The Duck and Rice review – Alan Yau’s sleek Chinese gastropub in Soho
★★★☆☆ / Chinese / Chinese Dumplings / Chinese Noodles

The Duck and Rice review – Alan Yau’s sleek Chinese gastropub in Soho

Shiny gastropub shows everything that’s wrong with the new Soho Soho is changing. The redevelopment of what was once one of London’s most bohemian (and most seedy) areas is showing no signs of slowing down. This restaurant reviews website isn’t the best place to talk about the myriad issues surrounding urban regeneration, but it’s difficult … Continue reading

Morada Brindisa Asador review – charcoal-fired tapas comes to Piccadilly
★★★☆☆ / Spanish / Tapas

Morada Brindisa Asador review – charcoal-fired tapas comes to Piccadilly

Big and small plates of charcoal grilled and baked meat Brindisa is one of the older tapas mini-chains in London, having sprouted as an off-shoot of a Spanish goods import operation more than a decade ago. Perhaps because its existence is therefore taken for granted, it’s rarely spoken of in the same excitable or reverential tones … Continue reading

Bao London review – Taiwanese bun street stall settles down in Soho
★★★★★ / Chinese / Taiwanese

Bao London review – Taiwanese bun street stall settles down in Soho

The entire menu reviewed Update 13/01/18 – added new opening hours and updated formatting Bao is a street food stand that was one of the winners of my Taiwanese buns group test, outdoing flashier, more well known competition such as Flesh and Buns. While Bao still operates a stall at various markets, it now has a small … Continue reading

Blacklock review – £20 for a huge plate of chops in Soho
★★★★★ / Steak/chophouse

Blacklock review – £20 for a huge plate of chops in Soho

Bargain West End grilled meat The idea of a restaurant that serves just chops sounds startlingly modern, but it’s actually quite an old idea. London used to be covered in chophouses – restaurants that, from the late 17th century to the end of the 19th, catered exclusively to men and plied them with booze and cuts of meat. … Continue reading

Metamorfosi review – Gorgonzola lollipops and eel with ice cream
★★★★☆ / Italian / Modern European / Modernist

Metamorfosi review – Gorgonzola lollipops and eel with ice cream

This review of a Rome restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage Holidaying by oneself can be a lonely experience, but it also gives a great degree of freedom – especially when it comes to choosing where and when to eat. Metamorfosi is a restaurant that would put many of my dining … Continue reading

Hotbox review – the City barbecue miles better than Bodean’s
American / ★★★★★ / Barbecue/BBQ

Hotbox review – the City barbecue miles better than Bodean’s

Market stall BBQ settles down on Commercial Street Market stalls and street food tend to be underestimated and under-appreciated by many visitors to London. That’s their loss as street food vendors can often be far better than more established restaurants, as my group test of American-style barbecue eateries demonstrates. An increasing number of street food vendors are settling down in … Continue reading

Le Chalet review – Q Grill winter pop-up at Selfridges
★☆☆☆☆ / Eclectic

Le Chalet review – Q Grill winter pop-up at Selfridges

It’s not as French as you think, nor as good as you’d hope It’s well known that media ownership in the UK is concentrated in the fat, gold-encrusted hands of an increasingly small group of notorious moguls, shadowy oligarchs and ex-porn barons. While restaurant ownership is far more diversified, in London at least, a similarly small … Continue reading

Heirloom review – Crouch End’s hidden gem
★★★★☆ / British / Modern European / Modernist

Heirloom review – Crouch End’s hidden gem

Better than Fera at Claridge’s, any day of the week Despite its booming property prices, leafy lanes and bourgeois reputation, Crouch End isn’t one of London’s dining hotspots. This is almost certainly due to its comparatively out-of-the-way, off-the-Tube location. It’s a 10 minute bus ride from Finsbury Park station which is an unimaginably arduous trek – if … Continue reading

Chiltern Firehouse review – sound the alarm, this place is on fire
★★★★☆ / Modern European / Modernist

Chiltern Firehouse review – sound the alarm, this place is on fire

Marylebone celeb hangout serves good grub I like to make repeat visits to restaurants before writing a review for any number of reasons, from trying to get a feel for the kitchen’s style to giving wobbly staff a chance to get their act together. Or simply because I really enjoy what they serve. Making repeat visits to Chiltern Firehouse … Continue reading

Barnyard review – Dabbous does dirty food
★★★★☆ / British / Eclectic

Barnyard review – Dabbous does dirty food

Almost the entire menu reviewed at Fitzrovia’s Farmville-chic diner Update 6/01/2017 – this restaurant has now closed.  The phrase ‘dirty food’ is often used to describe the casual, inexpensive, non-haute cuisine, such as burgers and burritos, that have taken London’s restaurant scene by storm ever since the recession. I don’t like the term as it implies … Continue reading