http://www.hardens.com/articles/article_list.php?type=cityam Visit Harden's.com for reviews of the hottest new openings. Hardens.com -- the most authoritative restaurant and venue guides for London and the UK. en-gb Copyright (C): Harden's Ltd http://images.hardens.com/images/HardensLogoRSS.jpg http://www.hardens.com/articles/article_list.php?type=cityam 60 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 18 19 20 21 22 23 Saturday Sunday http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/31-01-12/soif-sw11/ A basically-furnished Battersea bistro/wine bar offshoot of West End hit Terroirs, offering Gallic bistro fare realised to a solid standard; the daily-changing menu, however, struck as as irritatingly http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/31-01-12/soif-sw11/ Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.16347851.460762 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/27-01-12/tom-aikens-sw3/ Much improved by a general ‘loosening up’, an eminent dining room offers unusually intriguing and tasty dishes in a setting of almost Scandinavian understatement; the set lunch (as so often in Che http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/27-01-12/tom-aikens-sw3/ Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.16721251.491243 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/18-01-12/34-w1/ A clubby, tightly-packed Mayfair sibling to Le Caprice and so on, attracting the glitzy clientele you might expect; the cooking, however, isn’t yet up to the standards of its nearest sibling, Scotts http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/18-01-12/34-w1/ Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.15261351.510553 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/17-01-12/aurelia-w1/ The latest addition to the fashionable Arjun Waney stable, this Mayfair Mediterranean offers upmarket comfort fare of a high standard; the tightly-packed basement is more atmospheric than the somewhat http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/17-01-12/aurelia-w1/ Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.14136751.509980 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-01-12/union-jacks-wc2/ A prototype for the latest extension of the Jamie Oliver franchise, this Brit-themed bistro is more of a wow than you might expect. The world fall into two camps. The much larger camp is composed o http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-01-12/union-jacks-wc2/ Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-01-12/the-delaunay-wc2/ From Corbin and King, a swish, Midtown brasserie, which has the hallmarks of an instant in-crowd classic, even if its looks are less stunning than its stablemate, the Wolseley. What's in a name? Re http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-01-12/the-delaunay-wc2/ Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12051451.514549 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-01-12/bread-street-kitchen-ec4/ Professional, but vast, soulless and expensive, Gordon Ramsay’s grand brasserie, in a shopping mall by St Paul’s, seemed to us to exert an appeal only discernible by those lucky enough to have lar http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-01-12/bread-street-kitchen-ec4/ Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.09558551.513058 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-01-12/mishkins-wc2/ Trendy but unintimidating, Russell Norman’s new 'diner’ looks set – like the similarly US-inpired local classic Joe Allen’s – to become a long-term Theatreland fixture. Is this a classic http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-01-12/mishkins-wc2/ Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12054151.512499 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/meatliquor-w1/ Somewhat oddly located just north of Oxford Street, a loud and hip burger parlour that has opened with a cult following already in place; standards on our early-days visit were a touch up-and-down but http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/meatliquor-w1/ Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.14883251.515673 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/steak-plus-wc1/ Near Gray’s Inn, a bit of an oxymoron from the Little Bay man (Peter Illic) – a ‘budget’ steak bistro; it offers a comfortably old-fashioned formula, at notably reasonably prices. Peter Ili http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/steak-plus-wc1/ Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.11448551.522680 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/suda-wc2/ From the S&P people, an upmarket shopping mall-style Thai; its spacious Covent Garden premises offer a pleasant respite from consumerism, even if the food is not consistent enough to make the place a http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/suda-wc2/ Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12619551.512724 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/novikov-w1/ From the leading Muscovite restaurateur, a very large pan-Asian dining room that looks set to become a popular Mayfair destination, perhaps mainly for business; the smoothness of the operation on our http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/novikov-w1/ Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.15719851.516938 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/ducksoup-w1/ In the heart of Soho, a bistro of rare – perhaps unique – decorative brutality, offering a short and ever-changing menu, realised to a high standard. Are you a 'Bobo’? Do you combine a bourge http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/ducksoup-w1/ Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.13209351.513340 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/alyn-williams-at-the-westbury-w1/ Hidden-away inside Bond Street’s only hotel, a grand new dining room for an ex-Marcus Wareing chef of whom we suspect we’re going to be hearing a lot more; our lunchtime visit offered invariably h http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-12-11/alyn-williams-at-the-westbury-w1/ Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.14256151.511447 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/22-11-11/the-balcon-sw1/ On a grand scale, an unnecessarily fussily-conceived Theatreland brasserie; it offers a long and unduly esoteric charcuterie-heavy menu, and an extensive wine selection, all at very high prices. Wh http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/22-11-11/the-balcon-sw1/ Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.13226751.507677 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/21-11-11/morgan-m-ec1/ With great discretion, one of London’s best Gallic chefs in London has opened up in Smithfield; of his undoubted abilities, however, there was not much hint on our flat early-days visit. Morgan M http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/21-11-11/morgan-m-ec1/ Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.09989751.519207 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/19-11-11/hawksmoor-ec2/ Larger, if a touch less hip, than its Covent Garden sibling, the third member of this fashionable chain brings its impressively consistent steakhouse formula to a larger scaled City basement. Anyon http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/19-11-11/hawksmoor-ec2/ Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.09078351.515534 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/17-11-11/the-lady-ottoline-wc1/ Hidden-away in Bloomsbury, a gastropub venture from the people behind the well-regarded Princess of Shoreditch; it’s a potentially charming operation, but the first-floor dining room can get very no http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/17-11-11/the-lady-ottoline-wc1/ Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.11475451.522091 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-10-11/10-cases-wc2/ A basic Covent Garden bistro offering an ever-changing wine selection, and a menu of brutal simplicity; an early-days visit suggested this appealing-sounding formula is in need of a little refinement. http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-10-11/10-cases-wc2/ Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12432051.514529 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-10-11/cut-w1/ Not a destination for the cost-sensitive, but this showy Mayfair outpost of a famous Californian chef does what it does - including very good steaks and very pretty salads - very well. How we want http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-10-11/cut-w1/ Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.15160151.506383 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-10-11/medlar-sw10/ From the school of Chez Bruce, a (rare) Chelsea restaurant where the emphasis is on the food rather than the ambience – in the light of those priorities, it achieves its aims very well. We all http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-10-11/medlar-sw10/ Fri, 07 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.17736051.483388 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/17-06-11/pollen-street-social-w1/ The first solo London operation from Jason Atherton, the man who made ‘Maze’ for Gordon Ramsay; the formula – innovative, without it any way being startling – is nicely pitched, and already at http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/17-06-11/pollen-street-social-w1/ Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.14248051.513451 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/08-05-11/riding-house-cafe-w1/ In the rag trade section of Fitzrovia, a large, stylish and cheerful brasserie whose compelling all-round formula is already packing ’em in. Our first surprise on visiting this attractive-looking http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/08-05-11/riding-house-cafe-w1/ Sun, 08 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.14072451.518351 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/18-04-11/5-pollen-street-w1/ Near the Apple Store, a contemporary Italian restaurant whose rather retro culinary style contributes to a style surprisingly redolent of ‘old Mayfair’; a useful enough place, it seemed to us to l http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/18-04-11/5-pollen-street-w1/ Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.14104151.523661 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-04-11/11-park-walk-sw10/ On the former Chelsea site of Aubergine, a welcoming and elegantly-styled new Italian restaurant; the cooking, though, is tame. Honey, we forgot the food! Are we imagining it, or is there a bit of http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-04-11/11-park-walk-sw10/ Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.17980951.486017 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/14-04-11/bennett-sw11/ Elegantly housed in Battersea Square, a smartly turned-out brasserie where food and service don’t quite live up to appearances; for oyster-lovers, though, this may be a place worth seeking out. I http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/14-04-11/bennett-sw11/ Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.17498251.474772 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-04-11/grand-imperial-sw1/ Grandly housed in the hotel adjacent to Victoria Station, this Cantonese dining room offers airy surroundings and good-value dim sum (and lunch) menus, making it an ideal daytime rendezvous; by night, http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/12-04-11/grand-imperial-sw1/ Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.14559251.495362 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/21-03-11/nopi-w1/ Just off Regent Street, a potentially useful brasserie, under the same ownership as Ottolenghi, and in a broadly similar (if more ambitious) style; format and location are undoubtedly very handy, but http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/21-03-11/nopi-w1/ Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.13841351.511741 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/01-03-11/spice-market-wc2/ Bringing the style of New York’s hip Meatpacking District to Leicester Square, a glamorous establishment which brings a lot of style (with prices to match) to a menu inspired by the spicy street foo http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/01-03-11/spice-market-wc2/ Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.13147051.510956 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/21-02-11/the-fox-and-grapes-sw18/ A former inn, prettily located on Wimbledon Common, whose interior has been converted to a large, contemporary-style dining room offering rich cooking of high quality; though many aspects of the opera http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/21-02-11/the-fox-and-grapes-sw18/ Mon, 21 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.23068751.426589 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/18-02-11/ilia-sw3/ Near Brompton Cross, a relaunch of Papillon as a good all-round-Italian; in fact little, except the cuisine, seems really to have changed from the former régime. Don’t they have enough Italian r http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/18-02-11/ilia-sw3/ Fri, 18 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.16723051.493571 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/14-02-11/opera-tavern-wc2/ Bang opposite the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, a former pub that’s now a offshoot – in what’s essentially a high-quality bistro format – of the Salt Yard/Dehesa tapas empire; its attractions for http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/14-02-11/opera-tavern-wc2/ Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12054151.512499 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-02-11/chabrot-bistrot-damis-sw1/ Hidden-away in Knightsbridge, a small and genuine new Gallic bistro, of particular interest as a lunchtime destination. A small, Gallic bistro where the prices seem very reasonable? In Knightsbridg http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-02-11/chabrot-bistrot-damis-sw1/ Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.16243751.501364 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/03-02-11/dinner/ Heston Blumenthal’s historically-themed Knightsbridge newcomer – it’s undoubtedly a good restaurant, but is it good enough to stand up to the hype? Has any restaurant in recent years been a m http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/03-02-11/dinner/ Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.15996051.502396 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/27-01-11/verru-w1/ A tiny but very smart Baltic-tinged newcomer, in Marylebone; the cooking is pretty straightforward, but the set lunch menu, in particular, offers excellent value. There’s something not entirely E http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/27-01-11/verru-w1/ Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.15093351.517883 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-01-11/brawn-e2/ From the same backers as the celebrated Terroirs bistro in central London, a (more informal) East End offshoot of similar quality; it has much laid-back charm, and is already very busy. Terroirs go http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-01-11/brawn-e2/ Fri, 07 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.06955751.529413 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/21-12-10/the-savoy-grill-wc2/ A notably ‘useful’ relaunch of this handily-located Art Deco dining room, offering good (and very straightforward) English food at prices which are surprisingly reasonable, considering. It’s http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/21-12-10/the-savoy-grill-wc2/ Tue, 21 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12140851.510051 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/10-12-10/the-henry-root/ Inspired by Terroirs, a good-all-round bistro specialising in small plates; somewhat unfortunate theming notwithstanding, it is a mid-price Chelsea destination offering overall good value, rather in t http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/10-12-10/the-henry-root/ Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.17983451.486016 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/08-12-10/wright-brothers-/ Perfect for Carnaby Street shoppers and oyster-lovers, the first offshoot of the mega-popular Borough fish and seafood bar. The only real problem with the Wright Brothers oyster bar at Borough Mark http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/08-12-10/wright-brothers-/ Wed, 08 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.13911351.512615 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/26-11-10/roux-at-the-landau-w1/ An elegantly-housed Roux family operation, opposite Broadcasting House, whose impressive all-round standards make it a rarity among London’s grand hotel dining rooms; the set lunch, in particular, o http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/26-11-10/roux-at-the-landau-w1/ Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.14378751.517806 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/24-11-10/barbecoa/ A new meat-led restaurant, right by St Paul’s (of which some tables offer impressive views), which seems to owe its existence entirely to Jamie Oliver’s PR profile; the food on our visit was decen http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/24-11-10/barbecoa/ Wed, 24 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.09558551.513058 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-11-10/the-english-pig/ A handy refuge in the bleak purlieus of the Museum of London, a welcoming former Slug & Lettuce that now offers a British menu of surprisingly high standard. What can you do with a former Slug & Le http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/16-11-10/the-english-pig/ Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.09756251.518864 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/10-11-10/cigalon/ From the Club Gascon people, an oddly Provençal incursion into the heart of legal-land; staff are charming, and the bright interior is pleasant enough, but we’re not at all sure that the formula is http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/10-11-10/cigalon/ Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.11169951.514407 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/09-11-10/the-savoy-hotel-river-restaurant/ The Deco-ish dining room of the palace-hotel by the Thames offers a straightforward formula which was generally achieved to a good standard on our early-days visit; wine prices are very high though http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/09-11-10/the-savoy-hotel-river-restaurant/ Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12377051.516327 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/08-11-10/geales/ Very like its Notting Hill namesake, a competent but quite pricey Chelsea chippy, whose point it is rather difficult to see. We hadn’t felt in any great rush to check out this new Chelsea spin-of http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/08-11-10/geales/ Mon, 08 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.16605751.490513 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/18-10-10/dishoom-wc2/ A smart and comfortable chain-prototype Indian, which makes a very useful addition to the West End. What do you want in a chain-style restaurant in the heart of the West End? Comfort? Space? Perhap http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/18-10-10/dishoom-wc2/ Mon, 18 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12677651.512266 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/11-10-10/les-deux-salons/ From the Arbutus team, a grandly recreated Gallic brasserie, a couple of minutes walk from Charing Cross; a day-one visit revealed it to be a quality operation – indeed, its ‘offer’ would arguab http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/11-10-10/les-deux-salons/ Mon, 11 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12638051.510326 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-10-10/otto-pizza-w2/ On a barely furnished Bayswater corner, the UK’s self-proclaimed first cornmeal pizza crust restaurant; our visit suggested that it’s a concept worthy of wider diffusion. The phrase “concept http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/07-10-10/otto-pizza-w2/ Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.19500251.515521 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/04-10-10/elysee-w1/ A potentially remarkable revival of an almost unknown Greek restaurant, in Fitzrovia, established in 1936; its interior is one of the most impressive in the West End, and the food is good too, but any http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/04-10-10/elysee-w1/ Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.1330551.51831 http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/01-10-10/otarian/ In Soho, one of the first four branches (two in London, two in NYC) of a new-concept ‘low-carbon’ chain; as chain-style veggie outlets go, it’s not a bad place, but a bit more jollity might not http://www.hardens.com/restaurant-reviews/uk-london/01-10-10/otarian/ Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT Restaurant review-0.12657651.515392