A happy week for the majority of the critics, with pork pies, new experiences and old friends. Only Marina O’Loughlin’s trip to West Sussex (“England by Disney”) Â and Ed Smith’s visit to Bagatelle (“nothing to swerve for”) were disappointments. Continuing from last week’s homage to the dumpling and pastry-encased leftovers, Jay Rayner in The Observer […]
Cheeseburger dumplings, tandoori ostrich and a dinosaur steak feature in this week’s reviews, which also demonstrate some serious love and respect for Bristol’s ever-increasing restaurant collection. for The Guardian has decided that she loves reviewing Bristol’s self-effacing, humble restaurant scene, especially Pasture (26/30) which she visited this week. and “really, really liked”. (Grace also recommended […]
Reporters from The Telegraph won this week’s adventure in restaurant reviewing, with satisfying trips to Alpes and St Leonards. The Standard‘s guest reviewer also landed a plum job at Henrietta, while almost everyone else suffered a case of “nice place, shame about the food”. in The Observer was left with a nasty taste in his […]
A rollercoaster week for our intrepid reviewers: bad starts (including a hellish brush with Bicester Village for Tom Parker Bowles), off-kilter locations and misfiring menus. Jay Rayner in The Observer experienced the “troubled adolescence” of newly-opened, crowdfunded Thomas Carr Seafood & Grill in Ilfracombe, Devon. His initial impression left little to hope for, with a […]
Guest reviewing in The Evening Standard this week was Hamish MacBain, who reviewed the resurrected gastropub The Hero of Maida (8/10). Formerly The Truscott Arms, it was saved following a community campaign, and now (headed up by Henry Harris of “much-missed restaurant Racine”) has “an overwhelming air of much-more-poshness” than its predecessor. The “menu follows […]
Grace Dent in The Guardian awarded Leroy – the reincarnation of Shoreditch’s Ellory (RIP) – a solid 27/30 for being  “a dark, noisy, naughty wine bar with a pleasing menu… where no one can tell that I’ve kicked off my shoes” (regular readers will know that if Grace is shoeless, she’s happy – add a […]
Jay Rayner in The Observer, 27 May 2018 reviewed Alchemilla, Glasgow “The focaccia at Alchemilla is light but springy… so satisfying, such a profound pleasure, that I had to use every last ounce of my insipid willpower to decline seconds.” “Argyle Street is cool “The food… is a thoughtful mix of great ideas and ingredients […]
Jay Rayner in The Observer finds a place that can pull off ramen alongside tacos – Upstairs at No. 1, Cromer “The menu Upstairs at No 1 is genuinely troubling. Who the hell can do ramen alongside tacos alongside a fish-finger sandwich? The answer is, they can… operated by Galton Blackiston… In an area like this… You […]
Jay Rayner in The Observer forgets culinary purity at Gaijin Sushi Birmingham where a Polish chefs cooks solid Japanese food… “Depending on who is using the word, Gaijin is either an aggressively offensive word for non-Japanese people, or a self-mocking term used by non-Japanese people to signify their otherness. “… this is a sushi joint run by […]
