House of Ho review – modern Vietnamese food shakes up Soho?
★★★☆☆ / Vietnamese

House of Ho review – modern Vietnamese food shakes up Soho?

No sniggering in the back The vast majority of Vietnamese restaurants in London have very traditional menus and tend to be clustered together in Hoxton and Deptford, with smaller concentrations in other places such as Hammersmith. Soho’s House of Ho is a very different affair. The exposed brick walls, moody lighting and odd contemporary art … Continue reading

Boopshi’s review – Fitzrovia schnitzel and bratwurst
★★★☆☆ / German/Austrian

Boopshi’s review – Fitzrovia schnitzel and bratwurst

Hearty party Update 28/03/2016 – this restaurant has now closed Traditional Austrian food is never going to take over the world. At the risk of making a crude generalisation, old school Austrian food at its best is tasty, but also rather heavy with lashings of meat and rich pastries. Still, there’s definitely a place for … Continue reading

E. Mono review – Kentish Town kebabs come to Finsbury Park
★★★☆☆ / Turkish / Turkish Kebabs

E. Mono review – Kentish Town kebabs come to Finsbury Park

Worth seeking out or just another take away for tired, drunken locals? E. Mono is a renowned kebab restaurant and take away in Kentish Town that also has a second outpost within the confines of Finsbury Park station. Whereas the Kentish Town original has lovingly restored Edwardian premises, the Finsbury Park location is a much … Continue reading

Devran review – Green Lanes kebab newcomer
★★★☆☆ / Turkish / Turkish Kebabs

Devran review – Green Lanes kebab newcomer

Getting fat on big-ass kebabs Most of the Turkish restaurants on north London’s Green Lanes have been around for years, so the arrival of an apparent newcomer such as Devran is an unusual occurrence. Its decor fits the Green Lanes template though – murals depicting the Haiga Sophia and other typically Turkish vistas adorn the … Continue reading

Meat People review – Islington zebra, steak and pork
★★★☆☆ / Eclectic / Steak/chophouse

Meat People review – Islington zebra, steak and pork

S&M no more Update 6/1/2014 – tweaked the Verdict. Meat People might sound like yet another part of the burgeoning Meatliqour burger empire, but it’s actually, as far as I can tell, an independent meat-focussed restaurant. It’s located not far from the genteel sprawl of Islington’s Upper Street. Meat People has taken over the premises … Continue reading

The most popular London restaurants of 2013
News

The most popular London restaurants of 2013

I really dislike the end-of-year roundups found on most websites. Ensuring that loyal readers have something to read over the quiet Christmas/New Year’s/Winterval period is admirable; cynically regurgitating old content and presenting it as new is not. I’m particularly against concocting a dull list of my ‘favourite’ restaurants of the past year – if you … Continue reading

Clockjack Oven review – Soho rotisserie and fried chicken
★★★☆☆ / Steak/chophouse

Clockjack Oven review – Soho rotisserie and fried chicken

Juicy birds or plucking hell? London has been inundated by a small flood of fried and roast chicken restaurants. I fully recognise that chicken cooked well can be a world apart from the usual fowl stuff, but I haven’t really covered these chicken restaurants largely because I just don’t care. Chicken, broadly speaking, is a … Continue reading

Lalibela review – a taste of Ethiopia in Tufnell Park
★★★☆☆ / Ethiopian/Eritrean / Vegetarian

Lalibela review – a taste of Ethiopia in Tufnell Park

Kitsch and kitfo by the kilo* *meat not actually sold by the kilogram. I just like alliteration. Cities and towns across Britain are largely filled with the same ol’ usual suspects when it comes to restaurants – Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai and perhaps a French place or a gastropub. London, thankfully, is different with some … Continue reading