Skip the Westfield White City Wahaca. I have an inherent distrust of excessively showy-looking restaurants – anything too flashy is usually covering for deficiencies in the kitchen. That doesn’t have to be the case as Habanera shows. The rear half of the dining room at this Mexican restaurant in Shepherd’s Bush borders on the cheesy – … Continue reading
Warm your cockles with blue cheese and dumplings Most suburban and semi-suburban high streets have to make do with a string of chain restaurants, but the denizens of Woolwich doesn’t have to put up with such dreary, unimaginative, repetitive and frankly tedious slop. The streets branching off from the town centre host a string of interesting restaurants … Continue reading
Burger blogger puts his money where his mouth is I usually try to avoid knowing too much about the people behind the restaurants I review. I find it’s more difficult to be critically honest when thinking about the deeply personal hopes, dreams, blood and sweat that go into opening and running a restaurant. It’s impossible, though, to ignore … Continue reading
Bait and switch tourist trap barbecue For many people Bodean’s is syonymous with American-style barbecue in London, but that doesn’t mean the food is actually any good. As I discovered in my original BBQ group test, the Tower Hill and Fulham branches of Bodean’s were distinctly middling, average and underwhelming – and that’s before you consider all the barbecue … Continue reading
A waste of Soho real estate Update 19/06/2020 – this restaurant has now closed I haven’t heard the name Bukowski Grill in years – not since my round up of London’s best non-chain burgers. The Shoreditch branch of Bukowski fared poorly in those burger stakes, so it was no surprise when superior burger purveyors expanded far more rapidly … Continue reading
Some say it’s the best Thai in London. All we know is that we call it bloody brilliant. It’s very easy to become jaded and disillusioned when covering London’s restaurants. From the devised-by-committee initiatives to the cynical tourist trap theme parks, from overwrought concepts and dull chains to the atrocious bandwagon jumpers, there’s no shortage of mediocre and down … Continue reading
Hidden Shoreditch gem finally gives Mexican food its due Update 14/2/17 – this restaurant has now closed Britain’s continuing love affair with the US manifests itself in our culture in many ways, not least in the number of barbecue and burger restaurants springing up across the capital. The cuisine of America’s southern neighbour has been … Continue reading
Shaftesbury Avenue yakitori that deserves your support Update 14/2/17 – this restaurant has now closed Location, location and location. It’s supposed to be one of the keys to a successful London restaurant, but a spot on the West End’s bustling Shaftesbury Avenue hasn’t helped Yumi Izakaya. Nestled in between the entrance to the Piccadilly West … Continue reading
Hirst and Hix light up Waterloo The food at most art gallery and museum in-house restaurants tends to be mediocre bordering on abysmal. Club sandwiches that you wouldn’t want to be seen dead with and Caesar salads almost as old as Rome itself are usually the order of the day. Pharmacy 2 shows that doesn’t … Continue reading
The successor to Newman Street Tavern I rarely get upset when a restaurant closes, no matter how good it was. At the risk of sounding trite, nothing in this life lasts forever. Even so, I was mortified to hear that Newman Street Tavern, an elegant restaurant serving reliably well-crafted French-ish dishes, was closing to be replaced by a … Continue reading
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