Akara review – a taste of West Africa in Borough Market
A West African jack of all trades and a master of fun
Latest Entries
Kanishka review – I won’t whitewash this chef’s bigotry and neither should you
If you’re looking for a bog-standard restaurant review, then this isn’t it I’ve always tried to keep this site focussed on giving practical restaurant advice – where to eat and what to order, served with what I hope is a dash of wit and wry commentary. It’s what I’ve always wanted to read and hopefully … Continue reading
African Queen review – raise your glass to this Hounslow Indian pub
Hearty fare for locals and Heathrow travellers alike There are many reasons to hate Heathrow, from the 7am drinkers and the tedious security theatre of dubious utility to the obligatory naff ads for luxury goods and enterprise IT. One of the most hateful things about Heathrow, and indeed many Western airports in general, is the … Continue reading
Silk Road review – Xinjiang noodles and kebabs in Camberwell
Not all Silk Roads lead to treasure Some restaurants become so totemic and talismanic, that no amount of criticism on my part or anyone else’s is likely to dent their popularity. In London, a town somewhat unfairly pilloried for being expensive to live in, that maxim applies most potently to cheaply priced restaurants. Few sit-down … Continue reading
Barullo review – eye-opening paella and tapas in the City
The Spanish restaurant near The Gherkin that truly delivers It’s odd to begin a restaurant review by referring to another restaurant that I haven’t been to and that has closed entirely. But bear with me, as there’s a reason behind my madness. Barullo isn’t just a new Spanish restaurant in the City, within spitting distance … Continue reading
Master Wei review – masterful noodles that you’ve never heard of…
…and there’s plenty more to enjoy at this Russell Square Shaanxi/Xi’an restaurant Update 18/10/21 – added details of autumn 2021 revisit Opening a new restaurant serving Xi’an food (or Shaanxi food, if you prefer) in the seemingly barren concrete wastes of the Holborn-Bloomsbury-Russell Square hinterland appears bafflingly odd at first glance. Despite being wedged in … Continue reading
Orasay review – the Notting Hill seafood restaurant that doesn’t play by the rules
Half of the mains are red meat and vegetarian dishes, yet I love it anyway ‘I don’t like seafood’ is a common refrain that all of us will have heard at some point in our lives. In an odd twist for an island nation, we will all have at least one friend or family member … Continue reading
Max’s Sandwich Shop review – these Finsbury Park sarnies are more than just a middle-class Subway
Max’s doesn’t serve BLTs, tuna mayo or Ploughman’s – it’s far more creative than that Sandwiches are everywhere, yet we rarely give them the proper due care and attention that they deserve. Clammy, flaccid supermarket sandwiches barely deserve the appellation, yet many of us not only eat them for lunch but for dinner too. Guiltily, … Continue reading
Yeni review – this modern Turkish restaurant in Soho deserves your attention
With brill, octopus and beef ribs on the menu, this isn’t your Dalston mate’s idea of a Turkish restaurant Yeni is the London counterpart of a feted Istanbul restaurant, but you wouldn’t know it from the Soho restaurant’s website. For the casual observer, the only clues to its Turkish origins are its somewhat enigmatic name and … Continue reading
Bao and Bing review – Taiwanese street food staggers into Marylebone
Just around the corner from the Chiltern Firehouse, but it’s too little too late London has well and truly fallen for Taiwanese gua bao. From its early days as a street food favourite to the JKS-backed sensation that is Bao, restaurants serving these Taiwanese sandwiches have now opened in farther flung London boroughs such as … Continue reading
Murger Hanhan review – hearty, face-slapping noodles in Mayfair
Plus, one of the best vegetarian dishes I’ve ever had in London Expensive haute cuisine restaurants are common as muck in Mayfair. They’re plastered all over the place and many (but by no means all) are so blandly uniform that you could quite easily stagger from one to the other on some sort of tasting … Continue reading
The Picky Glutton 
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