A dull Gallic re-launch of the Mayfair dining room until recently tenanted by Angela Hartnett; the food on our early-days visit impressed only by its enormous prices. More mature readers may recall that the dining room at the Connaught used to be considered a truly great restaurant, with an unbroken tradition going back to the […]
Handily located near St Paul’s, a rare new-build restaurant (Norman Foster) offering surprising good Italian food on a number of levels. We weren’t frankly expecting much from this new City Italian – an offshoot of a fashionable Chelsea restaurant whose main virtue we’ve always thought to be its nicely-located al fresco tables. First impressions, however, […]
On the former South Kensington site of Lundum’s, an ambitious Gallic newcomer from a Lyonnais chef (Jean-Christophe Ansanay-Alex) of considerable repute; on our visit, food that was somewhat below expectation formed part of an experience which, taken as a whole, was rather bizarre. The French and the English are never going to understand each other. […]
Near Liverpool Street, a large new bar/brasserie in the Devonshire Square (re-)development, whose only real distinguishing feature appears to be that it has a large number of tables, many of them semi-al fresco. Once upon a time – 20 years ago, say – it was almost impossible to find a decent meal in the City. […]
Handily close to Oxford Circus (on the former Mash, RIP, site), the first UK outpost of a German chain of Italian cafeterias, specialising in pizza, pasta and salads; at off-peak times, it would make a handy pit stop – when busy, its attractions are rather difficult to see. Somehow the word ‘cafeteria’ doesn’t appear in […]
A classic Gallic brasserie style St James’s newcomer, on the former Fiore (RIP) site; despite some auspicious backing, it falls surprisingly flat across the board. **Note (27 June): We hear that, since this review was written, the ‘launch’ chef has left, and Pierre Koffmann himself is – at least for the time being – in […]
A disappointing second branch of the Japanese skewer chain, far inferior to the South Bank original. When we reviewed the original Bincho Yakitori, almost a year ago, we noted the obvious point that features which can make a good restaurant, apart from good food, include an interesting location, and a cool design. The original BY […]
An elegantly ambitious newcomer, near the Barbican, which deserves to transcend the obvious description of ‘City Italian’; on the basis of our early-days visit, it appeared to be one of the best restaurants to have opened in London in recent times. This new Italian – in the City, of all places – is one of […]
Inspired by the grand hotel grill restaurants of yore, a decidedly English re-launch of the long-established Soho restaurant; the straightforwardness of the formula arguably risks tipping into a general lack of excitement, but it’s a plush and welcoming place, with quality, no-nonsense fare. With only two very long-established obvious exceptions (Wiltons SW1 and Rules WC2), […]
Just off Carnaby Street, the latest venture from the capital’s leading oriental restaurateur, Alan Yau; it’s as smart and elegant a budget venue as you could ever wish for, and – at least in the early days – offers astonishing value. Some people think it’s vulgar to think about the cost of a meal, but […]
