Foley’s review – a weird but not necessarily wonderful Fitzrovia restaurant
★★★☆☆ / Eclectic

Foley’s review – a weird but not necessarily wonderful Fitzrovia restaurant

Globe-trotting ex-Palomar chef needs to settle down Fusion food is one of those misguided and blingtastically tacky relics of the 1980s that should’ve died long ago along with shoulder pads, the New Romantics and Thatcherism. Foley’s doesn’t serve fusion food, strictly speaking, but its menu does swagger across the globe pulling in ingredients and techniques from … Continue reading

Berber and Q Shawarma Bar review – Exmouth Market gets sit-down kebabs
★★★☆☆ / Eclectic / Lebanese/Jordanian/Levantine

Berber and Q Shawarma Bar review – Exmouth Market gets sit-down kebabs

Middle Eastern BBQ sequel goes back to basics When most restaurants decide to expand by opening new branches, they usually sprout carbon copy clones of the original, try to make each new location different from all the others or try to strike some of middle-ground balance. Berber and Q, the flawed yet generally still superb Middle … Continue reading

Texas Joe’s Smoked Meats review – superlative barbecue hidden behind Guy’s Hospital
American / ★★★★★ / Barbecue/BBQ

Texas Joe’s Smoked Meats review – superlative barbecue hidden behind Guy’s Hospital

London Bridge has never had it so good Update 29/1/18 – added details of revisit and updated formatting There are many injustices in London’s restaurant scene (I’m still hurting after the closure of Rex and Mariano), but few things annoy me more than unworthy barbecue restaurants. The likes of Porky’s, Bodean’s and Red Dog Saloon … Continue reading

Bao Fitzrovia review – Taiwanese sequel tops Tottenham Court Road
★★★★★ / Chinese / Taiwanese

Bao Fitzrovia review – Taiwanese sequel tops Tottenham Court Road

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

DF / Mexico review – the bastard offspring of Wahaca and Wimpy
★★☆☆☆ / Mexican

DF / Mexico review – the bastard offspring of Wahaca and Wimpy

Wahaca’s fast food spin-off takes on Benito’s Hat and Tortilla When tasked with formulating a legal standard for the offence of obscenity, American judge Potter Stewart came up with the immortal phrase ‘I know it when I see it’. The phrase came to mind the first time I walked through the door of DF / Mexico. Perhaps … Continue reading

Casa Mortia review – Brixton Village Mexican needs a rethink
★★★☆☆ / Mexican

Casa Mortia review – Brixton Village Mexican needs a rethink

Simple doesn’t automatically mean good Visiting other countries and trying out cuisines in their place of origin is great, but it also presents a problem. It makes you realise just how badly many cuisines are represented here in the UK. Mexican food is one of the most badly affected victims, with Tex-Mex giving the entire … Continue reading

The Sichuan review – tongue tickling in Shoreditch and the City
★★★★☆ / Chinese / Sichuanese

The Sichuan review – tongue tickling in Shoreditch and the City

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

Habanera review – Shepherd’s Bush Mexican has style and substance
★★★☆☆ / Mexican

Habanera review – Shepherd’s Bush Mexican has style and substance

Skip the Westfield White City Wahaca. I have an inherent distrust of excessively showy-looking restaurants – anything too flashy is usually covering for deficiencies in the kitchen. That doesn’t have to be the case as Habanera shows. The rear half of the dining room at this Mexican restaurant in Shepherd’s Bush borders on the cheesy – … Continue reading

Kailash Momo review – cheap Tibetan food in Woolwich
★★★☆☆ / Tibetan/Nepalese

Kailash Momo review – cheap Tibetan food in Woolwich

Warm your cockles with blue cheese and dumplings Most suburban and semi-suburban high streets have to make do with a string of chain restaurants, but the denizens of Woolwich doesn’t have to put up with such dreary, unimaginative, repetitive and frankly tedious slop. The streets branching off from the town centre host a string of interesting restaurants … Continue reading