On the thinly-provided eastern fringe of the City, an airy new business restaurant that’s trying hard – in our view, too hard. Slate plates need to be approached with great care. We don’t mean that they’re less serviceable than china (which they probably are), but that they send a message that the chef regards himself […]
A relaunch of a grand Indian restaurant, by Gloucester Road tube; the charm that once made it famous has been totally obliterated, and it now charges high prices for a thoroughly humdrum experience. OMG, what have they done to it? Perhaps there should be some sort of law that London hotels just aren’t allowed substantially […]
From a major chain operator, a relaunch of a classic Victorian restaurant site in Soho as a Gallic bar/brasserie; food and service are above ‘chain’ standards, but the new décor doesn’t ‘work’. We should be grateful for the survival of Kettners. Even after its latest relaunch, its Soho premises offer what’s quite possibly the most […]
From the Martin brothers (Gun, Botanist et al), a small and rather uneventful corner pub, just off Hatton Garden; it offers decent-enough simple fare, but it’s only its backing that makes it of any note. There’s a natural tendency among restaurant critics (and guidebook writers) to follow the latest openings of operators they’ve heard of. […]
In ever-emerging Balham, a large and ambitious gastropub offering straightforward, mainly Engish fare, solidly realised. The idea, until recently, that anyone would have positively chosen to dine out on Balham Hill would have been pretty much ridiculous. Well, no longer, it seems. In the wake of Brasserie James (which boasts an ex head chef of […]
In the heart of Chelsea, Christopher Gilmour’s ‘local’ restaurant, perfectly pitched for its affluent local market. The Hon Christopher Gilmour is one of the most charming men you could ever meet. It has not, however, generally fallen to us to write particularly charming reviews of his restaurants. Ever since he first made his name as […]
Just off Trafalgar Square, a pleasantly simple Gallic bistro of a type that’s all too rare in London; owned by a wine merchant, it also offers a good choice of wines by the carafe and glass; a basement restaurant is scheduled to open in early-2009. Find a re-emerging central restaurant location (Covent Garden), and locate […]
Offshoot of a Muscovite chain, this steakhouse just off Regent Street offers pretty good food in an ambience rather akin to an upmarket burger bar. Rightly or wrongly, when you hear that somewhere’s owned by the Russians, you tend to assume that there’s going to be something sinister about it. Big disappointment. This particular Mayfair […]
Near Liverpool Street, an airy, well-spaced and business-friendly contemporary restaurant offering Indian food of good quality; as at the parent establishment, the Cinnamon Club, however, prices give nothing away. Airy and spacious, but darkly-furnished, there’s something very American about this new Indian restaurant near Liverpool Street. With its unconcealed ducting, it might, say, be a […]
Brilliantly handily-situated within one minute of South Kensington tube, the latest – and they say last – offshoot of Brindisa, the Borough food-importers’ tapas bar; it offers conventional light Spanish dishes of a high quality, in a comfortable but unpretentious setting. [Capsule review only – there’s nothing we can add to the above.]
