August can be a strange ol\u2019 month for eating out in London. Half the city is away, everyone else is determined to sit outside (without the SPF required), and restaurant plans are thus expected to feel like holidays in their own right. I spent two weeks out of the city myself (eating extremely well, but more on that later) and came home newly hungry for London restaurants that make staying put feel just as exciting.<\/p>\n
Happily, this month\u2019s guide to where to eat in London has plenty of them, including one of the city\u2019s most ambitious tasting menus, a breakfast of champions, excellent neighborhood tapas and a City courtyard made for stretching out summer. As ever, these are not simply places I\u2019ve eaten recently, but restaurants I\u2019m actively encouraging you to book now.<\/p>\n
Where To Eat In London, August 20261. IGNI<\/strong><\/a>, Mayfair<\/strong><\/p>\n The problem with cooking over fire is that almost every restaurant now wants to tell you it does. Often, this translates to some singed hispi, an expensive grill and a so-called \u201cpurpose\u201d doing little more than finding synonyms for \u201cflame\u201d across its menu. Here, it does anything but.<\/p>\n Chef Theo Clench, formerly of Cycene<\/a>, has taken over the former HUMO site and pushed its open-fire premise somewhere more intricate, ambitious and significantly more seafood-focused. Menu descriptions arrive as terse little trios\u2014tuna, foie gras and shiso; cuttlefish, buckwheat and celtuce; turbot, lettuce and sake\u2014but the cooking behind them is anything but abbreviated. Smoke is used as seasoning.<\/p>\n Sit at the counter if you can (they\u2019ll provide little personal fans for you in hot weather, which I found a particularly comforting touch); watching the team manage flame, embers, smoke and timing gives the whole experience its pulse, but IGNI\u2019s real achievement is making all that technique feel purposeful. I couldn\u2019t think of anyone I wouldn\u2019t take for a special occasion, and that\u2019s no mean feat in this ever-competitive locale. <\/p>\n 2. The Courtyard At COYA City<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n COYA City, London<\/p>\n COYA City<\/p>\n Hidden away from the surrounding towers on Throgmorton Street, COYA City\u2019s courtyard shifts the restaurant\u2019s dark-and-sexy, high-energy Peruvian experience into something looser and considerably better suited to summer, mixing a number of signatures with lighter dishes; bright ceviches and tiraditos, tacos, seafood and plates from the grill, all built for grazing over a long lunch or turning an ostensibly responsible after-work drink into dinner. All of which was punchy, expertly balanced, and far more thrilling than it needed to be for an alfresco menu. Boy, was it a nice reminder of what COYA does well.<\/p>\n Naturally, the drinks have a pull of their own, too. The Lugo Spritz combines pisco, elderflower, marigold and Veuve Clicquot, while the Margarita Amarilla leans into passionfruit, agave and lime. There is also a very serious selection of Provence ros\u00e9 should you wish to pretend Bank is Ibiza for an afternoon. <\/p>\n