Our mission is remarkably simple. To tell it how it is!
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 22nd February 2026 The Guardian Sông Quê Pho Bar, Shoreditch Grace Dent hailed the new canteen offshoot from a 25-year-old Vietnamese institution that serves “the best phở in town” – al-dente noodles in a “very meaningful broth”, topped with a […]
Diners disappointed at the recent news that Nest restaurant is to close after nine years will be cheered to learn that its owners plan to relaunch the Shoreditch venue as a ‘British bistro’ called Tavern. It will offer what they describe as “generous, nostalgic British cooking designed for more informal dining”, with sharing plates accompanied […]
The duo behind “Italian-ish” supper club-turned-restaurant Forza Wine complete a 14-year journey into the heart of London’s West End next week with the opening of their latest venue in Soho. Founders Bash Redford and Michael Lavery started out running supper clubs at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane under the name Forza Win, which they […]
New-wave Turkish chef Sertaç Dirik (right in picture) is linking up with Portuguese chef Marcelo Rodrigues to launch a new chef residency showcase at the St Martin’s Lane Hotel next week. The duo are the first in an ongoing series of residencies at Spotlight, which takes the place of the former Asia de Cuba restaurant […]
Chef Jackson Boxer has stepped in to help veteran Notting Hill cantina Taqueria “get its mojo back” as it enters its third decade. The Westbourne Grove venue will close on Monday next week (23 February) for a brief make-over before reopening on Tuesday 3 March as TAQ. Originally a street stall, Taqueria moved into its […]
Our round-up of what the nation’s restaurant critics were writing about in the week up to 15th February 2026 The Times & Sunday Times Materia Prima, Notting Hill Following her debut review of London’s oldest restaurant (Rules), new Sunday Times restaurant critic Camilla Long turned her attention to one of its newest, a “high-concept, Japanese-adjacent” […]
Three-and-a-half years after closing his Hackney wine bar the Laughing Heart, Charlie Mellor is back with Osteria Vibrato, an old-school Italian restaurant in Soho that opens on Valentine’s Day. Charlie (left in photo) is joined by fellow bearded sommelier Cameron Dewar (ex-Luca and Burnt Ends; right in photo) in the new Greek Street venture, which […]
An Asian restaurant that changes not just its menu but its cuisine every six weeks launches in Edinburgh later this month – with street food from Hong Kong its first culinary inspiration. Uncle Tiger, in Bristo Place on the edge of the Old Town, is the fourth venue from the Òir Group, who also run The […]
The team behind Wild Tavern in Chelsea and Wild in Notting Hill have opened their first Japanese venture – Wild Izakaya on Old Jewry Street in the City, fronted by former Koyn and Nobu head chef Satoru Hashimoto. The izakaya has taken over the former Browns premises opposite Goodman, the steak house opened 16 years ago […]
Ed and Ollie Templeton, the brothers behind influential chef residency showcase Carousel in Fitzrovia, will next week open an ambitious Mexican seafood restaurant on the same site. Cometa – pitched as a “contemporary take on Mexican seafood, seen through a distinctly British lens” – is taking over the space currently occupied by the Carousel wine bar. Ed […]
