Macellaio RC Union Street review – the Italian steakhouse that can’t tear itself away from pizza
★★★☆☆ / Italian / Pizza / Steak/chophouse

Macellaio RC Union Street review – the Italian steakhouse that can’t tear itself away from pizza

‘What’s an Italian steakhouse?!’ The answer, of course, is a restaurant that serves steak cut from Italian cows. It’s a revealing response – pasta, pizza and pesto cast such a shadow over the perception of Italian food in our collective imagination, that anything else is literally inconceivable. If goldfish really do have a memory of just three seconds, then our gestalt intelligence is seemingly limited to just three things per subject. Continue reading

Chuku’s review – Nigerian tapas takes Seven Sisters by storm
★★★☆☆ / Nigerian/West African

Chuku’s review – Nigerian tapas takes Seven Sisters by storm

The entire menu reviewed starting with all the vegetarian and vegan dishes The surprising thing about Chuku’s, to me at least, isn’t that this Tottenham restaurant serves Nigerian food. Although comparatively uncommon, Nigerian food isn’t too hard to find in London’s southeastern suburbs from Nigerian restaurants to (broadly) pan-West African takeaways. But those eateries not … Continue reading

Trivet review – the London Bridge fine dining restaurant with an identity crisis
★★★☆☆ / Modern European / Modernist

Trivet review – the London Bridge fine dining restaurant with an identity crisis

What’s the point of all this? Fine dining used to be so easy to identify. The opulently decorated dining rooms, the tablecloths, the suited and booted staff – and that was just the physical environment, never mind the hushed aura. Then there was the food, itself a world apart from what most of us ate … 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

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

Maya DD’s vs Danfe review: Nepalese food in Woolwich and Plumstead
★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / Tibetan/Nepalese

Maya DD’s vs Danfe review: Nepalese food in Woolwich and Plumstead

Eating well on a budget in south east London If you hang around on London Food and Restaurant Twitter (TM) for long enough, then you’ll inevitably come across a peculiar form of griping. For some people, certain words and phrases are considered impermissible in food writing on pain of public shaming. Some, such as ‘melt … Continue reading

Silk Road review – Xinjiang noodles and kebabs in Camberwell
★★★☆☆ / Chinese / Chinese Dumplings / Chinese Noodles

Silk Road review – Xinjiang noodles and kebabs in Camberwell

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