The heartland of Notting Hill eating territory is still a sort of homage to the seminal restaurant, 192, which marked its epicentre. Indeed, without the catalyst of that path-breaking ‘Modern British’ restaurant – which, over nearly two decades, became west London’s answer to The Ivy – who knows: perhaps the area would never have progressed […]
For a street just a couple of minutes’ walk from St Paul’s tube, Little Britain is is remarkably restful. Apparently, in Victorian times, the street was lined with booksellers and its atmosphere is still that of a quiet backwater, where this new Italian restaurant is the only obvious ‘destination’. The newcomer’s atmosphere is similarly removed […]
A few weeks ago, we confessed to not being all-seeing and all-knowing, and asked for help in finding good, new destinations among the thin pickings in E14. This floating Chinese restaurant, not far from Crossharbour DLR, was amongst nominations. Though we had paid a visit in the dim and distant past, the reminders from readers […]
For all the talk of London’s emergence as a great foodie Mecca, the capital’s bakeries – or, rather, their paucity – are still something of an embarrassment. Pâtisserie Valerie and Maison Blanc show that quality operations can survive, but in most areas of town the supermarkets have driven all before them. Our friends across the […]
This is the second of two Continental-style steak-houses to open in Marylebone in recent months. Both offer essentially the same fixed menu – salad, steak ‘n’ chips – and both make a big deal of their respective secret sauces. The first to open (Relais de Venise) was praised in this column, but has subsequently been […]
Les Trois Garcons was a real eye-opener when it was launched in 2000. Complete with stuffed animals wearing tiaras, that Brick Lane pub was not just the first truly cool opening in the East End – it also set a new London-wide standard for decadent, high camp decor. A couple of years later, along came […]
Borough was once the home of the famous ‘stews’, or brothels, of medieval London. It is now rapidly becoming a pleasure garden of a very different kind – a sort of mecca for food-conscious urbanites. As an example of how the casual London dining out scene is evolving, there are few areas more striking than […]
Generally speaking, London doesn’t ‘do’ wine bars or bistros and nowadays: the terms just seem so ’60s. Here we do ‘gastropubs’. When all’s said and done though, a gastropub is really no more than a bistro-in-a-pub. What to call this new concept near Smithfield? With such a strong lunchtime food emphasis and nowhere to stand […]
