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.
Sollip promised so much on paper. Sadly the reality was markedly different. At least our experience was memorable. In eight years of regularly writing on restaurants, Sollip achieved something no other venue had previously done: straight after his meal, your reviewer went to another restaurant for a second dinner – for he had been left wanting by Sollip, in every sense of the term.
It’s arguably harder for a restaurant in Soho to succeed than any other spot in London. Such is the range of options that dining spots need to do something different in order to survive. Mee Market has taken an innovative approach, combining retail outlet, takeaway counter and eating space all in one location
When it opened in 2013, Gogi offered something different amid the rather staid Little Venice dining scene. Based on how busy the restaurant was on a recent Friday night when my comrade and I visited, Gogi must clearly still be doing something right. However, we could not help feeling that food standards had slipped, the place was poor value for money and the service little more than perfunctory.
