The Best Wood-Fired Cooking in London

Brat wasn’t the originator of wood-fired cooking – cavemen can probably lay claim to that – but it certainly played a big role in popularising the modern version among London diners. Driven by Welsh chef Tomos Parry’s love of great produce, the restaurant also draws inspiration from Basque cooking methods in its menu of inviting dishes designed for sharing. The signature whole turbot, cooked to meaty perfection, is probably one of the best wood-fired dishes you’ll find anywhere in the capital.

If you’re searching this list for somewhere to book for a night out with friends, Caia may be just what you need. Not only is the fire-led cooking done with skill and creativity, but there’s an infectiously fun atmosphere to the place. Vinyl plays a big role, with a DJ on hand to curate the soundtrack to your night; the speakers are turned up loud, amping up the vibes but perhaps making it less appealing for your romantic anniversary meal. The menu encourages sharing, making it even better to come in a big group.

In recent times, few restaurants have captured the hearts of trendy London diners quite like Dorian – so of course wood-fired grilling is part of its repertoire. Having quickly earned a MICHELIN Star for its menu of unpretentious dishes that don’t mess about when it comes to flavour, Dorian is, like Caia, one of a number of brilliant restaurants residing in the affluent streets of Notting Hill. The grilled dishes display as much skill and careful attention to sourcing as the rest of the menu – with delicious results.

Sometimes referred to as the ‘godfather of wood-fired cooking’, Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt helped to popularise the method among the world’s high-end restaurants. His eponymous flagship operation is still working wonders in Stockholm, while inside the Great Scotland Yard hotel we have this London outpost. Offering a taste of Nordic cooking in the British capital, it utilises smoking and grilling to good effect, while incorporating a range of preserved elements for a distinctly Scandinavian flavour.

If Ekstedt and Brat pre-date Humo in joining the wood-fired trend, then this smart Mayfair operation more than makes up for it with a full-blooded commitment to the cause. Fire is very much king of the kitchen, with no gas or electricity used in the preparation of the inventively conceived dishes – which draw on influences from Colombia and beyond to delicious effect. Both the type of wood used and the flame’s proximity to the produce are considered, with the menu divided into ‘Ignite’, ‘Smoke’, ‘Flame’ and ‘Embers’.

Wood-fired grilling gets a Thai twist at this lively and lovable restaurant buried in the buzzing heart of Soho. If you’re the kind of person who loves open flame cooking because of the fun spectacle it creates, then the ground-floor counter – which is available for walk-ins only – is the place for you, offering a great view of the chefs as they work at the furnace. Whether you pick a grilled dish or not, you can bet the cooking will be packed full of quality produce and ample spicing, with influences drawn from beyond Thailand’s borders too.

The new kid on the block among London’s wood-fired elite, Lita is a buzzing Marylebone spot that thrillingly reflects the city’s culinary zeitgeist. Its menu is one of those where you could happily eat the whole lot – bring a few friends and you might just manage it between you. Alongside their obvious skill with a grill, the chefs mark themselves out by an ability to utilise big, lip-smacking flavours without ever letting the quality British ingredients get lost in the shuffle. It’s no wonder the place is so busy.

To Brat, Mountain is like your younger sibling that’s somehow grown three inches taller than you. Taking everything that makes Brat so successful over in Shoreditch and transplanting it to a big, split-level site in Soho, Chef Tomos Parry immediately had another MICHELIN Starred success on his hands. The cooking here is a bit more overt in the Spanish influences that Parry draws from, with whole lobster caldereta becoming something of a signature dish.

The great thing about wood-fired grilling is that, as our list has shown, it can be incorporated into a whole host of global cuisines. Here, it’s the flavours of Jerusalem that are in play, with a range of meat and seafood cooked over the grill supplementing staple dishes like hummus and baba ganoush. As with many of these restaurants, the counter is the most exciting place to sit – although you might get more calm elsewhere. The Palomar’s sister restaurant, The Barbary, has a similar love of all things fire, but this time with a North African and Mediterranean slant.