Temper Covent Garden review – bafflingly odd pizza that breaks all the rules
★★★☆☆ / Pizza

Temper Covent Garden review – bafflingly odd pizza that breaks all the rules

This carnivorous threequel even serves vegan pizzas While the menus of some eateries seem to have been designed by committees and focus groups, the Temper group of restaurants has never like that. Each restaurant’s focus on smoked or grilled meats and a fresh spin on familiar ways of serving them – whether it’s tacos or … Continue reading

Lahpet review – Burmese food in Shoreditch
★★★★☆ / Burmese

Lahpet review – Burmese food in Shoreditch

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

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

Indian Accent vs Gymkhana review: black pudding naan vs venison biryani
★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / Indian / South Asian

Indian Accent vs Gymkhana review: black pudding naan vs venison biryani

Slumming it in Mayfair for South Asian haute cuisine giggles Update 17/06/2020 – Indian Accent has closed as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic Pitting Gymkhana against Indian Accent seems like such a natural thing to do. Both are pricey high-end Indian restaurants on the same street in Mayfair, located mere yards apart from … Continue reading

Bombay Bustle review – the casual Jamavar spin-off stuck at the platform
★★★☆☆ / Indian / South Asian

Bombay Bustle review – the casual Jamavar spin-off stuck at the platform

In this case ‘casual’ means ‘cheaper’. Sort of. It’s always fascinating to see what happens when a lauded, Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant launches a ‘casual’ spin-off. When Dabbous attempted it, the result was the very different and somewhat odd Barnyard. Both of those restaurants have now closed and, in retrospect, Barnyard felt a somewhat patronising, phoned-in … Continue reading

Gul and Sepoy review – prince and pauper Indian dining in Spitalfields
★★★★☆ / Indian / South Asian

Gul and Sepoy review – prince and pauper Indian dining in Spitalfields

Look beyond the marketing spin at this Gunpowder threequel Update 12/3/23: this restaurant has now closed As the end of the year approaches, so does the anniversary of this website and so my feeble mind inevitably ponders all that it has accomplished. While I would like to think that I’ve helped at least a few … Continue reading