A (grander) offshoot of a north London Turkish restaurant of some note; a good and friendly all-rounder, it seems a little out of place among the shiny boutiques of Brompton Cross. Here’s an oddity. The original Highbury Park Iznik – a pretty little restaurant, with very good Turkish food – was quite a place in […]
A straightforward and welcoming pub-conversion, in an ’emerging’ quarter between the City and the East End; the menu – which has an American slant and a particular emphasis on steaks – is realised to a competent standard, albeit at high prices. The backers of the ‘original’ Missouri Grill, opposite Aldgate tube, have now gathered enough […]
Near Piccadilly Station, an atmospheric basement dining room offering grazing (and other) dishes as good as any in Manchester; the extraordinary value of our lunch here suggests that this may indeed become the ‘destination’ the city-centre so desperately craves. Michael Caines, chef of Gidleigh Park in Devon, is one of Britain’s top toques. In recent […]
A notably welcoming World’s End newcomer, maintaining the ‘handy rendezvous’ status of its predecessor on the site, Bacio (RIP); the food on our week one visit was almost invariably satisfying, but without any particular flashes of genius to suggest the chef’s Ramsay-group background. Chelsea may harbour some decent restaurants, but its principal artery – the […]
Claiming to be London’s most eco-friendly restaurant, a pioneering, if obscurely located, Shoreditch brasserie with a nice atmosphere and pleasant, informed service; on our visit, though, the cooking was in undoubted need of tightening up. The team behind Acorn House, and now this Shoreditch newcomer, have a mission, and a laudable one too. They aim […]
A middle-market steakhouse, handily located in the heart of the City, and already doing very good business. All forty-plus British readers will recall Berni Inns: the steakhouses which defined ’70s high street eating. If you fall into that category, you can stop reading at the end of this paragraph. This new steakhouse, in the heart […]
Occupying perhaps the most lavishly-refurbished conservatory in London, this new restaurant offers a true grand luxe experience, albeit in rather American style; an Italian menu is realised to a competent standard, though rather overshadowed by the setting and the service. To an extent which is perhaps unique among the capital’s top places to stay, the […]
A simple but pretty-much-perfect Gallic bistro, on a Primrose Hill corner site that’s seen a number of occupants in recent years. What are you looking for in a restaurant? Glamour, excitement, novelty? This is not the place for you. If, on the the other hand, your idea of perfection in a no-nonsense Gallic bistro, you […]
Old-school in all the best ways, this (relaunched) Mayfair restaurant is one of two truly English grand hotel dining rooms in town (the other being the Goring); a soothing and clubby sort of place, it offers an experience of uniformly high quality, but at prices which give nothing away. Favourable first impressions of the panelled […]
Fronting on Park Lane, a classic brasserie-style operation, where the attractions of good Gallic food and service are overwhelmed by depressing design and high prices. Is it deliberate that hotels often get things so desperately wrong? Do they just not understand the concept of ‘restaurant’? Have any of the people who commission new hotel-restaurants every […]
