Fitzrovia French falls forwards While there’s hardly a shortage of expensive fine dining restaurants in London, there has still nonetheless been a general shift away from pricey, starched table cloth restaurants towards less costly, more informal eateries. In most cases, big name chefs and restaurant groups have been content to merely launch spin-offs, such as Dabbous … Continue reading
Masterminded by a MasterChef Disclosure: upon asking for the bill, my fourth meal here was given free of charge by the management in light of my repeated custom. This was not asked for and was accepted out of politeness. There’s no shortage of casual Japanese restaurants in London, but Nanban is different. Although headed up by … Continue reading
Kebabs are just the beginning, not the end Black Axe Mangal advertises itself as an avant-garde kebab house drawing influences from around the world, not just from Turkey. But while the chargrilled meat dishes take centre stage on Black Axe’s ever-changing menu, the skill of the kitchen expresses itself in ways not confined to the … Continue reading
This railway arch restaurant will set your heart racing Update 12/02/18 – this restaurant has now closed Unless you walk around London, it’s hard to appreciate just how close many of the city’s neighbourhoods are to each other. Bethnal Green has the City and Shoreditch directly on its western border, while Mile End and Stratford sit … Continue reading
Don’t just look at the star rating and move on, read the words If anything symbolises the obstacles London’s insane property market throws in the way of budding restauranteurs, then it’s the location of Pidgin. Located in a mostly residential area on a side street with a handful of other shops, passing trade is probably … Continue reading
Finally, a good restaurant in Islington Oldroyd might sound like a wizened, unwanted hanger-on in an unmentionable anatomical structure, but it’s actually a new restaurant in Islington from one of the brains behind Polpo. Although independent from that burgeoning empire, Oldroyd’s menu immediately feels Polpo-esque – small plates, as well as a few larger dishes, with … Continue reading
The incredibly satisfying BBQ you never knew you needed If you’re a superficial knee-jerk reactionary, then you’ll hate Berber and Q before you even step through the front door. It’s located in Haggerston, near the epicentre of horn-rimmed plaid-shirtedness that is Shoreditch. Heck, its next door neighbour is a board games cafe. Everything is ‘reclaimed’ from the premises, a … Continue reading
The pop-up restaurant for dogs that’s either the dog’s bollocks or a dog’s breakfast It’s funny how your day can turn out, especially in odd and unexpected ways. I don’t usually write about dogs or dog food (if only because I’m a cat person), but my interest was piqued by a Tweet promoting a pop-up restaurant for dogs … Continue reading
It’s sort of like Turkish food, but even more fun Thanks to UKIP and the generally nasty tone of British politics in recent years, ‘Eastern European’ has become a loaded phrase. Our new neighbours have nevertheless been slowly making their impact on London’s dining scene. ‘Eastern European’ food doesn’t have the greatest reputation though and that nebulous … Continue reading
It’s Korean-ish BBQ with a dash of Mexican. Sort of. Around Christmas/New Years time I usually got a small shovel-load of emails asking me to predict what the restaurant trends for the coming year will be. Putting aside my view that being so beholden to the trends of the day is a sign of a weak mind … Continue reading
The Picky Glutton 
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