Paradise Garage review – the best value tasting menu in London
★★★★☆ / British / Eclectic / Modern European / Modernist

Paradise Garage review – the best value tasting menu in London

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

Oldroyd review – Polpo-lite comes to Islington
★★★☆☆ / Eclectic / Italian

Oldroyd review – Polpo-lite comes to Islington

Finally, a good restaurant in Islington Oldroyd might sound like a wizened, unwanted hanger-on in an unmentionable anatomical structure, but it’s actually a new restaurant in Islington from one of the brains behind Polpo. Although independent from that burgeoning empire, Oldroyd’s menu immediately feels Polpo-esque – small plates, as well as a few larger dishes, with … Continue reading

Rex and Mariano review – iPad your budget seafood in Soho
★★★★☆ / Italian / Seafood

Rex and Mariano review – iPad your budget seafood in Soho

Bargain seafood in the West End – hallelujah! Update 12/3/15 – added extra tuna steak photo Seafood in London has a reputation for being expensive, but Rex and Mariano shows that it doesn’t have be like that. Created by some of the masterminds behind Burger and Lobster, Rex and Mariano uses a couple of sneaky tricks to … Continue reading

Bilbao Berria review – Regent Street tapas that’s not quite good enough
★★★☆☆ / Spanish / Tapas

Bilbao Berria review – Regent Street tapas that’s not quite good enough

Masterchef? What’s that? I don’t envy any new tapas restaurant opening in London. Unless you’re as good as José or Ember Yard, or as cheap as Barrafina, then it’ll be a real struggle to stand out. Bilbao Berria tries to rely on three things to set itself apart – a menu with alleged Basque and Catalan … Continue reading

Iberica Marylebone review – chorizo lollipops and dopey service
★★★☆☆ / Spanish / Tapas

Iberica Marylebone review – chorizo lollipops and dopey service

Great Portland Street tapas Restaurant decor in London seems to have fallen into a Shoreditch-inspired rut. Bare light bulbs, reclaimed furniture, exposed concrete and brick walls – I’m bored of it all. The interior of Iberica’s Marylebone branch is therefore a breath of fresh air – both the ground floor and the mezzanine are decorated with … Continue reading

Clockjack Oven review – Soho rotisserie and fried chicken
★★★☆☆ / Steak/chophouse

Clockjack Oven review – Soho rotisserie and fried chicken

Juicy birds or plucking hell? London has been inundated by a small flood of fried and roast chicken restaurants. I fully recognise that chicken cooked well can be a world apart from the usual fowl stuff, but I haven’t really covered these chicken restaurants largely because I just don’t care. Chicken, broadly speaking, is a … Continue reading

Berners Tavern review – looks good and tastes even better
★★★★☆ / Modern European / Modernist

Berners Tavern review – looks good and tastes even better

Hotel food with a twist Hotel restaurants are very different from restaurants in hotels. This may seem like a minor semantic difference, but there’s actually a yawning gulf between the two. Hotel restaurants are identikit eateries serving up a large menu of lowest common denominator dishes designed for weary travellers too tired to care and … Continue reading

Story review – a fairy tale or a shaggy dog story?
★★★★☆ / Modern European / Modernist

Story review – a fairy tale or a shaggy dog story?

Tower Bridge gets a classy new neighbour A lot of new London restaurants have adopted some variant of the stripped back ‘industrial’ look common in Shoreditch – bare brick walls, exposed ventilation ducts and naked concrete floors. I’m thoroughly bored of this now cliched aesthetic, so I was pleased to discover that Story has opted … Continue reading

La Cuisine de Joel Robuchon review – Theatreland fine dining
★★★☆☆ / Modern European / Modernist

La Cuisine de Joel Robuchon review – Theatreland fine dining

The Ivy’s sexier next door neighbour isn’t as good as it should’ve been L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon is the closest thing to a fine dining chain with almost identically appointed branches in numerous cities around the globe including Las Vegas and London. The bar-style seating can be brutally uncomfortable though which makes La Cuisine de … Continue reading

★★☆☆☆ / Eclectic / Pan-Asian

Tapasia review – is the food any better than the pun-fully bad name?

Small bites at high prices Update July 2013 – this restaurant has now closed More restaurants than ever are opening in Soho despite the relative scarcity of real estate and Tapasia is one of the newest. This small bar and restaurant, located on bustling Old Compton Street, serves up Asian-inspired tapas which isn’t as strange … Continue reading