Like a regenerated Doctor Who, what’s old is new again. I tend to review new restaurants and Claude Bosi at Bibendum does technically count as a new restaurant, having only just opened at the beginning of April this year. Except, in some ways, it is more of an amalgam of restaurants that have gone before it. Most … Continue reading
Category Archives: French
Café Monico review – vaguely French brasserie is less grand and more grandiosely shallow
Corbin and King have nothing to worry about Update 24/4/2021 – this restaurant has now closed What’s old is new again. This phrase comes to mind when witnessing the resurgence in appreciation of the grand French/continental-style brasseries that now crop up occasionally in London’s wealthier neighbourhoods. Once seen as fusty, the best of these brasseries … Continue reading
Bellanger review – French-German mashup wags my tail
Alsace Islington brasserie on the green Update 16/8/2019 – this restaurant has now closed Britain’s long relationship with France has been a fraught and tangled one, to say the least. Thankfully that hasn’t stopped a surge of new French restaurants opening in London over the past couple of years. Bellanger, from the people behind Brasserie Zedel … Continue reading
The Ninth review – racing towards first place and falling short
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
Piquet review – classy French where you’d least expect it
Oxford Street has never had it so good Update 14/2/17 – this restaurant has now closed Although by no means the most incongruously positioned restaurant I’ve ever come across, Piquet is nonetheless oddly located. Wedged in-between a faceless office block and a hair salon, it sits opposite a building site and part of Oxford Street’s branch … Continue reading
Les Deux Salons review – the Strand’s attractive French brasserie
Cheerful Continental Covent Garden Comfort Chow There’s no shortage of mock French-style brasseries and bistros in London from chains such as Cafe Rouge and Cote to independents such as Les Deux Salons. This two floor restaurant is a mere stone’s throw away from Covent Garden, Charing Cross and The Strand. Les Deux Salons is owned … Continue reading
Côte review – fine French food for everyone?
Can a chain do French bistro food justice? With only a few exceptions, I don’t really like chain restaurants. They may have the best of intentions, bringing consistently reliable food to a large number of people at a reasonable price, but as the number of franchised branches balloons, the quality of the food tends to … Continue reading
Bibendum review – The Michelin Man’s set menu
Eating at Kensington and Chelsea’s art nouveau icon Attempting to find a particular restaurant in London usually involves squinting at Google Maps on your phone and periodically glancing upwards at door numbers. That isn’t a problem with Bibendum though. This restaurant is hard to miss as it’s situated inside an iconic art nouveau/art deco-ish building … Continue reading
Tom’s Kitchen review – laid-back British comfort food in Chelsea
Tom Aikens Restaurant’s casual little brother I love fine dining and the meal I had at Tom Aikens Restaurant was one of the best of its kind. Sometimes though I’m just not in the mood for fancy food, but Tom Aikens has that covered too. Tom’s Kitchen is a much more casual and affordable sister restaurant … Continue reading
Tom Aikens Restaurant review – Kensington’s best restaurant?
Fine dining in relaxed surroundings or how to begin your week with a ten-course tasting menu There’s no shortage of expensive restaurants in Kensington and Chelsea, which isn’t surprising given the affluent locals. High prices are no guarantee of quality though, so I was fully prepared for an evening of disappointment at the simply named … Continue reading
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