London City Restaurant Guide

“Every mouthful is a joy”, say fans of Cyrus Todiwala’s “airy and bright” (somewhat “eccentrically decorated”) City-fringe Indian, where “extremely attentive service” is a hallmark, and where “the man himself usually does the rounds in a clubbable fashion”. The “wide variety of unusual Parsi dishes” – “quite different food to standard Indian fare” – “are spicy rather than just hot (though you can have that too)”.

“The ‘dirty’ steak is just something else” at Misha Zelman’s (of Goodman’s fame) genius brainchild – a cutely tucked-away, industrial cool unit (with an offshoot in residence at Harvey Nicks), where, he has reinvented “steak as a fastish-food concept”, providing “really superior steaks to share with generous side portions”. There’s also a “varied and not too expensive beer and wine list”, which helps fuel the fun atmosphere.

“Sandwiches above the usual cut” and “especially good salads and tarts (savoury as well as sweet)” meet the brief at this “well executed” coffeehouse, ensuring it is always “full of lawyers from the local legal scene”.

“My inner caveman loves this place!” – “Chops, crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle” provide “amazing meat and amazing value” at this “laid back and very cool”, “no frills” Soho basement, which is “a case study of picking something you’re good at and sticking with it”. In Spring 2017 it opened its second branch – a larger City outlet off Eastcheap. Top Tip – “the amount of food on the ‘All In’ has to be seen to be believed!”

“A place of worship for all carnivores!” – Neil Rankin’s “underground BBQ and fire pit yearling” in Soho “is like a descent into Dante’s dark and confusing world full of smoke” and “if you can sit at the bar, clustered around the firepit, you get the full-on smoke experience” – “a theatrical and fascinating evening leaving you with an understanding of the hard work that goes into flawless carnivorous cooking” (although “you may be smelling it in your clothes for days”). Most of the many reports say that “if you like flesh, it’s a must” – “simply cooked smoked meats; beef, lamb, goat served on a perfectly puffed flatbread or tacos, with a range of exceptional tapas and sides, delivering a truly multi-sensory event, with beautifully complimentary flavours”. Ratings are undercut however, by a disgruntled minority who just don’t ‘get it’: “for me, it just didn’t live up to the hype and the bill really stung!”. In July 2017, branch two opened in the City, in Bank’s Angel Court development, with more Indian/curry influences (rather than Mexican ones, as in Soho).