Grace Dent in The Guardian visited Hot Manchester Newcomer Tast Cuina Catalana, one of the ” delicate, thoughtful, educational places” that is aiming to bring a true taste of Spain to Britain. It’s “forward-reaching”, “high-end, imaginative, occasionally edgy” – and huge: there’s three “capacious” floors to fill, each offering a different level of formality and adventurousness. […]
Grace Dent in The Guardian rejoiced in the “sheer chutzpah” of chef Alex Bond at Alchemilla even before she ate a bite of the “veg-centric” menu. Bond has turned a huge, “crypt-like space… an abandoned coaching house” that had “sat unloved and festering for more than 100 years” into “a capacious, open brushed aluminium kitchen” […]
In The Guardian, Jay Rayner was searching for somewhere easy to eat near the Royal Albert Hall, and stumbled upon a gem in Tozi, a Venetian cicchetti (small plates) spot that’s attached to the Park Plaza Hotel (he wasn’t aware of this when he booked). It’s unmistakably ‘London’ – “an echoing space of huge white-washed […]
50 Kalo di Ciro Salvo, London, WC2 (****) in The Evening Standard visited the latest Neapolitan pizzeria to import itself into London (following on from L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, which recently opened in Baker Street – the first branch in Stoke Newington is no more). Despite almost everything about the place – the location (Northumberland […]
A happy week for the majority of the critics, with pork pies, new experiences and old friends. Only Marina O’Loughlin’s trip to West Sussex (“England by Disney”) and Ed Smith’s visit to Bagatelle (“nothing to swerve for”) were disappointments. Continuing from last week’s homage to the dumpling and pastry-encased leftovers, Jay Rayner in The Observer […]
A rollercoaster week for our intrepid reviewers: bad starts (including a hellish brush with Bicester Village for Tom Parker Bowles), off-kilter locations and misfiring menus. Jay Rayner in The Observer experienced the “troubled adolescence” of newly-opened, crowdfunded Thomas Carr Seafood & Grill in Ilfracombe, Devon. His initial impression left little to hope for, with a […]
Guest reviewing in The Evening Standard this week was Hamish MacBain, who reviewed the resurrected gastropub The Hero of Maida (8/10). Formerly The Truscott Arms, it was saved following a community campaign, and now (headed up by Henry Harris of “much-missed restaurant Racine”) has “an overwhelming air of much-more-poshness” than its predecessor. The “menu follows […]
Grace Dent in The Guardian awarded Leroy – the reincarnation of Shoreditch’s Ellory (RIP) – a solid 27/30 for being “a dark, noisy, naughty wine bar with a pleasing menu… where no one can tell that I’ve kicked off my shoes” (regular readers will know that if Grace is shoeless, she’s happy – add a […]
Jay Rayner in The Observer, 27 May 2018 reviewed Alchemilla, Glasgow “The focaccia at Alchemilla is light but springy… so satisfying, such a profound pleasure, that I had to use every last ounce of my insipid willpower to decline seconds.” “Argyle Street is cool “The food… is a thoughtful mix of great ideas and ingredients […]
A week full of hits – Jay Rayner is predicting The Next Big Thing, Grace Dent awards her highest mark yet, Kathryn Flett has a 5-star time in Margate and the Evenings Standard’s week of reviews are all raves. Only TPB hits a slighty low note with Core, which gets 4 stars but no real […]
