My favourite restaurants: Chet Sharma

Chet Sharma is full of surprises. In his list of all-time favourite restaurants, for example, the talented chef puts Mark Birchall’s two-Michelin-starred Moor Hall and peri peri chicken chain Nandos side by side. This is a chef who understands that food can be creative, complex and precise, but it can also be reliable, familiar and comforting – not necessarily ’the best meal of your life’ as he puts it, but still with the remarkable ability to spark joy and nostalgia in the diner.

Sharma is chef patron of modern Indian restaurant BiBi and has worked with some of the greatest chefs of his generation. While studying for his master's at UCL, he took on part time roles at Michelin-starred Benares and Locanda Locatelli, which turned out to serve as formative training for a career in food. Still, there was a time when he wasn’t sure whether academics or kitchens was the path for him, and he took a short break from restaurants to study for a PHD in physics at Oxford. It was a valuable break from hospitality for the chef, but fundamentally revealed that a career in food was what he really wanted to pursue.

Two days after he finished his studies in Oxford, he flew to Spain to work at the two-starred Mugaritz, before flying back to the UK and taking on consultancy and recipe development roles for the likes of The Ledbury, L’Enclume and Moor Hall, where he saw it win its first star. His big break came when he started working with JKS Restaurant Group, helping to develop the likes of Gymkhana, while simultaneously reigniting his understanding and appreciation for Indian cuisine.

While he was there, JKS co-founder Karam Sethi encouraged him to open his own restaurant, and the next few years were focused towards developing and building a concept that showcased authentic Indian food through a unique lens. That restaurant was to become BiBi, a progressive Indian restaurant in the heart of Mayfair, where Sharma looks at the roots of some of India’s most recognisable dishes and reimagines them for the modern day, with innovative twists and a fresh spin. BiBi opened in 2021, and in 2022 bagged the top spot in SquareMeal’s Top 100 London restaurants list.

Keen to find out which restaurants Sharma ranks amongst the best, we asked him to share his top five favourite restaurants right now.

Sabor, London

Chet says: ‘This place always reminds me of my time living in San Sebastian. Nieves and José are masters of creating delicious food, as well as a warm and inviting space that always makes me want to come back.’
Where: 35-37 Heddon Street, W1B 4BS
Book now: Sabor

Kiln, London

Chet says: ‘We're very lucky in London to have some of the best Thai food in the world. Kiln (and the original Smoking Goat) were among the first to bring the bold flavours of Thai cooking to the capital, and it still gets my vote as the best in town. Sitting at the counter, normally with a few other chefs, making our way through the whole menu is a consistent joy on a Monday afternoon, when so many other places are closed.’
Where: 58 Brewer Street, W1F 9TL
Book now: Kiln

Moor Hall, Lancashire

Chet says: ‘This definitely isn't an everyday place - perhaps not even an every year place - but Mark Birchall's incredible restaurant out in Lancashire is so memorable that I'd even travel north of Watford to get there!’
Where: Prescot Road, L39 6RT
Book now: Moor Hall

Endo at the Rotunda, London

Chet says: ‘My wife and I both have a soft spot for Japanese food and culture. We travelled the country on our honeymoon and fell so deeply in love with it that she even started attending Japanese lessons when we returned home to the UK. Eating at Endo's place is the closest thing to the incredible omakase restaurants across Tokyo. And it's much closer than the 13+ hour flight back to Japan.’
Where: 101 Wood Lane, W12 7FR
Book now: Endo at the Rotunda

Nando's, Various locations

Chet says: ‘It's never going to be the best meal of your life, but the food is undeniably tasty and - forgetting all the Michelin stars and best restaurant lists out there - is the one chain I've visited repeatedly over the past twenty-something years. My order is a half chicken with spicy rice and macho peas (and maybe some of my wife's chips) - what's not to love?’
Where: Various locations
Book now: Nando's

Keen to discover more of the country's top chef's favourite restaurants? We've quizzed Theo Randall, Vivek Singh, Jack Stein and Adam Byatt about where they love to eat.