Din Tai Fung Covent Garden review – people are queuing for hours to order the wrong dish at this dumpling restaurant
★★★☆☆ / Chinese / Chinese Dumplings / Chinese Noodles / Taiwanese

Din Tai Fung Covent Garden review – people are queuing for hours to order the wrong dish at this dumpling restaurant

The biggest restaurant chain you’ve never heard of has opened in central London It should go without saying, but no restaurant is worth queuing for – at least in London or any other metropolis that’s similarly bursting at the seams with other restaurants at your disposal. Queuing for potentially hours on end does nothing but … 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

Holborn Dining Room review – the Instagram pie phenomenon
★★★★☆ / British

Holborn Dining Room review – the Instagram pie phenomenon

Aye for pie with an eye for pie One should never, ever underestimate the importance of how food looks. Attractive-looking food not only influences how we perceive its taste, but can get otherwise disinterested punters in through the door in the first place. This placebo-like effect can be seen in the social media hubbub surrounding Holborn Dining Room. This previously … Continue reading

The Ninth review – racing towards first place and falling short
★★★☆☆ / Eclectic / French

The Ninth review – racing towards first place and falling short

Fitzrovia French falls forwards While there’s hardly a shortage of expensive fine dining restaurants in London, there has still nonetheless been a general shift away from pricey, starched table cloth restaurants towards less costly, more informal eateries. In most cases, big name chefs and restaurant groups have been content to merely launch spin-offs, such as Dabbous … Continue reading

Portland review – lamb tartare and pickled shiitake on Great Portland Street
★★★★☆ / Eclectic

Portland review – lamb tartare and pickled shiitake on Great Portland Street

Picture’s sleek new rival Coming up with restaurant names is not easy. With umpteeen restaurants opening a week in London, all the names that are both good and obvious have long been taken by now. But the guys behind Portland on Great Portland Street near the BBC’s Broadcasting House aren’t even trying. Given how its … Continue reading

★★☆☆☆ / Vegetarian

Terre a Terre review – eat your vegetables and you’ll grow up big and strong

This review of a Brighton restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage Brighton has more than its fair share of vegetarian restaurants and I had the opportunity to try out Terre a Terre, one of its most well-regarded, with the help of Wicket, Kangaroo Face, The Youngling and Sue-Ellen. Actually, Sue-Ellen … Continue reading