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.
Being a regular reviewer of restaurants has many privileges, but a combination of coincidence and premeditation has seen me visit three different Hawksmoor locations across London in the last two months. Regardless of venue (Air Street, Seven Dials and Spitalfields, in reverse chronological order), the formula has been not only remarkably consistent but also hugely successful. Put simply, this is about good meat in a highly convivial atmosphere.
The doors of Wild Honey have been open for 11 years during which time I have been a regular visitor. A recent lunchtime return visit to the venue reminded me just how good this place is and why it continues to pull in the crowds. Put simply, what Wild Honey does is offer impressively good comfort food in a lovely venue, albeit at Mayfair prices.
The Frescobaldi’s have a long and glorious history, stretching back over 700 years. Throughout wars, changes in government and more, the family has continued to thrive, growing food and making wine in Tuscany. Their first restaurant offering opened in London in 2014. That it has survived 4 years is an achievement…
Any restaurant that adorns its windows and website with the caption ‘#gyozadreams’ risks setting itself up for disappointment. The bar is set high, with an implied suggestion that the chef has the temerity to be able not only to interpret, but also to fulfil, my dreams. The message is also a somewhat misleading one: the gyoza served at Titu did fortuitously live up to their billing, but the restaurant is about much more than this - overall Titu shows how good modern Japanese cooking can be
It seemed only fitting that even as a non-American I should at least mark the 242nd anniversary of US Independence by sampling a range of wines from one of the country’s most exciting winemakers. Although the occasion was enjoyed on British soil, the location was still auspicious, since CUT hosts the biggest range of American wines in London. No surprises then that the team at CUT have embraced the mercurial talents of Orin Swift.
Fifteen years is a long time, particularly for a restaurant in London. Yet, since 2003, Sketch has remained a unique venue, a cavern of opulence and decadence, which also serves exceptionally good food. It is no mean feat for Sketch still to be almost as trendy now as when it opened and the fact that it is only one of nine locations in London to hold two Michelin stars speaks to the quality of its offering. Diners should be prepared for an experience.
The last time is visited Le Boudin Blanc was a decade ago. It felt dated then, and even more so now. Clearly the place must be doing something right since it was packed when I visited on a recent weekday lunchtime, but to my mind the place demonstrates almost everything that is bad about restaurant culture.
Four years may have passed since my last visit to C London, but it seems little has changed: here, we are definitively in the world of moneyed Mayfair where the well-heeled and wannabee celebrities still come to dine. The food is excellent; the service somewhat less so. For mere mortals, prices remain eye-watering and undoubtedly better value (and experiences) can be found elsewhere
I first reviewed this branch of Roka not long after it opened in summer 2014. Since then, I have been back probably half-a-dozen times both for lunch and dinner, but on each occasion – and despite being willing to give the place the benefit of the doubt (again) – I have been disappointed. A recent weekday lunch did nothing to change my impression.
The title says it all. The restaurant has few redeeming features and serves very average Middle Eastern food at a Mayfair mark-up. Service was among the most gauche I had witnessed recently. And, the lamp fittings are so badly designed that almost every customer in the place seemed to bang their head on them.
Visit-one to Jamavar in March for a work lunch filled me with the belief that this could be among the best Indian restaurants in London. A second visit, on a recent Saturday night sampling the full tasting menu reinforced the notion that Jamavar has a lot of potential; but, our experience was let down by the service.
Even when the weather is grey outside, it still feels like the sun is shining in La Petite Maison. On this occasion, as on every other when I have visited, the place was packed, the atmosphere buzzing and everyone seemed to be enjoying what can only be described as top-quality, flawlessly executed food – albeit at a price.
The French do it so well. Unlike the Brits, across the Channel, the idea of the casual all-day establishment where customers can be as at home with their coffee and croissant in the mornings as with their glass of wine later is already well-established. The good news is that Comptoir, the latest offering from Xavier Rousset’s expanding empire, brings the concept to Mayfair – and does it exceptionally well
Sakagura constitutes a recent addition to the self-styled Heddon Street ‘restaurant quarter’, located one block to the west of Regent’s Street. Given its location and the fact that it is the only Japanese offering here, it will probably do well enough. However, a recent visit was profoundly uninspiring
After my somewhat disappointing recent visit to Vineet Bhatia, it was a decided relief to eat at Jamavar. It reminded me once again just how good Indian cooking can be, when in the right hands. The pedigree of head chef Rohit Ghai says it all – having previously worked at Gymkhana, Trishna and Benares, he clearly knows what he is doing.
Like the cliché about buses, it had been nine months since I had last visited Cecconi and yet coincidence led to me making two visits within 72 hours. Both a lunch and a breakfast visit here confirmed to me why Cecconi remains one of the best restaurants in London: its coolness is effortless and so visiting here is always enjoyable; regardless of what else may be on-trend in London, Cecconi remains timeless.
