There's never been a time when I wouldn't pay attention to my surroundings when eating out in London. Recently, though, as restaurants in the British capital increasingly compete for design credentials and meticulously curated collections of paintings, feasting on the interiors of my fought-for reservations has become an even greater part of the dining experience. And one that, believe it or not, allows the plates served up on their tables to taste even better.
As the old saying goes, we eat with our eyes, too, and the trendiest restaurants in London take that mantra very seriously. At natural wine bar Goodbye Horses in De Beauvoir Town, folkloristic motifs bring soft swathes of white fabric to life across its see-through curtains and sprawling bar counter frieze. CARBONE London's subterranean walls were painted to narrate the story of the famous New York red sauce Italian between reality and myth, with spirited guests, overflowing dishes, and champagne buckets gathered into a white-tablecloth fantasia. Meanwhile, at The Emory's abc kitchens, Damien Hirst's The Secret Gardens Paintings (2023) series adds a bucolic touch to an otherwise hyper-glamorous address.
