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.
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.
Los Mochis is full of juxtapositions, in a good way. We’re in plush Notting Hill, but the exterior of the building is covered in graffiti-influenced art. Fine dining is married with street food. Japanese and Mexican flavours jostle. But, both atmosphere and experience delivered. My dining comrade and I enjoyed the fun vibes outdoors in the late summer sun, but Los Mochis apparently comes truly alive in the evenings. Think dark interiors, cool cocktails and a soundtrack to match.
“I’ve never eaten good Mexican food in London” was what Gourmand Gunno’s dining comrade for the evening had told him when the two of us first discussed where we might go for our semi-regular supper outing. Your reviewer is fortunately a huge fan of all things Mexican, having first travelled to the country over 25 years ago. The good news – both for Gourmand Gunno and his then-sceptical comrade – is that London is now awash with ‘proper’ Mexican restaurants. Cavita is a welcome addition to the scene.
Chef-patron Santiago Lastra’s KOL restaurant was one of the hottest dining tickets of 2021. It had opened in 2020 but owing to the pandemic, only truly got going in last year. Your reviewer dined there seven days after the Government permitted indoor meals to restart. He loved it so much that he sought to rebook for the full nine-course tasting menu in the evening. Once again, the pandemic intervened and he had to wait until a recent Saturday March finally to take his seat. In the interim, KOL has – justifiably – received a Michelin star. It is undoubtedly merited. For diners after a novel and memorable experience in London, KOL is the place to go.
When Gourmand Gunno first travelled to Mexico many years ago he was told that the Mexicans believed their cuisine to be the third-best in the world. This was a clever notion: why try to claim you’re better than the French or the Italians (who apparently ranked numbers one and two)? At the same time though, you’re making a clear statement of intent about how you believe your food should be regarded. Even if this ranking is certainly open to debate, it is still fair to wonder just why there are so few restaurants serving genuine Mexican food in the world’s major cities. The good news for Londoners is that KOL seeks to address this anomaly. It delivers admirably.
Having spent some time in Mexico – including a dedicated six-week period – your reviewer can state that what Madera offers is not authentic Mexican food, but a take on it, which will more likely appeal to British and American palates. Beyond the view and the people watching opportunities, Madera ticks almost all the evident boxes of what ‘on-trend’ restaurants seek to offer – a bewilderingly complicated menu, dishes explicitly made for sharing which arrive as soon as they are ready and music that was slightly too loud for a midweek lunchtime.
All things South American (and not just the football) currently seem in vogue. After the success and subsequent entrenchment of Coya and Sushisamba on the London dining scene, along comes Peyote, devoted broadly to the cuisine of Mexico – admittedly in Central America, but stylistically quite similar in terms of cuisine.
