Speedboat Bar Notting Hill review – loud Thai food worth shouting about
Punchy, varied and characterful Thai food is a hill worth dying on.
Latest Entries
Mãos review – the enigmatic Viajante supper club isn’t that mysterious after all
But don’t tell that to the Nuno Mendes fanboys Update 10/4/18 – added a few new sentences to the conclusion. When you’re one of London’s most feted chefs, responsible for smash hits like the Chiltern Firehouse and Taberna do Mercado, then there’s only one thing left for you to do. You open a secretive supper … Continue reading
Brat review – turbot charged Shoreditch meat and fish
It’s tempting to dismiss Brat out of hand before you’ve even laid eyes on the place. It’s situated above the newly relocated Smoking Goat in Shoreditch, which makes it sound like the hospitality equivalent of a grubby bedsit or a suffocating flatshare. The kitchen is headed up by Tomos Parry, formerly of the lauded Kitty … Continue reading
Shu Xiangge Chinatown review – plenty of brains and heart, just not always in the right places
Unapologetically Sichuanese hotpot Shuang Shuang, the Chinese hotpot restaurant married to a conveyor belt, befuddled many of its Chinatown neighbours when it first opened. Comparatively expensive with somewhat unadventurous ingredients, a bit too much logistical fuss on your part and a relative lack of large communal pots for group dining, it broke all the Chinatown … Continue reading
Sabor review – tapas downstairs, roast suckling pig upstairs
Not quite the Barrafina 2.0 you were hoping for I try not to write too much about the personalities in London’s restaurant business for many reasons. But when two of the people behind Barrafina, the capital’s landmark tapas mini-chain, strike out on their own then I can’t help but sit up and take notice. Nieves … Continue reading
Sushi Atelier review – great value sushi where you least expect it
The Chisou empire’s Great Portland Street outpost Of all the London restaurants to have closed in the past year or two, few have wounded me as much as the unexpected closure of Ten Ten Tei. That budget Soho restaurant wasn’t perfect. Aside from the iffy service, one of its chief sins was its smorgasbord menu … Continue reading
Sorella review – pivoting from one cuisine to another in hard times
The Manor transforms into an Italian It’s tough times for restaurants with household names and independents alike having to close up shop all across the country. Skyrocketing business rates, a continuing staffing shortage, rising wages, intense competition (especially in London) and, in some cases, overaggressive expansion and impatient investors are all playing their part in … Continue reading
★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / Indian / South Asian
Indian Accent vs Gymkhana review: black pudding naan vs venison biryani
Slumming it in Mayfair for South Asian haute cuisine giggles Update 17/06/2020 – Indian Accent has closed as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic Pitting Gymkhana against Indian Accent seems like such a natural thing to do. Both are pricey high-end Indian restaurants on the same street in Mayfair, located mere yards apart from … Continue reading
Tacos del 74 Dalston review – even worse than Tex-Mex food
You couldn’t pay me to eat here again. People like to sneer at hipsterish restaurants and bars in Shoreditch and Dalston. They’re seen by many as faddy, shallow trend-chasing establishment serving up fare that’s incomprehensible and inedible to ‘normal’ folk. I have little time for such half-baked nonsense, preferring to judge each establishment on its … Continue reading
Little Duck The Picklery review – the height of summer in the depths of winter
Picklery not gimmickry. The sweet life. Keep it sweet. A sweet deal. Sweet as honey. Sweet as pie. Our understandable preoccupation with sweetness and sweet foods is so deeply ingrained that the word itself has become a synonym for all that is desirable and good in the English language. But this has also blinded us, … Continue reading
★★★☆☆ / Indian / South Asian
Bombay Bustle review – the casual Jamavar spin-off stuck at the platform
In this case ‘casual’ means ‘cheaper’. Sort of. It’s always fascinating to see what happens when a lauded, Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant launches a ‘casual’ spin-off. When Dabbous attempted it, the result was the very different and somewhat odd Barnyard. Both of those restaurants have now closed and, in retrospect, Barnyard felt a somewhat patronising, phoned-in … Continue reading
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