Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 5 January 2020 – our first round-up of the decade. Allegra, London E20 Grace Dent for The Guardian had a hard time convincing friends to join her for a meal at Allegra. It’s just “so far away” and “Londoners […]

Continue reading


Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 29 December 2019 – our last round-up of the year. Some more critics looked back over their past visits – perhaps we should call this week’s page “Review of the review of the reviews”? This week’s ‘best of the […]

Continue reading


Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 22 December 2019. This week’s Christmas article / ‘best of the year’ round-up came from The Evening Standard’s Fay Maschler, whose ‘favourite restaurants’ article featured many of her friends from her decades of reviewing (and “do not necessarily adhere […]

Continue reading


Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 15 December 2019. This week’s Christmas article / ‘best of the year’ round-up came from Nicholas Lander in The Financial Times, who gave us his list of favourites (“in 2020, restaurateurs must offer the hospitality many of us crave”). […]

Continue reading


Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 8 December 2019. We are entering the time of Christmas articles and ‘best of the year’ round-ups; Grace Dent’s article this week was about family Christmas meals, Tom Parker Bowles gave us the list of his favourite cookbooks of […]

Continue reading


Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 1 December 2019. The Leaping Hare, Suffolk Jay Rayner for The Observer discovered “one of the good ones” in Suffolk this week – even though he’s “late to this party, by about a quarter of a century” as it’s […]

Continue reading


Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 24 November 2019. The Kinneuchar Inn, Fife Marina O’Loughlin had four “evangelical” tips for the place she reviewed in The Sunday Times today – “it’s unusual to be sent four recommendations in a row for anywhere, let alone a […]

Continue reading


Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 17 November 2019. Vardo, London SW3 and Ozone, London E2 Marina O’Loughlin for The Sunday Times visited two places this week; both what she describes as “third-wave” coffee shops (she missed the first two). “Coffee shops are now equipped […]

Continue reading


Harden’s (slightly delayed) weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 10 November 2019. Norma, London W1 Jay Rayner for The Observer called Norma “a place of joy”. Well, actually, he didn’t, but thanks to some lazy sub-editing, that’s what the headline says; Jay was actually referring to […]

Continue reading


Harden’s weekly update of where the critics are eating, recommending and avoiding, for the week ending 3 November 2019. The Jackalope, London W1 and The Red Lion, Kent Marina O’Loughlin for The Sunday Times encountered two “beauties” while researching for an article on the demise of the Great British Pub. With “boozers closing at the […]

Continue reading