Moro

Is Moro still worth booking in 2025?

Yes; and the more relevant question is why you haven't already. Moro has been serving Moorish-inflected cooking on Exmouth Market since 1997, after more than 25 years the room is as busy and the food as focused as ever. It holds a Michelin Plate (2025), ranks in the Opinionated About Dining Top 500 That kind of longevity in a city with this level of competition isn't inertia; it's proof of consistent delivery.

What makes Moro cook differently from its peers

The kitchen's technical edge is wood-roasting and chargrilling. These aren't decorative flourishes, they are the structural logic of the menu. Where many London restaurants in the Spanish-influenced space work the cold counter and the fryer, Moro builds heat and char into almost every main course. The result is a menu that reads simply but delivers complexity through technique rather than plating. Seasonal ingredients drive the dishes, with Moorish spicing providing the connective tissue across starters, mains and desserts.

The all-Iberian wine list, with bottles from £32, is worth your attention. It's a tightly edited, regionally diverse selection that matches the kitchen's philosophy rather than padding a cellar with safe commercial labels. For a room at this price tier, it punches well above its weight.

If you're comparing Moro against London's broader Spanish and Moorish offering, the closest parallel on the same Exmouth Market strip is its sibling Morito next door, a tapas bar format that suits groups wanting to share more widely. For Spanish cooking with a louder cocktail programme, Ember Yard and Salt Yard cover that ground. Dehesa and El Pirata are alternatives if you want a more direct tapas experience without the wood-fire focus.

What to expect in the room

The dining room is loud. The open kitchen, zinc-topped bar, hard surfaces mean noise levels build quickly at both lunch and dinner service. This works in the room's favour if you're after atmosphere and energy, the space has real momentum during peak service. It works against you if you need to hold a focused conversation. Pavement tables, when weather permits, are worth requesting: they give you the street-level buzz of Exmouth Market without the interior acoustics.

The room layout is communal in feel rather than formally spaced. First-timers should arrive knowing this isn't a quiet, intimate dinner setting. It's an animated, fast-moving room that rewards those who come ready to engage with it.

Verdict for first-timers

Book Moro if you want technically grounded Moorish cooking from a kitchen that has been refining this specific approach for over two decades. The wood-roasted dishes are the reason to come. The noise and energy are part of the proposition, not a compromise. If you want something quieter in the same neighbourhood, Morito next door offers a different register. If you want to understand what influenced a generation of London cooking in this tradition, Moro itself remains the reference point.

Explore more in London and beyond

If Moro is your entry point into London's Spanish and Moorish cooking scene, the city has more to offer: Ember Yard, Salt Yard, Dehesa, and El Pirata each offer a different take on the broader tapas and Iberian tradition. For a direct comparison with the source, Antonio Bar and Bar Bergara in San Sebastián give you the Basque pinxtos context that shaped a generation of London chefs working in this tradition.

For the broader London dining picture, see our full London restaurants guide. Planning a trip? Our London hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of your stay. If you're exploring further afield in the UK, the wood-fire cooking tradition connects to kitchens like The Fat Duck 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, each a different argument for what serious cooking outside London looks like. You can also find CORE by Clare Smyth covered in our Modern British section for London's highest-end cooking comparison. Our London wineries guide is also available if wine is a priority for your trip.