![\"Sessions](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Sessions-Arts-Club.jpg\")
<\/h2>\nFrom a small but excellent tapas bar to refined Japanese food and nose-to-tail dining at St John, read our guide to the best restaurants in Clerkenwell.<\/p>\n
Chef Henry Harris closed the doors of his much-loved restaurant Racine in Knightsbridge a few years ago, but now Racine is back in a new format.<\/p>\n
Henry has joined forces with former Goodman and Rockfish director Dave Strauss with the re-opening of The Three Compasses in Farringdon.<\/p>\n
There is a downstairs pub with a bar menu of charcuterie, rillettes and Toulouse sausages, while the upstairs restaurant will focus on French cuisine inspired by the bouchons of Lyon and the bistros of Paris.<\/p>\n
Housed in the beautifully restored Old Sessions House, a restaurant, wine bar and art gallery space in Clerkenwell, Sessions Art Club offers a menu from ex-Polpetto chef Florence Knight in a stunning dining room.<\/p>\n
<\/h2>\nFrom restaurateur Russell Norman comes Trattoria Brutto, an Italian restaurant with a focus on Florentine food.<\/p>\n
The menu includes antipasti, pasta, Florentine steaks and excellent cocktails.<\/p>\n
For steak lovers and fans of simple, elegant cooking, Ibai near St Paul\u2019s cathedral is a restaurant to visit.<\/p>\n
The restaurant from Lurra founder Nemanja Borjanovi\u0107 is a Basque grill that serves some of the finest cuts of meat you\u2019ll find in the city.<\/p>\n
![\"Ibai,](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/ibai-basque-london-restaurant.jpg\")
Specialising in expertly aged steaks and Basque-inspired small plates such as Croque Ibai (a decadent black pudding prawn croque), the restaurant is a welcome addition to the area.<\/p>\n
Caravan offers one of the best brunches in London<\/a> on the weekend in a relaxed and effortlessly cool setting on Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell.<\/p>\n The New Zealand influenced restaurant has its own coffee roaster<\/a>, so flat whites are very popular too. Caravan also has a second outpost, Caravan King’s Cross<\/a>.<\/p>\n Morito<\/a> is a small tapas bar right next door to its big sister, Moro, the acclaimed Spanish restaurant on Exmouth Market.<\/p>\n This is one of my favourite tapas bars in London \u2013 it\u2019s small, casual and has an excellent selection of authentic and inventive tapas dishes.<\/p>\n A cool, dimly lit bar with green leather banquettes leads through to a beautiful space with gorgeous dark wood floors and atmospheric lighting.<\/p>\n Luca<\/a> combines Italian cooking with a British twist in a polished but relaxed dining room.<\/p>\n Robert Chambers, previously of The Square, Locanda Locatelli and The Ledbury, heads up the kitchen, bringing to LUCA his interpretation of modern Italian cuisine<\/p>\n Signature dishes include Parmesan fries, rigatoni with pork sausage rag\u00f9, tomato, anchovy and mint, and Amalfi lemon and bergamot tart with rosemary ice cream.<\/p>\n It’s also worth visiting the bars for a cocktail with a portion (or two) of the excellent Parmesan fries. Luca is one of the best new restaurants in Clerkenwell.<\/p>\n A Michelin starred restaurant with great ambition that really delivers, Restaurant St Barts offers a multi course tasting menu using seasonal British ingredients.<\/p>\n The evening starts in the relaxed bar are where you enjoy a welcome drink and your first 5 snack courses, before moving in to the beautiful dining room that overlooks St Bartholomew the Great, London’s oldest church.<\/p>\n A guide to Clerkenwell’s restaurant wouldn’t be complete without a mention of St John, the famous ‘nose to tail’ restaurant that uses every possible part of an animal.<\/p>\n St John is a bit of a Mecca for London’s ‘foodies’ and certainly worth a visit to one of the best restaurants in Clerkenwell.<\/p>\n Opened originally in 1869, The Quality Chop House at the top of Farringdon Road near Exmouth Market, re-opened in 2013 as a restaurant, wine bar, butchers and shop, selling\u00a0 range of British meat and fresh produce.<\/p>\n The menu will feature items such as Fosse Meadows chicken, chicory tart and purple sprouting broccoli or monkfish, brown shrimp, sea purslane, and potato pur\u00e9e – make sure you order a side of the confit potatoes which are divine!<\/p>\n Continue reading our guide to the best restaurants in Clerkenwell…<\/em><\/p>\n Located near Barbican, co Clerkenwell-adjacent, this neighbourhood-style restaurant has a heavy focus on wine. It features a wine bar<\/a> where you can enjoy some small plates, and a cosy dining room.<\/p>\n The family-owned Origin City has a ‘pasture to plate’ and ‘nose to tail’ ethos, where all of the meat comes from the family\u2019s 600 acre farm in Argyll, Scotland.<\/p>\n We can also recommend the Sunday feast serviving one of the best Sunday roasts in London<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sushi Tetsu is a traditional Japanese Sushi Bar located on a side street in Clerkenwell.<\/p>\n Specialising in sushi and sashimi that is considered to be some of the best in London<\/a>, there are only a handful of seats so booking well in advance is highly recommended.<\/p>\n Tip: Sushi Tetsu uses Twitter to announce free seats and cancellations, but they get snapped up quickly.<\/p>\n The Eagle is a corner gastropub<\/a> serving excellent Mediterranean food from its open kitchen, including its popular steak sandwich.<\/p>\n Mains are still chalked twice daily above the bar in this relaxed and welcoming pub, where the service is as good as the food.<\/p>\n If you need a strong coffee after visiting all the restaurants and bars, try Workshop Coffee Co, which features on our guide to the best coffee shops in London<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you liked this guide, you may like to read some of our other restaurant guides including the best restaurants in Soho<\/a> and the best restaurants in Covent Garden<\/a>.<\/p>\n Subscribe to The Bon Vivant Journal here<\/a>.<\/p>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Caravan](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/caravan-exmouth-market-clerkwenwell.webp\")
When the weather warms up, the door and windows open and diners spill out into the street.<\/p>\nMorito Tapas<\/h2>\n
Luca<\/h2>\n
![\"Luca](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Luca-restaurant-Clerkenwell.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Parmesan](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/italian-food-Luca.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRestaurant St Barts<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Restaurant-St-Barts-Food-Steven-Joyce.jpg\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Restaurant-St-Barts-Interiors.Steven-Joyce.jpg\")
St John Restaurant<\/h2>\n
The Quality Chop House<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/quality-chop-house-clerkenwell.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCloth<\/h2>\n
![\"Cloth](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/cloth-restaurant-wine-bar-london.jpeg\")
Dishes include Buffalo Mozzarella with Fried Aubergine, Romesco & Basil; Cornish Monkfish with Mussels, Fregola & Saffron; and Suffolk Lamb Rump with Roast Shallots & Ancho\u00efade.<\/p>\nOrigin City<\/h2>\n
![\"Origin](\"https:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Sunday-Roast-Origin-City-.jpg\")
Dishes on the menu include Whiskey cured Scottish salmon with buttermilk dressing; pearl barley risotto; crisp lemon sole filets; and a Tamworth pork casserole with creamed potatoes to share.<\/p>\nSushi Tetsu<\/h2>\n
The Eagle<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"http:\/\/bonvivant.co.uk\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/The-Eagle-Farringdon.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Best Restaurants in Clerkenwell<\/h2>\n
The Bon Vivant Restaurant Guides<\/h3>\n