Dining
The 6 Best Sticky Toffee Pudding in London
London's best sticky toffee puddings, from a steakhouse dessert that has been on the menu since day one to an eighteenth century dining room.
In short: our top picks are Hawksmoor Seven Dials, Rules and The Abingdon. 6 places in total, chosen on merit, with the full reasoning below.
Sticky toffee pudding is one of those desserts that a kitchen either takes seriously or treats as an afterthought, and you can usually tell within the first bite which category you are in. The good versions use a properly dense date sponge and a sauce that is not just melted caramel from a jar. None of the places below are dedicated pudding shops, they are restaurants where this one dessert happens to be the reason people keep coming back.
| Place | Area | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hawksmoor Seven Dials | Covent Garden | ££££ |
| Rules | Covent Garden | ££££ |
| The Abingdon | Kensington | £££ |
| Dean Street Townhouse | Soho | £££ |
| The Guinea Grill | Mayfair | £££ |
| The Mayflower | Rotherhithe | ££ |
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Editor’s choice
Hawksmoor Seven Dials
Why we pick itOn the menu since the restaurant opened, made with muscovado sugar and Somerset cider brandy, and served warm with clotted cream.
Worth knowingSteaks are priced by weight, so the final bill is hard to predict; dinner for two runs to around £140 and last-minute tables are rare even midweek.
Steakhouse
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Rules
Why we pick itLondon's oldest restaurant layers three separately soaked slabs of date sponge in caramel sauce, finished with a quenelle of creme fraiche.
Worth knowingConservative by design and priced for the room and the history as much as the plate; anyone wanting inventive modern cooking should look elsewhere.
Traditional British
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The Abingdon
Why we pick itA townhouse dining room where regulars order the sticky toffee pudding as a matter of course rather than reading the rest of the dessert menu.
Neighbourhood restaurant
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Dean Street Townhouse
Why we pick itA properly old-fashioned version served in a Soho House dining room that leans into British comfort food across the whole menu.
British dining room
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The Guinea Grill
Why we pick itAn old-school Mayfair grill that has been serving beef and puddings like this since 1952, tucked down a mews just off Berkeley Square.
Traditional steakhouse
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The Mayflower
Why we pick itA pub dating back centuries on the Thames, serving a proper pub-style sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream after a river view dinner.
Historic riverside pub
Before you book
Sticky toffee pudding is a dessert course, so book a table for the meal rather than expecting a takeaway option, and check the menu in advance as some kitchens only run it seasonally.
Common questions
What are the top picks in this guide?
Hawksmoor Seven Dials is our editor's choice: On the menu since the restaurant opened, made with muscovado sugar and Somerset cider brandy, and served warm with clotted cream. Hawksmoor Seven Dials, Rules and The Abingdon lead the guide, with 6 places in total, all chosen on merit.
How does Lamplit London choose its recommendations?
Every place is chosen on merit, after first-hand visits where possible, with no pay-for-placement. Read our full method at https://www.lamplitlondon.com/how-we-choose/.
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