Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Book early. Two stars, clear payoff.
Housed in the former Shoreditch Town Hall, The Clove Club holds two Michelin stars and has appeared in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list consistently since 2016. Isaac McHale's tasting menus draw on prime British ingredients — Orkney scallops, Herdwick lamb, Torbay prawns — handled with technical precision and a looseness that keeps the cooking from feeling ceremonial.
The Clove Club holds two Michelin stars, a World's 50 Best ranking of #86 (2025), and a wine list stretching close to 800 references. At ££££ per head, it is one of London's most decorated creative tasting menus — and it earns that position. Book here if ingredient sourcing and technical ambition matter to you more than formal grandeur. If you want classic French precision in a grander room, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is the alternative. If you want Modern British with a quieter, more intimate feel, CORE by Clare Smyth is worth comparing. But for a kitchen that makes British produce the explicit point of the whole evening, The Clove Club is the clearest answer in London.
The address — Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old St , sets up a deliberate contrast. The building's formal Victorian entrance gives way to bare wood floors, an open kitchen faced in blue tiles, and an atmosphere that runs considerably warmer than the architecture suggests. The open kitchen is not incidental: it is a design statement that puts the cooking on display and adds a layer of theatre to what is already a technically dense menu.
Isaac McHale's menus , available in long or short format , are organised around a roll-call of British suppliers: Orkney scallops, Wiltshire trout, Torbay prawns, Herdwick lamb, Middle White pork. This is not sourcing as marketing copy. The kitchen uses prawn heads alongside the tartare, sardine bones go into a cream and whisky broth served with the sashimi, and a mid-course taco of pulled pork and crackling extends a single Middle White main course into a more complete study of the animal. The commitment to using the whole ingredient shapes what ends up on the plate as much as any flavour decision does.
The flavour approach is direct without being blunt. A barbecued aubergine opener layered with white crabmeat, brown crab bisque, dill oil, ginger and cinnamon is constructed to produce what the kitchen describes as explosive bursts rather than a linear progression. Sea bass grilled over hazel wood arrives at the table on its still-smoking skillet. A habanero granita with ewe's milk yoghurt and plum sorbet works temperature and heat into the same course. The cooking asks you to pay attention, which suits the space , this is a room built for engagement, not background dining.
The wine list runs close to 800 references and holds a Star Wine List ranking of #1 (2024). Low-intervention, skin-contact, and biodynamic producers appear alongside a broader conventional selection. The house martini, served during the snack sequence that opens the meal, is consistently noted as worth ordering , alongside crispy buttermilk chicken and crab dumplings that set the pace before the main menu begins.
For London's broader creative dining circuit, The Clove Club sits in a category that includes The Ledbury and, at the more theatrical end, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal. Beyond London, the British-produce-first approach connects most directly to L'Enclume in Cartmel and Moor Hall in Aughton. For creative tasting menus at a comparable level in Paris, Arpège and Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen are the peer comparison. See our full London restaurants guide for broader context, or explore London hotels, bars, and experiences to plan around your visit.
Reservations: Near impossible to secure at short notice , plan 4–8 weeks ahead as a minimum, longer for weekend slots. Address: Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old St, London EC1V 9LT. Price: ££££ (tasting menu format; both long and short menus available). Dress: Smart casual is the room's register , no strict dress code, but the occasion calls for something considered. Leading timing: Midweek lunch slots, when available, are the path of least resistance for bookings and a slightly less pressured pace in the room.
See the comparison section below.
Smart casual. The room at Shoreditch Town Hall reads contemporary rather than formal , bare wood floors and an open kitchen set the tone. A jacket is not required, but the ££££ price point and two-Michelin-star context mean jeans and trainers will feel out of step. Aim for the same register you'd bring to any serious London tasting menu.
The Clove Club's format is a set tasting menu in a seated dining room, not a drop-in bar operation. The snack sequence and house martini that open the meal are part of the tasting menu experience rather than a separate bar offer. If you want flexibility and a shorter commitment, the short menu format is the practical option , but you will still need a reservation.
Groups are possible but require advance planning. The tasting menu format means the kitchen is cooking to a fixed rhythm, and larger parties need coordinated bookings. Contact the restaurant directly via their website well in advance , this is not a venue where a group of six can book at a few days' notice. For private dining at this level in London, Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library has more established private room infrastructure.
Yes, if a sourcing-driven British tasting menu is what you are after. Two Michelin stars, a World's 50 Best ranking, and a wine list with 800 references justify the ££££ spend in the context of London's top-tier creative dining. If your priority is classic French technique in a grander room, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay may deliver more of what you want for a comparable price. For most food-focused diners, The Clove Club is one of the clearest value cases at this price tier in the city.
The tasting menu is the only format here, so the question is really whether Isaac McHale's approach , British produce, whole-ingredient cooking, technically layered dishes , matches what you want from an evening at this level. The short menu option lowers the time and financial commitment while keeping you in the same kitchen. Both formats are built around the same sourcing philosophy, so the short menu is a reasonable entry point if you are new to the restaurant.
Dietary requirements should be communicated at the time of booking. A kitchen operating at this level , two Michelin stars, a fixed creative menu , is equipped to handle restrictions, but the more complex the requirement, the more notice the kitchen needs. Reach out directly through the restaurant's booking system rather than assuming accommodations will be direct on the day.
It works for solo diners, particularly at the counter facing the open kitchen, where the cooking itself becomes the focus. At ££££ the spend is significant for one, but the open-kitchen layout and the engaged, unstuffy atmosphere make solo dining less isolating here than at more formally arranged rooms like Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. Book as early as possible , solo seats are among the first to go.
You are on a set menu, so ordering is not the decision , the kitchen decides. The house martini during the opening snack sequence is consistently worth taking. Beyond that, the short vs. long menu choice is the only real call you make. If this is your first visit, the long menu gives you the fuller picture of what McHale's kitchen does with British produce. If time or budget is a factor, the short menu is the practical choice without significantly compromising the experience.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Clove Club | Creative | ££££ | The list at the 2-Star The Clove Club stetches close to 800 references, yet doesn’t feel remotely unwieldy, no bottle unnecessary. Wines from all over the world are given their chance to shine; the ve...; La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 90pts; Go for the house martini as you enjoy an array of snacks like crispy buttermilk chicken and crab dumpling that precede the start of The Clove Club's multi-course set menu. The roll-call of prime British ingredients includes Orkney scallops, Wiltshire trout, Torbay prawns, Herdwick lamb and Middle White pork – all starring in seasonally pertinent dishes where their natural flavours are allowed to shine through. The historic surroundings of Shoreditch Town Hall provide the perfect backdrop, with the open-plan kitchen adding a little more theatre to proceedings.; There's a fascinating sense of disjunction between the formal stepped and pillared entrance to what was the former Shoreditch Town Hall and the unbuttoned ambience within, where bare wood floors and an open kitchen faced in blue tiles are very much in the contemporary mode. Isaac McHale's tasting menus (long or short) combine the popular touch with forthright innovative confidence – witness the explosive bursts of flavour in an opener of barbecued aubergine topped with white crabmeat, its dressings of brown crab bisque and dill oil further deepened with notes of ginger and cinnamon. A thoroughgoing effort to be resourceful in the use of ingredients means that prawn heads turn up alongside their tartare, while the bones of sardines go into a broth boosted à l'ancienne with cream and whisky to go with sardine sashimi, the latter delicately glazed in soy and chrysanthemum, but also powered up with mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Sea bass grilled over hazel wood comes to the table on its still-smoking skillet for a bit of performance art, while a main course of Middle White pork, ordinary enough in itself, embraces a mid-course supplementary serving of pulled meat and crackling in a taco. Temperature variations are wittily explored in a granita of grilled habanero chilli with ewe's milk yoghurt and plum sorbet. Dessert could be apricot-kernel mousse topped with a sugary tuile dusted with blitzed popcorn and puffed amaranth, underneath it all a slim disc of Victoria sponge, soaked in apricot syrup, bringing a twang of nostalgia to the finale. Low-intervention sips, skin-contact trendies and biodynamics make their voguish appearances on what is otherwise a fairly strait-laced wine list. Cocktails are absolutely worth a punt.; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #93 (2025); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #86 (2025); La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 93.5pts; Michelin 2 Stars (2025); Star Wine List #4 (2024); Star Wine List #3 (2024); Star Wine List #2 (2024); Star Wine List #1 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Europe Ranked #77 (2024); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #80 (2024); Michelin 2 Stars (2024); Star Wine List #2 (2023); Star Wine List #1 (2023); Opinionated About Dining Top New Restaurants in Europe Ranked #64 (2023); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #38 (2023); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #35 (2022); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #32 (2021); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #27 (2019); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #33 (2018); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #26 (2017); World's 50 Best Best Restaurants #26 (2016) | Near Impossible | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
How The Clove Club stacks up against the competition.
No formal dress code is enforced, but the setting — a Victorian town hall with two Michelin stars and a World's 50 Best #86 ranking — means most guests dress up rather than down. Think smart evening wear rather than a suit and tie. Trainers and casualwear would feel out of place given the price point (££££) and the open kitchen format, which puts diners squarely in view.
The Clove Club's format is a multi-course set menu rather than a drop-in bar operation, so there is no standalone bar dining in the traditional sense. That said, the snacks course — which includes items like crispy buttermilk chicken and crab dumplings — is served before the main menu begins, and cocktails (the house martini in particular) are worth ordering at that stage. If you want flexibility without committing to the full tasting menu format, this is not the right venue.
Groups can book, but The Clove Club's set menu format means the entire table eats on the same schedule — there is no à la carte flexibility to accommodate stragglers or mix-and-match dining. For larger groups, lead times stretch well beyond the standard 4–8 week minimum. If you are organising a group of six or more, check the venue's official channels and allow considerably more runway than you would for a pair.
At ££££ per head, with two Michelin stars, a World's 50 Best #86 ranking (2025), and a wine list close to 800 references, the credentials justify the price for anyone who wants a serious tasting menu in London. The value calculation shifts if you are looking for a casual meal or à la carte flexibility — the format is fixed and the commitment is real. Compared to CORE by Clare Smyth or The Ledbury at a similar price point, The Clove Club leans more experimental and less reverential, which either works for you or it does not.
Yes, if the format suits you. Isaac McHale's menus — available in long or short versions — are built around prime British produce (Orkney scallops, Herdwick lamb, Torbay prawns) with cooking that runs from technically precise to deliberately playful. The approach has earned consistent World's 50 Best rankings since 2016 and two Michelin stars held through 2025. If you dislike fixed menus or prefer to order freely, the format will frustrate regardless of quality.
The venue data does not include specific dietary restriction policies. Given the set menu format and the level of kitchen complexity involved, contacting the restaurant well in advance of your booking is essential — not optional. Two-Michelin-star kitchens at this level typically require advance notice to adapt menus meaningfully, and last-minute requests are unlikely to be accommodated without prior arrangement.
It works for solo diners, particularly given the open kitchen format — watching the kitchen operate from the dining room adds engagement when you are eating alone. The set menu structure removes the social pressure of ordering decisions, which suits solo visits. Book the counter or a single seat at the kitchen-facing positions where available; these tend to offer more interaction with the room than a solo table set back from the action.
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