The Thrillist Awards: London’s Best New Food, Drink & Everything Else (2024)

Best new Scottish restaurant

Mac & Wild

Fitzrovia

We’ve been going on about these guys for a while, but really they just keep getting better and better. All Scottish ingredients? Grand. Haggis pops and fried partridge? Double grand. Bottled co*cktails you can take home? Um, AYE. This isn’t a theme restaurant;this is a wee trip to the highlands in all its understated glory.

Best pub revamp

The Marksman

Hackney

When you take ex-St. John and Fifteen chefs and give them free reign over an old-school pub, the results were only ever going to be great. While some facelifts can leave a place feeling sterile and plastic, these guys have managed to keep a comfortable vibe that’s exactly what you want paired with fantastic food and a solid drinks list.

Best new darts pub

Flight Club

Liverpool Street

You know what London was missing? A bar devoted to playing darts. The guys over at table tennis central, Bounce, saw that need and came to the rescue with darts board designed by rocket scientists (seriously) and a co*cktail list that would be respectable all on its own.

Best new street food market

Dinerama

Shoreditch

There are a lot of great markets out there, but this one by the Rushmore group holds our hearts. With 11 food stalls and sixbars, there’s plenty of choice without being paralyzed by options, and plenty of space and seating to enjoy it all in. The fact that it’s free to just wander into is also a huge plus.

Best new members club

76 Dean Street

Soho

By now, we’re pretty convinced there is some kind of dark magic used when opening Soho House Group properties, because they’re all stunning. This time around they went for a casual three bars, all day restaurant, roof terrace, and 42 seat private screening room in the basem*nt.In a city brimming with members clubs, does it really need another? Well, yes, if it’s from Soho House, apparently it does.

Best new coffee by day/co*cktails by night concept

Love Die Late

Fitzrovia

These guys have you covered no matter what poison you’re craving. With a bright 1960s,quirky cafe feel by day, and a sultry co*cktail lounge vibe by night, the folks at Grind have a little competition on their hands.

Best new eco-friendly spot

Poco

London Fields

After showing the tree-hugging foodies of Bristol how it’s done, and then writing the cookbook The Natural Cook to help out those at home, Tom Hunt brought his ‘all British all the time’ cooking to London. In a former cycle shop right along the canal, these small plates come from within the M25 whenever possible, and will make you never want to leave.

Best new co*cktail joint

co*cktail Trading Co

Soho & Smithfield

After this weird and wonderful basem*nt bar exploded into our lives in January, making wellies, snow globes, and ketchup bottles totally normal “glassware,” they’ve gone on to open two more venues (in London and Bristol) and have no plans to slow down. Keeping a certain level of class and charm amid cheeky jokes and blindingly good drinks, it’s a go-to spot any night of the week.

Best new wine bar

68 and Boston

Bethnal Green

With three talented booze hounds behind the joint, every detail has been figured out here -- the global wine list is sizable, and they kept the pricing super simple: all bottles are £20. In the mood for co*cktails? They’ve got you covered as well.

Best new beer bar

Mother Kelly’s

Bethnal Green

Part of the growing scene over on Paradise Row, this hop-centric spot is raising a glass to brews of all varieties. They boast a staggering number of bottles, plus daily rotating taps, and the best part? They run a bottle shop, too, so you can drink that tasty new favorite beverage from the comfort of your own living room.

Best new way to get healthy

Voga(address and info)
Various Locations
The crazy lovechild of yoga and vogue (like Madonna), this new work out ditches the soothing, spiritual Enya and goes for a bit more of an ‘80s pop/dance hall vibe. With classes at The Proud Archivist, Shoreditch House, and Coq d’Argent (not to mention others in Ibiza, Paris, Edinburgh, and others), you can always find a time to strike a pose.

Best new Spanish import

Dry Martini

Mayfair

Sorry, Pedro. No trip to Barcelona is complete without a tipple (or three) at the ever so classic Dry Martini where maestro Pedro Carbonell has been holding the reigns since 1978. The first edition away from Spain, the London branch keep true to its dapper roots, filled with over 80 gins, a strong lean towards the classics, and all that Spanish charm.

Best new seafood spot

Lobster Bar

Hackney

Once upon a time, seafood restaurants were banished into two categories: stuffy and overbearing, or so family friendly it lost any sort of gravitas. This little hideawayis thankfully a perfect middle ground. It’s set in a bright warehouse space, with genuinely friendly staff, and damn good food. Expect lobster, crab, octopus, squid, prawns, scallops, and every other sea critter -- and they’re all so fresh you half expect to see the ocean at their doorstep.

Best new hotel

Zetter Townhouse Marylebone(address and info)
Marylebone
With a tourist population as big as ours, there are a lot of new hotels. But the new Zetter Townhouse, sister to then pretty great Clerkenwell joint, isn’t just another hotel. With 21 guest rooms all decked out in quirky classic grandeur, and a bar run by co*cktail genius Tony C (69 Colebrooke Row), it’s a destination unto itself.

Best new coffee shop

Kaffeine

Fitzrovia

The original Kaffeine on Great Titchfield St, has long been a temple for the highest order of coffee devotees, who obsess over grind thickness, milk texture, and what kind of equipment is used to create the life giving liquid. After years of helping us get our fix they’ve finally opened a new location, just around the corner on Eastcastle street with a slightly larger food selection and coffee still as potent as ever.

Best new garden with a view

Sky Garden (address and info)
The City
While the Shard might hold the title for best views in London, the Sky Garden in the Walkie-Talkie building is pretty awe-inspiring in its own right. With a panoramic perspective of the river and most of the city, it’s a pretty perfect spot to sit, smell the flowers, and feel so high above it all.

Best new random activity

Alcoholic Architecture (address and info)
London Bridge
This is the future, people. No longer to you need to drink to feel intoxicated. Bompas & Parr have made a breathable co*cktail and believe us, 20 minutes of standing in this alcoholic weather system will leave you giggling. It’s like a sauna, only made of booze.

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Haley Forest is a London writer who can't wait to eat more fried partridge. Follow her at @HCForest.