This restaurant is a trailblazer on the zany South Bank, and should be a go-to even if you’re not going to the theater. The creators of the Marksman, London’s first Michelin-starred gastropub, have brought elegance to architect Sir Denys Lasdun’s Brutalist building. Try the majesty with mashed potatoes; chicken, wild garlic, and leek pie to share; and the beef-and-barley buns and black treacle sourdough with salted butter. It’s the best British modern cooking, elevated by an oyster bar, a caviar bar, and an insane brown butter-and-honey tart. Go after seven, when the pre-theater diners have scrambled to their Shakespeare. —Victoria Mather

Victoria Mather is a veteran travel writer based in London. She has edited travel coverage for Tatler, The Daily Telegraph, the Evening Standard, and Vanity Fair