Donia

Should you book Donia for a late-night dinner in London?

Yes, here is why: Donia is one of the few Filipino restaurants in London that has earned genuine critical recognition, holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025. At ££ per head, it sits in a price bracket where quality like this is rare. The sharing-plate format, the Kingly Court rooftop setting, a menu that draws on Filipino flavour traditions without abandoning British produce make it a strong pick for anyone who has already done the Soho standards and wants something with more personality.

The Space

Donia occupies the leading floor of Kingly Court, the covered courtyard off Carnaby Street that also launched Imad's Syrian Kitchen and Darjeeling Express before they found larger homes. The room itself is cosy without feeling cramped: wooden beams overhead, dark wood tables, colourful banquettes, craggy rock-shaped light fittings that give the space a low, warm glow in the evenings. The acoustics are the one honest caveat here. The ceiling and hard surfaces reflect noise upward, the room gets loud once the tables fill. If you are planning a long catch-up conversation, arrive early in the sitting. By 9 PM on a Friday or Saturday, volume levels require effort. That said, the laid-back energy created by the young, attentive staff works in the venue's favour late in the evening, when the atmosphere loosens and the cocktail list gets more attention.

The Menu: What to Order if You Have Been Before

If your first visit was built around the adobo mushroom croquetas and the chicken Inasal, the next visit is the time to push further. The caldereta pie is worth the focus: a pithivier-style dish using lamb shoulder enriched with a jus of chicken livers and tomato that is as technically considered as anything at this price point in central London. The prawn and pork siu mai, topped with crabmeat and served with a crustacean bisque lifted with lime, signals how far the kitchen is willing to reach across culinary traditions without losing coherence. Filipino adobo seasoning, Chinese dim sum technique, Spanish pastry forms, British-sourced produce appear on the same menu and mostly coexist without confusion. For the table to finish, the choux bun filled with ube (purple yam) and coconut Chantilly is one of the more memorable desserts in the neighbourhood at the price. It is also a useful introduction to ube for guests unfamiliar with Filipino dessert traditions, given how widely the ingredient has gained recognition in the Philippines and in cities like Chicago, where Kasama has brought Filipino-American cooking to a wider audience, in Manila itself, where Hapag represents the high-end Filipino dining benchmark.

Late-Night at Donia

Donia's Kingly Court location gives it a practical advantage over many comparable restaurants in the area: the covered courtyard setting means it functions as a destination rather than a walk-in, which keeps the room more consistently curated. The cocktail list includes low-alcohol options and leans into tropical, equatorial flavour profiles that pair well with the menu's sweetness and acidity. If you are using Donia as a later stop in an evening that starts elsewhere in Soho, the kitchen's sharing-plate format makes it easy to order selectively rather than committing to a full multi-course progression. Two or three dishes and a couple of cocktails works well as a late-evening format. The ££ pricing means a relaxed late dinner for two with drinks sits comfortably below £80 in most scenarios. That is a meaningful difference when you compare it to the ££££ spend required at nearby Mayfair alternatives.

What the Bib Gourmand Means for You

A Michelin Bib Gourmand, awarded consecutively in 2024 and 2025, signals that the quality-to-price ratio has been independently verified twice. This matters for practical booking decisions: it tells you that the kitchen consistency is there, that the value holds on repeat visits, that the recognition is not a one-year anomaly. Donia is operated by the same team behind Mamasons and the Panadera Bakery in Kentish Town, which suggests a group with enough operational experience to run a kitchen reliably. Consistency is the thing most often absent at restaurants in this price bracket.

Practical Details

Location: Leading Floor, Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, London W1B 5PW. Booking difficulty: Easy. Price range: ££ (expect to spend modestly by central London standards, especially with the sharing-plate format). Cuisine: Filipino, sharing plates. Chef: Nicolas Fontaine. Awards: Michelin Bib Gourmand 2024 and 2025. Ideal time to visit: Weekday evenings for a quieter room; early in the sitting on weekends if noise is a concern. Dress code: Casual. Groups: The sharing format works well for tables of four to six; the space is cosy so larger groups should plan ahead. Accessibility: Leading floor location means checking access requirements in advance is advisable.

Explore More in London

Donia sits within a wider London dining landscape worth knowing. For the full picture on where to eat, drink, stay, see our full London restaurants guide, our full London bars guide, our full London hotels guide, our full London wineries guide, and our full London experiences guide. If you are planning a broader UK dining trip, Pearl also covers Waterside Inn in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood.