Mrs Le’s review – Clapham Junction’s rule-breaking Vietnamese diner
★★★★☆ / Vietnamese

Mrs Le’s review – Clapham Junction’s rule-breaking Vietnamese diner

Banh mi and grilled meats galore If you’ve had Vietnamese food in London in the last decade or so, then you’ll know the drill when you walk through the doors at any one of the capital’s umpteen Vietnamese restaurants. Pho, summer rolls and perhaps a coffee or two. Endless identikit curries, salads and fried noodle … Continue reading

Little Duck The Picklery review – the height of summer in the depths of winter
★★★★★ / Eclectic

Little Duck The Picklery review – the height of summer in the depths of winter

Picklery not gimmickry. The sweet life. Keep it sweet. A sweet deal. Sweet as honey. Sweet as pie. Our understandable preoccupation with sweetness and sweet foods is so deeply ingrained that the word itself has become a synonym for all that is desirable and good in the English language. But this has also blinded us, … Continue reading

Ella Canta review – hotel restaurant brings modern Mexico to Mayfair
★★★☆☆ / Mexican

Ella Canta review – hotel restaurant brings modern Mexico to Mayfair

Mexico City celeb chef opens outpost in the badlands of Park Lane Update 27/8/2018 – corrected erroneous star rating in end-of-review summary If you’ve told me a few years ago that a Mexican restaurant, backed by famed chilango celeb chef Martha Ortiz, would open within the bowels of the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane then … Continue reading

Rök review – Scandinavian smoked meats in Shoreditch
★★★☆☆ / Steak/chophouse

Rök review – Scandinavian smoked meats in Shoreditch

Smoke and fire that didn’t really rock my world Thanks to the recent and growing popularity of American barbecue in London, restaurants serving other cuisines have jumped onto the barbecue and smoking branded bandwagon. It wouldn’t be completely fair to ascribe such cynical opportunism to the people behind Rök, as they do serve dishes inspired by the … Continue reading

The best and worst banh mi in London – Vietnamese sandwiches review
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / ★☆☆☆☆ / Best and Worst group tests / Vietnamese

The best and worst banh mi in London – Vietnamese sandwiches review

26 eateries, 66 sandwiches, one verdict Updated 26/2/14 – tweaked Bun Cha review, added a missing photo and added reviews of Chao Kitchen and Chao!Now Updated 05/3/14 – added review of Bep Haus, tweaked The Verdict slightly to reflect its inclusion Updated 12/3/14 – added review of Miss Chu Updated 13/7/14 – added reviews of … Continue reading

★★★★★ / Vegetarian

Orchard review – Holborn’s vegetarian garden of earthly delights

Who says vegetarian food has to be boring? I’ve shamefully neglected to cover vegetarian restaurants on this blog despite the fact that two of my most trusted dining companions, The Flame Haired Squelchie and The Prancing Hippy, are vegetarians. That’s easy enough to rectify though as London has a respectable selection of vegetarian eateries, including Orchard, … Continue reading