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.
The London restaurant scene is a big sea in which to fish. Similar to the real world, only the fittest survive. The Seafood Bar is a laudable concept, but whether it will endure remains to be seen. The original venture opened nine years ago in Amsterdam when a local fishmonger turned restaurateur. Now, the chain is five strong, with the London outpost opening last month. There is certainly something very Dutch (or Scandinavian) about the venue…
Everyone likes a party, right? Few come bigger than Carnival, a celebration of all things West Indian in London’s Notting Hill every August. It’s a great vibe and your reviewer, who lives locally, has been going on an off for the last two decades. What the Rum Kitchen offers is not a homage to Carnival – as their website might seem to suggest – but a commercialisation of the Caribbean experience. If it’s an informal party vibe you’re after at a competitive price, then Rum Kitchen is for you. However, diners hoping for authentic Caribbean food will be sorely disappointed.
The shoes of the Gay Hussar are big ones in which to step. Noble Rot’s second venture, located on the same site as this former London establishment, nonetheless do the job admirably. Homage to the Hussar is evident, from the artistic triptych of Soho life that adorns one wall on the first floor dining room through to a few original menu items that remain, albeit somewhat reinterpreted. After the success of their original Fitzrovia venture, the Noble Rot team have imposed their clear stamp in Soho.
How often do diners – especially seasoned sceptics such as your reviewer – come out of restaurants truly wowed by a novel experience? It’s interesting that SOLA shares much in common with KOL . Beyond both having short and memorable names – in the case of this venue’s, it is an abbreviated portmanteau of Soho and Los Angeles – each marries successfully high-end dining in an informal setting. Whereas KOL brings proper Mexican food to London for arguably the first time, SOLA does similar with Californian cuisine.
The joy of new discovery – or serendipity – is one of life’s pleasures. So it was with Kolamba, a newish restaurant serving Sri Lankan food on the edge of Soho. Maybe no coincidence, but Sri Lanka was, of course, once known as Serendip. The premise behind Sri Lankan cuisine is a harmonious merger of sweet, savoury and sour flavours. It’s mostly executed very well here.
May 2014 seems like an age ago. In the world of restaurants, especially in London and all the more so in Soho, it is akin to a lifetime. Yet almost six years on from when the Palomar first opened its doors, the venue has lost none of its allure. If it was love at first sight back then, a recent visit reignited all the original passion.
Visit the homepage of the Ivy and the word that stands out most strongly is ‘modern’, which prefixes the perhaps less glamorous ‘British restaurant’ descriptor. Sceptics might suggest a case of trying too hard, whereas a more generous interpretation would highlight that the success of this stalwart restaurant brand lies in its ongoing relevance. concept. A large group of us recently descended on the Soho branch of the ever-expanding empire and came away impressed by the execution if not outright wowed. ..
With half a dozen restaurants and a similar number of books to his name, as well as a regular newspaper column, superstars in the culinary world don’t come much bigger than Yotam Ottolenghi. He has arguably done more to change eating habits in London over the last decade than any other figure, making the fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food mainstream. Nopi, his relatively upscale Soho venture, hits all the spots in terms of both vibe and food.
Switzerland may be famous for many things and among them cheese and chocolate, but the concept of a Swiss restaurant has never become entrenched, and certainly not in London. Maybe it’s because the long-established (and still much-loved by many) St Moritz restaurant on Wardour Street has become a beacon of Swiss kitsch, with its chalet-like interior, gingham furnishings included. Heritage, open since July, takes Switzerland into the 21st Century, a perfectly-pitched offering that has the potential to endure.
That there always seem to be queues outside every branch of Dishoom I have attempted to visit must surely be a sign that the operators of this now 7-strong chain must have hit upon a winning formula. Luckily enough my wait ended earlier this week when I lost my Dishoom virginity by visiting their Carnaby Street branch. There was no let-down, no anti-climax, just a desire to return.
London institutions do not come much better than Bar Italia. A stalwart on Soho’s Frith Street for 70 years, it was the first place in the area to make proper coffee – the Italian way – and it stayed open all night. Many a memorable evening in my past ended there. The aspiring family behind the venture did not, however, rest on its laurels and opened a restaurant next door in the 1990s. That both have remained constants amidst the ongoing reinvention of Soho is testament to their success as well as a reflection of the Polledri family’s ongoing involvement. The passion they bring to Little Italy is abundantly obvious. This is a highly professional venture with top-notch cooking but contains a strongly personal touch too.
There is a shrewdness behind the whole Berenjak concept, from the siting of the venue through to the vibe and the food. Diners are told to expect a combination of ‘home-style’ cooking combined with a ‘hole-in-the-wall’ kebab experience; something for everyone, especially in Soho. While the mains at Berenjak are indeed centred around the grilling of meat, what you get here is about as far removed from a drunken post-pub snack as possible.
A neighbourhood restaurant in Soho? Lovely idea, but surely not workable? Maybe not, but this is the angle that Foxlow has gone for. The venue – the fourth in this mini chain operated by the same team behind the successful Hawksmoor venture – was full of good vibes and food and all very much on-trend. In summary, highly comforting (just like your neighbourhood local) and competent if neither revolutionary or ground-breaking.
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
Located a stone’s throw away from Chinatown and next door to the ever-popular Palomar, the ambitions of Xu (pronounced ‘shu’) are evident. Given that the team behind this venture also pioneered Gymkhana, Bao and Hoppers, expectations were high, but a recent lunchtime visit undoubtedly impressed. While perhaps somewhat lacking in atmosphere, the level of the food here was superlative.
Peruvian food remains distinctly on-trend in London – and so it should do, since the country offers a wide range of flavoursome dishes spanning meat, fish and veg. There isn’t a lot of gluten in the Peruvian diet and so this should also tick a box for many. Much as I love all things Peruvian (and I can highly recommend the country as a holiday destination), I was instinctively put off Señor Ceviche because of its name.
Tucked down a side street in Soho best known for its guitar shops, Smoking Goat is paving the way for a new era of Thai cuisine. This is about as far removed from curry in a coconut milk sauce or a plate of stir-fried rice noodles as you can imagine. Instead, Smoking Goat is all about a profound explosion of flavours, mostly based around smoke, spice and soy
