London’s restaurant scene looks far smaller if you’re disabled. Stairs, tiny toilets or a general lack of access awareness in our squashed, ancient Capital means swathes of restaurants have effectively hoisted a “no entry” sign to many with additional needs.
A Government survey in 2022 found 40 per cent of disabled people found it difficult to access restaurants, cafes or bars, highlighting the lack of accessible toilets, as well as large-print menus, hearing loops and autism awareness.
“The UK hospitality industry loses approximately £163 million every month due to accessibility issues,” says Meera Mawkin, who highlights accessible restaurants at letsgooutout.uk. “I've seen disabled-access bathrooms used as storage rooms, emergency cords tied up, slippery floors, dimly lit corridors, and other issues which mean individuals like me may prefer to stay at home over feeling uncomfortable in a restaurant."
But some are brilliant at welcoming Londoners with disabilities. We tested restaurants around town with a wheelchair-user who required an accessible loo. These are some of the London's most hospitable, disabled-friendly restaurants.
Cinder, St John’s Wood
The details: step-free access, fully accessible toilet
It’s hard to find cool foodie hotspots that are accessible to all — since they’re usually squeezed into tiny low-rent sites. But at Cinder’s second neighbourhood spot in St John’s Wood, it’s perfectly possible to navigate with a wheelchair, there’s a proper disabled toilet and absolutely excellent food cooked over fire. Friendly staff whizz over starters of hispi cabbage (of course) with chilli and pine nuts, a delicious tomato salad in aubergine tahini and pillowy bread that tastes of barbecue, whilst chef Jake Finn’s imaginative take on mains left us struggling to pick: we went for seabream with fennel, duck leg confit and lamb cutlets with yogurt, then squeezed in lemon posset and tiramisu dessert. Don't miss the triple cooked potatoes, which are alone worth the trip. Be aware it’s fairly noisy, which may deter some, and make sure to book the St John’s Wood branch, not the tiny Hampstead Heath branch, which is not fully accessible. But what a treat to find a local restaurant that has thought so thoroughly about inclusiveness: a delicious delight.
5 St John's Wood High Street, NW8 7NG, cinderrestaurant.co.uk
Wahaca, Shoreditch
The details: all branches have step-free access, fully accessible toilet
Impressively, every single one of Wahaca’s 10 branches in London are accessible — some restaurants claim this but have toilets that are tiny or downstairs. Not so at Wahaca, which has accessible toilets in each outpost. We visited Shoreditch, where we were welcomed with a table with plenty of wheelchair space, and enjoyed gently-spicy Mexican quesadillas and burritos. Waiter Sam was friendly and helpful, and the fab ‘make-your-own’ taco kids’ menu made this the perfect restaurant for a multi-generational meal out. There’s a downstairs at the Shoreditch branch which is not accessible, so mention any needs when booking, but there’s plenty of room at ground level.
Across London, wahaca.com
Din Tai Fung
The details: step-free access via lift, fully accessible toilet
With a glassy, vast, spacious floor of Centre Point as its base, this branch of cult Taiwanese dumpling temple is open to all. A lift takes diners to its second-floor base, where there’s plenty of room to navigate the tables. Regrettably, from a wheelchair level, it was not possible to see the open kitchen with chefs rolling and pleating endless xiao long bao, the steamed dumplings that DTF is famous for. But our table was spacious and service swift, as we gobbled up delicious parcels of XLB and jiao zi dumplings, and slurped the excellent chewy mushroom and edamame noodles. The disabled loo was immaculately clean — as was the whole restaurant. A stress-free visit.
Centre Point, 11 St Giles Square, WC2H 8AP, dintaifung-uk.com
Bufi
The details: step-free access although tiny threshold bump, fully accessible toilet
Popping out for a family-run, local Italian often isn’t easy in a wheelchair: few of these old-school neighbourhood restaurants have installed disabled loos, and many have entrances with stairs. So we were thrilled to stumble upon Bufi, opposite east Finchley station (albeit which is frustratingly inaccessible) where the entrance is step-free, the loo is fully accessible, the welcome is warm, and the pizzas crisp. Booking ahead, you might want to ask for a table in the most spacious area of the restaurant, on the left of the front door. There’s a generous kids menu, and — in this new era of food pricing — it’s good value too, with the perfect lasagna £11.50, a margarita £8.50 and classic chicken Milanese and fresh grilled salmon around £15. A delicious spot.
84 High Road, N2 9PN, pizzeriabufi.co.uk
The Orrery
The details: step-free access via lift from street level, fully accessible toilet
This Marylebone High Street gem blends a proper old-fashioned welcome with excellent, warm service and modern cooking. No wonder, then, that during our visit — when the Orrery had just opened at noon on a nondescript Tuesday — that every table was full. A generous-sized lift swept us up to this first-floor eatery, and there was a large accessible loo, too. Waiters discretely rearranged chairs to increase space for the wheelchair, and lunch felt like terrific value at £33 for two courses, £39 for three, with a delicious bread basket and petit four flourishes to boot. Burrata with truffle honey, hake with champagne veloute and braised beef with red wine were highlights, alongside the perfect chocolate praline dessert.
55 Marylebone High Street, W1U 5RB, orrery-restaurant.co.uk
The Old Bull and Bush
The details: step-free access via ramp from rear car park, fully accessible toilet
Here’s a rare thing: a cosy pub, complete with roaring fire, cracking food, a car park and a newly-spruced up disabled loo, all of which help to remove a lot of the usual stresses of eating out with additional needs. Having called ahead, the double doors from the car park were helpfully open for entry to this pub, which sits just opposite the rolling hills of Golders Hill Park, and our four-person table was easy to access with a wheelchair. Service was especially friendly, albeit the courses were fairly slow to arrive, and the new green and cream decor is in the Soho House vein. The menu has something for everyone, from a tangy buzzfood-bingo nourish bowl (hummus, grains, avocado, roasted cauliflower, squash, rainbow slaw, pomegranate seeds, blood orange dressing) to a crisp steak and malbec pie, and roasted lamb rump.
North End Way, NW3 7HE, thebullandbush.co.uk
Ting, Shangri La at the Shard
The details: step-free access via lift from ground level, porter help available, fully accessible toilet
It turns out that to get really accessible in London, you sometimes have to go up. Some 35 storeys up, in fact, where the legendary service of Shangri La meets the modern accessibility of the Shard. The tower opened in 2013, when disabled access was no longer an afterthought in building design, and the caring, thoughtful hotel and restaurant staff are today following through. We were met by name at the doorway, having pre-flagged disabled access, and were offered help navigating the wheelchair. The large lifts and spacious Ting restaurant made access easy, and the disabled loo was as luxurious as you’d expect (it’s even won disabled loo of the year). The calm, jasmine-scented atmosphere was immediately relaxing, and we went for the affordable £49 three-course lunch, with stand-out cured salmon with coriander and chilli, roasted cod and velvet-soft beef cheeks. The view of the Capital sprawl out the window is, of course, stellar if you run out of table chat, though a perfect array of petit fours served billowing with dry ice was another wow. This is the ultimate special occasion restaurant, and Ting goes out of its way to make sure everyone is welcome.
Level 35, 31 St Thomas Street, SE1 9QU, ting-shangri-la.com
Caravan
The details: step-free access from main entrance, fully accessible toilet
The recent redevelopment of Granary Square makes it easy to travel around in a wheelchair. Large restaurants, slopes not stairs and large lifts all contribute. We found Caravan to be especially hospitable, giving us a spacious table in the industrial-style restaurant. Filled with a mix of office workers and families on a midweek lunch date, it’s noisy, but also atmospheric. We shared our way through a generous menu: edamame and delicious spiced cornbread with chipotle butter, steamed cod dumplings, lamb meatballs with chermoula, plus a grilled halloumi and freekeh bowl, and sourdough pizza for the kids. A large disabled loo was clean and well-maintained. Caravan makes the perfect, disabled-friendly spot for a family brunch or meet-up with friends.
