French cuisine has long shaped the way London eats, from white-tableclothed grand dining rooms to the neighbourhood bistro on the corner. Its influence arrived early, settled deeply and never really loosened its grip, instead evolving in step with the city itself.
By the close of the 20th century, French cooking had become the global language of fine dining. The 1980s and 1990s ushered in a creative upheaval, as French cuisine was no longer defined solely by rich reductions or perfectly composed plates; it was beginning to push boundaries while honouring the classics. This impact travelled far beyond France’s borders, reshaping restaurant culture in cities like London and inspiring a renewed global fascination with French gastronomy.
In this guide, we take a closer look at five of the best French restaurants London has to offer.
Henri, Covent Garden
In a neighbourhood hardly short of dining options, the launch of Henri is a welcome addition. The Paris-based Experimental Group has handed its Henrietta Street hotel restaurant to Jackson Boxer, once the talent behind Vauxhall’s Brunswick House, who has overhauled the space and its cooking techniques. The dining room, which is a blend of marble finishes, dark wood panelling and smart banquettes, hosts a menu that affectionately nods to Parisian bistro culture.
Boxer’s dishes lean into playful and polished, offering oysters dressed with Chartreuse granita, crisp pig’s trotters sharpened with beer mustard and scallops luxuriating in Champagne butter and smoked pike roe. Even the pre-theatre menu remains attractively positioned, delivering two courses at £26. Open daily from breakfast to late-night drinks and spilling onto a sunlit terrace when the weather allows, Henri positions itself not simply as another hotel restaurant, but as a confident new chapter for WC2.
64 Goodge Street
At 64 Goodge Street, indulgence comes with surprising lightness. Part of London’s new generation of French-inspired dining rooms, the restaurant manages to feel both nostalgically rooted and sharply contemporary, pairing gleaming service and polished surroundings with a menu that never threatens to overwhelm.
Led by chef Stuart Andrew, who has been with the Woodhead Restaurant Group since its Portland beginnings in 2015, the kitchen approaches French cookery from a distinctly British vantage point, treating it less as rigid doctrine and more as joyful influence. As in all of the group’s restaurants, wine plays a central role. Led by Head of Wine Jessica Lambie and General Manager Ashley Best, the list celebrates diversity and aims to offer something for every palate. Downstairs, the private room is designed as an intimate extension of the restaurant, offering the same experience in a more secluded setting away from the main dining space, seating up to 12 and coming with a dedicated Front of House team member throughout.
The French House
The French House remains one of Soho’s great survivors, a pub and dining room so steeped in lore that simply stepping through the door feels like entering a living archive. Open since 1891, the Dean Street institution has passed through various hands and eras, attracting generations of artists and writers, from Francis Bacon to Dylan Thomas. In 1984, it formally took on the name “The French House,” by which time its legend was already firmly established.
Upstairs, the dining room is intimate, with only 12 seats, low lighting and a calm that is rare for Soho. A handwritten menu changes daily, offering comforting French classics, while chalkboard specials, that are limited in number, sit alongside a considered list of thirty Champagnes and wines by the glass. Photographs crowd the walls and the diminutive tables, dressed in crisp white cloths and napkins, reinforcing the restaurant's sense of timelessness.
L'Escargot Restaurant
L’Escargot has been a steady presence in Soho since 1927, operating from a Georgian townhouse on Greek Street and holding the title of being London’s oldest French restaurant. Its series of traditional dining rooms set the tone for a menu rooted in French staples such as snails, a lobster bisque, halibut with Champagne sauce and occasional specials such as coq au vin or calf’s sweetbreads.
A three-course set lunch or early evening menu is available and a shorter bar menu, featuring a Croque Monsieur or burger, keeps things slightly more casual. The wine list is firmly French, but the staff guide without fuss. In a part of London where restaurants come and go, L’Escargot continues much as it always has, which is precisely the point.
La Poule au Pot
La Poule au Pot has been a Belgravia fixture for decades and it’s little wonder it has repeatedly been voted London’s most romantic restaurant. Tucked just off Orange Square, its alluring interior, with intimate alcoves, dried flowers and time-softened bric-à-brac, have changed remarkably little since the 1960s and offer a transportive evocation to rural France.
The menu follows suit, celebrating the great French classics with quiet confidence: onion gratinée, quenelles, Colbert-style whiting, boeuf bourguignon and other enduring comforts served with old-fashioned bistro ceremony. Even today, Les 6 escargots and the Dover sole meunière remain the dishes that immediately stand out and perfectly capture the restaurant’s appeal and sense of occasion.
Les 2 Garçons
In the centre of Crouch End, Les 2 Garçons has quietly established itself as a neighbourhood favourite, offering a dose of Gallic charm and assured French cooking. Its menu doesn’t overcomplicate things – confit de canard, steak frites, tarte fine aux pommes and other bistro classics are delivered with confidence. The restaurant is the work of Robert Reid and JC Slowik, who are the eponymous “garçons” and seasoned industry hands who first crossed paths at Marco Pierre White’s Oak Room. Having outgrown its original premises, Les 2 Garçons moved into a larger space in 2023, though it has managed to hold onto the intimacy, warmth and hospitality that has earned it such a loyal following.
Together, these restaurants show how deeply French cooking continues to shape London, still rooted in tradition but open to reinvention and always worth the journey across town.
