Pescheria Assunta review – there’s nothing at all fishy about the London branch of this Rome seafood restaurant
★★★☆☆ / Italian / Seafood

Pescheria Assunta review – there’s nothing at all fishy about the London branch of this Rome seafood restaurant

The Italian seafood restaurant that moved from Mayfair to Earl’s Court I had eaten my fill, but I was not satisfied. As the hapless staff flailed at even the most basic tasks, the feeling started to drain from my numbed backside and legs from sitting for so long, while my phone – my only bulwark … Continue reading

Breddos Tacos Soho review – brilliance served with a side of incompetence
★★★★☆ / Eclectic / Mexican

Breddos Tacos Soho review – brilliance served with a side of incompetence

Raffish Clerkenwell Mexican sprouts second branch in Soho Update: 8/02/2018 – added new opening hours A great many things flow through my mind when I’m being ignored at a restaurant, once I become bored with my phone. Will I starve to death in this place, with lunching desk jockeys and freelance debutantes stepping over my … Continue reading

Coal Rooms Peckham review – a train station restaurant that isn’t a dreary chain
★★★☆☆ / Eclectic / Steak/chophouse

Coal Rooms Peckham review – a train station restaurant that isn’t a dreary chain

Plus a beast of a bacon sandwich Salvaging, reusing and repurposing old fittings and furnishings to adorn new restaurants is nothing new; it’s been an ongoing trend in the English-speaking world for at least a decade, if not more. Renovating old buildings, while judiciously paying homage to their original purpose, has received less attention but … Continue reading

Holborn Dining Room review – the Instagram pie phenomenon
★★★★☆ / British

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

Benazuza review – Cancun hotel fine dining falls flat on its face
★★☆☆☆ / Mexican / Modern European / Modernist

Benazuza review – Cancun hotel fine dining falls flat on its face

This review of a Cancun restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage El Bulli, Ferran Adria’s famed modernist restaurant, must have employed half a continent’s worth of people given the number of chefs claiming some connection to that now closed Catalan institution. Benazuza is located half a world away in the basement … Continue reading

Piquet review – classy French where you’d least expect it
★★★★☆ / British / French

Piquet review – classy French where you’d least expect it

Oxford Street has never had it so good Update 14/2/17 – this restaurant has now closed Although by no means the most incongruously positioned restaurant I’ve ever come across, Piquet is nonetheless oddly located. Wedged in-between a faceless office block and a hair salon, it sits opposite a building site and part of Oxford Street’s branch … Continue reading

Pipero al Rex review – quirky fine dining near Termini
★★★☆☆ / Italian / Modern European / Modernist

Pipero al Rex review – quirky fine dining near Termini

This review of a Rome restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage Restaurants named after their chefs, celebrity or otherwise, is pretty standard but a restaurant named after its sommelier/proprietor is a new one (for me at least). That’s the case at Pipero al Rex, Alessandro Pipero’s restaurant inside Rome’s Hotel Rex. The … Continue reading

Iberica Marylebone review – chorizo lollipops and dopey service
★★★☆☆ / Spanish / Tapas

Iberica Marylebone review – chorizo lollipops and dopey service

Great Portland Street tapas Restaurant decor in London seems to have fallen into a Shoreditch-inspired rut. Bare light bulbs, reclaimed furniture, exposed concrete and brick walls – I’m bored of it all. The interior of Iberica’s Marylebone branch is therefore a breath of fresh air – both the ground floor and the mezzanine are decorated with … Continue reading

★★★★★ / Modern European / Modernist / Spanish

Gelonch review – Barcelona’s best kept secret

This review of a Barcelona restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage. Barcelona has more than its fair share of fine dining restaurants, but even in such a large city it’s possible to stumble upon some gems and Gelonch may well be one of them. It’s a small restaurant located on … Continue reading

★★★★☆ / German/Austrian / Modern European / Modernist

Steirereck review – eating out in a Vienna park before sunset

This review of a Vienna restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage. Steirereck is an unusual restaurant since its premises are located within one of Vienna’s city parks – the Stadtpark. The Stadtpark isn’t Vienna’s most picturesque green space and the exterior of Steirereck’s building isn’t much to look at either, … Continue reading