The Cut Bar & Restaurant

You're on The Cut in Southwark, that stretch that's quietly become one of London's best strips for eating and drinking. The Cut Bar & Restaurant sits right in the middle of it all—close enough to the Young Vic that you'll clock theatre types at the bar, but it's got its own thing going. It's the kind of place where you can rock up solo for a drink and feel completely at home, or book a table for something proper. French bistro food done the way it should be: unpretentious, generous, actually tasty. The sort of spot you find yourself recommending to mates because it just gets the basics right.