Where to Eat in Pimlico: The Honest FoodGuide for Guests at The Regency

By Nestor Stay · 6 min read · The Regency, SW1P

From neighbourhood cafés to Michelin-starred dining — the best places to eat and drink within walking distance of your front door.

Pimlico is not the first neighbourhood that comes to mind when people talk about London’s food scene. And that is precisely its advantage. The restaurants here are not trying to be discovered. They are not opening for the press. They are opening because people who live in Pimlico need somewhere good to eat — and locals, as everyone knows, are the harshest critics. This guide covers the full range: reliable neighbourhood breakfasts, serious lunch spots, and a couple of restaurants that would hold their own in any city in the world. All within walking distance.

BREAKFAST & COFFEE

Daylesford Organic

Pimlico Road · 8 min walk · Café & deli

The gold standard for a slow morning in this part of London. Everything is organic, seasonal, and made with a care that justifies the price. The granola is genuinely one of the better things you can eat in this postcode. Get a table, order the full breakfast, and do not rush it. The deli counter at the back is worth a look before you leave — excellent bread and prepared foods for stocking up the kitchen at The Regency.

The Orange

Pimlico Road · 8 min walk · Gastropub & brunch

A handsome pub with a conservatory that catches the morning light well. The brunch menu is serious — proper eggs Benedict, good sourdough, smashed avocado that actually tastes of something. Book at weekends; weekday mornings are easier to walk into. Either way, it’s the kind of place you’ll find yourself returning to.

Grumbles

Churton Street · 5 min walk · Neighbourhood café & bistro

Open since 1964 and making absolutely no effort to be fashionable — which is precisely why it’s still here and the fashionable places haven’t made it. Strong coffee, reliable eggs, a menu that hasn’t been overthought. Almost entirely full of locals at any given hour.

Regency Café

Regency Street · 2 min walk · Classic British caff

An Art Deco institution since 1946, and practically on your doorstep. Formica tables, tiled walls, photographs of long-retired Spurs players, and a cashier who calls out orders with a volume that leaves no ambiguity. The full English is exactly what it should be, and at under £10 for the set breakfast, it’s one of the better-value meals in central London. Go early on weekends — the queue moves quickly but it does form. Closed Sundays.

Popin

Rampayne Street (Pimlico Station entrance) · 3 min walk · Italian deli & coffee

Perfectly placed at the entrance to Pimlico Underground, this is your quick-exit option: exceptional coffee, almond croissants, toasted banana bread, and a deli counter that makes it dangerously easy to leave with more than you came in for. Rated 4.9 on Google — deservedly so. There can be a queue, but the service is fast.

LUNCH

Tozi

Victoria Street · 10 min walk · Italian cicchetti

A cicchetti bar doing small Italian plates in a relaxed setting near Victoria. The kind of place where a quick lunch has a habit of turning into a long one, which is either a problem or exactly the point, depending on your afternoon. The arancini are excellent. The wine list is well chosen.

Lorne

Wilton Road · 12 min walk · Modern British

One of the genuinely exciting neighbourhood restaurants in this part of London — Michelin-listed, Good Food Guide-approved, and still largely under the radar. Chef Graham Brown’s seasonal British cooking is precise and quietly confident, and owner Katie Exton’s wine list is among the best you’ll find in a room this size. Rated 4.8 on OpenTable. The set lunch is excellent value; book ahead.

The Goring Dining Room

Beeston Place · 12 min walk · Classic British

The Goring is a London institution — a family-owned hotel operating since 1910 and still doing things properly. The dining room offers a lunch that feels like a genuine occasion without requiring one. Dress smartly. Order the beef. Allow yourself to feel extremely civilised about it.

DINNER

Gustoso Ristorante & Enoteca

Churton Street · 5 min walk · Neighbourhood Italian

This is your local. A proper Italian trattoria two minutes from The Regency that delivers exactly what it promises: good pasta, good wine, generous portions, a warm room. No fuss, no attitude. The kind of restaurant that every neighbourhood deserves and most don’t have. Book ahead at weekends.

Olivomare

Elizabeth Street · 10 min walk · Sardinian seafood

Part of the well-regarded Olivo group, which has been doing Sardinian food in Belgravia for decades. Olivomare focuses on seafood — the pasta with crab is exceptional, the whole fish handled beautifully. It’s not cheap, but it’s reliable in a way that London restaurants often aren’t. Book ahead, particularly at weekends.

Quilon

Buckingham Gate · 14 min walk · South Indian fine dining

A Michelin-starred South Indian restaurant that manages to be exceptional without being intimidating. The Kerala-influenced coastal cuisine is unlike most Indian food you’ll encounter in London — beautifully spiced, thoughtfully composed, and one of the better special-occasion restaurants in this part of the city. The set lunch menu is considerably better value than dinner.

A. Wong

Wilton Road · 12 min walk · Modern Chinese

Two Michelin stars, and one of the most genuinely creative Chinese restaurants in Europe. Andrew Wong’s ‘Collections of China’ tasting menu is a serious piece of cooking — technically brilliant, historically researched, and unlike anything else you’ll eat in London. Book weeks ahead for dinner. The dim sum lunch is more accessible and almost as good — start there if this is your first visit.

Casa do Frango

Nova, Buckingham Palace Road · 10 min walk · Portuguese

Wood-charcoal-grilled piri-piri chicken in a two-floor space that knows how to fill a room with noise and the smell of a properly fired grill. The Victoria branch sits in the Nova development and is well-suited to groups — the sharing plates travel well, the Super Bock is always cold, and the whole chicken with piri-piri is the obvious order. Walk-ins welcome, or book ahead for larger groups.

DRINKS & SOMETHING SWEET

The Jugged Hare

Victoria Street · 10 min walk · Traditional pub

A proper London pub with a serious selection of real ales and a menu that takes pub food seriously. Good for a pre-dinner drink or an easy evening that doesn’t require a reservation. The kind of pub that feels like it’s been there forever, because it essentially has.

Biscuiteers

Ecclestone Street · 12 min walk · Bakery & icing café

Hand-iced biscuits that are almost too good-looking to eat. Almost. The café does tea, coffee, and very good cake in a room that manages to feel genuinely cheerful. A solid afternoon option if you want something sweet without committing to a full sit-down.

Ladurée, Motcomb Street

Belgravia · 15 min walk · French patisserie

The Belgravia outpost of the Parisian institution. Macarons, pastries, and a dining room that makes a Tuesday afternoon feel faintly decadent. Worth the walk. Buy macarons to take back to The Regency. No further justification required.

All the restaurants in Pimlico listed here are within walking distance of The Regency.

Stay at The Regency — all of this, ten minutes from your front door. Pimlico apartments with full kitchens, fibre optic WiFi, and 24/7 support.