Here’s our weekly round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 4 June 2023. ***** The Evening Standard “A brutally brilliant destination in its own right.” Jimi Famurewa visited the new National Theatre restaurant, Lasdun, and wondered what he’d done wrong when every other customer left at exactly […]

Continue reading


Our summary of what the national and local restaurant critics were writing about in the week ending 19 March 2023. ***** The Independent “Sexy, slick, mischievous and delicious.” Hannah Twiggs reviewed the expertly reinvented  Humble Chicken, now offering a “shiny new Japanese eight-course tasting menu “with a European accent”” at the site of the Frith […]

Continue reading


Happy New Year and welcome to the first ROTR of 2023! Here’s our summary of what the national and local restaurant critics were writing about in the final two weeks of 2022. ***** The Observer “It was a challenging year, but the best places led by shining example.” Jay Rayner “was privileged to eat stupidly […]

Continue reading


Here’s our regular summary of what the national and local restaurant critics have been writing about in the week ending 24 July 2022. ***** The Guardian “Life is odd right now, but it throws up real surprises.” Grace Dent visited Brighton’s old-but-new Shelter Hall, housed in a “rather beautiful seafront building, built in 1888”, which […]

Continue reading


Here’s our regular summary of what the national and local restaurant critics have been writing about in the week ending 17 July 2022. ***** The Guardian “You can’t just “move” a restaurant. The magic is in a plethora of small things other than food: the acoustics, the convergence of tables, traffic noises, the location of […]

Continue reading


Our regular summary of what the national and local restaurant critics have been writing about in the week ending 10 July 2022. ***** The Guardian “Genuinely intriguing and appetising dishes.” Grace Dent was in Soho (which is “especially staggy and henny these days”) to review Firebird, “an elegant new restaurant opened by Madina Kazhimova and Anna […]

Continue reading


Here’s our regular summary of what the national and local restaurant critics have been writing about in the week ending 12 June 2022. ***** The Observer “Can you enjoy a good meal in a bad building?” Jay Rayner was in Edinburgh pondering an odd question; it was pertinent as the restaurant he reviewed, Ka Pao […]

Continue reading


Here’s our regular summary of what the national and local restaurant critics have been writing about in the week ending 13 February 2022. ***** The Observer Jay Rayner paid a visit to Sugarcane London, a “small, tidy Caribbean café on the Wandsworth Road serving, among other things, very good jerk chicken”. He was drawn there […]

Continue reading