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

Maida Vale

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Da Daniela: “How did we miss this before?”

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Da Daniela: “How did we miss this before?”

Times are changing on Shirland Road. In the late 1990s, when your reviewer first moved to the area, the street was characterised by boozers and betting shops. Drugs were apparently rife. Slowly, but surely the area is gentrifying. Out with the old and in with the new. First came The Waterway. Much more recently, The Hero, a W9 version of Soho’s on-trend The Devonshire. In between, stands Da Daniela, untouched by all the upheaval. From the outside, it may not be much look at, but inside is a revelation. Your reviewer and his local dining comrades were left wondering why they had not previously visited.

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Dhaba@49: Punjabi plaudits

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Dhaba@49: Punjabi plaudits

There’s always something very satisfying about discovering a new restaurant, particularly when it’s on your doorstep and you’ve walked passed it many times without crossing the threshold. Why the prior reluctance, readers may justifiably ask? Dhaba@49 is not located in the most salubrious part of the district and the predecessor curry house on its site was distinctly underwhelming. More importantly, scepticism overcome and meal completed, this is a venue very much worth revisiting.

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Three Falcons: Flying high

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Three Falcons: Flying high

Diners would perhaps be surprised to know that “the ultimate destination for the best Indian food in London” is tucked away on an unprepossessing side street in what could only generously be described as St John’s Wood. The hyperbole does speak to the ambition of the Three Falcons. If not quite an ultimate destination, the venue has certainly hit upon a winning formula that deservedly should be repeated elsewhere in London.

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Sarchnar Grill: Middle Eastern maze

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Sarchnar Grill: Middle Eastern maze

In the one mile stretch from Marble Arch to Little Venice, there are almost 30 different Middle Eastern restaurants. How to choose? One crude, but often successful, metric might simply to consider how busy are the venues. As a local, your reviewer was constantly struck by how full the Sarchnar Grill always appeared to be. Not only did it seem impossible to get a table, but often a queue would extend some way outside the restaurant. Good luck did eventually allow me and my dining comrade finally to secure a table on a recent weekday lunchtime. We were impressed but not wowed.

Maida Vale needs curry

Maida Vale needs curry

Curry may be the country’s national dish, but that message hasn’t reached the Maida Vale district of London. Despite your reviewer having lived locally for over 20 years, not a single Indian restaurant has either thrived or survived over this period. Chakra, a mini London chain, recently chose to open its fourth outlet in the area. It’s a brave restaurateur that seeks to succeed where others have failed. Based on a recent visit, Chakra may not endure.

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The Waterway: Room for improvement

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The Waterway: Room for improvement

The Waterway is a marked improvement on its predecessor, a grim pub called The Paddington Stop. It benefits from wonderful canalside views (assuming you don’t look the other way at the housing estate) but its food and drink experience was quite mixed. There’s a lot of potential. but also clear room for improvement.

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The Clifton: NW8’s best kept secret

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The Clifton: NW8’s best kept secret

Walk roughly ten minutes north west from St John’s Wood station and you reach a quiet and leafy residential street that speaks of prosperity. Nestled on one side – blink and you might almost miss it – is the Clifton. When my comrade and I visited on a recent weekday lunchtime, every table was occupied, and service was perhaps correspondingly somewhat slower than we might have hoped for. Sure, a minor irritation, but the Clifton is the sort of venue where it would be easy to while away an afternoon or longer.

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Tokyo Pizza: Japan meets Italy, in Maida Vale

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Tokyo Pizza: Japan meets Italy, in Maida Vale

Restaurant venues which seek to twin food cultures rarely work. They speak of concept or novelty rather than underlying culinary ability or inspiration. Despite my inherent scepticism, Tokyo Pizza – the restaurant’s name gives one a pretty clear indication of what to expect – is perhaps onto something. The principle here is certainly a great one: take the much-loved Italian dough base and then top it with Japanese-influenced ingredients...

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The Red Pepper: The past is a foreign country…

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The Red Pepper: The past is a foreign country…

L P Hartley’s famous line seems an appropriate way in which to describe The Red Pepper. Time does funny things to one’s memory and, of course, we all grow up, but put simply, a recent visit to this restaurant showed demonstrably that in the past, “they do [did] things differently.” We left feeling underwhelmed …

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Crocker’s Folly: Victorian grandeur meets Middle Eastern cuisine

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Crocker’s Folly was my local boozer when I first moved to London.. When the venue reopened as a restaurant in 2014. I visited  and was highly disappointed by the service, uninspiring food and poor value for money. With some time having elapsed, a return trip was merited. In summary, Crocker's remains as stunning as ever, while the menu now has a dedicated Middle Eastern focus. The combination of opulent Victorian architecture and Lebanese-style food may seem like an incongruous one, but it kind-of works.

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Gogi: Gone downhill (November 2017)

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Gogi: Gone downhill (November 2017)

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.

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The Summerhouse: Canal-side dining – all year round (July 2017)

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The Summerhouse has become a much-loved Little Venice/Maida Vale institution, busy all year despite its name, and an undoubted improvement on its predecessor, The Boat House. The main attraction here is the bucolic view of the Grand Union, its passing barges and waterfowl. On a sunny summer’s evening, it was a perfect place to wind down and relax

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The Elgin: Trying too hard (June 2017)

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The Elgin, a seemingly on-trend gastropub, has come a long way from its existence as a boozer for old soaks - the format in which I first visited this venue some twenty years ago. Sure, it has improved in many ways and is much loved by the yummy mummies of Maida Vale (babyccino, anyone?), but a group of us who recently visited on a Sunday lunchtime couldn't help but feel singularly disappointed.

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Crocker’s Folly: Not worth the wait (December 2014)

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When I first moved to London 16 years’ ago, I was lucky to have as my local boozer Crocker’s Folly, a quite remarkable pub, decorated in a high Victorian style with much marble and mirrors. The ales were great, they had a lovely weekly pub quiz and average pub grub (for the late 90’s).