Hon’s BBQ review: Texan barbecue with a Chinese accent
‘Uncle’ no more, this is barbecue you can (usually) eat with chopsticks.
Latest Entries
Machi-ya review – Kanada-ya spin-off does Japanese comfort food
A review from someone who can tell the difference between chicken and pork tonkatsu Machi-ya is an odd name for a Japanese restaurant. A machiya is a traditional Japanese house that can be very atmospheric and are thus increasingly popular with tourists visiting Japan. Indeed, I briefly considered staying in one during my trip to Kyoto … Continue reading
Monty’s Deli review – street food bagels settle down in Hoxton
Jewish soul food reasserts itself in the East End Update 16/8/2019 – this restaurant has now closed Jewish food doesn’t have much of a visible presence in London to the casual observer. But that’s before you realise that many dishes that we taken for granted in our everyday lives – from bagels and smoked salmon to hot … Continue reading
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / Best and Worst group tests / Japanese / Japanese Noodles
The best and worst tonkotsu ramen in London – 2017 review update
Japanese pork bone broth noodle soup in the capital gets better. And worse. Although the deluge of ramen restaurant openings in London has lessened since its peak a couple of years ago, a bowl of warm, rich and comforting tonkotsu ramen is still rarely far from my mind. Not only because it’s the perfect dish … Continue reading
Claude Bosi at Bibendum review – a classic building, a vaunted chef and the new Hibiscus
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
Sparrow review – eating out takes flight in Lewisham
A southeast London restaurant worth getting excited about The idea that southeast London is a gastronomic desert bereft of anywhere good to eat out is a long-held canard. Although somewhat overstated, especially in boroughs with relative wealth and proximity to Zone 1, there is an element of truth to it. With the locals spending the … Continue reading
Holborn Dining Room review – the Instagram pie phenomenon
Aye for pie with an eye for pie One should never, ever underestimate the importance of how food looks. Attractive-looking food not only influences how we perceive its taste, but can get otherwise disinterested punters in through the door in the first place. This placebo-like effect can be seen in the social media hubbub surrounding Holborn Dining Room. This previously … Continue reading
Rick Stein Barnes review – celebrity chef serves the only seafood in the village
TV CV only gets you oh so far I have little time for most TV celebrity chefs, but I’ll usually make an exception for Rick Stein. His genteel avuncular charm, childlike wonder and boundless yet measured enthusiasm make him far more watchable than the majority of his arse-clenchingly irritating peers. The big man naturally doesn’t cook in … Continue reading
Lyle’s review – minimalist Shoreditch restaurant is exquisite despite its flaws
Defies both easy categorisation and expectations If there’s been one defining cultural aesthetic in the West over the past 20 years or so, then it has to be minimalism. Paring back everything to their essentials is, depending on your point of view, either the ideal way to show off something’s true nature or a stark, monotonous … Continue reading
Jugemu review – Soho izakaya flies solo
Uniquely Japanese in more ways than one Eccentric cultural institutions usually lose something in translation when they’re transplanted outside of their home country. Monster truck rallies, Eccles cakes and Viz magazine are prime examples. The izakaya is another. A Japanese staple, these bar-cum-restaurants are often translated as pubs or gastropubs, but none of those names really quite fit as izakayas are subtly different … Continue reading
What is Activated Charcoal? Everything you need to know
London’s latest wellness food fad explained – and debunked Update 5/03/2017 – added clarification about the sourcing of Pizzicotto’s activated charcoal pizza flour and responses received, so far, from the companies covered The public backlash against the pseudoscientific ‘clean eating’ and ‘wellness’ food fad in the wake of the BBC’s highly critical documentary is well … Continue reading
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