Our mission is remarkably simple. To tell it how it is!
We already know that The Sunday Times’s Marina O’Loughlin isn’t the biggest fan of the great British pub (read her Eater article here). So what will she make of the food at Spoons’ newest outpost in Ramsgate? We would guess not much… “’Fried buttermilk chicken burger’ (598 calories) delivers a flat, damp sandwich secured with a wooden […]
Marina O’Laughlin’s idea of hell is Victoria’s new Nova development, and although Stoke House may not be its most hellish corner you’d still need a pitchfork to the Guardian’s restaurant critic anywhere near it again… “The music is deafening, the place full to the rafters: my hell doesn’t seem to be other people’s. The menu […]
It’s National Barbecue Week, so that means hunching over the rusty old Webber in your back garden with an umbrella – right? Not according to Giles Coren. He reviews Shoreditch’s Rök and Smokestak with such enthusiasm that he implores readers to visit one of these two smokehouses, rather than light the barbie in their own […]
⦿ The Observer’s Jay Rayner finds a trip to Soho’s new Test Kitchen rather hard work, but thankfully is able to salvage his day through the restorative power of pastry at Maison Bertaux… “The strawberry tart at Maison Bertaux in London’s Soho should be available on prescription as an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress. The sweet […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of The Observer reviewed Plot in Tooting, “a sliver of a restaurant serving terrible cocktails and great food in one of south London’s traditional covered markets”. “Thick curls of squid, crusted with a chorizo crumb on a salad of tomatoes that taste of something, is a bit of textural fun. It’s followed by a dainty […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of the Guardian reviewed Radici, the new Islington Italian from Francesco Mazzei of Sartoria in Mayfair and, before that, L’Anima in the City. “Taglierini, fagioli and pancetta. That’s ribbons of a thin tagliatelle-style pasta, white beans and bacon, in a dense, starchy broth of such intensity and such conviction, you could be forgiven for […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of The Observer reviewed London Shell Co, a floating restaurant aboard a 30-year-old barge which is moored at Paddington over lunch and voyages along the Regent Canal while serving dinner in the evening. “It began as a pop-up on dry land, led by actor-turned-sommelier Harry Lobek and his sister Leah. In the small, diesel-powered […]
⦿ 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. […]
⦿ Jay Rayner of The Observer reviewed Claude Bosi at Bibendum, welcoming the former Hibiscus head honcho’s arrival at Sir Terence Conran’s light-filled 1987 classic. “What emerges is Bibendum redux, a restaurant with a profound understanding of the simple virtues; of a classical repertoire which is robust enough to take a little refinement.” “The starters list is full […]
⦿ 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 […]
