Discover Barbican’s 2 best spots for your trip in London

Housed in a former smokehouse steps from London's meat market, St. John is the restaurant that turned offal and unfashionable cuts into a philosophy, and three decades on it remains a pilgrimage site for serious eaters.

The dining room is deliberately plain — white walls, bare tables — so the daily-changing chalkboard menu of bone marrow, chitterlings, and simple puddings does the talking. At 4.5 stars across nearly 3,200 reviews, it draws food obsessives and industry chefs as much as tourists, and its high culture score reflects genuine culinary landmark status rather than a passing trend.

It suits an unhurried, food-focused lunch or dinner more than a purely romantic splurge.

Founded in 1123 as an Augustinian priory, St Bartholomew the Great is widely regarded as London's oldest parish church still in regular use, its thick Norman columns and dim, atmospheric interior having survived the Great Fire, the Blitz and centuries of redevelopment around it in Smithfield. With a 4.8 rating — among the highest in this batch — reviewers describe an emotional, almost medieval hush inside that feels distinct from London's grander, better-known cathedrals, and it has doubled as a film location for its evocative look.

Its modest size and budget-friendly entry make it an easy, rewarding detour for anyone exploring the Barbican or Smithfield area.