Gastropub, Islington
Alex Gunz
The Baring: Solid ground

Any pub that employs a chef with credible restaurant CV now feels it has the right to append the prefix ‘gastro’ to its name. Many have installed josper grills or wood fires to buttress their claims. Renovate on old boozer may earn extra points. The Baring doesn’t try too hard. It doesn't need to either. This neighbourhood venue lets its quality speak for itself.

The Baring: Solid ground
Georgian, Fitzrovia
Alex Gunz
Kinkally: Georgia on my mind

Your reviewer’s only previous visit to a Georgian restaurant was a disappointment. The passing of time and a desire to be open-minded provoked a recent visit to a new venue purveying Georgian cooking. It was well-conceived, but ultimately underwhelming.

Kinkally: Georgia on my mind
Oxford, Mediterranean, Gastropub, Thai
Alex Gunz
48 hours in Oxford: History in the making

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Oxford students will take every opportunity to show off their erudition. With this maxim in mind, when your reviewer and eight of his chums returned recently to their Alma Mater for a reunion weekend, he was reminded of the famous line of Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr: “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” In simple terms, the places where we dined some thirty years ago have stood the test of time.

48 hours in Oxford: History in the making
Chinese, Harrow
Alex Gunz
Panda’s Kitchen: Jay Rayner was right

Harrow is famous for its school, perhaps its eponymous hill, but little else. Although it is located less than ten miles from where this reviewer grew up, he was not aware of its dining options – until recently. Step forward Jay Rayner. I have long been a fan of the restaurant critic of The Guardian and have enjoyed several of his books, including My Dining Hell. This is a summary of his most damning reviews. 19 of the 20 places subsequently have shut. Fortunately, his recent piece on the incongruously named Panda’s Kitchen was praiseworthy – and rightly so.

Panda’s Kitchen: Jay Rayner was right
Mexican, Marylebone
Alex Gunz
KOL: From strength to strength

People love to make lists, however arbitrary they may be. KOL is one of only two UK restaurants to rank in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, placing at number 17. It must, therefore, being doing something very good. Your reviewer had written two highly praiseworthy pieces about KOL in the past (see here and here), but a recent visit to the venue demonstrated to our group of four – all of whom were previously familiar with KOL – just how much it had raised its already strong game.

KOL: From strength to strength

Chinese

,

Panda’s Kitchen: Jay Rayner was right

,
Panda’s Kitchen: Jay Rayner was right

Harrow is famous for its school, perhaps its eponymous hill, but little else. Although it is located less than ten miles from where this reviewer grew up, he was not aware of its dining options – until recently. Step forward Jay Rayner. I have long been a fan of the restaurant critic of The Guardian and have enjoyed several of his books, including My Dining Hell. This is a summary of his most damning reviews. 19 of the 20 places subsequently have shut. Fortunately, his recent piece on the incongruously named Panda’s Kitchen was praiseworthy – and rightly so.

,

MiMi Mei Fair: Give me more

,
MiMi Mei Fair: Give me more

Reviewers that see any restaurant describe itself as “eclectic” have good reason – often through bitter prior experience – to be sceptical. When your venue has an absurdly pretentious name and is located on an expensive street in Mayfair, then the trepidation should mount further. MiMi, named with yet more absurdity in homage to a fictional empress who travels across China, is however worth a visit. There is substance behind the show.

, ,

Fatt Pundit: Culinary crossover

, ,
Fatt Pundit: Culinary crossover

Brits have a well-known love for both curry and Chinese cuisine. What happens then, when you mix the two? India and China share a border and so some crossover must be inevitable. There has also been a long history of migration, with the Hakka of Canton having moved to Kolkata, bringing along with them many of their cooking techniques. It is this vein that Fatt Pundit happily taps into. Others should follow.

, ,

Dim-t: Not shining

, ,
Dim-t: Not shining

The restaurant trade is Darwinian. Only the fittest should survive. How Dim-t has endured for since the mid-2000s and expanded into a mini chain of half a dozen outlets is an absolute mystery to this reviewer. He and his dining comrade visited the Hampstead original and were mostly disappointed from start to finish.  

,

Feng Shui Inn: Got much voice

,
Feng Shui Inn: Got much voice

Choosing a restaurant in London’s Chinatown is not for the faint-hearted. There are around 100 options within the space of just a few blocks. To the untrained eye, many look identical. Searching the Internet is may not help, since not all venues even have websites. Local knowledge can be advantageous. Feng Shui Inn was endorsed by a friend (whose family are also involved in the venture). It proved a worthy recommendation.

,

Baozilnn: No wow from the bao

,
Baozilnn: No wow from the bao

Diners who come to London’s Chinatown do not lack for options. There are over 100 places to eat within walking of the district’s famous Gerrard Street Gate. Baozilnn is not one of the best. Admittedly its flagship restaurant is located in London Bridge, but its Soho sister falls flat. In offering too many different things, it fails in producing memorable food in any area.

,

Hunan: Full of surprises

,
Hunan: Full of surprises

This is not your typical restaurant. It’s been open for over 40 years and it still does not have a menu. You turn up (reservations are recommended), tell the chef what you don’t want to eat, and Hunan will do the rest. Such was the joy of eating here and the culinary artistry on display, it is little surprise that Hunan is still going strong.

,

Park Chinois: Opulent decadence

,
Park Chinois: Opulent decadence

I’ve never been to Shanghai and did not live through the 1930s, but if Park Chinois is anything to go by, then it certainly would have been a wonderful period. This is the angle that this high-end Mayfair Chinese venue is going for. It’s full of old school charm; a sort of opulent decadence – albeit at prices not for the faint-hearted. Park Chinois was also so much better than I remembered it.

,

Phoenix Palace: Best London dim sum yet

,
Phoenix Palace: Best London dim sum yet

Many London venues serving Chinese food seem to be missing a trick. Nowhere does it say that dim sum should be all about just meat and fish. Even omnivores like vegetable-only offerings too. Fortunately, Phoenix Palace got the message. Plaudits to the venue for not just its food, but also the décor and overall experience.

,

Gold Mine: Gift that keeps on giving

,
Gold Mine: Gift that keeps on giving

If it’s authentic Chinese food your after, then Queensway is the place to come. Packed venues and queues snaking down the street speak to the popularity of the location. How to choose though from the plethora of options, many of which look – to the untrained eye – almost identical? In this case, a local’s recommendation paid off. Whether Goldmine is definitively better than some of its neighbours is hard to know, but is was certainly packed with atmosphere and delivered well on the culinary front

, ,

Pearl Liang: Take-away next time, please

, ,
Pearl Liang: Take-away next time, please

The regeneration of Paddington Basin in the last decade has been nothing short of remarkable, both in terms of newly developed office and residential space as well as multifarious eating options. By day, it is buzzing; on a Friday night, however, it was almost eerily quiet, particularly once the post-work drinking crowd had dissipated. We discovered this to our cost when we ended up being the last customers to leave Pearl Liang …

,

Yauatcha City: High life

,

Times have changed. Twenty years ago, when I was first in London, in this venue men in pinstripes drank champagne while overlooking an ice rink. Now, the clientele is more diverse, the food multiple notches better, although the views more depressing. Hopefully the scaffolding surrounding much of the Broadgate complex will be gone once Crossrail is complete and then diners can get to appreciate better this outpost of Alan Yau’s ever-expanding empire. The impressive thing about Yauatcha is that its quality remains undiminished and remarkably consistent across branches

,

A. Wong: Hard to go w(r)ong (October 2017)

,

For as long as I’ve lived in London, Victoria is a place from which to catch trains and little else. Most of the time, the area resembles (as it does today) a building site. In other words, not somewhere one would consider coming for lunch. Things are admittedly changing, and for the better, but it was not to one of the newer places in the district to which I recently ventured, but instead to A Wong, a superb find worth seeking out.

, ,

Xu: Xuting out the lights (September 2017)

, ,

Located a stone’s throw away from Chinatown and next door to the ever-popular Palomar, the ambitions of Xu (pronounced ‘shu’) are evident. Given that the team behind this venture also pioneered Gymkhana, Bao and Hoppers, expectations were high, but a recent lunchtime visit undoubtedly impressed. While perhaps somewhat lacking in atmosphere, the level of the food here was superlative.

,

Dragon Castle: Struggling to find positives (December 2016)

,

Elephant & Castle is a depressing enough part of London to go to at the best of times. Exiting the underground station, the eye is confronted with an excess of cars and concrete. Those brave enough to navigate the roundabout can find themselves at Dragon Castle, a cavernous Chinese establishment that has been here for some time.