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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
London doesn’t lack for brave new restaurant concepts. However, it’s a Hobbesian world, sufficiently short, nasty and brutish that about half of all restaurant openings in the city shut within a year. You can blame Brexit, inflation, changing fashions, or all/none of the above, but the truth is stark. If your reviewer were a betting person, then he would put Jam Delish in the unlucky category.
Every neighbourhood needs one. The eponymous Vins has created a gem of a community restaurant, which – appropriately enough – has a superbly composed wine list as well as a kitchen that serves up solid grub. One thing the pandemic has taught us all to value is our local area. Why bother going in to central London if you live in Canonbury, when you can simply visit Vins?
A name such as the Pig and Butcher leaves little to the imagination; you know what you’re likely to get. We were impressed therefore to see not only an elevation and execution of all things meaty, but also delivery on dishes beyond the obvious. That the Pig and Butcher, an Islington gastropub, has been operating for a decade and was packed on the recent weeknight evening when we visited is testament to its success.
