Akara review – a taste of West Africa in Borough Market
A West African jack of all trades and a master of fun
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Chiltern Firehouse review – sound the alarm, this place is on fire
Marylebone celeb hangout serves good grub I like to make repeat visits to restaurants before writing a review for any number of reasons, from trying to get a feel for the kitchen’s style to giving wobbly staff a chance to get their act together. Or simply because I really enjoy what they serve. Making repeat visits to Chiltern Firehouse … Continue reading
Rawduck Hackney review – fish for Sunday roast, raw duck, cold lamb and more
East End brunch and dinner I’m deeply sceptical about the entire idea of brunch. It’s the original naff restaurant marketing gimmick – add some muesli and eggs to get a whole new meal! Charge extra for some mediocre coffee! While Rawduck didn’t change my mind about this bastard relative of the elevenses, I’m still mightily impressed … Continue reading
Fera at Claridge’s review – come back Gordon Ramsay, all is forgiven
Foraging in Mayfair We do a lot of things that our ancestors would find regressively, inexplicably primitive. In the past (and right now in the developing world while we’re at it), living in a field without running water, electricity or plumbing would be considered poverty. In the modern West, we call it camping and subject our … Continue reading
Kurobuta Marble Arch review – modern Japanese izakaya falls flat
An Edgware Road restaurant that isn’t Lebanese Eating at Kurobuta has, if nothing else, confirmed that I’m slowly devolving into a cantankerous old fart. Kurobuta is a modern take on the izakaya, a Japanese food pub, situated on a residential street just off Edgware Road. Originally due to open last Autumn, it was so delayed … Continue reading
American / ★★☆☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ / Eclectic
Q Grill review – bandwagon barbecue bumbles into Camden
Porky’s larger, better looking but shallower neighbour You wait months for a new American-style barbecue restaurant in London and two arrive at the same time. Q Grill in Camden arrives hot on the heels of One Sixty in West Hampstead, but while One Sixty has a fairly short, focussed menu, the menu at Q Grill … Continue reading
One Sixty review – American-style barbecue in West Hampstead
Pied a Terre does BBQ ribs and pulled pork Londoners have a perverted, distorted sense of distance. West Hampstead is in zone 2 and part of the borough of Camden. It’s a mere 20 min Tube journey, at most, from Great Portland Street. That station is within pissing distance of both Oxford Circus and Tottenham … Continue reading
8 Hoxton Square review – from Soho to Shoreditch but lost in translation
Soho’s 10 Greek Street comes to Shoreditch Update 11/01/18 – this restaurant has now closed. The originally-named 8 Hoxton Square is the sister restaurant of 10 Greek Street, one of my favourite restaurants of 2012. This was reason enough to get me very excited about eating there, so I dragged Templeton Peck, Vicious Alabaster, Socialist … Continue reading
Barnyard review – Dabbous does dirty food
Almost the entire menu reviewed at Fitzrovia’s Farmville-chic diner Update 6/01/2017 – this restaurant has now closed. The phrase ‘dirty food’ is often used to describe the casual, inexpensive, non-haute cuisine, such as burgers and burritos, that have taken London’s restaurant scene by storm ever since the recession. I don’t like the term as it implies … Continue reading
Franco Manca Tottenham Court Road review – West End take away pizza
Sourdough pizzas, both take-away and eat-in The trend for restaurants not taking reservations often means that you’ll have to queue. That’s definitely the case with Franco Manca, the immensely popular seven-branch chain of pizza restaurants. The Tottenham Court Road branch is one of the most central and therefore has long queues out of the door every … Continue reading
Sardo review – classy Fitzrovia Sardinian
Independent Tottenham Court Road Italian There’s a small clutch of Italian restaurants on the western side of Tottenham Court Road in Fitzrovia, but most are either yawn-inducing chains or dreary places serving up massive menus of slop. One of the very few exceptions is Sardo, a long-standing restaurant specialising in dishes from Sardinia. Not to … Continue reading
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