Diners' Choice: Best Overall restaurants in South East London

OpenTable

Updated July 05, 2025

Looking for the best overall restaurants in South East London? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Oi Spaghetti

5.0

5 (374)

£41 and over

Contemporary Italian

Peckham

About the restaurant

Oi Spaghetti is an open-kitchen restaurant in a timber cabin, opened in 2015. There are 3 tables indoors/outdoors depending on the season. The atmosphere is relaxed because it is small and cosy and Copeland Park is secluded from high street fuss. Expect a small selection of traditional spaghetti recipes (some with a twist) accompanied by natural wine and in-house made tiramisu'. We wish you a great day and look forward to cooking for you soon! Cheers! Grazie

Top review

Allan

Dined on Jul 14, 2025

The place is charming, the food excellent and Franco is an excellent chef and host.

Utter Waffle Herne Hill

4.9

4.9 (517)

£25 and under

Modern European

Herne Hill

About the restaurant

Utter Waffle - a gem within the South London brunch scene! We opened our Herne Hill restaurant in 2021, and since have become an institution in Herne Hill's small but awesome food scene. Since our launch, we've collected a small cabinet of trophies and awards, and have even cooked our savoury waffles on Masterchef, Sunday Brunch & Saturday Kitchen!
Our busy brunch restaurant serves everything from fried chicken & waffles and our signature avo smash, to bottomless brunch & craft beers. For those with a sweet tooth - fret not as the desserts are pretty good too - (we're even the proud winners of The Best Dessert in the UK (British Street Food Awards)), so there really is something for everyone!
We pride ourselves on a super-inclusive menu and ability to cater for those with dietary requirements; We're co-owned by a coeliac, don't handle any gluten on-site, plus we boast loads of vegetarian and vegan options too! So what are you waiting for!?

Top review

Mike

Dined 2 days ago

Lovely warm buzzy family atmosphere - heavy wooden tables and unpretentious decor but nothing at all cheap or tacky. The service was friendly and attentive despite it being fully booked, food was excellent with curiously successful pairings - perhaps a slightly greater variety might be appreciated but for everything to be delicious and gluten free made it a real treat.

Locanda del Melo

4.9

4.9 (270)

£26 to £40

Italian

Bermondsey

About the restaurant

Locanda del Melo opened in June 2006 with the purpose of bringing to London our 25 years of unique experience in the Italian food industry.
Thus, we personally select and import only the finest quality products from small farms and producers throughout Italy. This ensures that our customers taste varied produce that is of the highest possible quality.

Top review

Owen

Dined on Jun 27, 2025

Real Italian home cooking, excellent value, very friendly proprietor

Sapore Vero - Hither Green

4.9

4.9 (152)

£25 and under

Pizzeria

Hither Green

About the restaurant

We pride ourselves on our fresh, authentic Italian food and are passionate about bringing this taste to London. Our ingredients are carefully sourced from the best suppliers and many of our dishes are made with speciality Denominazione di Origine Protetta (DOP) foods direct from Italy.

As well as sourcing the best Italian ingredients, we’ve also developed our own special pizza base recipe. Our UNICA pizza dough is made with a multigrain blend of ﬂours that is vitamin-rich and packed with ﬁbre while delivering the same delicious taste. Low in sugar and high in antioxidants, this is pizza that is good for you!

Our restaurants are a little corner of Italia in south east London. Cosy but elegant, with the warmth of family-friendly service delivered with the best wood-ﬁred pizza you’ll ﬁnd outside of Naples. We look forward to welcoming you soon.

Top review

Matthew

Dined on Jul 14, 2025

Fantastic cocktails and very friendly staff. We love their food - especially the mixed crostini

Discover more

Experience

L'Aperitivo Italiano a Hither Green

56 Westow

4.9

4.9 (15)

£26 to £40

Spanish

Gipsy Hill

About the restaurant

We are a neighbourhood restaurant and late night bar in the heart of Crystal Palace. Our food is inspired by the flavours, colours & scents of the Iberian peninsular. Our ethical wine list is designed to match our food as well as showcasing low intervention & independent vineyards. Grab a cocktail and tapas in our bar area or settle in for the night in our dining room or private booth.

Top review

Jessica

Dined on May 29, 2025

Friendly staff and good service. Very yummy food I would recommend it.

Kachori

4.8

4.8 (82)

£26 to £40

Indian

Southwark

About the restaurant

Kachori is where the culinary traditions of North India melt with South East London. Styled with the colours of the subcontinent, here you can enjoy the deep and intense flavours of our dishes, sip chai and embrace the warmth of Indian hospitality.

Top review

Stephen

Dined 2 days ago

A jewel of a restaurant. The staff were friendly, professional and extremely efficient. For me one of the signs of a great restaurant is the waiting staff knowing who has ordered what and are able to place the food, or drink in front of the correct diner. This was the case at Kachori. And the food was exquisite, from the presentation to the flavours. I had a starter of boned guinea fowl which I can highly recommend. I, and my friends will be going back asap.

Discover more

4.9

4.9 (199)

£25 and under

Portuguese

London Bridge

About the restaurant

At Pedro's Wine bar, our mission is to bring the best wines of Portugal to the UK - affordable, higher-quality alternatives to the well-known wine varieties that fill supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.

Welcoming space, dog-friendly, serving unique, and hand-selected Portuguese wines & spirits, as well as traditional Portuguese bites, just 1 min away from Maltby Street food market. We are bringing a new concept to the of the Bermondsey beer mile. Book your table, and sample some of the wines before you buy.

We want London and the wider UK to open their minds, fill their glasses and drink with us, and enjoy a taste of the best in Portugal.

Top review

Matthew

Dined 4 days ago

Very affordable and delicious. Great wine and food. Beautiful space as well. 10/10

Filoxenia

4.8

4.8 (77)

£25 and under

Greek

Bromley

About the restaurant

🍴Greek Gastro Cuisine
🥞Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner menu
🍷Wine collection & Cocktails

Top review

Louise

Dined 2 days ago

We have enjoyed several visits to Filoxenia since it opened. Last night we went to celebrate my dad's birthday, and again had a great experience. We started with some very nice cocktails, then had some mezze and then a main course each. All of the food was really nice, seasoned well and felt really fresh. The staff were excellent and realised that we wanted a leisurely evening so we weren't rushed at all. We shall definitely return

Pique-Nique

4.8

4.8 (106)

£26 to £40

French

Bermondsey

About the restaurant

Located in a restored unused pavilion attached to a small public park, Pique-Nique is a french restaurant from the team behind Casse-Croûte. There's an expertly chosen wine list, a range of seasonal starters, mains to share and great desserts. Sit at the bar counter and watch the chefs cooking or entertain your guests at their large table located in the middle of the main dining room. Enjoy the view of the park and the Shard all year long from our conservatory.

Top review

Gunta

Dined 2 days ago

Excellent find! Food was absolutely delicious! The ambience great! Service was equally great. Wine was very well priced and delicious. Definitely going in my little book of favourites!

Indian Gourmet

4.8

4.8 (580)

£26 to £40

Indian

London Bridge

About the restaurant

Indian Gourmet is located in the London Bridge, just a stones throw away from the busy hustle and bustle of the historic Borough Market. It offers freshly cooked authentic home-style appetising, wholesome and real Indian food from different parts of India and Indian Sub-continent. The Sub-continent stretches from The Himalayas to the Indian Ocean, from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. In addition, the menu consists of popular Indian street food and regional delicacies.

At Indian Gourmet, you can make a great start of the gastronomic tour of India without having to leave the table.

The interior is influenced by Indian rural homes - rustic look with muddy and woody effect, still minimalist and modern.

Top review

Martha

Dined 4 days ago

Delicious food and amazing service. Thanks so much!

Discover more

Explore Diners' Choice best of South East London