A noisy but high-quality basement trattoria, on the former Marylebone site of Giusto (RIP). It’s almost better not to know that this new Italian restaurant is owned by Arjun Waney, whose Zuma-based empire also incorporates discreet Mayfair celeb-magnet La Petite Maison. The newcomer – which doesn’t seem set on becoming a ‘scene’ at all – […]
Near Carnaby Street, a would-be trendy hotel dining room rather lacking in character; bills can be kept quite reasonable, though, and the location is undoubtedly handy. The phrase ‘Soho boutique hotel’ conjures up certain expectations, so we’d have to admit we found our arrival at this small (30-room) newcomer a bit of a let-down. We […]
Near Piccadilly Circus (and also in Westfield), the best self-service diner concept we’ve come across; the fare is varied but all-vegetarian – for the sort of lighter meals to which the place is best suited, we don’t think that’s much of a disadvantage. ‘Swiss’, ‘vegetarian’ and ‘concept’ – can there be three words more destined […]
The elegant former Pimlico premises of L’Incontro, smartened up and relaunched as an Italian restaurant rather like the one which went before – not bad, but expensive for what it is. The premises of L’Incontro – the former Italian restaurant on this Pimlico site – are something of an ’80s period piece. And in a […]
In the backwoods of Fulham, a game-specialist gastropub offering many dishes of ‘restaurant’ quality; our experience, however, suggests that the more robust, and more obviously ‘gastropub-style’ dishes, may be preferable. The gastropub fast seems to be becoming the default London restaurant format. The term, ever more encompassing, can be applied to any food service operation […]
Not far from South Kensington tube, a large new (late-2008) pizzeria that’s quickly become very popular. OK, they seated a table for 20 just before we came into this large pizzeria. But the number of would-be Saturday lunchers we saw turned away suggests that this South Kensington newcomer would have been jam-packed anyway. So what […]
Offering a rare combination of charm and grandeur, this impressively updated City dining room makes a good all-purpose destination; food and service maintain high standards, and prices are surprisingly reasonable. Spooky. As we walk into this grand City dining room, once known as Aurora, we can’t help noticing that there are quite a lot of […]
A comfortable but uninspired-looking Bayswater ‘tapas’ bar – it’s more a bistro, really – where the food is both more ambitious and less Spanish than you might expect. Initial impressions of this new Notting Hill/Bayswater fringe tapas bar were not especially encouraging. The restaurant was empty when we arrived for lunch. Even so, service was […]
A pleasant but ordinary-looking Dartmouth Park boozer where the cracking British cooking has quickly made quite a ‘name’. Thanks not least to having an appreciative Times reviewer (Giles Coren) living almost literally on its doorstep, this plain but attractive boozer has quickly established itself as quite a north London destination. The crowds, however – the […]
In an obscure bit of Shoreditch, a Conran-designed English caff whose simple charms have already made it very popular. Odd, isn’t it? Sir Terence Conran has always made a big deal of his Francophile tendencies, yet many people – including us – think this defiantly English Shoreditch café is one of his best places yet. […]
