If you’ve ever been to Soho, you know how crowded and noisy it can feel. Step through the door at Aulis and the city feels a world away. The small, softly lit space seats just twelve guests around a spacious counter. There are no servers; the head chef and sous chefs do everything, from cooking to resetting cutlery between courses with precision. They’re down-to-earth and unpretentious, even sometimes checking in guests themselves as they walk in the door. The precision of the cuisine is unmistakably fine dining, but the vibe and service are distinctly relaxed.
Head chef Charlie Taylor, previously at The Ledbury in Notting Hill and Kinobu in Kyoto, led the London team. He brings both technical skill and personal warmth, narrating the dishes without ever overshadowing them. His approach is assured, placing ingredients front and center.
Founded by Simon Rogan, Aulis is one of his chef’s table concepts (alongside Cartmel, Hong Kong, and Phuket). In 2024, both Aulis London and Aulis Phuket earned their first Michelin stars. The restaurant reflects Rogan’s Lake District ethos: cook with the seasons, preserve what’s left from prior harvests, and use every ingredient fully. Much of the seasonal produce is brought down from Rogan’s own farm in the Lake District, which drives the menu and keeps it deeply connected to the landscape. As a result, many dishes combine fresh and preserved elements—pickled and fermented produce that highlight the farm’s harvests year-round.
Evenings at Aulis begin in the lounge with opening courses and drinks. As an interesting twist, after earning its star, Aulis London removed Champagne from the restaurant entirely, turning the spotlight to English sparkling wines from Sussex, Hampshire, and Kent. Sommelier and manager Charles Carron Brown oversees the beverage program and creates the cocktails. We tried two: A Fashionable Pudding, a fat-washed Old Fashioned–style drink infused with trimmings from the restaurant’s signature truffle pudding; and Bloody Aulis 3.0, made with St. George Green Chili Vodka and topped with a delicate oyster leaf. It was our first time trying this delectably briny garnish, which truly does taste like an oyster!
We decided to keep our menu a secret until the end, letting each course unfold as it came. The fifteen-course menu sounds like it would be too much, but it isn’t. The meal moves at an easy pace, one small surprise after another. We loved the aerated beetroot with Devonshire smoked eel and blackberries, the Orkney scallops with pineapple weed jelly, and the Newlyn Market John Dory (which we ourselves had visited) served with smoked roe and crisp brassicas. The garnish was roasted over a Japanese Binchotan charcoal grill, adding a hint of char that tied the fish and its accompaniments together beautifully.
Wines were thoughtfully chosen from all over the world, from France and Greece to South Africa, to pair with each course, mostly leaning toward natural, low-intervention, and biodynamic bottles. Our pairing even included a sake that Charles developed in collaboration with Kanpai in Bermondsey, made using an overabundance of lemon verbena from the farm.
Aulis ends on a playful note, starting with an extraordinary “cheese and crackers” dish made with Tunworth cheese ice cream, followed by dandelion root custard with poached Conference pears, frozen sheep’s yogurt, and buckwheat, finished in front of us with dry ice. The meal closed with roasted juniper fudge tartlets with preserved perilla, served alongside pour-over coffees and a choice of fresh mint or Japanese teas brewed from varieties grown at the farm. It’s a finale that feels both intimate and quietly theatrical.
The pacing and care make the evening feel effortless. Aulis is one of the most thoughtful tables in London—quietly confident, never showy, and absolutely worth it.
If you go: Aulis London is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner, with one seating each evening. Reservations release a few weeks in advance and fill fast.
Aulis London, 16 St Anne’s Ct, London W1F 0BF
Note: Aulis provided support for the reporting of this story.