Because she put up with you. The least you can do is feed her well.
Mothering Sunday falls on 15th March this year, and if you’re anything like me, you may have left the booking dangerously late. Fortunately, I have a Mrs Nigel who reminds me of these things, but if you don’t, here’s a few ideas for you.
What follows is a thoroughly personal selection of ten London restaurants where I’d be happy to take my mother. Some of these I’ve reviewed on Nigel Noshes. Others are places I’ve wanted to eat at, or which I have eaten at and never got round to writing up. All of them are, in their own way, special enough for the woman who taught you how to use a knife and fork, even if, in my case, that lesson didn’t entirely stick.
1. Moro – Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell
Moorish Mediterranean • Moderate
This is where I’m taking my own mother this week, so it felt only right to put it at the top of the list. Sam and Samantha Clark opened Moro in 1997 and the fact that it’s still packing them in nearly thirty years later tells you everything you need to know. The cooking draws from southern Spain, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, a heady mix of chargrilling, wood-roasting and spicing that makes the whole of Exmouth Market smell like somewhere considerably more exotic.
The room itself is functional rather than fancy, polished wooden floors, a long zinc bar, an open view of the kitchen and its charcoal grill. But that’s part of the charm. You come here for the food, the buzz, and the feeling that you’re somewhere genuinely alive. The kind of place where your Mum will say “oh, this is lovely” and actually mean it. Book early, as Moro doesn’t take itself too seriously, but everyone else takes it very seriously indeed.
2. Sucre – Soho
Argentinian • Moderate to Expensive
Any restaurant that has a fiery barbecue in the kitchen is always going to get my vote, and Sucre has exactly that. Sitting just opposite what used to be Marlborough Street Magistrates Court, now, inevitably, a swanky hotel, Fernando Trocca’s Argentinian grill house is the kind of place that makes you forget you’re in W1 and imagine you’re somewhere on the pampas, if the pampas had a cocktail list and a bill that made your eyes water slightly.
The steaks are magnificent, naturally, but it’s the smaller plates, the empanadas, the provoleta, the whole grilled vegetables, that really sing. I’ve been here on a Saturday evening when it was full to the rafters and the energy was infectious. For Mother’s Day, I’d say go for lunch, it’s a touch calmer but you still get to watch things catch fire while your mother isn’t looking.
My review here
3. Petersham Nurseries – Richmond (and Covent Garden)
Italian / Seasonal • Expensive
Blooming hell, it’s good, as I believe I said last time I reviewed this place. The Richmond original remains one of the most romantic settings in London: a converted greenhouse surrounded by plants, with Italian-accented cooking that lets the ingredients do the talking. Yes, the prices have crept up. Yes, the wait for food can test even the most patient of mothers. But when a plate of burrata with heritage tomatoes arrives looking like a Renaissance still life, you forgive everything.
There’s also the Covent Garden outpost if you’d rather stay central, though it trades some of the pastoral charm for urban convenience. Either way, if your mother has even a passing interest in gardens, good food, or spending your money on homeware, she’ll be in her element.
My review here
4. Spring – Somerset House, Covent Garden
Modern British / Seasonal • Moderate to Expensive
If Petersham Nurseries feels like eating in a greenhouse, Spring feels like eating in a cloud. Skye Gyngell’s restaurant in the New Wing of Somerset House is all light, air and elegance: high ceilings, blush tones, and lemons scattered about as if the Amalfi Coast had briefly taken up residence in WC2. The cooking is seasonal, ingredient-led, and quietly brilliant.
The set lunch is one of London’s genuine bargains, three courses for around £39, which in this postcode feels practically charitable, although I can’t guarantee you’ll get that on a Sunday. Your Mum will love the room, love the food, and love telling all her friends she went to Somerset House for lunch. Everyone wins.
5. Bubala – Soho
Middle Eastern / Vegetarian • Moderate
I reviewed Bubala not long ago and gave it a well-deserved 4.5 stars. It’s a young, buzzy, dark restaurant dedicated to Middle Eastern sharing food, all of it vegetarian: and no, before your Mum wrinkles her nose, this isn’t worthy, hair-shirt dining. This is bold, flavour-packed food that makes you forget meat exists. The mushroom shawarma is outstanding, as is pretty much everything that comes off their grill.
Perfect for the mother who says she’s “trying to eat less meat” or who simply appreciates food that’s interesting, generous, and deeply satisfying. Also perfect for the son who wants to look culturally aware without trying too hard. Probably best if your Mum is young enough to still has her hearing, though, as she might not once she has left…
My review here
6. The Ivy Cafe – Richmond
British / International • Moderate
It grows on you, and I say that as someone who initially had reservations about the Ivy’s expansion across London like some sort of well-upholstered franchise. But the Richmond branch has genuinely earned its place. The room is beautiful, the service is reliably good, and the food, while never going to set the world on fire, is consistently well-executed and comforting in exactly the way a Mother’s Day lunch should be.
Your Mum probably already knows The Ivy, which is half the appeal. There’s a reassurance in the familiar, and if she orders the shepherd’s pie and a glass of bubbly, you know she’s going to be happy. Sometimes that’s all that matters.
My review here
7. The River Cafe – Hammersmith
Italian • Expensive
If you really want to spoil her, and let’s face it, she deserves it, the River Cafe is the nuclear option. Ruth Rogers’ Italian institution by the Thames in Hammersmith has been turning out some of London’s finest cooking since 1987, and the Michelin star it holds is fully deserved. The daily-changing menu is simple in concept and magnificent in execution: wood-roasted fish, handmade pasta, and the legendary chocolate nemesis for pudding.
Yes, it’s expensive, roughly £80 a head for a set lunch before wine, which will require some deep breathing. But for a once-a-year treat, there are few better places in London to say “thank you for everything” with food. Just don’t let her see the bill.
8. Riva – Barnes
Italian • Moderate to Expensive
You could blink and miss this place as you crossed the road in the slightly less trendy bit of Barnes on your way to the Wetlands Centre. However, virtually every minor and major celebrity in London has at one point described this as their favourite restaurant, most recently Stanley Tucci, who I thought was an actor, but apparently is a chef and food critic as well (proof, as with me, that any idiot can do it).
The food is “Lombardy influenced”, but I would ignore everything else on the menu and have the antipasti (very much a sharer), and the pork belly (if it is on the specials), which together make up the finest meal in London. If you have recently greatly upset your mother and are very much on the naughty step, this is the place to regain her undying love.
9. Andrew Edmunds – Soho
Modern British • Moderate
If your mother is the sort who prefers candlelight to Instagram lighting, Andrew Edmunds is the one. Tucked into a handsome 18th-century townhouse on Lexington Street, it’s been a Soho institution since 1985 and has the kind of worn, romantic charm that chain restaurants spend millions trying to replicate and never manage.
The food is robust, unfussy British cooking. The wine list is legendary, with over 200 bottles, many at prices that would make most London restaurants blush with shame. It’s the sort of place where lunch stretches into mid-afternoon without anyone noticing or minding. Perfect for a mother who values atmosphere over Michelin stars, and conversation over cuisine.
10. OXO Tower – South Bank
Modern British • Moderate
This year may not be the year for the OXO Tower as it only really shines when the sun is out and you can enjoy the greatest dining view in London, watching the rubbish barges drift gently by on the Thames. The inside of the restaurant is a little cavernous and doesn’t quite have the same appeal.
There is a set menu (£45 in the Restaurant and only £35 in the Brasserie), which includes fizz or a non-alcoholic option, only available for the evening service on a Sunday, but the afternoon tea would definitely be a way to your mother’s heart if her stomach rumbles by mid-afternoon and your wallet doesn’t stretch to the a la carte (which at £9 for a basket of bread, few children can)
My review here
The Small Print
All of these places will be busy on Mothering Sunday, so do book ahead, ideally before you finish reading this sentence. Most are better for lunch than dinner on the day itself, because nobody’s mother really wants to be out past nine on a Sunday, however good the tiramisu. I did a little digging on Opentable and elsewhere, and a number of places still have good availability.
And finally: whatever you do, don’t forget the card and a bunch of flowers. You can take your mother to the finest restaurant in London, order the most expensive wine on the list, and give a speech that would make a vicar weep: But if you forget the critical extras, she’ll never let you forget it.
I’ll report back on Moro next week.
