Il Sanlorenzo review – superb Rome seafood, shame about the service
★★★☆☆ / Seafood

Il Sanlorenzo review – superb Rome seafood, shame about the service

This review of a Rome restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage Seafood isn’t the first thing most people associate with Italian cuisine, if only because it doesn’t fit the stereotypes of Italian food deeply embedded in our collective consciousness – pizza, pasta and tiramisu. Seafood features prominently in many of Italy’s regional … Continue reading

The Manor review – proof that Clapham isn’t just for wankers
★★★★☆ / Modern European / Modernist

The Manor review – proof that Clapham isn’t just for wankers

Entire menu reviewed at intriguing Clapham surprise When I’d heard that a restaurant in Clapham, The Dairy, was serving high quality, complex and beguiling food I dismissed the reports as utter lunacy. I regarded Clapham as full of nothing more than crap bars transplanted from the Costas and stuffed to the rafters with wannabe Hooray Henrys braying about … Continue reading

Tredwell’s review – why the Evening Standard is wrong about Covent Garden’s best diner
★★★★☆ / Eclectic

Tredwell’s review – why the Evening Standard is wrong about Covent Garden’s best diner

Marcus Wareing or not, you need to eat here Update 4/11/21 – this restaurant has now closed. Covent Garden has more than its fair share of shoddy restaurants. For every quality eatery such as Ape and Bird or Opera Tavern, there’s a dozen more slop houses such as Five Guys or Joe’s Southern Kitchen. Tredwell’s is … Continue reading

Chiltern Firehouse review – sound the alarm, this place is on fire
★★★★☆ / Modern European / Modernist

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

The Ape and Bird review – the Shaftesbury Avenue gastropub that’s no tourist trap
★★★★☆ / British / Gastropub

The Ape and Bird review – the Shaftesbury Avenue gastropub that’s no tourist trap

The Polpo guys do it again Updated 12/01/18 – this restaurant has now closed. Updated 6/04/14 – set menu details added. It’s mildly myopic to say that there’s no where good to eat on Shaftesbury Avenue as the myriad delights of Soho, Covent Garden and Chinatown are only a few minutes walk away. Still, if … Continue reading

Social Eating House review – Modernist cuisine gets affordable-ish
★★★☆☆ / Modern European / Modernist

Social Eating House review – Modernist cuisine gets affordable-ish

So popular, it needs its own doorman The oddly-named Social Eating House is the latest restaurant in Jason Atherton’s empire and it’s not quite as expensive as Atherton’s flagship Pollen Street Social. Whereas Pollen Street Social has a muted, inoffensive decor suited to its Mayfair location, the Soho-based Social Eating House is a tad more … Continue reading

Story review – a fairy tale or a shaggy dog story?
★★★★☆ / Modern European / Modernist

Story review – a fairy tale or a shaggy dog story?

Tower Bridge gets a classy new neighbour A lot of new London restaurants have adopted some variant of the stripped back ‘industrial’ look common in Shoreditch – bare brick walls, exposed ventilation ducts and naked concrete floors. I’m thoroughly bored of this now cliched aesthetic, so I was pleased to discover that Story has opted … Continue reading