Michel Roux Jr, from the cooking dynasty that has personified French cuisine in Britain for half a century, is to oversee an establishment serving traditional English food. The Wigmore bar, in Regent Street’s grand Langham hotel, will offer dishes inspired by the English pub and tavern, such as raised veal and ham pie and devilled lamb’s kidneys – although diners will […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of The Observer reviewed Koj, MasterChef finalist and former City banker Andrew Kojima’s “cheerfully low-key” Japanese comfort food joint in Cheltenham. “Koj Fried Chicken – work out the initials yourself – is halfway between the softness of American southern fried, and the full-on crunch of Japanese karaage. Sesame flavoured mayo sends it happily on its way. […]
The Duck & Waffle 24-hour high-rise restaurant in the City is launching a more casual spin-off, Duck & Waffle Local, in the new St James’s Market development behind Piccadilly Circus on May 3. The new branch is designed to be “fast and accessible”, with customers ordering at a counter overlooking the kitchen before being shown […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of the Observer reviewed Box-E, an 18-seater set inside a shipping container on Bristol’s Wapping Wharf, by Elliott Lidstone, former head chef of L’Ortolan and then of the Empress pub in Hackney. “I’d go so far as to say there’s a defined Bristolian style. It’s rooted in the love of the small bistros of France, championed by the late […]
⦿ Marina O’Loughlin of The Guardian reviewed Lorne 7/10 in Victoria, which lived up to the impressive CV of its founding partners, Katie Exton (sommelier and front of house) and Peter Hall (chef), who have worked at the Square, the River Cafe, Chez Bruce, Brawn and San Francisco’s celebrated Benu. “It’s the beef short rib that would make me a […]
The founders of Gunpowder, a home-style Indian in Spitalfields, are opening a Himalayan restaurant nearby on May 9. Madame D’s will combine Indian flavours with influences from the neighbouring cuisines of Nepal, Tibet and Chinese. The short menu of sharing dishes will include gold coin dumplings; pan-fried Tibetan duck momo; garlic coriander steamed chicken; and prawn […]
Petersham Nurseries, the plant centre café that became one of London’s must-go dining destinations under former chef Skye Gyngell, is opening a two-restaurant showcase in the heart of Covent Garden this summer. The project has been masterminded by Lara Boglione, who took over the business in Richmond, southwest London, from her parents Gael and Francesco Boglione […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of The Observer reviewed The Other Naughty Piglet, a branch of Brixton’s Naughty Piglets inside Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new theatre in Victoria, The Other Place, where he found “a kind of modern British cooking with wallops of umami”. “Sometimes the cleverness is textural. A pile of white crab meat sits atop a heap of […]
Tapas master José Pizarro is opening his fourth and smallest venue in Canary Wharf. Little José launches on April 6 at Street Feast’s new rooftop venue in Crossrail Place. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, Little José will offer plates such as an Ibérico pork meatball sub with manchego; crispy fried squid ‘boca’ with aioli; spicy prawn fritters […]
⦿ Marina O’Loughlin of the Guardian reviewed Popolo 8/10 in Shoreditch,”run with utter grace by Jonathan Lawson, [an] ex-Theo Randall chef”. “The main flavour here is Italian classics, flawlessly realised… and dishes that straddle cuisines. Some appear to be the result of a particularly febrile imagination: cool, thick labneh studded with a hectic combination of crisp-shelled fried […]
