Bubala review – the Middle Eastern vegetarian and vegan restaurant taking Spitalfields by storm
★★★★☆ / Lebanese/Jordanian/Levantine / Vegetarian

Bubala review – the Middle Eastern vegetarian and vegan restaurant taking Spitalfields by storm

If vegetables are so delicious, then why do so many vegetarian and vegan restaurants insist on making them resemble meat instead? It’s never been easy eating out as a vegetarian in London. Prior to the noughties, your choices were largely divided between Indian restaurants of variable quality and hemp-ridden Mildred’s-type establishments which were almost universally … Continue reading

Berenjak review – this JKS restaurant got me hooked on Iranian kebabs
★★★★★ / Iranian

Berenjak review – this JKS restaurant got me hooked on Iranian kebabs

Iranian stews and kebabs in Soho It’s strange to begin a restaurant review by talking about another restaurant, but bear with me for a moment. Some of the best dishes at Brigadiers, an Indian restaurant in the City, were the kebabs which meant it was immediately noticeable when the kebab chef responsible, Kian Samyani, left … 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

The best dishes of 2017 – food that you need in your life
★★★★★ / ★★★★☆ / ★★★☆☆ / News

The best dishes of 2017 – food that you need in your life

2017 has been an incredibly hectic year for London restaurants, even by the frenetic standards of this city. Despite the closure of some much missed favourites, new restaurants have continued to open at a dizzying and surely unsustainable pace. Some of that has been driven by a modest influx of celebrity chefs from abroad – … Continue reading

Kashmir, Putney review – menu handholding that doesn’t infantilise the diner
★★★★★ / South Asian

Kashmir, Putney review – menu handholding that doesn’t infantilise the diner

Southwest London doesn’t know how lucky it really is Menus may look like an innocuous list of dishes and prices to most people. But, unless they’ve been written on the fly by a sleep-deprived proprietor teetering on the edge of alcoholism, they can be a far more calculated, insidious instrument designed to subtly serve the … Continue reading

Magpie review – Modernist food served ‘Dim Sum’-style in Mayfair
★★★☆☆ / Eclectic / Modern European / Modernist

Magpie review – Modernist food served ‘Dim Sum’-style in Mayfair

The Pidgin sequel takes flight but doesn’t quite soar Update 10/04/2019 – this restaurant is now closed I once wrote that it’s rare for a restaurant to relocate inwards from the suburbs to the centre of town, rather than other way around. Recent events are proving me wrong, showing that such a move (or sprouting … Continue reading

Darjeeling Express review – Kingly Court Indian has inner beauty
★★★☆☆ / Indian / South Asian

Darjeeling Express review – Kingly Court Indian has inner beauty

Judging a restaurant on more than how good it looks on Instagram Update 31/7/2017 – added remarks about the bone marrow to the details of the goat curry An opinion column published on the newly launched London version of Eater caused a small stir among the capital’s restaurant watchers. The piece railed against the pernicious effects … Continue reading

Diwana Bhel Poori review – Euston vegetarian Indian group dining
★★★☆☆ / Indian / South Asian

Diwana Bhel Poori review – Euston vegetarian Indian group dining

Cheap as chips and almost as good Trying to find a restaurant for a large group of people is a royal pain in the unmentionables. Cramming a baker’s dozen around a table can be a logistical feat akin to the Berlin Airlift, especially when everyone has competing, conflicting demands. My own unruly posse of dining … Continue reading

A. Wong review – Victoria Dim Sum and Peking duck
★★★☆☆ / Chinese / Chinese Dumplings

A. Wong review – Victoria Dim Sum and Peking duck

Plus the most mumbling tasting menu ever The overall trend in London restaurant menus, for the past few years, has been brevity. A few dishes, done well. Avoiding the false benefit of ‘choice’ and focussing instead on quality has been a very welcome development, but not every restaurant believes in short menus. A Wong has … Continue reading