Defies both easy categorisation and expectations If there’s been one defining cultural aesthetic in the West over the past 20 years or so, then it has to be minimalism. Paring back everything to their essentials is, depending on your point of view, either the ideal way to show off something’s true nature or a stark, monotonous … Continue reading
Uniquely Japanese in more ways than one Eccentric cultural institutions usually lose something in translation when they’re transplanted outside of their home country. Monster truck rallies, Eccles cakes and Viz magazine are prime examples. The izakaya is another. A Japanese staple, these bar-cum-restaurants are often translated as pubs or gastropubs, but none of those names really quite fit as izakayas are subtly different … Continue reading
The king is dead; long live the king Update 19/7/21 – this restaurant has now closed 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 … Continue reading
Fire and blood link Old Street and Liverpool Street London’s ‘ethnic’ restaurants tend to be clustered together in specific neighbourhoods due to quirks of history and rent. The Korean restaurants of New Malden, the Sri Lankan eateries of Tooting and the little Vietnam that is Kingsland Road are just a few examples. Cuisines that have … Continue reading
No matter how much we try to deny it, we all love sequels. You might tell your friends how much you enjoyed that quirky Spanish art house film that no one has ever heard of, while secretly sneaking out to see the latest Marvel blockbuster. I can feel a similar sort of vibe in London’s … 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
Do-it-yourself food at silver spoon prices Chinese food in London has long been dominated by Cantonese cooking, but that appeared to be changing in the mid noughties with Sichuanese eateries opening up across the city. That move towards better representation of China’s myriad regional cuisines soon stalled, but it appears to have restarted with new … Continue reading
Another reason to stop being so pissy about Shoreditch London’s restaurant scene doesn’t stand still with an unstoppable cycle of new restaurants replacing old ones. Sometimes it’s for the worse, as when Charlotte Street’s Rasa Samudra, a very civilised Indian seafood restaurant, was replaced with a branch of Côte. A bloody, sodding, unforgivable Côte. Sometimes though, … Continue reading
This railway arch restaurant will set your heart racing Update 12/02/18 – this restaurant has now closed Unless you walk around London, it’s hard to appreciate just how close many of the city’s neighbourhoods are to each other. Bethnal Green has the City and Shoreditch directly on its western border, while Mile End and Stratford sit … Continue reading
A travelogue where I eat myself stupid while the locals gawp and stare I could bore myself to tears writing about Taiwan – the landscapes, the cities and the people are, respectively, awe-inspiring, terrifying and fascinatingly peculiar. Taiwan’s food culture is a complex, wonderful thing with cuisines from all over mainland China crowded together on … Continue reading
The Picky Glutton 
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