Not all Silk Roads lead to treasure Some restaurants become so totemic and talismanic, that no amount of criticism on my part or anyone else’s is likely to dent their popularity. In London, a town somewhat unfairly pilloried for being expensive to live in, that maxim applies most potently to cheaply priced restaurants. Few sit-down … Continue reading
…and there’s plenty more to enjoy at this Russell Square Shaanxi/Xi’an restaurant Update 18/10/21 – added details of autumn 2021 revisit Opening a new restaurant serving Xi’an food (or Shaanxi food, if you prefer) in the seemingly barren concrete wastes of the Holborn-Bloomsbury-Russell Square hinterland appears bafflingly odd at first glance. Despite being wedged in … Continue reading
Plus, one of the best vegetarian dishes I’ve ever had in London Expensive haute cuisine restaurants are common as muck in Mayfair. They’re plastered all over the place and many (but by no means all) are so blandly uniform that you could quite easily stagger from one to the other on some sort of tasting … Continue reading
The biggest restaurant chain you’ve never heard of has opened in central London It should go without saying, but no restaurant is worth queuing for – at least in London or any other metropolis that’s similarly bursting at the seams with other restaurants at your disposal. Queuing for potentially hours on end does nothing but … Continue reading
It’s an import from New York in Covent Garden, but don’t hold that against it Updated 28/1/2019 ‘Red Farm’ sounds like a Maoist agricultural collective where exiled bourgeoise are forced to hunt sparrows as part of their re-education, but it’s actually the name of a Chinese restaurant in Covent Garden. It’s quite unlike any other Chinese … Continue reading
Uncomfortable reading lies ahead The trio of siblings behind Kin et Deum would doubtless prefer that I spend this introduction focussing on their Thai restaurant’s airy and tastefully decorated interior or that they’re building upon the legacy of their father’s Thai restaurant which used to occupy the same premises. Unfortunately for them, I can’t possibly … Continue reading
This Xi’an Impression spin-off brings the spice of life to Aldgate There’s no doubt that London can be a chaotic, stressful place that can drain not only your bank account, but also your tolerance for the continued existence of other human beings. To focus myopically on all the usual big city problems, though, would be … Continue reading
Bring your own booze to this north London gem Update 5/08/2018 – corrected spelling error and tweaked the names of some dishes I’m sometimes asked why I hate anglicised Chinese food so much. It’s not the food that I hate per se, even though I’m certainly no fan of cloying yet dull sweet and sour … Continue reading
The modern Turkish restaurant that’s far too good for Fitzrovia’s backstreets Update 29/12/2019 – this restaurant has now closed Although I only spent a day in the modern, nondescript Turkish city of Kayseri a few years back, the mere mention of this central Anatolian metropolis is enough to bring back fond memories. The city’s mod … Continue reading
Street food residency settles down around the corner from Smokestak There’s a well-worn, well-thumbed playbook to opening a restaurant in London serving a previously unknown, or at least little known, cuisine. Choose a name that sounds suitably ‘exotic’, yet isn’t too hard to spell and is preferably based on one of your chosen cuisine’s landmark … Continue reading
The Picky Glutton 
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