Volta do Mar review – Portuguese food that isn’t just from Portugal
★★★★☆ / Eclectic / Portuguese

Volta do Mar review – Portuguese food that isn’t just from Portugal

Big issues on small plates from a Salt Yard alumnus Volta do Mar is an unusual restaurant in more ways than one. Founded by an alumnus from the storied yet troubled Salt Yard group, Volta do Mar’s Portuguese-themed menu has influences from all over the former Portuguese empire – or the Lusosphere if you prefer. … Continue reading

Colombo Kitchen review – the Sri Lankan restaurant brightening up Worcester Park
★★★★☆ / Sri Lankan

Colombo Kitchen review – the Sri Lankan restaurant brightening up Worcester Park

This special events catering company outshines the competition in Tooting Long before the rise of Hoppers, one of the standard bearers for Sri Lankan food in London were the cheap and cheerful restaurants of Tooting such as Apollo Banana Leaf. So much so, that the very idea of Sri Lankan food in London’s suburbs is … Continue reading

My favourite London restaurant dishes of 2019
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / News

My favourite London restaurant dishes of 2019

The best dishes of the year that you haven’t tried yet As another year – and another decade – come to an end, it’s tempting to feel a sense of melancholy. The country as a whole rushes headlong into what will almost certainly be a jingoistically embarrassing debacle, while countless cherished restaurants have shut their … Continue reading

Paradise Soho review – the Sri Lankan restaurant packing big flavours into a small space
★★★★☆ / Sri Lankan

Paradise Soho review – the Sri Lankan restaurant packing big flavours into a small space

The new restaurant taking over Spuntino’s place Disclosure: one dessert was offered for free. This was unsolicited and was accepted out of politeness. I don’t envy London’s restauranteurs. Extending hospitality, warmth and service is made all the harder by the compromises needed to open a restaurant in the capital’s cutthroat restaurant market. Soaring rents in … Continue reading

Bubala review – the Middle Eastern vegetarian and vegan restaurant taking Spitalfields by storm
★★★★☆ / Lebanese/Jordanian/Levantine / Vegetarian

Bubala review – the Middle Eastern vegetarian and vegan restaurant taking Spitalfields by storm

If vegetables are so delicious, then why do so many vegetarian and vegan restaurants insist on making them resemble meat instead? It’s never been easy eating out as a vegetarian in London. Prior to the noughties, your choices were largely divided between Indian restaurants of variable quality and hemp-ridden Mildred’s-type establishments which were almost universally … Continue reading

Bong Bong’s Manila Kanteen review – Filipino food comes to Bethnal Green
★★★★☆ / Filipino

Bong Bong’s Manila Kanteen review – Filipino food comes to Bethnal Green

BBQ Dreamz street food stall settles down in east London Updated 23/11/20 – this restaurant has now closed Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A street food stall serves up a cuisine barely known to most Londoners, earning plaudits and a devoted following in the process. Following a series of pop-ups, residencies and … Continue reading

Homeboy Bar review – this Irish bar in Islington is perfect for brunch or dinner
★★★★☆ / Eclectic / Irish

Homeboy Bar review – this Irish bar in Islington is perfect for brunch or dinner

To Eat Like A Girl is an aspiration, not a slight Update 27/10/2019 – added detail that this is a pop-up at Homeboy  I’ve been writing about London restaurants for close to a decade now, so I’d like to think I’m at least a passable writer with decent judgment in what you should and shouldn’t … Continue reading

Seveni review – there’s more than just barbecue to this sizzling Chinese restaurant
★★★★★ / Chinese

Seveni review – there’s more than just barbecue to this sizzling Chinese restaurant

Grilled offal, Cornish pasty-lookalikes and hearty doughnuts are just some of the charms at this Lambeth North restaurant Not having to cook is one of the more pragmatic attractions of eating out, rather than staying in – it’s part of the service that you’re paying for after all. This utilitarian consideration probably helps explain why … Continue reading