A swish but surprisingly comforting addition to the über-chef’s international empire, this very Gallic Mayfair dining room offers a surprisingly unintimidating haute-cuisine experience, that’s highly enjoyable (if, of course, extremely expensive). Other early reviews of this Mayfair chamber have been so mixed that we approached this latest outpost of Alain Ducasse’s global empire with some […]
In the heart of Bloomsbury student-land, a jolly Anglo-Italian bistro that makes a pleasant destination for an informal meal. Perhaps it really is the arrival of the Eurostar. Bloomsbury seems to be becoming the home of odd culinary fusions, or – more particularly – an odd Anglo-Italian mix (as also recently observed at the somewhat […]
A grand brasserie broadly similar in scale (170 seats) to the Wolseley; on our early-days visit, the food and service of this Bayswater newcomer were rather superior to that you would expect in Piccadilly – the location, however, is obviously convenient only for Bayswater shoppers and residents. November 2007 – the month in which in […]
Stylishly (but not too stylish) revamped by leading designer David Collins, the buttery of F&M is one of the most genuinely ‘London’ of all institutions; the key points of its traditional appeal – straightforward dishes, solid cooking, and friendly service – have survived the relaunch surprisingly well; it anything, it now seems more popular as […]
A true neighbourhood restaurant, hidden away near the Thames in Battersea, offering simple Gallic fare; we found the cuisine generous, but rather lacking in finesse. When you see menu of this notably unpretentious all-day joint, which opened up near the Battersea riverside early in 2007, you may feel that you have stumbled into some sort […]
On the former site of the Page in Pimlico (RIP), the first gastropub at the ‘wrong’ (Eastern) end of the area; its cuisine is not ambitious, but this is a notably friendly place which has found an instant following in a part of town that’s remarkably under-served. Pimlico – especially the Victoria, rather than the […]
A couple of minutes walk from Borough Market, a very welcoming Indian restaurant, offering fairly standard fare consistently realised to a high standard; the only real downside is that it is rather noisy. A business meeting took us – late in the day, in restaurant-reviewing terms, as it opened in the spring of 2007 – […]
A Marylebone offshoot of Pied à Terre, offering high-quality Gallic dishes and friendly service in a stripped-down contemporary bistro setting. A glass half full, or a glass half empty? That’s the critical dilemma in trying to assess the new Marylebone offshoot of the celebrated Pied A Terre. Take the staff issue. We know that it […]
Near the Old Bailey, an externally somewhat unprepossesing Italian restaurant, with friendly and efficient service, and offering cooking that’s above the norm. Never over-estimate the power of the reviewers. Two days before we lunched at this City Italian, it had been favourably (if not ravingly) appraised by Marina O’Loughlin – a writer highly regarded by […]
A former Bayswater boozer, impressively – and surprisingly convincingly – made over as a smart Art Nouveau restaurant; our overall impression was pretty favourable, but we found the Gallic cooking enjoyable rather than anything more. Thierry Thomasin – formerly manager of Aubergine in Chelsea – has made quite a splash with Angelus. And in Bayswater […]
