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, at their best, the burgers are of outstanding quality. Could it have been Ms Maschler’s four star review? There was a […]

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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 Ilic goes back a long way, so anyone who’d dined out – other than in the West End – over the past 20 years […]

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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 destination in its own right. Situated in a newly created corner of Covent Garden, this shopping mall-style Thai is hidden away opposite […]

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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 early-days visit was impressive. If a success, this 400-seat Mayfair newcomer could quite possibly end up biggest-grossing restaurant in London. Comprising large dining rooms […]

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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 high quality, and extraordinary overall value. Half way up our grandest shopping thoroughfare, this hotel dining room certainly has a handy location. […]

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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 bourgeois love of fine food with a bohemian contempt for tablecloths and all the other traditional appurtenances of catered quality dining? […]

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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. Why did it upset me so much, I wondered? In the middle of this grandiosely decorated, almost Ruritanian, St James’s brasserie stands a candelabra with half a […]

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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 Meunier is one of the best Gallic chefs in London. Year after year, our survey has shown his cooking to be better than […]

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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. Anyone familiar with the Hawksmoor formula is going to have few surprises at the latest incarnation of the steakhouse mini-chain, tucked away near the Guildhall. […]

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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 noisy, and we found the food rather lacklustre. If you wanted to impress a visitor with your knowledge of the capital, this accessible (just north of Gray’s […]

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