year, the UK’s original restaurant survey saw diners rate The Devonshire in Soho – dubbed London’s most popular pub – as the number one watering hole for food.
But The Eagle in Farringdon – credited as the capital’s first gastropub – came in 5th, followed by newcomer The Hero in Maida Vale in 6th.
Another new entry in the top 10 was ever popular Highgate Road pub The Bull & Last in 10th place.
The Guide’s editor Peter Harden challenged the “gloomsterism” that currently grips the UK hospitality trade, saying there had been a healthy growth in the number of restaurant openings in London last year.
He said: “Over the last year there has been a relentless bombardment of statements from bodies within the sector describing the dire state of the hospitality industry but – from what we’re seeing in London at least – this just doesn’t fit the facts!
“In the last 12 months, the Harden’s London Restaurants guide has tracked 146 new openings. Except for the boom years of 2013-2017, this is a very perky growth level. As to the rate of closures: it was 65. There is no denying that some of these closures were fine establishments, sadly gone before their time, but this is the lowest rate of closures amongst quality restaurants in a decade.”
The rise in popularity of pub dining is marked by the huge success of The Hero which opened in Shirland Road in May 2024, with a ground floor pub serving “nostalgic British food” like ham, egg and chips, and steak and chips.
Upstairs there’s a cocktail bar and a more formal first floor grill serving speciality meat and fish like beef short rib or John Dory cooked over an open flame.
Meanwhile The Eagle, which was established on Farringdon Road in 1991, is according to Harden’s diners “streets ahead of the competition”.
Chef Ed Mottershaw rustles up a daily changing menu of “cleverly constructed, intelligently put together flavours… like the dishes you wish you cooked at home…”; “no faff, pretence or posturing, just honest fare packed with hearty flavour and devotion to the palate”.
Harden’s also noted that the the average price of dinner for one in the 2026 guide has risen 4.7% from £78.84 last year to £82.58 this year.
