If 17 discounted Michelin star meals whet your appetite and you’re hungry for more, then book a table at one of these restaurants, says Sarah Riches
The government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme means diners can benefit from a 50 per cent discount – up to £10 per diner – at participating venues every Monday to Wednesday (3-31 Aug).
The scheme is valid on food and non-alcoholic drinks when you dine at a restaurant, cafe, bar, pub or food hall. It is not valid on takeaways.
You don’t need a voucher, there’s no minimum spend and you can eat out as often as you like.
So now is the perfect opportunity to try one of these restaurants in London which are taking part.
1 Lombard Street
Chef Mark Hix is behind the menu at this European restaurant near Bank.
Large windows and a grand domed ceiling make it brim with light during the day, so it’s ideal for a business lunch.
At night, the dome glows with neon light, making it the perfect spot for an evening date.
Sample dishes include sausages and mash or Dover sole.
14 Hills
With its potted trees and hanging plants, this British restaurant on the 14 floor of 120 Fenchurch Street feels more like South America than the City.
It has a three-course Eat Out to Help Out set menu for £20 – usually £30 – made up of curried pork and chicken pate, grilled seafood and Eton mess.
The Athenian
This Greek restaurant is taking part in the Eat Out to Help Out government scheme at its branches in Canary Wharf, London Bridge, Shoreditch, Tooting, Victoria, Wembley and White City.
The menu features classic souvlaki (meat pita) and gyros (kebabs), as well as feta and courgette fritters and halloumi fries.
It has digital menus where possible.
Ayllu
Seek out this dimly-lit basement spot near Little Venice for elaborate cocktails and
Peruvian-Japanese cuisine.
Dine on sushi and sashimi served on Japanese ceramics and bao in bamboo baskets.
Aqua Hutong
On the 33rd floor of The Shard, Aqua Hutong features menus inspired by the diverse delicacies of northern China.
In addition to the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, you can enjoy £10 off a bottle of wine Monday to Wednesday.
Like the food, the cocktail list incorporates traditional Chinese ingredients. Try the Qin Shi, made with honey infused with Sichuan pepper, or the Old Peking Fashioned, made with Peking duck infused Hennessy cognac.
Aqua Kyoto
This Japanese restaurant has a large terrace overlooking Regent’s Street and its surrounding rooftops.
Dine on dishes such as Wagyu beef and black cod and order a bottle of wine – from Monday to Wednesday in August you’ll benefit from a 10 discount.
Aqua Shard
Glass walls make the most of the view at this restaurant, which is on the 31st floor of The Shard.
Its Forgotten British menu is made up of dishes inspired by historical recipes. Try the salt duck, roasted lamb saddle or Windermere tart made with gooseberries.
Benares
Indian fans can head to this restaurant in Mayfair, which is Halal-certified.
Opt for a thali to try a few dishes.
Brigadiers
This Indian restaurant by Bank knows its audience: it has a pool table, TVs and meat-focused dishes such as butter chicken, goat shoulder and guinea fowl.
Go early and sit on maroon leather bar stools in Blighters bar then dine on The Terrace.
The Cheese Bar
Also known as Pick & Cheese, this restaurant serves British cheese on a sushi-style conveyor belt inside Seven Dials Market near Covent Garden.
How does all-you-can-eat cheese sound? As well as the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, during August the restaurant is offering a bottomless plates deal for £20 from Friday to Sunday.
The Chesterfield Mayfair
Got something to celebrate? Then book this hotel’s afternoon tea, which is themed around a traditional sweet shop.
Expect wait staff dressed in boater hats and red and white pin-striped blazers, and shelves stocked with oversized Sherbet Fountains, Drumsticks and Parma Violets.
Start with pink lemonade in dry ice, then enjoy sandwiches, chocolate chip scones and a Liquorice Allsorts cheesecake.
The Cinnamon Club
Housed in a Grade II-listed library in Westminster, this Indian restaurant by the celebrity chef Vivek Singh serves tandoori king prawns, pigeon with pumpkin chutney and mango kulfi.
It has a three-course Eat Out to Help Out menu for £38, which includes a mocktail. Dishes include lamb and sweetcorn kofta, Kerala fish curry and saffron poached pear.
Coq d’Argent
This French restaurant near Bank has an a la carte menu and a three-course set menu for £20 – usually £30.
Sample dishes include snails, coq au vin and crème brûlée.
Dalloway Terrace
Always a hit on Instagram, this conservatory inside The Bloomsbury Hotel features a wall of blooms and garden benches softened with cushions.
A retractable roof makes you feel like you’re outside.
Sample dishes include crab croquettes, rib eye steak and blood orange sorbet.
Darwin Brasserie
This restaurant is inside Sky Garden, on level 36 of the Walkie Talkie. Go before sunset to make the most of the view.
The menu features pork belly, gnocchi and burgers.
Emilia’s Crafted Pasta
Both branches of this Italian by Aldgate and in St Katharine Docks are taking part in the government scheme.
As the name suggests, it specialises in pasta which is made each morning and recipes inspired by the Emilia-Romagna region around Bologna, such as handmade ravioli with organic lamb, parsley and Parmesan in a butter and sage sauce.
Frog by Adam Handling
The chef and restaurateur is taking part in the scheme at this Covent Garden restaurant.
You can also enjoy a 50 per cent discount on Toad on the Road, a temporarily terrace outside.
The Garden at The Berkeley
The Berkeley’s leafy alfresco space in Knightsbridge is lit with lanterns and fairylights, making it a romantic spot on a summer evening.
Order small plates such as charred prawns or a watermelon and feta salad, or mains including grilled sardines, whole seabass or lamb koftas.
German Gymnasium
This grand building behind King’s Cross serves German dishes and afternoon tea.
Han’s Bar & Grill
This British restaurant is inside 11 Cadogan Gardens hotel, off Sloane Square.
While the mains are meat and fish focused – think prawn and courgette risotto, or rib eye on the bone – it also serves sharing plates and interesting salads such as burrata, crispy prosciutto, peach, basil and honey.
Hard Rock Cafe
Both the Piccadilly and Mayfair branches of this family-friendly American restaurant are extending the government’s promotion to give diners up to £10 off meals and soft drinks from Monday to Friday.
Hawksmoor
How does 300g of 35-day dry-aged rump steak for £10 sound? It comes with chips and sauce, too.
The deal is available at Air Street, Borough, Seven Dials and Spitalfields branches.
The Guildhall branch re-opens on 1 September, while the one in Knightsbridge re-opens on 3 September so these restaurants will not be taking part in the scheme.
Jean-Georges at The Connaught
This hotel restaurant by Jean-Georges Vongerichten boasts wrap-around windows and a sunny terrace on a quiet pavement in Mayfair.
Sample dishes include summer corn soup with chilli, lime and basil; black truffle pizza and Cornish Dover sole.
J Sheekey
This seafood restaurant off Leicester Square is taking part in the scheme on Tuesday and Wednesdays.
Chance the weather and book a table on its pavement terrace if you can.
When it comes to what to order, it’s a tough call: choose from oysters, caviar and mains such as fish pie or stew, soft shell crab burger and char-grilled rib eye steak.
Kerridge’s Bar & Grill
Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge is behind the menu in this restaurant, which is inside Corinthia London.
Order modern British dishes such as steak tartare with smoked mayonnaise, pickle jelly and deep-fried hen’s egg, or pig’s cheek pie with clotted cream mash and crispy black pudding.
After your meal, you can linger in the hotel’s cream, gold and mirrored bar.
Kona
This Victorian townhouse restaurant, which is part of Taj 51 Buckingham Gate, knows how to do afternoon tea.
Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, its Queen of Hearts tea is served on a draughts board with playing cards and edible hearts and roses.
Le Pont de la Tour
Try to book a table on Le Pont de la Tour’s covered terrace if you can, as it has perfect views of the River Thames and Tower Bridge.
It has a three-course Eat Out to Help Out set menu, which includes steak tartare, artichoke casserole and chilled melon soup.
The Lighterman
This three-storey British restaurant is behind King’s Cross.
It benefits from a large outdoor area which has potted trees and views of the canal and fountains in Granary Square.
Picnic benches make it ideal for bookings of up to six.
Mac & Wild
This restaurant in Fitzrovia and the City specialises in Scottish dishes, and it prides itself on knowing which farms and estates its produce is grown on.
Start with venison Scotch eggs and haggis pops – deep-fried bites of minced sheep offal – then try its speciality: steak.
Nobu London Old Park Lane
This Japanese restaurant of the edge of Mayfair serves classic sushi and sashimi, as well as favourite dishes such as miso black cod, tiger shrimp in ponzu sauce and Wagyu beef.
The Northall
This British restaurant in Corinthia London benefits from huge windows.
It’s currently only open in the morning, but it serves epic breakfasts.
Order quinoa and seed porridge; dumplings with congee and stir-fried noodles or French toast drizzled in syrup and topped with caramelised banana and whipped cream.
Novikov
If you’re after a fine dining pan-Asian restaurant, book a table at Novikov. Rather than being a fusion restaurant, its two restaurants in one – one Asian, the other Italian.
The décor matches the menu – so dine on dim sum and sweet and sour chicken among pink orchids, and burrata and aubergine parmigiana among potted olive trees.
Robata
This Soho joint has some curtains between tables near the open kitchen and pavement seating.
As well as sushi and grilled Japanese dishes, you can order bao buns, gyoza and kimchi rice, which are served on Asian ceramics.
Sam’s Riverside
Floor-to-ceiling windows make the most of this restaurant’s location, which is right on the River Thames opposite WWT London Wetland Centre.
Order British produce such as chilled pea and mint soup, Severn & Wye smoked salmon and sea bass caught off the coast of Dorset.
Sexy Fish
If you’re looking for a venue with a wow factor, then you’ve found it here, at this former banking hall on Berkeley Square in Mayfair.
The bar features neon lights, mirrors and bronze mermaid sculptures by Damien Hirst, while a 4m mirrored crocodile by Frank Gehry hangs on the wall.
As well as sushi, tempura and grilled dishes, Sexy Fish is known for its Japanese whisky.
Skylon
A terrace and floor-to-ceiling windows make the most of the view from the third floor of the Royal Festival Hall on the South Bank.
Skylon serves European dishes such as cauliflower steak with raisins and hazelnuts or pan-fried bream with ratatouille.
It has a three-course Eat Out to Help Out set menu for £20 instead of £30, with three choices for each course.
Zuaya
Swap London for Lima at this Latin American restaurant on Kensington High Street.
Sit indoors among plants or on a sheltered terrace and dig into vibrant plates of tacos, empanadas and ceviche decorated with edible petals.
Cocktails are just as lively, made with smoky mezcal, lychee and lime.
