A good but pricey ‘eco-chippy’, from celeb-chef Tom Aikens, which offers a very handy Chelsea stand-by – just two minutes’ walk from a road (King’s) that’s always been infamously short of decent places to eat. Note to reviewers everywhere: Chelsea is expensive. Most houses there cost £millions. The locals are not stuck for a bob […]
In an emerging part of Battersea – near the Dogs’ Home – a surprisingly good Italian, where pizza is just one part of a satisfying overall package. What’s in a name? Does Three Bridges say ‘Italian’ to you? Is location everything? These are the sorts of questions inspired by an early-evening visit to this new […]
Not far from Sloane Square, a good all-rounder – in modern ‘Chelsea trattoria’ style – that has finally convincingly shaken off its pizzeria-origins. Perhaps there really is something in third time lucky. Not that it’s something you often see in the restaurant world – not under the same name anyway. Vivezza – associated with the celebrated […]
On the sixth floor of the city-centre Urbis centre, a smart modern bar/brasserie – on the former site of Mont (RIP) – offering pleasant but unremarkable cooking, and a smart and discreet setting perhaps most obviously suited to a business lunch. Well, it couldn’t be said we’re lagging on this one. We find ourselves sitting […]
The former Balham Bar & Grill, modestly revamped, and now owned by Sam Harrison of Sam’s Brasserie (W4) fame; it remains a friendly and stylish spot, but the food is still rather an incidental attraction. Nick Jones is one of the most successful club-proprietors of our day, and his Soho Houses – recently acquired by […]
The most satisfactory to date of the ‘budget-Gordon’ establishments, this huge Victorian boozer in Maida Vale appears the least effortful of the trio, and – perhaps in consequence – succeeds best; it struck us as effectively a large and smart – but in some ways quite standard – pub dining room, above a bar whose […]
Opposite Waterloo, an odd contemporary brasserie with an unusually wide-ranging – and rather confusing – ‘offer’; on our experience, we’d recommend it on its practical merits – perhaps as an obvious venue for supper before the neighbouring Old Vic, or if passing through the railway station – rather than as a destination in its own […]
Gordon Ramsay’s relaunch of a famous Chelsea bistro, now decorated in a rather chilly style somewhat resembling a ’50s kitchen; it offers food of good-to-variable quality in a setting we found it impossible to like. ‘Isn’t this the sort of stuff people rip out?’, said our guest. We don’t think so: if you found a […]
From the eponymous chef, a superior local bistro, on the same Battersea site that has seen off two very superior local bistros in recent years; while we enjoyed our visit, we left unsure whether the formula is strong enough to shake off the jinx. Tom Ilic is a chef with a good following on Planet […]
Overlooking the tourist hell of Covent Garden Market, a small but airy first-floor café, offering a good overall experience – particularly by the standards of cultural-centre dining facilities – albeit at prices which are arguably on the high side for an establishment of its type. Even in the tourist hell of Covent Garden, you can […]
