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Review of the Reviews - London

Gallery Mess, Saatchi Gallery

Fay Maschler, Evening Standard (Rating: 4/5 stars)

“When something that is usually done rather miserably is done extremely well, rejoicing breaks out”, proclaims the critic. The catering at institutions such as art galleries has always been notoriously poor. According to Ms Maschler, the solution - to hire an “expert in bespoke catering” that creates “edible works of art” - is in evidence here (as it is at the dining room of the recently reopened Whitechapel Gallery). She enjoys almost all the food she samples during her two visits, and likes the “lean and clean” design too.

The Loft

Marina O'Loughlin, Metro (Rating: 5/5 stars)

The critic visits this ‘underground’ Shoreditch restaurant – in the chef’s home – where Nuno Mendes (who trained at El Bulli) creates “12 courses, each one more abstruse than the last, all flawlessly presented, exactingly executed and wildly innovative.”

Kensington Wine Rooms

David Sexton, Evening Standard (Rating: 3/5 stars)

In an area that’s thin on wine bars, the critic is pleased to discover this “hi-tech revision of what a wine bar can be”. “Its USP”, we are told, “is its array of Enomatic wine machines [costing £8,000 each]... allowing 40 wines to be served in perfect condition by the glass”. “The wines begin at modest prices”, “the food is good value” and “[t]he rooms are thoroughly pleasant”. “The Kensington Wine Rooms re-ivents the wine bar just about ideally.”

The Drapers Arms

Guy Dimond, Time Out (Rating: 3/6 stars)

“[O]ne of the most handsome gastropubs in Islington”, this former boozer is “still a proper pub”, TO’s head critic assures us. “The daily-changing menu is firmly contemporary British, neatly matching the no-nonsense aesthetics of the pub’s refit”, he says, but some dishes “didn’t quite live up to expectations”. Service, however, is “impeccable”.

The Establishment

Ben McFarland, Time Out (Rating: 5/6 stars)

“Perched on the top of Battersea Rise... what used to be Broome & Delancey was recently refurbished and rebadged and turned into The Establishment – which is a good thing.” The critic tells us it now has a “cosily lit restaurant bedecked with snug booths and overlooked by an open-plan kitchen”. It serves “best of Britain” food, and earns “[b]ig ticks for attentive service”.

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