Sarap review – the buzz and vigour of Filipino food arrives in Brixton
★★★★★ / Filipino

Sarap review – the buzz and vigour of Filipino food arrives in Brixton

This six-month residency needs to become permanent We all have friends that say the stupidest, most regrettable things. Jaw-dropping comments that almost make you regret befriending them in the first place. In the case of one of my dining companions, his self-professed dislike for pork and ‘samey Asian food’ is a black mark against an … Continue reading

Paradise Soho review – the Sri Lankan restaurant packing big flavours into a small space
★★★★☆ / Sri Lankan

Paradise Soho review – the Sri Lankan restaurant packing big flavours into a small space

The new restaurant taking over Spuntino’s place Disclosure: one dessert was offered for free. This was unsolicited and was accepted out of politeness. I don’t envy London’s restauranteurs. Extending hospitality, warmth and service is made all the harder by the compromises needed to open a restaurant in the capital’s cutthroat restaurant market. Soaring rents in … Continue reading

Bar Douro review – Portuguese small plates, bar food and tapas
★★★★☆ / Portuguese

Bar Douro review – Portuguese small plates, bar food and tapas

By any other name, this London Bridge railway arch treasure would still be as sweet For a country so beloved by Britain’s middle-class holidaymakers, the food of Portugal has a surprisingly low profile in London. Unless you count the ubiquitous Nando’s (which I don’t), there are surprisingly few Portuguese restaurants in London with most seemingly … Continue reading

Mercato Metropolitano review – the Southwark street food hall trying to be everything to everyone
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / ★★☆☆☆ / ★☆☆☆☆ / Street food/food court

Mercato Metropolitano review – the Southwark street food hall trying to be everything to everyone

Halfway between Elephant & Castle and London Bridge, but nowhere in particular Updated 30/9/2019 – added reviews of new traders and updated the reviews of Badiani, Duman, Little Sicily and Turkish Garden Updated 16/4/2019 – added hyperlinked table of contents, corrected spelling and grammatical errors The weird thing about street food in London isn’t the … Continue reading

Siren at The Goring review – seafood that isn’t fit for a Queen
★★☆☆☆ / Seafood

Siren at The Goring review – seafood that isn’t fit for a Queen

Overstuffed and underwhelming Update 17/06/2020 – this restaurant has closed as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic Seafood, like many things in life, is subject to the cyclical, ever-changing whims of fashion and finance. Although the details often depend on the specific seafood in question, seafood has – throughout the long history of these … Continue reading

Myrtle review – the understated Irish dame of Chelsea
★★★★☆ / Irish / Modern European / Modernist

Myrtle review – the understated Irish dame of Chelsea

Where sirloin steak is almost upstaged by a beef dumpling At the risk of indulging in armchair GCSE-level psychology, Myrtle is one of those restaurants where elements of the personality and background of the chef are clearly evident. Starting with the obvious, there’s the Irish-accented menu – a surprisingly uncommon thing in London – created … Continue reading

Casa Pastor review – the Kings Cross Mexican trying to make diamonds from coal
★★★☆☆ / Mexican

Casa Pastor review – the Kings Cross Mexican trying to make diamonds from coal

But the result is taco zirconium Most restauranteurs would kill to have the premises that Casa Pastor has managed to snag for itself. The handsome Victorian brick-and-iron building near Kings Cross sits in what was once a coal sorting yard – the plainly named Coal Drop Yards – almost literally under the shadow of a … Continue reading

Two Lights review – this unassuming Clove Club sequel is full of surprises
★★★★☆ / Eclectic

Two Lights review – this unassuming Clove Club sequel is full of surprises

Grouse sausage and a mussels flatbread in Hoxton Update 08/5/2021 – this restaurant has now closed ‘We’ll need the table back in two hours’ is a familiar phrase for restaurant-going Londoners, but is utterly alien to many foreign visitors – especially those from the Continent. For many of our European cousins, the notion of table … Continue reading