TV CV only gets you oh so far I have little time for most TV celebrity chefs, but I’ll usually make an exception for Rick Stein. His genteel avuncular charm, childlike wonder and boundless yet measured enthusiasm make him far more watchable than the majority of his arse-clenchingly irritating peers. The big man naturally doesn’t cook in … Continue reading
In defence of the tasting menu. But not necessarily *this* tasting menu. There’s an unspoken rule that reviewers shouldn’t openly criticise each other’s work. This isn’t a conspiracy – we’re too competitive and too inept for such a concerted undertaking – but an acknowledgement that half-arsed writing and lapses in judgement can affect us all. … Continue reading
What’s old is new again. Indian restaurants in London have tended to go through periodic and repeated rebirths over the past few years, with numerous attempts at moving the cuisine on from the curry house clichés that it’s fallen into with varying degrees of success. The most recent wave in the capital have tended to … Continue reading
The king is dead; long live the king Fitzrovia has always had more than its fair share of restaurants given the relatively small size of this neighbourhood, hemmed in by Bloomsbury, Soho and Marylebone. Even so, the area has bloomed in recent years with some top notch restaurants opening in Fitzrovia from the revamped Newman … Continue reading
Bargain seafood in the West End – hallelujah! Update 12/3/15 – added extra tuna steak photo Seafood in London has a reputation for being expensive, but Rex and Mariano shows that it doesn’t have be like that. Created by some of the masterminds behind Burger and Lobster, Rex and Mariano uses a couple of sneaky tricks to … Continue reading
Whatever you do, don’t be late. Update July 2013: this restaurant has now closed. One of my favourite pieces of professional restaurant criticism is written by The Times’ Giles Coren. Now only available to Times subscribers, the entirety of the review is dedicated to an excruciating account of the poor service he received at the … Continue reading
