Borehamwood Restaurant Guide

“Confidently spiced, really excellent Mexican dishes” washed down with “brilliant cocktails” have won high acclaim from aficionados of Latino cuisine for Adriana Cavita’s lively Fitzrovia yearling, which – according to the FT’s Tim Hayward – “redefines the city’s Mexican food scene”. Not all our reporters are quite as sure though, a typical report being: “pretty good, but it needed something more to give it the wow factor”. It doesn’t help that the menu can strike first-timers as “incomprehensible”; and on some occasions staff can be “inarticulate” in explaining it.

This vintage Kensington haunt – named after the pseudonym used by the late Princess Margaret when wining and dining as a commoner – delights its guests with its gorgeous and romantic, rustic decor. Never a foodie fave rave: expect the kind of “delicious” 1970s brasserie-style comfort food which will not distract from a “lovely family meal”, or more intimate tête-à-tête.

Near the main entrance to Westfield, this Indian venue will celebrate its fifth year in 2024, but is easily lost amongst the glossy anonymity of the surrounding units. It’s the London outpost of a 45-year-old chain that’s 15-strong in India itself. Although it doesn’t inspire a huge volume of feedback, reports are consistently upbeat: “good value, freshly cooked dishes, lovely ambience”.

“The wine list is pricey, even by Marylebone High Street standards” at this Tudorbethan pub, with leaded windows and inset stained glass. That’s to be expected, as it’s backed by Alexandra Petit-Mentzelopoulos – part of the family who own the legendary Château Margaux – and you really have to be a lover of wine (some famous names are available by the glass using the Coravin system) to get the most out of the place, which has extensive listings – amongst other areas – of bottlings from Bordeaux and Burgundy: for example, there is a ‘Château Margaux Experience’: a ‘degustation’ of 50ml glass of 4 vintages for £95. Viewed purely as a place to get fed? “We liked it, the food is lovely, but there are options offering better value”.

“Feeling like a serious step up from your run-of-the-mill Italian, but not breaking the bank” – this unusual and stylish venture is a spin-off from the Stafford Hotel. There’s a Sicilian focus to the menu and the food is “absolutely delicious”. “Booths make it a great spot for a business lunch – intimate enough to be quiet in a bustling restaurant”, with very attentive service. Top Menu Tip – “dangerously delectable focaccia”.

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“Terrific ingredients, cleverly but unfussily combined” has long been the hallmark of Sally Clarke’s “impeccably run restaurant” in Notting Hill, which has been at the cutting edge of promoting seasonal, Californian-inspired cuisine since 1984. “It’s on the pricey side, but quality remains superb”; the setting is “romantic”; and the service, from a loyal and seemingly well-looked-after contingent of staff is “excellent, all overseen by Sally herself”. The “marvellous” wine list has an “unusual emphasis on North American wines” and some “reasonably priced alternatives to famous names”. Top Tip – “the good-value daily lunch set menu is a fantastic way to try this restaurant out”.

2021 Review: Up-and-down reports on this “lovely” Soho haunt, specialising in wood-fired, Mediterranean, grilled dishes – part of Salt Yard Group (all of which was absorbed into the Urban Pubs portfolio in November 2018). Fans applaud the “delicious tapas from this ever-reliable family” but quite a few reports express disappointment: “maybe there’s a sense it isn’t quite what it was”.

“Over 30 years on this is still a class act” – David Moore’s Fitzrovia townhouse has proved one of London’s enduring temples of top gastronomy – currently under chef Asimakis Chaniotis – and “this old favourite has also evolved over the years”: “the introduction of a vegan alternative menu is pure genius (as an unreformed eater of meat and fish, I was well-and-truly wowed by the plant-based version)”; and “as always the wine list is a treasure trove”. There are a few quibbles: that “commercial pressure seems to have limited choice” a little of late; the odd “unexceptional” meal is reported; and its “long and thin” premises can feel “a little crowded”. But overall feedback is sunny, helped by “thoroughly welcoming and unobtrusive service” which also helps make it a strong “romantic” bet.

“Relaxed and busy”, Michael Lim’s Notting Hill venue is “always a treat”, with “great Singaporean and other Asian dishes”. It has notched up 26 years, first in All Saints Road and more recently in smart new premises on Ladbroke Road. A second branch opened in Seymour Place, Marylebone, in June 2023. Top Tip – “fantastic in the summer with the roof open”.

This “well-run spot” with outdoor seating attached to a hotel on Marylebone Lane makes a “very useful venue for lunch when in the vicinity”, with an offering that “seems to have something for everyone”. “It’s nothing exceptional in one sense, but a menu of properly prepared classics is the sort of thing that sounds easy but needs to be done well… and it is”.

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With its colourful murals, dark-wood features and plush leather seating, the “lovely” dining room of this Art Deco hotel near Selfridges faithfully recreates a rather Manhattan-esque style. The menu is likewise praised by some reporters for its “superb American fare” (although its mix of grills with caviar, oysters and more generic locally sourced dishes – such as Dover sole – equally fit the image of typical British clubland venues). No longer run by Corbin & King as once it was, it is “still consistent but now quite expensive”.

“If you love wine… heaven!” – a “huge list (almost 2,000 bins)”, “some with no mark-up from merchant prices” and including 110 available by the glass (hence the name), is the big attraction at this plush Cavendish Square venue from a famous Parisian operation. It “finally seems to have found its footing as a real restaurant, not just somewhere that serves food as an afterthought to the wine list – there’s some very good cooking here”.

“Excellent traditional British cuisine with an Irish accent” helped win very consistent praise this year for Richard Corrigan’s comfortable Mayfair bastion of ‘all that is coastal, wild, furred and feathered’. It’s a “classic dining experience” but service is “wonderfully welcoming” and is “pitch perfect” for business entertaining in particular. Top Tip – “the set lunch menu cushions the blow to the wallet”.

“The original Salt Yard in W1 used to be one of London’s best new tapas restaurants” – but it opened over 15 years ago and “the subsequent roll-out of the brand as multiple branches” under Urban Pubs & Bars “has seen quality drop quite a lot”. As “a pleasant option for well-produced Med-inspired dishes”, they maintain a fair number of fans, if without the pizzazz once conjured by the name. The year-old branch near the entrance to Westfield is the highest rated, and the newest near Borough Market is also seen as “a handy addition to the group”.

Restaurateur Markos Tsimikalis closed his Shoreditch restaurant, Hungry Donkey, to open this brightly decorated Greek venue in Holland Park in late 2022. Our initial feedback is very upbeat all-round and – in April 2023 – The Independent’s Kate Ng was likewise positive, including about the signature Cretan-style cheesecake made with sheep and goat’s milk (“certainly up there with the greats”).

“A great little find right opposite King’s Cross”. “The location is not the best” – immediately off a busy pavement and bordering the trafficky Euston Road – but, if you want a good-value refuel before you hop on a train (especially with family in tow), this bright pitstop at the foot of a boutique hotel is trying hard: “service is good and they obviously care”. Made to be shared, each dish is carefully prepared representing Italy in all its glory from the open space kitchen located in the middle of the Restaurant and “the food is very nice”. In case you’ve been wondering, the place is named after the 19th-century Anglo-Italian inventor of the railway signalling system.