Bala Baya review – the outside terrace with a crowd-pleasing menu
★★★☆☆ / Lebanese/Jordanian/Levantine

Bala Baya review – the outside terrace with a crowd-pleasing menu

A Middle Eastern sharing menu with some charm, here and there. A curious thing happened in medieval Europe following the apocalyptic devastation of the Black Death. With workers fewer in number, those that remained were able to command better wages and working conditions from their titular overlords – an imbalance in the supply-and-demand of the … Continue reading

Mackerel Sky review – this seafood bar achieves lift-off, but doesn’t quite soar
★★★☆☆ / Seafood

Mackerel Sky review – this seafood bar achieves lift-off, but doesn’t quite soar

This review of a Newlyn/Penzance restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage. For an island nation, the UK is collectively quite neurotic about what it does and doesn’t eat. Despite the prominence of fisheries in the UK’s increasingly bitter relations with its continental neighbours, we’re a surprisingly seafood-averse bunch. In 2017, … Continue reading

The best and worst American barbecue in London for delivery and takeaway
American / ★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / ★☆☆☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ

The best and worst American barbecue in London for delivery and takeaway

Update 19/4/2021 – added reviews of The Big Smoke (Bromley), Crossroads and Pappy’s Summer and barbecue go together like Bank Holidays and rain. One naturally follows the other, but even better is a summer filled with American-style barbecue, a world away from a typical suburban garden grill topped with bangers and burgers. The low ‘n’ … Continue reading

Nando’s vs Roosters Piri Piri review – cheap and cheeky chicken comparison
★★★☆☆ / Steak/chophouse

Nando’s vs Roosters Piri Piri review – cheap and cheeky chicken comparison

With lockdown, I have fewer respites from the amateurish tedium of my own cooking. It was this, combined with the need to run errands for an ill dining companion, that led me to pucker up for a cheeky Nando’s for the first time in years. At the same time, the existence of a notable competitor in the form of Roosters Piri Piri, a franchised chain with branches in London as well as farther afield, piqued my curiosity. There’s only one thing for it – a takeaway piri piri chicken-and-chips comparison. Continue reading