Mc and Sons review – the Thairish pub that’s not as plucky as it first appears
★★☆☆☆ / Gastropub / Thai and Lao

Mc and Sons review – the Thairish pub that’s not as plucky as it first appears

A pub food minichain hiding in plain sight Pubs serving Thai food seems like an odd pairing, but this now commonplace coupling was initially a result of nothing more exotic than economic necessity and entrepreneurial foresight. The first documented pub on these islands with a Thai kitchen was apparently Notting Hill’s Churchill Arms – a … Continue reading

Mercato Metropolitano review – the Southwark street food hall trying to be everything to everyone
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / ★☆☆☆☆ / Street food/food court

Mercato Metropolitano review – the Southwark street food hall trying to be everything to everyone

Halfway between Elephant & Castle and London Bridge, but nowhere in particular Updated 30/9/2019 – added reviews of new traders and updated the reviews of Badiani, Duman, Little Sicily and Turkish Garden Updated 16/4/2019 – added hyperlinked table of contents, corrected spelling and grammatical errors The weird thing about street food in London isn’t the … Continue reading

Siren at The Goring review – seafood that isn’t fit for a Queen
★★☆☆☆ / Seafood

Siren at The Goring review – seafood that isn’t fit for a Queen

Overstuffed and underwhelming Update 17/06/2020 – this restaurant has closed as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic Seafood, like many things in life, is subject to the cyclical, ever-changing whims of fashion and finance. Although the details often depend on the specific seafood in question, seafood has – throughout the long history of these … Continue reading

Street Feast Woolwich Public Market review: a street food guide
★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / ★☆☆☆☆

Street Feast Woolwich Public Market review: a street food guide

If there’s an ‘R’ word other than ‘restaurant’ that will elicit fierce emotions and strongly held opinions, then it’s ‘regeneration’ and the associated effects of gentrification that go with it. It’s therefore no surprise that the regeneration of Woolwich’s dilapidated but elegantly vaulted Public Market into Street Feast’s latest street food stall night market was … Continue reading

Gilly’s Fry Bar review – the chippy that wants to be a tempura restaurant
★★☆☆☆ / British / Eclectic

Gilly’s Fry Bar review – the chippy that wants to be a tempura restaurant

Finsbury Park doesn’t need more battered fried food I have a confession to make. It’s a deeply unpopular, long-held opinion that will not endear me to many of you. It’ll be even more controversial than the time I disparaged chicken, dismissing it as a soulless meat fit only for children and invalids. I don’t like … Continue reading

El Muro review – Mexican food comes to Muswell Hill. Sort of.
★★☆☆☆ / Mexican

El Muro review – Mexican food comes to Muswell Hill. Sort of.

It’s better than Tex-Mex. Just. Reviewing restaurants means I meander all over London, seeing firsthand the disparate boroughs, villages and neighbourhoods that make up this sprawling metropolis of ours. It’s tempting to think that once you venture outside of the capital’s core restaurant areas (Soho, Islington, Shoreditch and The City, or thereabouts), you would have … Continue reading

The best and worst tonkotsu ramen in London – 2017 review update
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / Best and Worst group tests / Japanese / Japanese Noodles

The best and worst tonkotsu ramen in London – 2017 review update

Japanese pork bone broth noodle soup in the capital gets better. And worse. Although the deluge of ramen restaurant openings in London has lessened since its peak a couple of years ago, a bowl of warm, rich and comforting tonkotsu ramen is still rarely far from my mind. Not only because it’s the perfect dish … Continue reading

Little Smoke review – Moorgate Smokehouse spin-off doesn’t have the chops
★★☆☆☆ / Steak/chophouse

Little Smoke review – Moorgate Smokehouse spin-off doesn’t have the chops

‘Little’ is the operative word and not in a good way I’ve been reviewing restaurants for long enough now to see multiple restaurants rise and fall, often at the same address. The small space at the edge of City Point near Moorgate is a case in point. Six years ago it was a forgettable and now … Continue reading

Blue’s Smokehouse Twickenham review – dire suburban barbecue fit only for meatheads
★★☆☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

Blue’s Smokehouse Twickenham review – dire suburban barbecue fit only for meatheads

The meal so bad, I had to apologise to my dining companion The cliché about the suburbs, especially those south of the river, is that there’s nowhere good to eat. That’s not quite true anymore, if it ever was, especially as London’s property crisis and the increasingly brutal restaurant market push more and more restaurateurs … Continue reading