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

Breddos Tacos Soho review – brilliance served with a side of incompetence
★★★★☆ / Eclectic / Mexican

Breddos Tacos Soho review – brilliance served with a side of incompetence

Raffish Clerkenwell Mexican sprouts second branch in Soho Update: 8/02/2018 – added new opening hours A great many things flow through my mind when I’m being ignored at a restaurant, once I become bored with my phone. Will I starve to death in this place, with lunching desk jockeys and freelance debutantes stepping over my … Continue reading

Ella Canta review – hotel restaurant brings modern Mexico to Mayfair
★★★☆☆ / Mexican

Ella Canta review – hotel restaurant brings modern Mexico to Mayfair

Mexico City celeb chef opens outpost in the badlands of Park Lane Update 27/8/2018 – corrected erroneous star rating in end-of-review summary If you’ve told me a few years ago that a Mexican restaurant, backed by famed chilango celeb chef Martha Ortiz, would open within the bowels of the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane then … Continue reading

La Chaya Maya review – Merida breakfast with a bit of cheesiness
★★★☆☆ / Breakfast / Mexican

La Chaya Maya review – Merida breakfast with a bit of cheesiness

This review of a Yucatan restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage Hotel breakfasts can be a repetitive, dispiriting experience. Over the course of a few weeks in Mexico, I stayed at mostly mid-range hotels. Most of them seemed to enjoy inflicting omelettes or fried eggs with toast on their guests for … Continue reading

Tierra y Cielo review – delightfully different Mexican fine dining
★★★★☆ / Mexican

Tierra y Cielo review – delightfully different Mexican fine dining

This review of a Chiapas, Mexico, restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage Drinking while eating out can be a thoroughly disheartening experience if you don’t imbibe alcohol. Dare to wander away from the usual carbonated drinks and you’ll encounter, like I have, watered down Virgin Marys, insipid cordials and thinly-disguised … Continue reading

Bo Drake review – the Soho Asian barbecue where there’s smoke but no fire
★★★☆☆ / Barbecue/BBQ / Eclectic / Korean

Bo Drake review – the Soho Asian barbecue where there’s smoke but no fire

It’s Korean-ish BBQ with a dash of Mexican. Sort of. Around Christmas/New Years time I usually got a small shovel-load of emails asking me to predict what the restaurant trends for the coming year will be. Putting aside my view that being so beholden to the trends of the day is a sign of a weak mind … Continue reading

The Providores and Tapa Room review – fusion Marylebone masterpiece
★★★★☆ / Eclectic

The Providores and Tapa Room review – fusion Marylebone masterpiece

Can’t get into Chiltern Firehouse? Try here instead. Update 16/8/2019 – this restaurant has now closed Australia has a lot to answer for. Tony Abbott, Home and Away and The Veronicas are all things I can easily live without. But the Antipodes has also given us Kylie Minogue, the flat white and the Tim Tam Explosion. Modern … 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