Southbank, Fusion Restaurant Guide

“A well composed panoply of flavours from Southeast Asia” – curry puffs, crab dumplings, lobster, ox cheek Penang curry – have won a loyal following for Peter Lloyd’s South Bank fixture, and over time fans “have become enamoured, and no longer mourn the loss of RSJ” (which preceded on the site for over 20 years). “Nothing is extraordinary, but it is our current first choice pre the National Theatre”. He must be doing something right, as expansion is coming fast, with a sibling to open in July 2023 on the former site of Cantina del Ponte, RIP, with a large terrace overlooking Tower Bridge; and another in Islington later in the year.

2021 Review: For the “mind-blowing sound system”, or as “a great place to grab a drink and a bite with your mates”, this “groovy”, music-led four-year-old, near Granary Square has won quite a following. (It was founded by music consultant Paul Noble, who has worked with Monocle and the Beeb; and Canteen founders Patrick Clayton-Malone and Dominic Lake). “The new, handy Festival Hall branch has the same vibe as the King’s Cross original, and here they offer really well-prepared cooking to match the cool sounds, laid-back atmosphere and enthusiastic service... it deserves to thrive.”

Iré Hassan-Odukale and Jeremy Chan have won huge renown for their ‘haute’ interpretation of West African culinary themes, but this year saw very unsettled reports. Perhaps, in part, this owes to the disruption of a move to 180 The Strand, although the copper-hued, minimalist design there isn’t wholly at odds with the look and feel of the former location in St James’s Market. But to a large extent, this year’s themes are a continuation of last year’s; and complaints that seemed to set in after they jacked up their prices following all the Michelin and ‘World’s 50 Best’ accolades. True, some reports do acknowledge an “outstanding gastronomic experience” from the blind tasting menu which sees jollof rice and plantain jostling with luxury ingredients, foams and emulsions. But too many are mixed: “we had a couple of stunners, but a dish that was so bitter it was unpleasant. So expensive and given the unpredictability it makes Core look like a bargain…”; “really did not enjoy this. Dull atmosphere, combinations of food which just did not work and service not firing on all cylinders. First time I’ve ever not enjoyed a two-star restaurant…”; “was expecting something so special: it wasn’t!”

Zooming up to the 38th floor of the Heron Tower in one of Europe’s fastest lifts… looking out with a cocktail on an open terrace overlooking the scrapers of the City, it’s easy to get swept up by the glamour of the original, “buzzy” branch of this US-based chain. And its popular WC2 spin-off is also “always a pleasure to visit”: looking out onto the back of the Royal Opera House from the huge terrace on the top of Covent Garden Market. Fans say the luxe, Japanese/South American fusion cuisine in both locations – taquitos, sushi, steaks, samba rolls, black cod from the robata – is “delicious and remarkably inventive” too. But ratings for it have sunk post-Covid, and while pricing here has always been toppy, there is a growing gripe that “food which is average at best is accompanied by a bill that’s distinctly not average!”

“A taste-tingling sensation of Japanese and other Asian delights” – the “most amazing bao buns”, plus “Korean wings, poke bowls and sushi that are all so good” – win a big thumbs up for this duo of “great Asian-fusion restaurants” (under the same ownership as Bone Daddies). If anything, their star has risen since they cut back to just two branches in Fitzrovia and Covent Garden.

“Ramuel Scully gets flavour out of ingredients like no one else” at his ambitious St James’s Market fixture, where he and his team serve a “wacky and interesting menu based on ferments and underused ingredients” from their open kitchen. Its ratings are not as stratospheric as when it first opened, due to the odd doubt that “the quality of foodstuffs can be lost in the plethora of flavourings”. But the balance of feedback this year was highly enthusiastic: “it’s my London go-to” with a “very different menu that changes enough to warrant a return”.

“Perfect French cuisine with a Korean twist” has built an impressive reputation for Woongchul Park and Bomee Ki’s ambitious and highly accomplished three-year-old – a patch of serenity in the gritty streets surrounding Guy’s Hospital. The main event is an 8-9 course tasting menu, which is exciting in the freshness of its ideas and with “faultless” realisation. Top Tip – Bomee trained as a pastry chef so pace yourself for dessert.

2021 Review: The promising, but hitherto under-exploited mix of Mediterranean and Japanese small plates is the crux of the menu offering at this August 2019 opening, which promises ‘a modern, day-to-night, neighbourhood restaurant and bar… complemented by a diverse variety of wines, sake and signature cocktails’.

2021 Review: “Utterly magic shakshuka served with chunks of roasted sourdough…”, “stand-out salt beef bagels…”, “incredible coffee with a selection of babka sweet breads (in different flavours!)…”, “ZFC – ‘za’atar fried chicken’ – to die for!…” – these “bustling” Israeli delis in Stoke Newington and Soho’s Kingly Court create queues (especially at brunch) with their “quite exceptional and startlingly fresh Middle-Eastern-cum-north-American food. They also make a worthwhile destination at dinner, when the pace is more sedate, the natural wines are flowing and you can actually book a table”. “Casual and relaxed”, they look “gorgeous” too.

2022 Review: Chef Krishna Negi (who first made his name when he launched Tangawizi in Richmond in 2004) opened this Fitzrovian basement spot in October 2019, with a menu featuring ‘nano plates’ (small plates and sharing bowls) inspired by 1947’s partition of India. Some initial reviews on its cuisine have been very upbeat.

“The most original brunches” – with “a good selection of super-tasty, tapas-style dishes” fusing eclectic flavours from the Middle East to the Pacific – are the top feature of these “nicely vibey” haunts, which also boast “great coffee and pastries, plus interesting non-alcoholic drinks (like sodas and kombuchas)”. And they serve “lots for vegans and veggies too”. On the downside, they become “noisy”; staff can be “overstretched” and ratings are dragged down by those who find them “a convenient option, but, in truth, a slightly disappointing one”. Expansion is still on the cards, though, with 2023 seeing a big new opening in Covent Garden, in a workspace on Drury Lane, complete with outside terrace.

2021 Review: Swish, Greek-owned, late-2018 yearling, which occupies two floors of a five-storey Mayfair townhouse (the remainder being dedicated to a bar, club, roof terrace, etc) which aims to ‘brings the spirit of Mykonos to London’ on a site that once housed the HQ of Cartier’s watch-making empire. Ex-Novikov chef, Sicilian Carmelo Carnevale, oversees a Mediterranean/Asian mash-up of a menu, which earned solid ratings in early feedback, alongside perhaps predictable concerns about the slightly scary pricing.

This “beautiful little restaurant with a neighbourhood feel” in Marylebone, from chef and food writer Ravinder Bhogal, offers a “wide-ranging and ever-changing selection of consistently good dishes” inspired by her ‘no borders kitchen’ philosophy. “It’s a melange of Middle Eastern, African and Indian influences” that results in “very creative flavours – not just in the cooking but also outstanding cocktails such as a Negroni with pomegranate and rose”.

“An amazing variety of small, tasty and unusual combination dishes served in a very cool environment” continues to win a thumbs up – if from a tiny fan club – for this Israeli-Japanese one-year-old in the shiny new Islington Square development.

“Tucked away in Marylebone, with a friendly vibe and tasty food”, this creative outfit marries flavours from Spanish, Italian and Japanese cuisine. “Some of the tapas are very good indeed”, and they are supported by a serious wine list focused on Spain and Italy.

This “modern Japanese” with a “clubby and bouncy vibe” has been a hit on Clapham High Street since three former Nobu chefs opened it 23 years ago, and it remains a “very popular” destination for cocktails and fusion bites. Always “a slightly idiosyncratic” place – this issue was more to the fore this year with incidents of “erratic” or “uncoordinated” service, and one or two fears that the “huge” menu is being “dumbed down”.

Rafael Cagali provides “precise, innovative and fully-flavoured” Brazilian-influenced cuisine that’s “some of the best food in London” at his acclaimed Bethnal Green venture – a site in the area’s former town hall which has housed a number of the capital’s most notable restaurants (The Typing Room, Viajante) over the last fifteen years. “The lovely setting is very good as it is intimate but still allows you to see the kitchen and how they prepare your food”.