The Clove Club

Verdict

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 Experience

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.

Practical Details

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.

Awards & Recognition

• Michelin 2 Stars (2024, 2025)
• World's 50 Best Restaurants #86 (2025) , previously ranked as high as #26
• La Liste Leading Restaurants: 93.5pts (2025), 90pts (2026)
• Star Wine List #1 (2024)
• Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants in Europe #93 (2025)
• Google rating: 4.6 from 1,152 reviews

How It Compares

See the comparison section below.