In a city where a full-blown tasting menu can easily top £300 per head, a Michelin-starred dining can feel like a luxury that’s off the table. But lunchtime is having a renaissance in London’s fine dining scene – not just as a more budget-friendly way to indulge, but as a thoughtfully curated experience in its own right. From seafood-studded counter dining to Korean-European hybrids and celeriac masquerading as pasta, here are four standout Michelin-starred restaurants offering the city’s most compelling (and comparatively affordable) lunch menus right now.
Sollip – A Quiet Masterpiece in Bermondsey (£78)
Four courses. Claypot rice. And a journey across continents.
Sollip, the intimate Bermondsey dining room from husband-and-wife duo Woongchul Park and Bomee Ki, doesn’t shout about its star – it simply delivers. The couple, who met at Le Cordon Bleu and honed their skills at The Ledbury and The Arts Club, bring a nuanced Korean-European fusion that’s elegant and precise. Their newly unveiled summer-autumn lunch menu is a perfect showcase of their quietly radical style. Expect dishes like Baby Artichoke with lobster and strawberry, or Sea Bream paired with maesaengi seaweed and Jersey Royals.
The centrepiece, though, is their signature Sot-Bap: a claypot of scorched rice topped with barbecued Wagyu beef. It’s a dish that lingers in the mind (and the heart) long after the last bite.
At £78 for four courses, it’s not just lunch – it’s a transportive escape.
Behind – Sea-to-Plate Theatre in London Fields (£64)
Fish whispering, open-plan drama, and unbeatable value.
Tucked just off London Fields, Andy Beynon’s Behind offers an almost cinematic dining experience. Diners are seated around an elegant, curved chef’s counter, blurring the line between stage and table. Here, lunch is a six-course deep dive into the best of British day-boat seafood – think mackerel belly with apple and horseradish, scallops with capers and black pudding, and monkfish draped in chanterelle sauce.
Beynon’s approach is as sustainable as it is flavourful: every part of the catch is used, and seasoning leans on natural elements like kelp and seawater. At just £64, it’s easily one of the best-value Michelin menus in the capital – plus, each dish is presented by the chefs themselves, making this not just a meal, but a conversation.
Cycene – Homegrown Elegance in Shoreditch (£95)
Oysters, English terroir, and North African soul.
Set within the design-forward Blue Mountain School in Shoreditch, Cycene (Old English for “kitchen”) feels like dining in a particularly chic private home. With new Head Chef Taz Sarhane at the helm, Saturday lunch now begins with oysters and a glass of Sugrue, followed by a four-course seasonal menu that bridges Moroccan memory and British soil.
Sarhane, who brings with him experience from Brooklands and Claude Bosi at Bibendum, infuses his cooking with the spirit of his upbringing – think foraged herbs, preserved fruits, and produce from farms like Shrub and Henderson’s. The £95 price tag may lean toward the upper end of this list, but the menu’s precision, provenance, and warmth make it a worthy splurge.
One for slow Saturdays and serious food lovers.
Caractère – French-Italian Comfort with a Roux Twist (£65)
A love letter to flavour. With extra parmesan.
Run by Emily Roux and her husband Diego Ferrari, Caractère in Notting Hill offers the kind of relaxed, refined dining experience that proves Michelin doesn’t have to mean buttoned-up. The three-course lunch (£65) features reworked classics like the signature Celeriac “Cacio e Pepe” – a silky, umami-packed dish that might just make you forget actual pasta exists.
Mains like steamed Cornish cod with winter truffle or saddle of lamb with piquillo pepper hit all the high notes, and desserts like the pear-laced Tarte Bourdaloue are designed to charm. Add a £50 wine pairing, and you’ve got a full-bodied experience with minimal fuss. It’s fine dining without the performance – just flavour, heart, and a very good brownie.
The Final Bite
Whether you’re craving seafood theatre, Korean elegance, British terroir, or reimagined comfort food, London’s Michelin-starred lunch menus offer a rare combination: impeccable cooking at an approachable price. So next time you’re eyeing a sandwich at your desk, consider this your official excuse to take a longer lunch – and taste something truly memorable.
After all, in this economy, lunch just might be the new dinner.
