The biggest restaurant chain you’ve never heard of has opened in central London It should go without saying, but no restaurant is worth queuing for – at least in London or any other metropolis that’s similarly bursting at the seams with other restaurants at your disposal. Queuing for potentially hours on end does nothing but …
Street food stall settles down in Shoreditch Burger and Beyond’s story sounds like such a throwback from the past, that it’s almost quaint in its retro-ness. This burger stall, a stalwart of street food markets such as Street Feast’s Public Market in Woolwich, has now set up shop in the heart of Shoreditch with plans …
But the result is taco zirconium Most restauranteurs would kill to have the premises that Casa Pastor has managed to snag for itself. The handsome Victorian brick-and-iron building near Kings Cross sits in what was once a coal sorting yard – the plainly named Coal Drop Yards – almost literally under the shadow of a …
Iranian stews and kebabs in Soho It’s strange to begin a restaurant review by talking about another restaurant, but bear with me for a moment. Some of the best dishes at Brigadiers, an Indian restaurant in the City, were the kebabs which meant it was immediately noticeable when the kebab chef responsible, Kian Samyani, left …
Grouse sausage and a mussels flatbread in Hoxton ‘We’ll need the table back in two hours’ is a familiar phrase for restaurant-going Londoners, but is utterly alien to many foreign visitors – especially those from the Continent. For many of our European cousins, the notion of table time limits is utterly incompatible with the very …
It’s an import from New York in Covent Garden, but don’t hold that against it Updated 28/1/2019 ‘Red Farm’ sounds like a Maoist agricultural collective where exiled bourgeoise are forced to hunt sparrows as part of their re-education, but it’s actually the name of a Chinese restaurant in Covent Garden. It’s quite unlike any other Chinese …
… but is coming up short. Names can be many things. A descriptive label, a pigeonhole, a statement of intent. It’s therefore striking that Islington restaurant 1251 has such an easily forgotten, easily misremembered name. It may have some significance to someone behind the scenes, especially in light of the fact that chef James Cochran … Continue reading
Leytonstone’s best kept secret Singburi is a Thai restaurant in Leytonstone, but it’s hardly new as it was established back in the heady, halcyon days of 1999. While hardly unknown, it hasn’t garnered nearly as much fame as London’s new wave Thai restaurants, such as Kiln and Farang. The reasons why aren’t hard to fathom. … Continue reading
Curry by any other name would taste as delicious Choosing how to describe your restaurant and its style of cooking can be a tricky thing. Masala Wala Cafe is a case in point, describing itself as a Pakistani restaurant on its website. This is notable in of itself when so many South Asian restaurants in … Continue reading
Uncomfortable reading lies ahead The trio of siblings behind Kin et Deum would doubtless prefer that I spend this introduction focussing on their Thai restaurant’s airy and tastefully decorated interior or that they’re building upon the legacy of their father’s Thai restaurant which used to occupy the same premises. Unfortunately for them, I can’t possibly … Continue reading
This Xi’an Impression spin-off brings the spice of life to Aldgate There’s no doubt that London can be a chaotic, stressful place that can drain not only your bank account, but also your tolerance for the continued existence of other human beings. To focus myopically on all the usual big city problems, though, would be … Continue reading
This carnivorous threequel even serves vegan pizzas While the menus of some eateries seem to have been designed by committees and focus groups, the Temper group of restaurants has never like that. Each restaurant’s focus on smoked or grilled meats and a fresh spin on familiar ways of serving them – whether it’s tacos or … Continue reading
Bring your own booze to this north London gem Update 5/08/2018 – corrected spelling error and tweaked the names of some dishes I’m sometimes asked why I hate anglicised Chinese food so much. It’s not the food that I hate per se, even though I’m certainly no fan of cloying yet dull sweet and sour … Continue reading
