In last week’s review, I revisited Moor Hall, near Liverpool, and named it the Best Restaurant in the UK. I also shared some forensic analysis to support my argument. Three days earlier, the National Restaurant Awards — one of the more robust ratings of the country’s elite restaurant scene — pointed the accolades somewhere else. Having read their analysis, I’m sticking with my own opinion: Moor Hall is the best. And the new rankings from this year’s NRA don’t really influence that analysis. Though they do make me want to venture to Osip. Let’s dive in.

Bouchon Racine Named UK’s Best

This year’s National Restaurant Awards were unveiled earlier this week, and the Henry Harris masterpiece in Clerkenwell took home the top prize. Moor Hall, which I named the best in the UK just the other day, scores 5th.

I was happy to see so many favourites in the list, including The Cocochine, Maré in Brighton, Trivet, and various others.

And I was amazed to spot Simpson’s in the Strand at #55. The restored Grand Dame of London’s restaurant scene once again ranks among the UK’s best. (It held a Michelin star in 1974.) It’s a comeback story for the ages.

I really enjoyed Dorian, but I’m not sure it’s top 3. And I’m very sure that Mountain does not rate #7.

If you are scoring, I have been to 7 of the top 10 (which is actually 11), 20 of the top 50, and 41 of the top 100.

Full list below. What do you think is the best restaurant in the UK? Tell me in the Comments.

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Lunch in Westminster. Mission Impossible?

, who mostly writes for The Spectator, also quietly keeps up a really excellent food-focused Substack. His professional obligations have him routinely on the hunt for a decent place to eat in Westminster, a near-impossible task in my experience. But Angus has persisted in his efforts, and recently assembled his accumulated knowledge into a helpful list.

Alas, there are more warnings than recommendations, though I will likely try to get to Sapori, “a British-Italian spot that aims to incapacitate, not feed, but the quality is high.”

Hit: Assiette Champenoise

Hits & Misses are mini-reviews of places that were either (a) good, but not quite good enough to do a full review and add to the Guide, (b) had a flaw or two, or (c) that I revisited following a prior review.

It’s probably not a massive surprise to find a ‘Hit’ at a place with three Michelin stars and a score of 19/20 and a 5 ‘toque’ rating from Gault & Millau. Indeed, it would be disappointing if a place with those credentials fell short.

You can find the restaurant and adjoining luxury hotel just outside of Reims, a short taxi ride from the centre of town. But it feels entirely removed from the bustle of town.

It was a lovely evening, so we enjoyed snacks and aperitif in the garden. As others guests arrived, there was a pleasant buzz, like the world’s most civilised cocktail party.

Needless to say, the wine list boasts an extraordinary array of Champagne choices, and, as we were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, we decided to splurge: A glass of vintage Dom Perignon for me. Krug for my wife. Both were, as Trivet’s genius Somm Isa Bal might say, “Tolerable.”

Highlights of the early courses included a dish of seasonal, local asparagus and a stunning preparation of miniature eggplant filled with béchamel. A caviar course went full decadence with an outrageous potato-based sauce and a glass of legendary Krug Grande Cuvée.

Lobster followed, served with a sidecar of bisque intended as a sauce. I finished it with a spoon.

Delicious Brittany Brill gave way to beef, served with a stunning Caroline Morey Pinot Noir from Beaune. Cheese and a brilliant dessert built around fresh strawberries concluded a wonderful evening.

If you’re in Reims and looking for a special occasion place, I am happy to recommend Assiette Champenoise. I would rank it in my top 15 all-time meals.

Hit: The Henri Giraud Experience

During that same trip to Champagne, the amazing team from Oenospheres helped us plan and coordinate our visits. And during our discussions, they asked whether we would like to have an elegant lunch with champagne matches at Henri Giraud. Now, Giraud is one of my favourite producers. The estate is known for its innovation, sometimes veering into crazy. And their Pinot Noir dominant champagnes are perfect for my tastes. So the chance to eat and drink at the estate was too good to miss. Little did I know.

Hosted in their luxurious tasting room, Michelin-star calibre dishes are paired with an amazing range of gorgeous champagnes. The food is from Chef Elizabeth Cloutier, a Canadian and veteran of multi-starred kitchens, who has lived in the region for 5 years.

The dishes are conceived to match specific choices from the cellar, and every match was a winner. My favourites were the oyster with goat cheese from nearby Argonne as well as langoustine with white asparagus. An egg yolk was paired with soft Chaource, another local cheese, and delicious, fresh bread. The highlight was a portion of Pluma, the highly marble end-cut from the loin of a black Iberia pig. We were invited to the kitchen to see it cooked, and the resulting dish was superb.

All of this is to say that if you have the chance to visit Ay, near Epernay, and enjoy the Henri Giraud Experience, I can’t recommend it strongly enough.

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• Josh Barrie (Standard) checks out Zylia, a new Greek spot in Covent Garden. “It’s a fabulous taverna, one trumpeting the joy of Hellenic lands with passion and élan, bringing whimsy to a city too precise. London deserves Greek romance.”

• Jay Rayner (FT) gushes about Little Baobab, a Senegalese place in Southwark. “It’s about the irresistible combination of mood and service, of food that starts out soothing and ends with power and heat.”

• Grace Dent (Guardian) falls for Oudh 1722, the new Indian place in Borough. “I rather love this: Oudh 1722 has fitted itself into history and made peace with this old beast, rather than attempting to dominate it.”

  • Bruce McCormack (Wallpaper*) also enjoys Oudh 1722, which I reviewed right after it opened. “While there is a tasting menu at Oudh, the à la carte is the best way to get the most from the kitchen.”

    

• Giles Coren (Times) visits Café Clement, the restaurant in the new St. Clement Hotel. “This restaurant will, I think, define the summer of 2026.”

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) reviews Don’t Tell Dad, a seafood spot in Queen’s Park. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of here, only glory and wonder.”

• Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) isn’t wild about Idalia, the new place in the renovated Olympia Hotel. “A mild Sri Lankan chicken curry … is OK in a Qatar Business Class sort of way, but at £28, expensive and utterly forgettable.

• Kieran Morris (Observer) loves Trèsind, a new branch of Chef Himanshu Saini’s global chain. “This extraordinary restaurant puts the title ‘London’s best Indian’ laughably out of reach for the foreseeable future. Trèsind has arrived. What’s Gymkhana going to do about it?”

• Andy Hayler (andyhayler.com) reports from Osteria Vibrato, the buzzy place in Soho. “Osteria Vibrato does a lot of things right, with capable cooking, an interesting an appealing wine list and friendly service. No wonder it is so busy.”

• Louise Benson (Vittles) spotlights tramps, a new place near Old Street. “There is a throughline of confident simplicity in both [chefs’] food and a studied nostalgia for home cooking that is enough to make you briefly forget that your own mum did not, in fact, cook anything that came close to the muted elegance of these dishes.”

• (Braise) falls head over heels for Vesper, the new place in Islington from Chef Jackson Boxer. “Vesper could be one of the better restaurants in an area already heaving with them — and no, that isn’t just the cheap wine talking, though it certainly doesn’t hurt.”

• (Table for Two) enjoys a special occasion at Bonheur, which I reviewed previously. “The Japanese influence runs through the whole menu, umami as a structural choice, it’s never overpowering, it simply deepens everything it touches.”

  

• (Dining Out) heads to newly expanded The Sea, The Sea. “There is plenty of novelty and intrigue across the menu, and while sometimes, too much of this feels like it’s masking something, here, the main courses do just very much walk the walk, too.”

• (Eats Dulwich) checks out Saphi, a bakery and café. “I took my drink and ball onto the terrace and craned my neck to watch the trains through the drizzle. This’ll set me up for the day, I thought to myself.”

• Phoebe Cleary Rudd and Ari Alibhai (The Sauce) rave about YouTube-famous Fallow, in St. James. “What Fallow does so well is balance purpose with pleasure without letting either bully the other.”

• Toby White (The Arbuturian) visits Sale e Pepe Mare in the Langham Hotel. “Sale e Pepe Mare has the lot: a room that earns its address, food that makes a compelling case for simplicity done with total conviction, and service so attuned to the room it borders on telepathy. The Langham, it seems, has finally found its restaurant. One suspects it will be staying.”

• The Picky Glutton heads to Bronek’s, fish restaurant in Ealing. “Bronek’s thrums with life, both loudly on the plate and quietly at each and every table. It’s these things, beyond the bountiful sharing platters and Instabait decor, that make it truly special.”

Beyond London

• Camilla Long (Sunday Times) heads to Worthing to try Bauji, a new Indian place. “I hadn’t expected Bauji to be this good, each dish a delicate balance of freshness, umami and solid, singular flavours”

• Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) ventures to Perthshire to try Taybank. “On the plates I sense the tussle between turning out crowd-pleasing classics in a busy hotel and giving creative vision free rein.”

Thanks so much for reading this week’s update. What did you make of the National Restaurant Awards? Is Bouchon Racine the best restaurant in the UK? Let me know what you think the Comments.

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I first visited Moor Hall about 18 months ago and loved it. It was surely my best meal of 2024, and the black pudding parcels were my single favourite dish of the year.

At the time, it held two Michelin stars, and I suggested that it was ready for a third. Sure enough, that third star landed just a few weeks later.

I had the chance to return recently and consider how it had evolved as a result of the accolade.

Often, when a restaurant improves its star rating, there are changes. Humble Chicken celebrated its second star by closing for months to improve decor and rethink the menu in effort to secure a third. Rating increases usually bring price increases, too.

And sometimes, the compulsion that made the place great in the first place can affect the performance in less positive ways — the service that gets too stiff or the dishes that lose their authenticity in favour of ‘sophistication.’

I’m happy to report that, so far, Mark Birchall’s outstanding destination in Aughton has lost nothing and continued its steady march forward.

Indeed, in my opinion, Moor Hall is now the UK’s best restaurant.

But before you take my word for that, I want to offer you some forensic analysis to support my contention.

To identify a reasonable pool of candidates for the UK’s best, let’s consider three key data sources:

1. The Michelin Guide’s 2- and 3- star places. Definitive. Credible. Backed by real experts and a century of reputation.

2. The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Rigorous. Global. Drawn from a range of well-travelled contributors.

3. The National Restaurant Awards. UK-focused with a big panel of judges across the country. Arguably, the best-informed take on UK dining. I’m working from the 2025 list because I wrote this before this week’s National Restaurant Awards which launched the 2026 list.

We’ll start by excluding a few: From Michelin’s 3-star places, we’ll ignore the Waterside, Sketch, Alain Ducasse, and others with no real claim on the top spot. And we’ll include some two-star places that Michelin hasn’t yet seen fit to elevate. Row on 5 and Bonheur will someday be contenders. I’m sure of it. But they both need more time to mature their character and experience.

From the World’s 50 Best, we’ll ignore Kol and Mountain. No one would credibly suggest that they are the UK’s best. Ikoyi and The Clove Club (which is great) are both said to be pushing hard for further improvements and refinements, in hopes of capturing a third star and moving up the 50 Best rankings. So they merit our attention, but I don’t think The Clove Club is in quite the same league as the others.

From the NRAs, we can safely exclude Trinity, Bouchon Racine, Oma, AngloThai, Osip, and Dorian. All range from very good to truly wonderful, but none are aiming for the refinement or innovation that I would expect from the UK’s best.

So, drawing from all three sets, there are only a handful of places that can make a serious claim on the top spot. For me, they are:

From that list of finalists, I’m going to throw out L’Enclume because, well, I just didn’t particularly like it — experience, service, or food. And I’m going to confess that I haven’t yet been to Ynyshir, so if you want to argue its merits, I’d welcome your views in the Comments. I haven’t been to Gordon Ramsay either, though I have a booking in three weeks, so will report back. Finally, I adored Ikoyi, and I love its clever cooking and innovative cuisine, but I don't think it’s yet at quite the same level of the others. So it’s out.

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That leaves us with Moor Hall, The Ritz, The Ledbury, and CORE. To progress, we need more precision in our judgment.

And that brings us back to my recent visit.

Moor Hall is sublime right from arrival. It has mastered the delicate art of making guests feel comfortable, even though they have signed up for an experience that is probably unfamiliar. There are drinks, tasty snacks, and a few laughs in the restaurant’s well appointed and uber-comfortable bar. There’s a chance to walk in the herb garden out back. On a pleasant evening, the sunset glistens through the ancient, old-school windows.

Wine pairings were excellent, both in the calibre of the selections and generosity with top ups. (This was a massive downfall at L’Enclume, where selections were below expectations, pours were minuscule, and the Somm was nowhere to be found.)

Mark Birchall’s front of house team remains full of good natured locals with an affable manner, a great sense of humour, and a taste for minor mischief.

And then, of course, there’s the food.

Incredibly, one of the snacks on this visit surpassed the black pudding parcel that enjoyed so much in 2024. The crispy sweetbread with “Berwick edge, wild garlic and onion,” will be among my favourite bites of 2026. The tart was made from croissant dough, the sweetbread was creamy, and the whole dish had a sublime butteriness. Mylor prawn with barbecued, seasonal asparagus was another delight — a perfect match with a glass of champagne. Smoked eel, eaten during a quick visit to the kitchen, was another winner. And, of course, the black pudding didn’t disappoint.

In the dining room, courses rolled from one excellent note to another. An oyster concoction was stunning. Local carrots and herbs made a gorgeous and delightful bowl of spring. Turnip and crab were a surprising but sublime combination. Although, in the one wobble of the evening, the wine match was disastrous — a nasty, “natural” wine that distracted from the crab. And when my friend essentially refused it, the Somm was a bit defeated, instead of simply offering a glass from the alternative set of pairings. It was an odd miss.

Lobster got things back on track, with a wonderful Charon sauce, some acidity from apple, and more of that fresh, local asparagus. It was matched, with complete success, with a glass of Nicolas Francois champagne from Billecart-Salmon.

Then a glass of Hyde de Villaine California Chardonnay made a miraculous pairing with a superb dish of Monkfish and fried artichokes.

But the best dish of the night was Guinea Hen from the Saint Sever farm in southwest France. The breast was beautiful, with deep flavour accentuated by a rich jus. On the side was a ragu made from the rest of the hen. It had intense depth and character. Served with a stunning Barolo, it was another highlight.

There was a visit to the cheese room, then dessert, then coffee and petit fours and a digestif in the bar. The whole experience was a joy from start to finish. There was the right level of attention to detail in every facet of the evening. And it was fun, not snooty. The atmosphere was welcoming, not severe. Service was accessible and professional, not standoffish.

So, with all of that in mind, we return to our exam question. Is it the best?

Is it better than the Ritz? Yes. Moor Hall’s accessibility gives it the edge.

It is better than the Ledbury? Yes. Birchall’s innovative kitchen is slightly ahead.

Is it better than CORE? That’s the closest challenger, for me. Similar levels of brilliance on the food front. Similar levels of personality and accessibility.

But, on reflection, I think the prize goes to Moor Hall by a whisker. The final judgement comes down to something emotional and intangible: I’ve been to CORE two or three times. It’s great. But I am not burning to return.

On the other hand, if offered the chance to jump on the train and head to Liverpool tomorrow for lunch at Moor Hall, I would drop everything and go North. For reasons I can’t fully explain, Moor Hall succeeds in drawing me back.

I anticipate my next visit with glee. I hope it will be soon.

Quick Hit: Mark Birchall’s masterpiece establishes itself as the UK’s best restaurant.
Details: Booking essential. Aughton, near Liverpool. ££££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram and Michelin Guide.
Find it on Google Maps. Prescot Rd, Aughton, Ormskirk L39 6RT
Previous review.

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Meanwhile, the tough spring for restaurants is continuing. Michelin-starred Simpson’s in Birmingham announced last week that it was closing. Others are said to be nearing the wall. So we start with a push to change that.

Restaurants Campaign for Lower VAT

In an effort to find some relief from the growing burden of taxation, employment costs, and ingredient inflation, restaurateurs have launched a campaign to pressure government into lowering VAT on food and drink from 20% to 10%.

This is pretty normal in other European countries. It’s 10% in Spain, France, and Italy, for example. Ireland is about to lower its VAT on hospitality places to 9%. And there’s a solid argument that food and drink should be taxed at lower levels than other goods — after all, we do have to eat.

The government announced a summer-time reduction of VAT on children’s meals, but that just creates huge compliance headaches for restaurants. How does one define a children’s meal? How do you account for it on your books?

If you want to support the effort, there’s an online petition to sign and a website where you can learn more. The petition has already attracted more than 100,000 signatures.

And if you want more detail on why restaurants are having such a hard time, Bristol-based restaurateur has an excellent, detailed piece on the economics of his establishments.

Black Cabs Steadily Declining. Time to Save the Best Way Best Home from Lunch?

I miss black cabs. When I arrived in London in 2008, they were the best way to get around, and there were flocks of them cruising London’s streets.

Today, catching one, even on a busy road, feels an impossible, forlorn hope.

The data supports my instinct. As of April, TFL says that there were 15,978 licensed black cab drivers and about 14,000 cabs. That’s down massively from 2010 when there were 25,000 drivers and 22,000 vehicles.

COVID drove the biggest drop, but numbers have been in steady decline since 2016. And an assortment of measures from the Mayor and various local councils intended to make it harder to get around by car have been wildly successful. Barring black cabs from the area around the Bank of England in the City has been particularly damaging.

The Knowledge seems quaintly outdated in a world of GPS and live traffic data, but spending about three years on the back of a motorbike to learn every street and landmark within six miles of Charing Cross Station, then passing a series of rigorous exams, makes London’s cabbies the best in the world. The level of training required is akin — in length and difficulty — to becoming a lawyer or accountant. And far exceeds the formal training of most consultants and bankers. (More on the history of Black cabs here.)

London’s cabbies are real professionals, and one study suggests they could all be gone in a few years’ time.

A black cab remains the classy and classic way to arrive at a professional lunch, and, more importantly, the very best way to get home after a glass or three of wine. I have no idea what we can do to save them. And even less notion of how to ensure that I can hail one whenever and wherever I want. But we should worry about their decline.

Black cabs are as much a part of London’s character as St. Paul’s, Big Ben, or the City itself. Their endangered status should worry every Londoner.

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• ✍🏻 (Eponymous Substack) returns to London for a visit, makes the pilgrimage to the Devonshire, and isn’t impressed. “The least interesting element of the scallop with bacon and malt vinegar is the scallop, which is overwhelmed to obscurity. A tangle of emaciated langoustines is mostly shell and sauce at £36. The Ibérico pork chop which, at £26, was bland and gasping for salt — as are the creamed leeks.”

• ✍🏻 Jay Rayner (FT) enjoys Wild Izakaya, a sushi joint in the City which I loved right after it opened. “There’s some serious cooking going on in the huge open kitchen, where smoke pirouettes upwards promisingly from the grills, and intense young cooks tend to skewers and deep-fat fryers like they are their infant young.”

  

• Giles Coren (Times) tries Clio, a new Greek place in Marylebone. “We sloshed down a little carafe of fresh, natural Greek red wine called Seira #3 and counted ourselves lucky.”

• Camilla Long (Sunday Times) hates CeCe’s in Notting Hill, the new place from the Public House Group. “The menu is at least, I guess, consistent. It’s what I’d call London Italian. Just as New York Italian is all blasting top notes and big sauces, London Italian is nursery food disguised as Elizabeth David.”

  • Rebecca Nicolson also visits and pens the Observer’s review this week. “CeCe’s made us feel special and taken care of, without excessive fuss, but with sexy competence.”

• Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) visits the Latimer, the new pub in Notting Hill. “The Latimer is everything I hoped it would be: good food, good beer, and very, very good cheer.”

• Andy Hayler (andyhayler.com) reports on the lunch we shared at Koyal in Surbiton. “Koyal is serving the best Indian food in London right now. As a bonus, it is a fraction the price of the fancier places in central London. There may not be a grand piano in the corner of the dining room, which presumably is the criteria Michelin use these days to assign stars to Indian restaurant, but the quality of the food speaks for itself here.”

• (Braise) tries Tiella, the Italian spot in Columbia Road from Chef Dara Klein. “London doesn’t really need more Italian restaurants, but it might need more like Tiella.”

• (Table for Two) visits Aces Foodcraft to try the a la carte offering. I really enjoyed the tasting menu experience a few weeks ago. But she picks up a detail that I missed: “[Chef Alex] Craciun DJs while he cooks, adjusting the music to match the energy at the table. The room has a pulse because of it.”

  

• 🍽️ Nick Lander (jancisrobinson.com) reviews Teal, the new place from Chef Sally Abé. “The cooking, the wine and the manner in which we were looked after at Teal were all terrific.”

  • Hillary Armstrong (The Glossary) also heads to Teal. “In a postcode addicted to the next new thing, Teal’s self‑assurance feels almost subversive. Hackney’s lucky to have it. A cool East London restaurant where you can take your parents. Whatever next?”

• Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Banquet 88, a new Dim Sum place in St Katharine Docks. “It was our own greed that kept us focusing on the excellent dim sum options, which meant we didn’t get to try many of the mains. Next time we’ll do better.”

• Rebecca Buchanan (The Arbuturian) times travels to Romano’s, the second restaurant at Simpson’s in the Strand, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. “Romano’s proceeds in the tradition of the Grand Cafés found in any self-respecting European city.”

  

• Writer and editor Jade Wickes reviews Simorgh, a Persian joint in East Dulwich for The Standard. “Simorgh is an excellent addition to south-east London’s ever-growing arsenal of local spots.”

• Ari Alibhai (The Sauce) checks out Roketsu, the high end Japanese spot in Mayfair. “Roketsu felt like a place confident in its own skin. Which, in turn, meant we were able to relax and really enjoy the experience.”

• Ed Gilbert (Gourmet Gorro) ventures up to London from Wales to try Manteca in Shoreditch. “I’d envisaged that the pasta dishes were going to be the highlight of our meal but little did I know how remarkable our meat course was going to be.”

• Lucy Foxell (London Unattached) ventures to the Bread Street Kitchen branch in 22 Bishopsgate. “My companion’s tasty but rather meagre portion of Barley Salmon Miso was not going to fill him up, but the sides of paprika fries with roasted garlic aioli were pretty good.”

  

• A bevy of reviews in the June issue of Palate.

  • J.A. Smith revisits Midsummer House, the two-star gem in Cambridge. “Midsummer House still has that magic.”

  • Daniela Toporek tries Dakadaka, the Georgian place in Heddon Street. “For sampling a new culinary awakening in London, this is a hefty price to pay. That being said, it’s great to see a different cuisine get some well-deserved hype. Georgian cuisine is one of oldest cuisines in the world, and at DakaDaka we’re witnessing its renaissance.”

  • reviews The Wellington in Margate. “It very much feels like a wholly unpretentious, much-loved local dining spot, which is their stated aim but a notoriously difficult goal; at The Wellington, they’ve absolutely nailed it.”

• Amanda also reviews The Trafalgar in Chelsea. “I was happily surprised by the standard of cooking in what is still very much a traditional pub.”

Beyond London

• ✍🏻 (Bald Flavours) is in Athens, where he checks out Diporto. Sam is one of the best young food writers in the UK today, and this is one of his top pieces of writing yet. “Thanks to Reddit moderators and career serial killers, however, men operating on their own terms in basements illuminated with a single lightbulb have been understandably tarred with a single brush. Yet [Chef Dimitris] Koliolios has made bucking trends a major part of the restaurant’s draw.”

• Grace Dent (Guardian) is in Manchester where she enjoys Bar Shrimp. “Bar Shrimp, for now at least, is the very antithesis of those hip places that are skewered by their own self-importance… It is smiley-staffed and operates an all-welcoming door policy that includes both slinky, youthful things and their mothers and grandmothers, who’ve probably been taken along to pay for it all.”

• (The Bristol Sauce) checks out Crave. “I can’t give Crave full marks. But [Crave is] a testament to the fact that you can enjoy something while knowing objectively that it isn’t that good, and that as long as you’ve got the former to counter the latter, all is well.”

• 🍽️ Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) reviews Big Counter in Glasgow. “It’s been a dinner swimming in gallons of butter and joy. Sometimes the hype is deserved. Big Counter is home to some of the most generous, comforting, and deeply pleasurable food not just in Glasgow, but the whole of the UK.”

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) heads to Alfriston in the South Downs to try Poco, an Italian place. “This remains a place of cheer and excellent wine.”

• (Cheese & Biscuits) reports from, “Can Koya, a relatively new Japanese restaurant in the Catalonian seaside town of L’Escala.” And decides that, “It’s so utterly brilliant that it deserves whatever tiny scraps of publicity I can throw its way.”

Thanks so much for reading and subscribing to Professional Lunch. What’s going to be your go-to lunch spot this summer? Let me know in the comments.

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First is the inevitable diary discussion. Then the effort to find a suitable place. What part of town is best? Where are you coming from? Do you have something after that you need to be nearby? What sort of food do you like? Want to try something new or do an old standby? I relish these discussions, but appreciate that they are not everyone’s cup of tea.

So whether you hate choosing a restaurant or are merely in not in the mood, sometimes you just want something easy.

A brilliant atmosphere where it’s easy to talk. Great food. Traditional approach: Starter. Main. Dessert. Skip the sharing, particularly when you are getting to know each other. A good wine list‚ ideally with a good range of options by the glass, so there’s flexibility just to have one or two. And smooth, attentive service. Nothing spoils a professional lunch like having to wave down the bill three or four times.

On that criteria, 64 Goodge Street might be the perfect venue for professional lunch.

It’s centrally located: An easy walk from the Lizzie Line, Central Line, or Northern Line.

It manages to balance classic and modern. The interior is comfortable, pleasant — a chic bistro. The food is French, but not overwhelmingly so. The service is brilliant, on point, and always perfectly nearby.

And the food is, well… wow.

Oh. Did I mention that 64 Goodge Street has a Michelin star?

When I first started getting really into restaurants, earning a Michelin star didn’t necessarily require tweezers. I suspect Head Chef Stuart Andrew owns a pair, but his food rarely needs them.

Instead, he serves up classic, beautiful French-inspired dishes with lovely sauces and first-rate flavours.

I started with “Rabbit vol-au-vent a la moutarde.” It was a skyscraper of buttery puff pastry, filled with the most delectable rabbit, and topped with a bit of well-dressed salad, which delivered acidity and freshness. But the highlight was the sauce. The mustard sang through, a perfect compliment for the buttery pastry and the rich rabbit.

My main was “Halibut, langoustine & sauce Sauternes.” Perfectly cooked fish with a lovely hit of umami from mushrooms, a touch of acidity and slight bitterness from spinach, all to balance the sweetness from the langoustines and Sauternes. A simply, delightful triumph of a dish.

I admit, however, that I wound up coveting my friend’s “Egg yolk ravioli, champignons sausages & white onion velouté.” I’m not sure that I’ve ever wanted to be a vegetarian quite so much. And yet again, the sauce was the highlight of dish.

For dessert, I bowed to the warm spring day outside and threw myself into “Coupe glacée, tarte au citron.” After a rich lunch, it was a wonderful sweet and sharp ending. The two big flavours in a perfect balance.

The bill arrived promptly. The total was reasonable, not eye watering. And throughout, my friend and I were able to chat about some fairly sensitive points without fearing a Times diary item.

Looking back, I can’t believe it took me so long to try 64 Goodge Street. After all, it’s from the same stable as Quality Wines, Quality Chophouse, Clipstone. and Portland. It’s got a Michelin star. I should have gone sooner.

From the standpoint of a professional lunch, it’s just about ideal. Move it to the top of your list.

Quick hit: The easy and yet ideal choice for professional lunch.
Details: Booking essential. Fitzovia. ££££.
Visit their website. More on Instagram and from Michelin.
Find it on Google Maps. 64 Goodge St, W1T 4NF.

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It was a pretty intense week of leadership training that went from early until late, so it’s a slightly lighter than usual edition this week. Back to normal service next week.

FT Goes Big on French Cuisine

This week’s edition of the FT’s Weekend Magazine has been conquered once again by its epic food team, who have put the spotlight squarely on France.

The cornerstone is a brilliant piece from Jay Rayner, who explores the roots of modern British cuisine, and finds them mostly in France. He visits with some of today’s best chefs, doing French-focused Food in the UK, including Robert Reid from Les 2 Garçons and Elliot Hashtroudi from Camille. He examines historical material dating back to 1861, digs into his own collection of old menus, and acknowledges the importance of La Gavroche. He concludes, “In modern Britain we are never far from a well-executed, hugely comforting, old-school French classic. And I for one am not complaining.” It’s worth reading the whole thing. (Gift link.)

Jancis Robinson explores the special, deeply historical relationship between Britain and France’s wine regions, especially Bordeaux. “Eleanor of Aquitaine’s dowry on marrying Henry II in the 12th century brought most of south-west France under the English crown, which continued to govern the Bordeaux region for three centuries, with Britain long the principal export market for its wines. We even have our own name for red bordeaux: claret.”

Finally, there’s a wonderful piece tracking the journey of Oliver McGeorge, who will lead the British team at this year’s Bocuse d’Or competition. “The achievement of a completed Bocuse d’Or platter is superlative. Nothing quite prepares you for the sight of them going up for judging, like the architectural models for new cathedrals or palaces, ornate, gilded and shimmering Xanadus.” Chef Tom Philips, from two-star Restaurant Story who led the team last year, gets to the heart of the matter. “Bocuse d’Or shits over other competitions . . . it’s more closely linked to F1 than it is to a cooking competition on TV.”

Michelin Adds 8 Spots in May

After a bumper month in April, in which the Guide added 18 new UK places, including 8 in London, May was slower.

Michelin’s inspectors added 8 new places across the country and just two in the capital:

• Cometa — The buzzy Mexican seafood place in Fitzrovia.

• Rucola — A pleasant, open-to-all Italian spot on the top floor of the Conduit Club in Covent Garden.

The other notable addition was Sonder in Cardiff, which has attracted a lot of attention from people that I trust.

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• 🍽️ Andy Hayler (andyhayler.com) reports approvingly from Yoshino, a gem of a place in Piccadily that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. “Service, led by manageress Lisa, was charming, and the bill came to £101 each with beer and cocktails to drink. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Yoshino, where the food and the welcome were authentically Japanese.” You really should check this one out.

• Joel Golby reviews Camille in Borough Market for the Observer. I think Camille is doing some of the best French food in London. Golby gushes: “I am calling Camille ‘the best decision I made that week’, and with good reason.”

  

• Food-writer Heather Steele takes the Standard review this week, turning her attention to Tavern in Old Street. “Small details, but cumulatively they suck energy out of what looked set to be a lively long lunch.”

• Giles Coren (Times) visits the Kumori Handroll Bar in Mayfair. “So, handroll bars: crap idea. Send them back to LA and let’s get on with building proper restaurants for grown-ups.”

• ✍🏻 Jay Rayner (FT) doesn’t dig Holy Carrot, the vegetarian place in Spitalfields. “It aims at the delicious and restorative, then misses that target with infuriating regularity.”

• Camilla Long (Sunday Times) enjoys Ornella in Dalston, but she side-swipes Mountain and Tiella along the way. On Ornella’s food, she says, “It’s great: the best I’ve eaten this week. You’d be delighted if this little place was at the end of your road.”

  

• Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) tries Oudh 1722 in Borough, which I visited recently. “Already working smoothly only a few weeks in, we can see this restaurant being on the Michelin judge’s radar come next spring.”

  • Gavin also checks out The Latimer, a new pub in Holland Park. “We find ourselves very jealous of the locals who have what seems like the perfect neighbourhood pub.”

• ✍🏻 (Braise) tries Café Deco in Bloomsbury. “It’s hard to earnestly sell ‘meat and two veg’ as a bold culinary outlook. Still, as much as they may lack immediate excitement, there’s no shortage of craft.”

  • (Dining Out) also visits Café Deco. “A place like Café Deco … which is so dedicated and attuned to seasonality all year round that there’s always a bit of exactly what you fancy on the menu, even if you didn’t know you fancied it before you walked in, will always be equipped to kind of do it best of all.”

    • She also provides her perspective on Auguste. “This is a place for big flavours and big fun.”

• (Table for Two) loves Cece’s, the new spot in Notting Hill from the Public House Group. “The food is okay. Not exceptional, but okay. The menu is New York Italian, more interested in doing the familiar than putting its stamp on the London dining scene. Nothing was bad, but nothing was particularly creative or stood out either.”

• Alex Larman (The Arbuturian) visits Pied à Terre on the occassion of its 35th birthday. “Honestly, wild horses would not drag us away from this London classic. Here’s to the next three and a half decades.”

Beyond London

• Grace Dent (Guardian) zips off to Manchester to enjoy Skof. “It’s fancy, yes, but it also fills you up. This is fine dining that even a naysayer would like.”

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) heads to Birmingham to check out Sicilian spot Vieni. “I felt flung from pillar to post with these dishes, it was like the interior design again, only in culinary form.”

• Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) tries Posillipo, an Italian spot in Faversham. “The menu is large and comfortingly old fashioned, the service warmer than Ischian hot springs.”

• Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) raves about Eve’s Court, and dubs it, “The most exciting new restaurant in East Lothian.”

• finds himself in Palm Springs, California. “Elmer’s is a diner. And a bloody good one at that. I have grown to love The American Diner; in fact, I think it is one of the United States greatest gifts to our civilisation.”

Thanks so much for reading this week’s update. I hope you’ve got plans for a great lunch this week. Let me know where you’re going in the Comments. And please subscribe if you haven’t already.

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Around the same time, the authors of the Cluetrain Manifesto predicted that the Internet would act as a liberating force for markets and society. Digital technologies flattened organisations, and in one of my favourite stories, a crowd-sourcing exercise among Walmart’s 1.6 million employees unearthed dozens ideas to reduce energy consumption and enhance business efficiency. In one particularly hot corner of the U.S., a Walmart Associate suggested adding simple awnings over the outdoor vending machines positioned at every store. That small move saved vast sums of money, energy, and carbon.

On the other hand, here in the UK, crowd sourcing has predictably and frequently gone awry. In 2016, the National Environment Research Council asked the public to name its brand new, flagship exploration vessel. The crowd chose “Boaty McBoatface.” The NERC rightly went with RRS Sir David Attenborough instead, but in an apt demonstration of the value of humour, named one of the ship’s exploration submarines, “Boaty.”

In Scotland, road contractor Amey has perfected the balance by asking the public to name its gritter trucks, then partnering with Traffic Scotland on a real-time Gritter Tracker. Sled Zeppelin may be my favourite, though Gritney Spears is also excellent.

So, sometimes — perhaps even frequently — the crowd gets it right.

Which is how I wound up at Andanza in Bermondsey.

The little tapas and pintxos place sits on the corner of Weston Street and Snowfields, directly on the way to Trivet.

As regular readers will know, I go to Trivet all the time — for wine tastings, a meal, or just to sit at the bar.

And every time I walk down the street, I pass this tiny spot on the corner, which is forever full of people and buzzing with energy.

A couple of years ago, I popped in with two friends following a very long lunch at Trivet, for a plate of jamón and one more glass of wine. I left with a positive first impression, but a hazy memory. Later, a colleague chose it for a work dinner, and my first impressions were confirmed by trying a wider selection. But I still wasn’t quite sure.

Finally, two weeks ago, I made a proper visit with my wife, and I am happy to report that Andanza is excellent.

Head Chef Paulina Irzyk spent time at Lurra and Donostia before opening Andanza in 2020. So she knows her Basque inside and out.

At Andanza, she offers a varying blend of authentic classics and innovative delights. So, in addition to tradition Gilda and Pan con Tomate, the menu also includes Foie Gras with Sweet Cherry Reduction and Mini Burger with Manchego and House Sauce.

Among my favourite dishes was Jamón Ibérico with Pistachio Cream and Cream Cheese. It was rich and delicious on thick, homemade toast. Similarly, Crab with Lemon Alioli was positively bursting with subtle crabby flavour.

Fresh, seasonal asparagus with melon and more jamón was another pleasant experience, seasoned with basaltic vinegar, it was a wonderful expression of early spring. Galician octopus was perfectly cooked and grilled, delivering delightful smokiness.

We chose a couple of wines from the exclusively Spanish list, and my Rioja Blanco was a great pairing with the range of food we tried.

Reflecting a couple of weeks later, the energy of the place still stands out. Seating is on stools at counters or high tables. There are dark woods, and floor to ceiling windows. The staff are wonderful — friendly, welcoming, attentive, and helpful. But there is also a sense of cool about them that benefits the whole vibe.

As a result, Andanza feels like a place you could wonder into during a visit to Madrid or San Sebastien and walk away very happy. There’s a balance of the new and the familiar. The food is fantastic.

It’s also about 5 minutes walk from London Bridge station, so it’s a great place for a professional drink or dinner, readily accessible from any part of town.

I also prefer it to the plethora of José Pizzaro places in Bermondsey. There’s something more energetic and interesting about Andanza, including the food.

And if you emerge from London Bridge and can’t quite seem to find your way, don’t be troubled. Just follow the crowd.

Quick hit: Crowded, energetic place for tapas and pixtos near London Bridge.
Details: Booking advised. London Bridge. ££.
Visit their website. More on Instagram.
Find it on Google Maps. 66 Weston St., SE1 3ST.

Thanks for reading this week’s review. What’s your favourite place for Spanish Tapas? Tell me what you think in the Comments. And please subscribe if you haven’t already.

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We made the trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and it’s hard to imagine a better way to mark the occasion than several days of bubbles. From London, Reims is just a couple of hours by train, with a walkable transfer in Paris from Gard du Nord to Gare de l’Est, and 40 minutes on the TGV. We will be back, and soon. The trip is tempting, and there is so much more to learn.

Bristol Influencers May Dislike This Sauce

I’ve not properly met , but I have tremendous respect and admiration for her and Substack. She has made herself the indispensable voice of restaurant news and criticism for her region, and done it with a lot of hard work and an admirably positive attitude.

Over the past two weeks, she has revealed the results of a lengthy assessment of the costs and effectiveness of restaurant “influencers” in her area. It’s worth taking the time to read all three articles. In the first, she runs a sting — setting up a fake restaurant as a means to compare influencer pricing. In the second, she partners with a couple of local restaurants to dig into influencers’ actual impact on bookings. In the third, she asks various contributors, including the influencers themselves, to react to her reports.

Her work reveals, among other things, the techniques that some influencers are using to seemingly inflate engagement rates and view tallies for their videos. She also spotlights the disparity in costs between various influencers, and demonstrates the substantial variability in actual impact on bookings that restaurants have experienced.

I’ve been slow to wade into the debate about restaurant influencers. In my professional life, we regularly help our clients partner and collaborate with influencers to reach and engage key audiences. I am a firm believer that influencer engagement can be tremendously valuable.

But I worry about restaurant influencers with comparatively small followings expecting restaurants who are operating at something close to zero profit margin to provide free meals and hand over cash for content. Too much of the stuff that I’ve seen on Instagram offers very little in the way of informed insight or useful perspective. I know virality can drive footfall — just ask Humble Crumble in Borough Market. But at the lower end of the scale, does spend drive any value? I really don’t know. Meg’s reporting underscores those big question marks.

Some of Meg’s other findings also worry me: For example, she says that 5 of the 33 influencers she engaged — that’s 15% — were willing to ignore legal standards requiring disclosure of paid relationships.

And I worry about behaviour. I think Jeremy King was right to warn influencers that disrupting other diners with ring lights or distracting performances shouldn’t be welcome.

All that said, influencers are here to stay. Many are making great content that people love. And given what is happening with the decline of written criticism and the pressure on newspapers, engaging influencers is a vital way for restaurants to reach diners.

I hope Meg’s insights can drive some positive change. I’m hopeful but not naive. I’m sure the debate will roll on.

Celebrating Bordeaux En Primeur

En primeur is an odd thing. Wine makers sell wine that’s still in barrels and won’t be delivered for a couple of years. Tasting experts sample that wine that’s far too young and try to sift through a mountain of tannin to asses its long-term potential. There’s a myriad of deep analysis of the growing season, weather, rainfall, temperatures, yields, sugar levels, and acidity. A chemistry nerd would love it.

And, I confess, so do I.

I adore the wines of Bordeaux. I generally prefer the Left Bank, especially wines from St. Julien. And I enjoy the intense, slightly mad en primeur season.

It usually kicks off in late April and continues through May and June. Each day, a producer or two announces the price of the previous year’s wine. Buyers can secure an allocation which will be delivered when the wine is bottled, usually in about 24 months. Doing so ensures that you’ll have your favourites. Then you can stash them away in your cellar or a bonded warehouse and wait for a decade or so for them to reach perfection.

The present 2025 campaign feels like an important moment. Bordeaux has been struggling since COVID. There is plenty of great, aged Bordeaux available in secondary markets, so there is little market-driven pressure to buy, age, and hold your own wine. More broadly, demand for Bordeaux has declined dramatically as tastes have shifted to lighter reds and whites, and alcohol consumption among younger people has dropped.

As a result, the last few campaigns have been failures. Wine makers and their négociant partners have been slow to adjust pricing to take on board the changed market conditions. En primeur prices which looked like a bargain for the 2018 and 2019 vintages were a rip-off for 2023 and 2024. Too many collectors have lost interest.

The Bordeaux wine community needs a strong campaign in 2025, but the vintage is mixed, and the campaign’s early releases aren’t performing that well.

Which is a shame. Bordeaux remains some of the world's best and most important wine. I just wish the wine makers would open their minds to fresh approaches and more modern means of going to market.

For now, if you’re interested in the 2025 vintage, leading Bordeaux expert offers her advice about the Left Bank and Right Bank. And has a brilliant piece reflecting on the heyday of Bordeaux and its recent decline, perhaps capped by the sad passing of winemaking legend Michelle Rolland.

99 Lunch Spots for City & Shoreditch

The ever more brilliant team at has released their list of “99 Places to Eat Lunch” near the City, Shoreditch, and Liverpool Street. As with their previous lists, it’s fantastic. It’s not so much intended for professional lunch with clients or colleagues, but aimed at a much wider range of occasions, fast and slow, cheap and pricey. As with anything Vittles, it goes deep into places that I would hardly find on my own. The list is well worth a bookmark.

Vittles

99 Places To Eat Lunch Near Shoreditch (That Aren’t Pret)

Good morning and welcome to Vittles Restaurants…

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23 days ago · 89 likes · 2 comments · Vittles

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• 🍽️ Jay Rayner (FT) loves the set lunch at The Cocochine, which I have reviewed previously. “The Cocochine is a lovely restaurant, and that lunch menu is a proper deal that everyone should know about. Plus, my meal made me think I really should return for the full, big-ticket experience. Which means it did its job, doesn’t it?”

• Grace Dent (Guardian) rises for Fenix, a new Greek place in Piccadilly. “Fenix is fun and frothy, and it will infuriate many, but there’s no denying it’s thoroughly fit for purpose.”

  

• ✍🏻 (Eponymous Substack) rediscovers the magic of Endell Street, and specifically Parsons, which has been a firm favourite of mine for years. “It was just... well lovely really.”

• Joel Golby reviews Quality Wines for the Standard in the first week post-Ellis. It is, incredibly, the first major print review of this London institution, which I reviewed nearly two years ago. “Quality Wines is very easy to fall into and very hard to leave. There is some spooky magic to that.”

• Giles Coren (Times) enjoys Romano’s, which I loved a few weeks ago. “It’s very grand and classy now and was three-quarters full of punters who had mostly made the effort to dress nicely and were slightly drunk.”

• Camilla Long (Sunday Times) adores the Latimer, a pub in Notting Hill. “They know how to do the most difficult thing in restaurants: underplay it.”

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) checks out Maza, a new Greek place in Mayfair. “A dish of grilled octopus is a faint reminder of the good old days… With charred skin and soft flesh and the simplicity of capers, lemon and olive oil, it’s a joy.”

• 🍽️ Andy Hayler (andyhayler.com) reports from Sino, the Ukrainian place in Notting Hill. “The restaurant was completely full on this Wednesday evening, and indeed multiple tables were turned all around us. It is easy to see why Suni is so popular.”

• 🍽️ Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) checks out Khao Bird, the Thai spot in Soho. “While the cooking wisely steers away from the wilder shores of northern Thai food (no luu, or cold blood soup, here), Khao Bird is a splendidly spiced blast of Siamese succour. Go with a crowd, and order for an army.”

  

• Nick Lander (jancisrobinson.com) visits Roe in Canary Wharf, which I reviewed a couple of years ago.

• Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Igni, a new “fire” place in Mayfair from Chef Theo Clench. “He's serving up wonderfully inventive food that never forgets that it's not just about the look of a dish, it's the taste.”

• Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) gets excited about MA/NA, a new Japanese restaurant in Mayfair from the team behind Les Mochis and Luna Omakese. “Being more focused on Japanese cuisine, it's a more refined, upmarket version of what they've been doing with the Los Mochis restaurants.”

• (Braise) reviews Lokal, a new Turkish place near Oxford Circus. “It’s just Turkish food, but zhuzhed up a little, in a room that feels fit for a celebration, with a few complicated cocktails for good measure. That shouldn’t feel remarkable, but so far in London, it strangely is.”

• Alex Larman (The Arbuturian) checks out The Hunter’s Moon in South Kensington. “Our hearts were fired with the excellence of everything we ate and drank. This particular hunter hits the spot, and no mistake.”

• (Dining Out) raves about Levan, a French wine bar in Peckham and a recent residency by Parisian wine bar Déviant. “They serve fancy food and drinks - let’s not mince our words, it’s true - but in a chilled out way, with an experimental streak, and this lunch felt like it balanced rigour with levity.”

• @Amanda David (Eat this Now!) heads to the Flour & Grape in Bermondsey, where she gnoshes on linguine with tiger prawns, “In a delicate Sicilian datterini tomato sauce, served with hand-made linguine. This is, for me, a perfect lunch dish: light, fresh and flavourful.”

• The Observer didn’t publish a restaurant review this week, focusing instead on a run-down of London’s hotel bakeries.

Beyond London

• Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) dives into Sri Lankan at Kochchi in Glasgow. “Kochchi is a welcome addition to Glasgow and an exciting new chapter in the long story of this short lane.”

• (Cheese & Biscuits) heads to Leeds to try the Highland Laddie. “I had an absolute blast at the Highland Laddie and urge you to book a table as soon as you possibly can.”

Thanks so much for reading this week’s update. Let me know what you think in the Comments, and please do subscribe if you haven’t already.

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After all, spend more than 5 minutes reading history, and it’s clear that “India,” while one of the world’s most interesting and significant countries these days, is also a fairly recent, British-imposed contrivance. South Asia or the Indian subcontinent — as you like — are actually a wonderfully complex series of overlapping regions, defined by thousands of years of sweeping conquest, migration, and complex geography.

So there really is no such thing as “Indian” food. Like the subcontinent, food is best understood by region.

Make sense? Great.

Koyal is the best Indian food that I have ever experienced.

The force behind this extraordinary place is Chef Nand Kishor Semwal, who led the kitchen at Trishna in Marylebone to a Michelin star, then opened Gymkhana, earning a star there within 6 months. Born in the Himalayas, he worked in top places in India before coming to the UK. His food expresses his own roots and journey.

It’s clear from his cooking and his track record that he is extraordinarily gifted. And if you like food, even a little, you’ll want to try it.

Here’s another way to look at it: Right now, you can head to Gymkhana in Mayfair — if you can get a booking — and pay £160 for the tasting menu. Or you can make a foodie pilgrimage to Surbiton and enjoy better food for about half the cost. For wine, the pairings at Gymkhana will set you back £110. At Koyal, you can bring your own bottle and pay a reasonable £25 for corkage.

Which is how this happened:

I made the trip to Koyal at the behest of Andy Hayler and wine-writer Douglas Blyde, who sadly couldn’t actually make it. But happily, Andy and I were joined by Chef Larry Jayasekara from The Cocochine and committed international foodie and wine lover, Polo Tang. All of us brought wine.

Andy is a committed Koyal-ist, and has reported on 10 of his meals there. Naturally, we left him to manage the food. The next few hours disappeared into a Georgian-era procession of removes, punctuated by brilliant dishes and complemented by the fantastic wine that everyone brought along.

The first round of starters included “Beetroot Tikki,” a delightful cake of ground beetroot, lightly battered and fried, then served with yoghurt and coriander chutney. It was impossibly well balanced with multiple dimensions of flavour, all enticing. A dish of Hara Pyaaz, Aloo & Palak Ke Bhajiye — spring onion, potato, and spinach fritters — was equally delicate and miraculous, held together with careful frying and a small dose of hope. There was also a plate of even more delicate and dangerous puri, to be filled with broth and eaten in one go, lest your shirt become a casualty.

Chat, filled with sweet potato and kale, then topped with yoghurt, pomegranate, and a coriander sauce demonstrated a dexterity with sweetness, and offered a balance to the other, spicier starters.

Then came lamb chops prepared in the Tandoor, with a perfect dusting of Kashmiri chilli and garam masala. They were pink and gorgeous and consumed down to the bones. There was black pepper stone bass that, were it part of any other lunch, would have been the foremost highlight.

Which brings me to the chicken. If you are visiting during the week, you can pre-order a very special chicken that Chef Nand imports from Arnaud Tauzin in Les Landes, southwest France. Andy says it is the best chicken in the world. Chef Larry agrees — he uses the same ones at The Cocochine — and explains that they are entirely free ranging, grow slowly, and are fed on maize that’s produced on the farm. For the final few weeks, they are fed only whole maize and milk, which develops an extra layer of fat between fish and skin and creates a distinctive favour and golden colour.

At Koyal, the chicken is served in a several ways throughout the meal. For starters, there is chicken tikka, malai tikka, and chicken lollipops. For mains, the bird is used in methi chicken — a delightful curry made from fenugreek leaves, onions, tomatoes, and yoghurt. I have never had anything quite like it. And across all of the dishes, the chicken stands out as a truly special experience.

But there’s something more: While we’re enjoying the chicken starters, Chef Larry and I start talking about the accompanying salad. (You can see it in the photo just above.) On first glance, it looks like a decorative garnish. It isn’t. It’s a fantastic and vital accompaniment for all three preparations of the chicken — adding acid, herbal notes, and a bit of sweetness. There is corn, onion, tomato, cucumber, coriander, and tiny shavings of chilli. The care that went into making this salad is scarcely believable, even for a place with a Michelin star. The onions have been selected then tasted one by one to ensure the right flavour balance. Same with the chilli peppers. None is too hot nor too mild. The tomatoes have been shaved, but only after their seeds have been carefully removed to keep the salad’s moisture content at the correct level.

This level of care and attention to detail has gone into every dish.

Other mains include a vindaloo made from wild boar, more tender and with a greater depth of flavour than normal pork. As someone who slightly fears vindaloo, I try it with trepidation. The spice levels strike just the right balance. Hot but not catastrophic. Delicious but not overwhelming.

Muntjac Dum Biryani — deer, saffron, and onions — is served under the traditional pastry top. When carefully removed table side, all of the aromas arrive like a passing train. The rice is perfectly cooked, moist and wonderful. The venison is perfect. I may not be able to eat Biryani anywhere again.

Even the breads — a Peshwari naan and a Lasooni or garlic naan — are elevated. Aloo Gobhi, one of my favourites at our local curry place, is on another plane of existence. It lasts microseconds.

Throughout our Thursday afternoon visit, Koyal hums along. It is a large, comfortable space. Andy tells me that the upstairs dining room will hold another hundred or so people. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the place is always heaving.

Chef Nand comes by to visit a couple of times. His friendliness and positive radiance is reflected in his whole team. They know his food. They know the menu. They are offering peak hospitality without Michelin formality. I wish I lived closer to Surbiton.

By the end of our visit, Koyal has me thinking differently about the food of the subcontinent. Sure, I’ve had great, refined Indian food before. But I haven’t spent as much time as I would like getting to know the regional inflections or exploring applications of interesting ingredients. As with so many things, I have much more to learn. But if it can taste like this, I could not be more excited about the journey.

So, while I’m booking tickets to Delhi, Goa, and the Himalayas, I hope you’ll book tickets to Surbiton. It’s much closer than Mumbai.

It’s also great fun for a professional lunch or dinner. A real expedition and a chance to demonstrate unusual knowledge of the London food scene. Forget Gymkhana and Mayfair. We’re off to Surbiton. Grab a couple of bottles of wine. The train departs Waterloo every 15 minutes or so. Chef Nand and his team will be waiting, with the best Indian food that I’ve ever tasted.

Quick hit: The best Indian food that I’ve ever tasted.
Details: Booking advised. Surbiton. ££.
Visit their website. More on Instagram and from Andy Hayler.
Find it on Google Maps. 59-63 Brighton Rd, Surbiton KT6 5LR

Thanks for reading this week’s review. Needless to say, if Andy does a report on our lunch or Polo offers his views on Instagram, I will share links. Tell me what you think in the Comments. And please subscribe if you haven’t already.

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So, I’m a pretty positive person. I try to find the hope and upside in just about every situation. And I try to bring that sense of optimism to Professional Lunch, particularly these Monday updates. With that in mind, I hope that this week will be an outlier, because the theme is bad news. The government’s economic policies are, as expected, damaging restaurants. Famous restaurateurs like Yotam Ottolenghi and Tom Kerridge are speaking out, asking for help. But the bad news keeps coming and is likely to continue. Let’s explore, and I’ll try to get back to some rays of hope and optimism next week.

Mercato Metropolitano to Shut Down

It is one of London’s most popular street food venues. And for months, its future has been in doubt. Created on the site of an old paper factory in Elephant & Castle, Mercato Metropolitano has drawn diners from across London and around the world to enjoy an eclectic mix of global cuisines.

But now, it’s clear that the site will give way to redevelopment, and the market will take its last orders later this year.

Writing for , Caterina Urbano digs into the detail, and wonders whether displacing culturally vital places like the market makes sense. On the other hand, the need for new housing in central London is well known and increasingly imperative, and the location will provide for 900 new homes.

London has always torn itself down to build anew, and so it must again. But it’s a shame to lose Mercato Metropolitano. I hope its many vendors will find new places elsewhere. For now, we’ve got the whole summer to enjoy it while it lasts.

David Ellis Stands Down from The Standard

I was mystified when The Standard parted ways with Jimi Famurewa. A fantastic writer, Famurewa also brought a much-needed diverse perspective to the restaurant critic’s beat. And I wasn’t sure that Going Out Editor David Ellis would offer anything fresh to London’s busy restaurant landscape.

I was entirely wrong.

Ellis has been fantastic. Over the past two years, he has excelled in the role of critic, proving a delightful writer in his own right. I’ve come to trust his judgement, and I value his genuine interest in food and the restaurant scene.

So it was disappointing to learn via Instagram that his review of Le Garrick, published this week, will be his last for the paper.

Ellis’s departure creates yet another vacancy in the ranks of major, professional critics. The Observer has relied on a disappointing revolving cast of writers since Jay Rayner left. The Independent hasn't run a restaurant review since January. The Mail’s space for Tom Parker Bowles seems to shrink by the day. Only The Times and FT seem really committed to in-depth restaurant coverage.

For Londoners, the end of the Standard’s specialist Going Out team — Josh Barrie also recently left the paper — is a real loss. Staying on top of London’s ever-evolving landscape of eating and drinking is tough, and requires full-time attention.

Sadly, I suspect this is the new normal. The publishing business is being badly disrupted by AI platforms. Traffic is down, which means ad revenue is down, and that forces hard choices. Restaurant reviews used to be vital SEO magnets for traffic. Brand name reviewers like Rayner were trusted voices that added to a paper’s cachet. Now, editors must make the most of the resources they have. So I don’t expect we’ll be seeing a new full time critic at The Standard.

But this new normal forces readers to accept an unsatisfactory future: No one is looking for the next O’Loughlin, Rayner, Famurewa, or Gill. That’s a huge cultural loss. It’s also a practical one. Most restaurant writers start as writers, not chefs or restaurateurs. (Nick Lander is a notable exception.) They learn about food through experience, and the great ones learn very well.

The Observer’s approach stinks because its reviewers don’t understand restaurants or food, and they haven’t had time to learn. So a typical Observer review has about the same value as a TripAdvisor or Google write-up. Which prompts the worrying question: Why bother?

Because that’s my biggest fear: Major publishers will simply decide that I’m right, and they won’t bother, and we’ll have to rely on restaurant tips from Eating with Tod.

Thankfully, there is an alternative. I am glad that writers like , , , , , , , , and so many others have found a home on Substack and similar platforms. And I am comfortable with the trend: Big publishers will slowly wind down their restaurant coverage, and it will migrate elsewhere. Great restaurant writing will continue. So maybe the future for restaurant writing is bright. It just doesn’t feel that way at the moment.

Spaghetti House Goes Under

It has influenced London and UK food culture since it opened in 1955. For a while, you could find Spaghetti House products on the shelves of Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. It defined a genre for two generations of Londoners. And it gave its name to the “Spaghetti House Siege” in 1975 when a group of robbers held nine staff hostage in the basement of the Knightsbridge branch for six days.

It closed its five remaining branches this week, and thanked its customers for decades of loyalty. Its management said that, “years of increasing costs from the pandemic, Brexit, government budgets, and global instability,” hastened its end.

Miss: Rosi at the Beaumont

Hits & Misses are mini-reviews of places that were either (a) good, but not quite good enough to do a full review and add to the Guide, (b) had a flaw or two, or (c) that I revisited following a prior review.

Another week, another restaurant where the chef has sold their name to a hotel and the result is mediocrity. First, it was Mezzogiorno, branded with the name of Chef Francesco Mazzei, the force behind Franco’s and countless television appearances. Disappointing and disastrous.

Now it is Rosi, the restaurant in the Beaumont hotel, described on its website as “A classic British restaurant with modern flair from Chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen.”

The chef is well known for her work at the well-regarded Northcote in Lancashire, which has held a Michelin star for years. Rosi opened last year, the replacement for the famous Colony Grill Room, to positive reviews.

I visited for a professional lunch recently and was sorely disappointed.

The food was fine. The chefs who Goodwin-Allen most likely trained were producing the menu more or less as specified. But it was nothing special. Even the signature create-your-own-Sundae gag was badly done — far too much cream and not enough ice cream for the over-the-top cost.

Meanwhile, the service was frustratingly, bafflingly bad. Far below any standard that Goodwin-Allen would tolerate. And, indeed, far below what Beaumont managers should allow. Food was slow to arrive. Staff were unavailable or arguing at the front door. Wine glasses sat empty. It took three attempts and 20 minutes to get the bill.

Mediocrity in the heart of Mayfair can’t survive, no matter whose name is on the door. Goodwin-Allen will, I’m afraid, regret selling her name, and Rosi, I fear, is not long for the world.

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• ✍🏻 David Ellis (Standard) offers his final review for The Standard, visiting Le Garrick, a long-standing French spot in Covent Garden. “Le Garrick is the sort of place I will be going to until it shuts or I drop. It is imperfect and in that way, we match; we suit each other.”

• Grace Dent (Guardian) has a mixed experience at Auguste, the Abruzzo-focused trattoria in Hackney. “Auguste shows some fleeting moments of greatness, but there’s plenty of room for improvement among the serious bits and a little clowning around.”

  • Ben McCormack (Wallpaper) also reviews Auguste. “Serving simple Italian food and drinks in a small dining room offers no space for clowning around – but Auguste’s charming owners deliver an impressive performance.”

• Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) is the latest to try Osteria Vibrato, the snazzy spot in Soho from Charlie Mellor. “This is one of those glorious places expressly designed for a long, languorous lunch or dinner. It radiates joy, hospitality and good cheer. It demands you get stuck right in.”

• 🍽️ Rebecca Nicholson (Observer) enjoys Cometa, the Mexican seafood spot in Charlotte Street. “It is more of an acid-lemon jumpsuit than it lets on. It is shouting, at the top of its voice: don’t look at me… I’m shy.”

  

• Andy Hayler (andyhayler.com) reports from Oudh 1722, which I reviewed last week, and finds, “an enjoyable experience but one where the kitchen was clearly still feeling its way.”

  • Jules Pearson (LOTI) has also been to Oudh 1722. “The food here is exceptional, and although they are still finding their feet, we wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Oudh 1722 win a Michelin star next year. Best get in there quick while you can.”

• 🍽️ Hayler also visits much-reviewed Lilibets in Mayfair. “Lilibets offers a large, appealing menu, comfortable surroundings, nice food and classy service. It is not surprising that it was packed out on this weekday, doing 170 covers tonight and turning tables.”

• (Braise) goes for pizza at Bar Etna in Newington Green. “The essentials are here though, with good dough and outstanding marinara, already enough to place it in the upper echelons of London’s pizza hierarchy. If it can get better from here, Etna might truly erupt.”

  • ✍🏻 Marina O’Loughin (FT) uses her FT column to explore the explosion of pizza across London. “I’m not sure I trust a person who fully disdains pizza.”

• Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Kawan, the new place in Chinatown from YouTube star Uncle Roger. “Given how huge Uncle Roger is, Kawan could so easily have been one of those cashing-in restaurants, where the celebrity in question pays basic lip service to the food, counts the money and laughs all the way to the bank. Happily for his fans - and somewhat in preservation for his brand - Nigel/Roger has decided to do things differently.”

  • Catherine also checks out Ornella, the second restaurant from movie-star Theo James, after Lupa in Islington. “We actually preferred it to Lupa, so maybe our tastes lean more to Milanese than Roman?”

• Simon Rumley (The Arbuturian) ventures to Milk Beach, a new Australian place in Soho. “Following what amounted to a decent skip through the menu, Larry and I aren’t necessarily any the wiser about what exactly Australian cuisine is, but we’re most certainly liking the Milk Beach offering, its friendliness and hospitality.”

• Giles Coren (Times) and Camilla London (Sunday Times) didn’t publish reviews this week.

Beyond London

• ✍🏻 Jay Rayner (FT) travels to Barcelona to try local gem Colmado Wilmot. “It is a simple place up on the hill, named after a man who was the very definition of a good time had by all, which left its mark.”

• Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) checks out Macau Kitchen in Edinburgh. “Macau Kitchen is a thrilling, joyous and — yes — progressive restaurant, world-embracing yet singular, unlike anywhere else.”

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) travels to Berkhamsted to try Wild. “Wild is indeed the wildest thing to happen in Berkhamsted since the escaped wallaby.”

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Now, for the first time, he has opened a restaurant in London.

I am trying desperately to avoid trotting out a raft of clichés at this point, and I have no idea what motivating factors might be behind his decision to come to London. But I do recall what Chef Thomas Keller — already America’s best chef, secure behind the stoves at the French Laundry in Napa, California — said when he was opening Per Se in New York. “If you haven’t succeeded in New York, you haven’t made it.” I wonder if there is similar thinking at play here.

London is one of the world’s best and most competitive food cities. So I instinctively admire any chef who is willing to brave that environment to compete in the capital, especially in the current economic climate.

And I’m happy to report that Oudh 1722 stacks up very well, indeed.

The focus is on Awadhi cuisine, developed in the Nawabi courts of Lucknow in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are strong influences from the courts’ Shia traditions as well as Persia and the Mughal empire. The courts were famous for their hospitality and cultural sophistication, and Oudh 1722 delivers on that heritage, as well.

The meal opens with shorba, a broth traditionally offered to welcome guests. Ours included lamb, peas, and fresh asparagus. It was a fantastic, spicy beginning.

The next round started with gol guppas, delicate pastry cups made from unleavened wheat dough that are lightly fried, then filled with tiny mung bean sprouts, microscopic bits of potato, and a jaljeera broth made from an exotic spice mix. Eat in one bite and quickly, lest you wind up wearing it.

Gilawat followed. These were described both in the restaurant and by Gemini AI as “legendary, ultra-soft, melt-in-the-mouth kebabs.” And I am happy to confirm their legendary status. Across the whole range of dishes that we tried, these were my favourite. The lamb version was bursting with meaty flavour, balanced with a selection of spices. The mushroom variety was a delightful umami bomb. Spread the filling on the accompanying flat bread — which would surely please Lucknow’s princely classes — and eat with delight. An accompanying dish of dahi paneer featured the most flavourful of that delicious cheese that I have ever enjoyed.

After a short breather, mains began to arrive.

Gulnaar, described as the Awadhi take on butter chicken, featured juicy thigh and breast meat dressed with a wonderfully creamy, cooling sauce. It sat brilliantly next to machhli qaliya, a fiery, perfectly cooked fish curry. Mutanjan dum biryani with oxtail included strong Persian influences in a dish originally created for royals. The oxtail melted from the bone, and as we dug into the heap of lovely rice, we relished more meaty discoveries.

Given the singularly positive experiences so far, we decided to try both of the desserts. Ras malai was the only miss of the meal. It’s a dough made from curdled milk, and none of us could quite get excited about the texture or the subtle flavours. Gulab jamum, on the other hand, was fabulous. Sponge flavoured with orange juice, orange peel, and Chantilly cream, it was a final highlight on a great experience.

All of this was the work of Head Chef George Cooke and his team. Cooke has done stints at Brat and Noble Rot, among others, and it seems that Chef Aktar has found a solid partner to execute his vision for Awadhi cuisine in London while he splits time between Oudh 1722 and Opheem.

Beyond the cooking, the space is gorgeous. Chef Aktar and his team have converted the stretch of three Georgian townhouses which formerly housed Lupins into a sleek, stylish yet comfortable restaurant with an open kitchen that’s a pleasure to observe from your table.

Oudh 1722 stacks up well compared to other high-end Indian places in London. Our visit came on their fifth night of service, so it’s too early to tell whether they have ambitions for Michelin stars. But it compares favourably to places like Brigadiers in terms of food and experience.

For now, Oudh 1722 has established itself as a great place for a pleasant professional lunch or dinner, perfect for a group of 4 or 5 people. It’s a 5 minute walk from my office, so I look forward to returning soon, and often, for years to come.

Quick hit: Delightful introduction to Awadhi from the courts of Lucknow in a sleek, stylish space.
Details: Booking essential. Borough. £££.
Visit their website. More on Instagram.
Find it on Google Maps. 66 Union St, SE1 1TD.

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I also had an interesting question from a curious reader: Why, in my writings here, do I refer to my spouse, life-partner, and closest companion as “my wife,” rather than by her name. To be clear, my practice of using this reference is purely about remaining grounded in the facts. It is not an expression of social judgement or my views on the patriarchy or anything else. But she has expressed a preference that I keep her name out of Professional Lunch, and I am eager to respect that preference. Gill referred to his partner as “The Blonde,” which dehumanises in a way that I don’t like. So I’m sticking to the facts. Just the facts, and that’s all.

Dining Evolution: Appetisers Beating Mains

The Handbook, an ultra-hip lifestyle publisher aimed at people a lot younger than me, caught my attention last week. A piece from Mallory Legg, one their restaurant writers, opines on the “Slow Decline of the Main Course.”

Appetisers aren’t just about quantity or variety; they are about movement. They keep a table alive. A steady rotation of dishes arriving, being passed around, half discussed, half eaten. No one is stuck with a single plate, committed to one flavour, one texture, or one decision. The table is in it together, reaching across, negotiating last bites, ordering one more if they’re still a bit hungry late.

There’s also something to be said for the pacing. A main arrives, and that’s it — conversation dips, focus narrows, and suddenly everyone is quietly working through their own plate. But small plates? Appetisers? They interrupt, demanding attention, sparking opinions or inspiration. Have you tried this? You need a bit of this with that. Appetisers are dynamic, they are social, and they are far more fun.

The Telegraph, which aims at, shall we say, a more mature audience, has spotlighted the same trend via food writer Clare Finney:

Last year a poll from Cadbury suggested that three quarters of Gen Z adults are more likely to skip a main meal and opt for multiple starters when dining out. The reasons are as many and varied as, well, starters themselves, and for this age group it is mainly cost-related. Yet this is also the generation that gave us “picky bits” and “grazing boards”, for whom sampling lots of little things rather than committing to one big thing is as much a way of life as a formula for eating out. …

Starters increasingly offer not just the best variety, but the chef’s best material. The small plates are where I’ve experienced some of my finest mouthfuls.

She also digs into the economics for restaurants, and it turns out that a table full of starters is just about a wash compared to the more traditional approach.

Much to my surprise, I have some sympathy with the pro-appetiser crowd. I prefer the more tradition approach — starter, main, dessert — but the appetiser section regularly shows a lot more interesting choices than the mains. There is more room to experiment. More latitude for creativity.

That said, like many things, I think the death of main courses is being overstated. And the proliferation of small plate restaurants makes it harder to find a place to dine with someone that you don’t know that well. After all, it’s hard to share food with a stranger.

Galetti Returns. Metzger Expands.

I don’t normally cover announcements about new projects and new openings, but I’m making an exception this week because two of my favourite chefs have interesting news.

First, Monica Galetti, the admirable long-time judge of Masterchef: The Professionals is opening 130 Primrose on Regent’s Park Road, which will operate as a social enterprise. Restaurant reports that, “The restaurant will offer employees paid work, accredited training, and clear progression within hospitality.” … “Candidates for 130 Primrose are being recruited through referrals from partner charities.” It should open next month.

Second, Spencer Metzger, the brilliant chef behind Row on 5, is opening a French bistro called Chez Rose in the space on Pollen Street previously occupied by Little Social. Hot Dinners says that, “It's going to be a modern French bistro that's been inspired by Spencer's grandmother.” And Metzger tells Restaurant that it’s, “opened ‘on a shoestring budget’ to stay true to its bistro roots.” I can’t wait to try it.

London Rises, Again

As befitting its name, many of the readers of this Substack are London-based professionals — bankers, lawyers, accountants, consultants, or comms people like me, among various other things. Professionals thrive — and go to lunch more often — when our city thrives. And the last few years have been tough for London, particularly the Square Mile, which has been the engine room for so much growth and economic prosperity for centuries.

But The Economist reports on research from the Z/Yen think tank which suggests London’s status is improving. “Whereas London and New York once vied for the top spot, London fell to a distant second place in 2020. It now rivals the Big Apple once more.”

And the story hangs some interesting numbers on potential professional lunchers. “Within the Square Mile that bounds London’s historic financial centre, 225,000 people worked in finance in 2024. This was 36,000 more than in 2019, despite the one-two punch of Brexit and the covid-19 pandemic. Another 181,000 worked in auxiliary fields such as law and accountancy, up by 51,000 over the same period.”

With positive news so scarce, it’s nice to see a good hometown story.

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• ✍🏻 🍽️ Jonathan Nunn (Vittles) returns from a writing sabbatical to review buzzy Impala in Soho. “In ten years’ time, I wonder if we will talk about Impala the same way we talk about Kiln or Brat: as a restaurant that changed the industry.”

  • Giles Coren (Times) also checks out Impala. “It’s one of the hottest tickets of the year and although that is mostly on account of Meedu Saad’s staggeringly original and delicious cooking, I’d go back just for the front of house, Joanna Cromwell, and her epic combination of charm, competence, wit, intellect and fun.”

  • ✍🏻 (Smashed) offers one his too-infrequent restaurant reviews. “Impala is the restaurant of the moment, but I can see it becoming a London institution.”

  • Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) is there, too. “Impala is unlike any restaurant I’ve ever been to before… It’s head chef Meedu Saad’s menu, as thrilling to read as it is exhilarating to eat. For this is a kitchen where pastilla meets pickled walnut, white beans mix with bottarga, and bird-tongue pasta comes with spiced oxtail. Hold on to your chair. This is one hell of a ride.”

• Grace Dent (Guardian) loves Mitsu, a new Japanese-ish place in Shoreditch. “It is a large, warm space with great staff, and I’d happily pop by again for a solo lunch. Businessy groups will appreciate the bigger booths, while friends and couples can chat happily because the soundproofing is brilliant.”

• Andy Hayler (andyhayler.com) reports from the Yellow Bittern in King’s Cross, which caused so much controversy last year. “The Yellow Bittern is certainly an unusual restaurant. The food is very plain and stripped down, but the ingredients used are of good quality and the cooking was fine e.g. the asparagus was cooked precisely. It is a quirky place but the fact that all the seats were taken on this weekday lunch suggests that it has found a successful niche.”

• Jay Rayner (FT) visits Simpson’s in the Strand and Romano’s, both of which I reviewed previously, but focuses on breakfast. “It’s just so damn civilised, a word that describes the whole of the reborn Simpson’s-in-the-Strand.”

• David Ellis (Standard) heads to Ognisko, a Polish spot in South Kensington. “What you feel here is looked after. It’s as if they insist you have a good time, which comes from the top.”

• Camilla Long (Sunday Times) heads all the way to Stratford to try Café Jikoni in the new V&A East. “For mains we order the toastie, a pie and a plate of the macaroni dal (a special). The pie, with a thick orange turmeric crust, is photogenic, but I’d expect a bit more chicken for £17, and the taste — well, it’s ordinary. And the macaroni dal is pretty meh, and the cheese toastie is a real disappointment".”

  

• Rebecca Buchanan (The Arbuturian) visits Alex Dilling at the Hotel Café Royal in Soho. “As Michelin-starred dining experiences go, this is a memorable one; a symphony of flavours and techniques to make you gasp with surprise, smile with delight and groan Sally-like with pleasure.”

• Toby White (The Arbuturian) heads to Bistro Sablé in Islington, which I reviewed right after it opened. “Bistro Sablé doesn’t just borrow from the bistro playbook, it understands it. There’s confidence in the simplicity, warmth in the execution, and enough charm to make the whole thing feel like an escape rather than an imitation.”

• (Braise) is the latest to include a clown reference in his review of Auguste in Hackney. “It’s larger menu not good, not bad, but maddeningly inconsistent… [It] ranges from excellent to catastrophic, which is an uncomfortable betting spread when you’re spending up to £18 per small plate.” … “The highs are high, but the lows are cavernous.”

• (Eats Dulwich) ventures into town to try Veeraswamy, which is under threat of closure after 100 years. “iI I’d been hunting in the back of my wardrobe for a suitably smart elegant shirt before setting off. Here’s hoping for another 100 years.”

• Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) checks out Bar Etna, a new pizza bar from the team behind Four Legs. “This is 100% a must-visit for anyone interested in London's pizza game.”

  • Catherine also test drives Kumori, a new Soho sushi bar. “It's just as much a handy place to dive in for a quick handroll as it would be to go for a longer meal and make more of the cocktails and sake list.”

Beyond London

• Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) enjoys Knockinghaam Lodge in Portpatrick, Wigtownshire. “The ten-bedroom hotel harks back to the unbridled days of the grand tour, shooting parties, all that problematic Victorian stuff we’re either constantly trying to run away from or towards in this country.”

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) checks out Trillium in Birmingham, reviewing the same lunch that Tom Parker Bowles enjoyed last week, but not quite as excited. “I’d like to see Purnell and co reverse their chefs’ whites and use them as straitjackets... Then, duly restrained, their gorgeous food could be set free of nuts and cream, breadcrumbs and leaves, oils and sauces.”

• Mina Holland (Observer) heads to Sylvan, a vegetarian spot in Glasgow. “Sylvan could be a blueprint for the kind of vegetarian restaurant we need more of, at once comforting and elevated, qualities captured by our coconut rice pudding with cherries and red wine.”

• Ari Alibhai (The Sauce) checks out Àclèaf at Boringdon Hall in Devon. “Complexity only where necessary. Classic ingredients. A light touch. Àclèaf has more than a Michelin star. It has a chef with a genuine Midas touch.”

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It was hidden in a tiny alley in Piccadilly. It didn’t even have its own sign. Just a little neon hanger in front that said, “Sushi.”

It started trading in April 1996, and from the beginning, it had a key advantage. Its founder and owner was Katsu Yoshino, a seafood importer who supplied many of the UK’s top restaurants.

I first discovered it by accident in 2008, brought by my friend and sushi connoisseur Marcus. He said they had the best tuna in the UK, and I’m sure that was right. Weirdly, it never attracted much attention from the national critics, but ex-restaurateur Nick Lander knew a great thing when we saw it, and wrote an insightful review for the FT focusing on Lisa Maitland, Yoshino’s genius manager, who seemingly knew every customer.

My wife and I became regulars, though our visits got less frequent in the years before COVID. And one day, I noticed that Yoshino had disappeared.

Now I finally understand what happened. In the period following COVID, Yoshino’s landlord decided to redevelop the building. Most of the tenants moved out. Yoshino fought the order, eventually winding up in court. But their landlord was the Crown Estate, and resistance was futile. The restaurant finally succumbed in 2023.

Their search for a new location was complex. They wanted to stay in Piccadilly, but were effectively on the naughty list thanks to the litigation, so found it hard to secure anything.

Eventually, in 2025, after two years in the wilderness, they moved into a new space on Duke of York Street, just above St. James Square, that had been home to Italian-spot Al Duca for 25 years.

I’ve been slow to get back, but finally managed a visit last Friday night. And I now bitterly regret that it took me so long to return.

Yoshino remains superb. All of the ingredients, particularly the seafood, are wonderfully fresh. The preparations are authentic and full of flair. The sake selection is excellent. And Lisa is still there, acting as the face, voice, and conscience of the place, 30 years after its founding just up the street.

I’d had a big lunch, so I suggested Yoshino for something light. And we wound up just ordering an assortment of sushi and a bit of tempura with a glass of sake.

Lisa made it feel as well choreographed as a banquet. One dish arrived, perfectly timed, right after the next. The meal built on itself in a way that we could not have intended when we ordered, but Lisa managed everything to perfection. Everything we ate was simply delicious. And also perfect. The tempura was perfectly battered and perfectly cooked. Sushi was perfectly made. Sake was perfectly poured.

After so long searching, it’s not particularly surprising that the old Al Duca space doesn't feel quite right for an authentic sushi place. There are white table clothes, and there’s no sushi bar or way to engage with the chefs. Even when it was Al Duca, the space was always a bit spartan for me.

But I’ll give Yoshino a pass on the slightly off-kilter décor. When desperation guides decision-making, it’s impossible to reach the ideal.

I’d also suggest that it doesn’t much matter. As long as Lisa is managing Yoshino, it will be a gem in whatever form it might choose to present itself.

So we conclude with our usual exam question: Is Yoshino a good place for professional lunch? In short, yes. It’s in an ideal location. It’s dramatically less expensive than the high end sushi joints in Mayfair. I’d suggest downright affordable. Notwithstanding the oddity of the space, it is very comfortable — an easy place to sit with colleagues. And the food is outstanding.

Yoshino also strikes me as one of those slightly under-the-radar places that can impress. Another reason to consider it.

I’m delighted to see Yoshino returned to Piccadilly. At a time when restaurants are finding everything so difficult, it is inspiring to see one that has found a way through the fires of failure to recovery, and, I hope, prosperity.

It has earned a chance to succeed. And yet, I can only find one mention of its reopening. I hope others will notice and go.

Quick hit: Fantastic, authentic sushi delivered with pride and perfection.
Details: Booking advised. St. James. £££.
Visit their website. More on Instagram.
Find it on Google Maps. 4-5 Duke of York St, SW1Y 6LA.

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Masterchef Mark O’Brien Features as Dreamland Gem Briefly Restored.

Movies were new in 1935, and theatres were springing up all over. Margate was enjoying a sustained heyday. The Dreamland amusement park decided to capitalise on the popularity of cinema and built its theatre using the fashionable art deco style in a dominant position right behind the beach. On the first floor, they created a huge brasserie-style café with giant picture windows that framed a stunning west-facing view of Margate Sands and the sea beyond. It was tailor made to watch the sunset. And there was a tremendous art deco bar, made from polished wood. A baby grand piano stood in the corner.

Over the years, the space evolved. For a while, it a massive all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet called Cosmos. And then, like much of Margate’s seafront in the 1980s and ‘90s, it turned to dust.

Last weekend, it was briefly restored to something of its previous glories. The brilliant F&B team at Dreamland, led by Hannah Jeeves, invited guests to come and experience the space.

For food, they turned to Mark O’Brien, recently a finalist in Masterchef: The Professionals and presently the chef at nearby Willy’s, which is attracting rave reviews. (See Grace Dent in Critics Wrap-Up below.)

For the record, I was tracking Chef Mark very early: Two years ago, I adored his Snake Oil Barbecue residency at the Daisy cocktail bar.

It’s clear that his journey to Masterchef finalist has rightly put the focus on the talented Irishman, and that his own skills and techniques have continued to evolve.

His dinner at the Dreamland Café was, well, a dream. And it was made even more miraculous by the fact that the building has no electricity or running water, so Mark and his team had to build a temporary kitchen to cater for roughly a hundred guests.

Dinner opened with shared starters. A beef tartare on toast was particularly delicious. An American-style shrimp cocktail had real horseradish heat. Main course was “smoked and grilled piranha” with onions, bone marrow sauce, fantastic potatoes, and all the trimmings. Dessert of “Burnt eaton mess,” was a highlight. It was banquet-style catering, but not as you’re used to.

With Mark’s delicious food plus the amazing art deco atmosphere, it was a really special evening.

Before dinner, I got chatting with a local, who told me about attending formal dances in the downstairs ballroom back in the 1980s. She also recalled the Café, still operating at full tilt, as a special occasion place, worthy of getting dressed up.

Today, the building feels like a relic to admire, and while it would be easy to romanticise the possibility of a return to glory, it simply needs too much work for that to be practical in the short term. But massive kudos to the F&B team at Dreamland for making the most of the asset they have. I hope they’ll make it a slightly more regular series.

Wither Wine by the Bottle?

This FT article from Alice Lascelles (gift link) is generating lots of chat, posing a provocative question: “Is it last orders for wine by the bottle?”

Lascelles cites Liberty Wine’s annual Premium On-Trade Wine Report to support her view that diners are drinking less at restaurants and that smart restaurants are dramatically expanding their wine-by-the-glass range, relying on technologies like Coravin to protect both wine freshness and economic benefit.

I’m lucky to be a member at 67 Pall Mall, a private members club for wine lovers, which serves hundreds of wines by the glass. It’s fantastic to have the chance to try lots of new things and to carefully match a wine with a specific dish, then change to something else for the next course.

I’m delighted that restaurants like Row on 5, which features prominently in the FT piece, are giving diners more choices.

But I don’t think we’re facing the imminent end of pairing a good bottle of wine with lunch or dinner. Indeed, the same report shows that, while average wine consumption in restaurants has declined significantly since 2019, average spend per glass or bottle is up, particularly for premium choices. So restaurants are moving fewer bottles and glasses, but diners are willing to splurge more. So the solution, Liberty argues, isn’t just more choice. It’s also greater premiumisation.

I think this explains some of the changes we are seeing in restaurant wine lists. Newspaper critics and friends of mine regularly complain that the good bottle of wine at £40 has disappeared from wine lists. Given this data, selling more premium options is an entirely sensible choice from restaurants already stretched to the economic breaking point.

DRC Sells for $812,500

Speaking of expensive plonk, a bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti sold at auction last month in New York set a new world record. To be fair, this is a pretty special bottle. DRC is arguably the world’s most coveted wine, and there were only 600 bottles produced in 1945 before the famous vineyard’s rare pre-phylloxera vines were ploughed up for replanting. The provenance of this bottle was particularly perfect. And there’s a good chance that it’s the last time we’ll see this special wine in a public market.

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• ✍🏻 🍽️ David Ellis (Standard) tries Auguste, the new Abruzzo-focused place in Hackney. “The full bill was just shy of £300, which both flabbergasted and horrified us — the menu cunningly makes it look, at a glance, like the place is reasonable. Not so. There is more, but in truth I don’t feel right giving it a kicking. It has enormous promise, and Bagnall and Walters are extremely easy to admire. Auguste will never be the Ledbury but, well, I think it was having a wobble. An off night. Time will tell if I’m wrong.”

  • ✍🏻 (Bald Flavours) has a better experience at Auguste, perhaps offering evidence to support Ellis’s self-doubts. “They’re giving the people what they want—but the twist is that the people had no idea they wanted arrosticini.”

• ✍🏻 Jay Rayner (FT) heads to Sentosa in Bermondsey for Singapore-style chilli crab, and worries about his shirt. “We are given heaps of napkins, picks and crackers and a few transparent gloves, which I quickly give up on. They make me feel like I’m about to perform an intimate examination rather than just have lunch.”

• ✍🏻 (Hot Fat) offers her unique take on Simpson’s in the Strand, which I have raved about a few times. “There is something deeply erotic about my lunch at Simpson’s. I am beginning to realise there is something more aloof and hot about day-time indulgence.”

  

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) visits much-lauded Tiella in Hoxton. “Tiella leaps out from the pack, reminding me of the sort of Italian restaurants my father would take me to in London in the Eighties. They were unobtrusive, they were busy and we had fun. And I don’t remember what we ate.”

• Andy Hayler (andyhayler.com) reports from rebooted Orrery in Marylebone. “The main concern was the sheer number of small technical slips, which was a surprise given the track record of the executive chef, who was in the kitchen at this service. On the other hand, the galette dish showed that there is some real talent in the kitchen. Hopefully the cooking will settle down, and the early issues will be ironed out.”

  • Mallory Legg (The Handbook) also heads to Orrery. “The dish everyone talks about is the quail. … It’s rich, precise, and probably the finest moment on the menu in terms of dining.”

• Ben McCormack (Wallpaper) tries Idalia, the first new place in Olympia following regeneration. “Seasonal British ingredients are inflected with an international accent: whole wood-roasted turbot with shichimi togarashi butter and pickled daikon, or herb-crusted Herdwick lamb cutlet with courgette flower, rolled belly and ricotta.”

  • Mallory Legg (The Handbook) also visits Idalia. “You come not just to eat, but to feel something, to be momentarily whisked away into a version of London that is glossier and grander.”

• Camilla Long (Sunday Times) shreds Fenix, the new Piccadily outlet of the Manchester-based Greek chain. “At these prices, with this swagger, the food needs to be excellent. It isn’t. A friend who went later tells me his octopus actually came on a pre-broken plate. A reference to Greek plate-smashing, or just saving the diner the bother of hurling it across the room?”

• Kieran Morris (Observer) raves about Turkistan in Welling, confusingly the first Kazakh restaurant in the UK. “If you want to eat something you’ve never eaten before, in a part of the city you may never have been to, it’s places like Turkistan that make the capital feel bigger than you thought it was.”

• Ari Alibhai (The Sauce) ventures to The Tavern in Shoreditch. “Tavern sent out a near flawless meal on its first night, under the pressure of a full dining room, with the team giving the impression they were barely breaking a sweat. Now that’s just showing off.”

• Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives the newest branch of Padella in Soho. “The pasta is as good as it's ever been and it's still all priced very reasonably. Get in early before too many people realise it's opened and the (virtual) queue gets properly massive.”

• Sabrina Goodlife (Palate) revisits Bibi in Mayfair. “Today’s BiBi is all grown up: the cocktail list is now award winning, the menu is tighter and now boasts a £70 N25 caviar supplement. In a market of increasingly dumbed down food, BiBi chose to get smarter, and I couldn’t be happier about it.”

• (Palate) reviews Jarana, a new Peruvian place in Hammersmith. “Maybe Jarana just needs some time to get its bearings in London’s challenging (and costly) culinary scene, but once they get everything in order, trust that I’ll be on that sunny terrace, sipping a Spicy Peruvian, (finally) slurping ceviche and enjoying the sun.”

• Alex Larman (The Arbuturian) heads to Tom Brown at the Capital, and finds, “a place where magic of all kinds is in great supply.”

• (Dining Out) tries Sova, a new wine bar in Notting Hill. “In terms of variety and service and just sheer loveliness and charm, I do have to say that sova is my favourite new wine bar I’ve been to in ages.”

• Anna Selby (The Arbuturian) tries Luna Omakese in the City, which I enjoyed a few weeks ago. “Omasake, [Chef Leo Tanyag] explains, simply means, ‘You have to trust me.’ You’d be crazy not to.”

Beyond London

• ✍🏻 Giles Coren (Times) is at the peak of his powers, penning a lovely, mournful reflection on his recently-sold place in the Cotswolds, by way of reviewing The Hollow Botton pub. “We wake up sometimes on a Saturday morning when the sun is shining and one of us says, ‘Shall we go to the…’ and then, like a man with no legs who wakes up with an itchy foot, we remember it’s not there.”

• Grace Dent (Guardian) returns to Margate to try Willy’s, from Chef Mark O’Brien (see above). “Willy’s really is a whole lot of wonderful.”

• Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) tries Trillium in Birmingham. “Exalted, thoroughly modern cooking, with a great dollop of old-fashioned fun.”

• (Braise) enjoys Franceschetta 58 in Modena. “It impresses from beginning to end, that it feels like excellent value at less than €100 per head — including wine! — and that I would book again in a heartbeat.”

• checks out La Copine in the Mojave Desert in California. “I understand why this place is so beloved. In the middle of this dry, harsh desert environment La Copine stands out as a beacon of warmth and generosity, the menu is a love letter to local producers showcased in seasonal Southern California fare with a large side order of hipster cool.”

• Ed Gilbert (Gourmet Gorro) checks out Bryn Williams in Porth Eyries, not long ago the AA’s Restaurant of the Year for Wales. “Their technically accomplished and well-priced classical cooking, served in beautiful setting, makes this a celebrity restaurant which most definitely deserves its reputation.”

• Edible Reading ventures to Oxford to try The Port Mahon, but dislikes the main attraction. “The leg meat was a tiny bit tough, almost gamey, and there wasn’t perhaps as much of it as I’d hoped.”

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We are the proverbial simultaneous blessing and curse.

But when it comes to restaurants, the curse comes more to the fore. Because, thanks to all of the tourists, finding an unspoilt Tuscan classic is nigh on impossible.

Happily, there are one or two left, and Del Fagioli certainly qualifies.

Located near the Ponte alle Grazie, where the pedestrianised and heaving Via die Neri becomes the highly vehicular Corso dei Tintori, it would be easy to walk right past Del Fagioli without realising the gem hiding inside.

And I have. I’ve passed it on many occasions while taking the round about route to the Basilica di Santa Croce.

Not this time. This time, research paid off, and we managed to secure a booking.

First good sign: We were seated at a long table together with a group of five. That turned out to be a local family. The place seems pretty basic at first. There’s wood panelling. Well-used chairs. A bit of interesting art on the walls. And two brothers running the front of house in perfect harmony.

Second good sign: I ordered a fantastic bottle of Chianti Classico from Isole e Olena, one of our favourite producers. It was €40.

Third good sign: They brought an exemplar steak for us to inspect. It was huge and well marbled.

For my first course, I chose fresh pasta: Pappardelle with a Ragu made from local sausage and tomatoes. It was perfect. The pasta and the sausage and the tomatoes and the cheese and the Chianti, and I could have died very happy in that moment.

For my main, I passed on the steak — after all, on some level, steak is steak — and ordered the Ossobuco instead. I’m so glad I did. It was massive. Basically, two portions instead of one. Another big helping of that tomato sauce. Beautiful green beans and a side of Tuscan 'Fagioli Bianchi.’ We also had an order of fried zucchini flowers, fresh from the market. Another winner.

We were so full that we couldn’t manage dessert, but the list sounded outstanding.

As we asked for the bill, I remembered one other great sign from this unspoiled Tuscan delight: Cash only. And the whole bill — dinner for three people with a fantastic bottle of Chianti Classico — was less than €150.

I’m not sure there is a better deal to be had anywhere.

If you want to go, you’ve got to book and advance, and to do so, you have to call. The best time is right before evening service, about 6:30p local time, or 5:30p here in the UK.

But whatever hoops are required, Del Fagioli is well worth it. An unspoiled trattoria in the middle of Florence.

Flights from London City airport are available.

Quick hit: Unspoiled trattoria in the middle of Florence with outstanding Tuscan delights.

Details: Booking essential. Florence, Italy. £££.
No website. More on Instagram and from Michelin.
Find it on Google Maps. Corso dei Tintori, 47 r, Florence, 50122, Italy
To book, you must call: +39 055 244285

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Delight in a Glass: Wines of Montalcino

Let’s start with heresy: I prefer Brunello di Montalcino over Barolo and Barbaresco. I would much rather savour a lovely glass of Sangiovese Grosso than a similar dose of Nebbiolo. So, I simply had to seize the opportunity to spend two days tasting in Montalcino.

We wanted small, interesting producers, and we didn’t want to drive, so we turned to Chiara and her team at Montalcino Wine Tours. She did all of the hard work, and her superb colleague Carlotta made sure we had an amazing experience by handling the driving, helping bridge the occasional language gap, and providing her own expert views.

Over two days, we tasted with seven producers. In every case, we met the owner or winemaker. In every case, the wines were fantastic.

Brunello di Montalcino, of course, can only be made within its eponymous DOCG, and only from Sangiovese Grosso, a unique-to-Montalcino clone of the famous varietal with a more fulsome character than the wines you might expect from Chianti Classico or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Brunello can only be released 5 years following harvest, and it has to be aged for 2 years in oak — almost always in large, well-used casks.

The region also offers Rosso del Montalcino. Likewise made with 100% Sangiovese, it only requires a year of ageing, and winemakers tend to give it very little time in oak. The result is often a light, fruity wine made to be sold cheap and fast.

Happily, we found something very different. Across all our experiences, the Rosso turned out to be the biggest surprise. The current 2023 vintage provided excellent conditions for the Rosso, and much of the Rosso we enjoyed would rival its more famous, more aged sibling.

As for the Brunello, it was outstanding. Most of the places we visited offered wine from both 2020 and 2021. The earlier vintage, which had a wet and cold conclusion to a warm growing season, has developed quickly, so tannins had started to soften, and the wines were drinking very well. Wines from the well-regarded, hot and fairly dry 2021 will need more time, but the promise is epic Brunello that will reward a little patience.

Visits to wine producing regions, especially famous ones, are always revealing. In particular, the chance to see and feel the geology often makes a huge difference in understanding the wines. One of the biggest lessons from the visit to Brunello was the vital difference between wine from vineyards in the northeast, on the valley floor, compared to the more rugged, lumpy, forested area south and west of the town. The valley tends to be cooler, so the wines from that northeast corner are often less intense than those from the rest of region.

But the best part of our visit was having the chance to meet the people behind the wine.

At SanCarlo, owner and winemaker Gemma Marcucci sticks to a more traditional interpretation of Brunello. And her 2023 Rosso was one of my favourite wines of the trip.

On the western edge of the DOCG, overlooking the Ombrone river, winemaker Elia Palazzesi took a break from bottling his 2024 Rosso to join us for lunch and explain the terroir and microclimate that give us wines a special lift. You could see his passion coming through in his wines.

At Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, we loved the Brunello, but also enjoyed a couple of alternative expressions, including a lovely Sangiovese / Cabernet Sauvignon blend.

At SanLorenzo, we enjoyed a deep vertical of Brunello, that included selections from 2016 — one of the best years ever — as well as 2010 and 2005.

At La Fortuna, we learned how the founding wine maker had won the vineyards in a card game, then gone on to make some of the region’s most interesting wines. We also found our way into the family’s stash of properly old bottles and somehow resisted the temptation to open them.

At Il Cocco, we learned from owner Giacomo Bindi how tough it is for a one-man team to manage a complex organic farm and produce great wines which grace the wine lists at some of New York’s finest restaurants, including Eleven Madison Park.

Across all of our visits, only one consistent negative theme came through: Brexit. In every case, the winemakers we met had enjoyed a thriving trade with UK importers and private clients prior to 2016, but following that disastrous vote, it all stopped.

Every single place we visited needs — and would like — a UK importer. And I think this is a huge business opportunity. In the same way that smart importers are finding value with small producers in places like the Jura, here is a well-known wine region full of small, interesting suppliers who are all underrepresented in the UK. I would be happy to share contact details with anyone interested in taking up that idea.

I’ll be ordering wine from every place we visited, and I’m thrilled to have the chance to build my stash of Brunello. I will be well supplied for years to come.

Ultimately, the trip just left one question: Who needs Barolo?

Hits & Misses are mini-reviews of places that were either (a) good, but not quite good enough to do a full review and add to the Guide, (b) had a flaw or two, or (c) that I revisited following a prior review.

Hit: Il Passaggio, Montalcino

Capanna is one of the top producers of Brunello and Rosso. Located in the northeast corner of the region on the valley floor, it has made wine under the direction of the Cencioni family since 1957. Founder Giuseppe Cencioni was also one of 25 winemakers who established the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino in 1966.

A few years ago, they turned one of their wineries into a pleasant set of ‘suites’ for visiting guests. And last summer, they launched a new restaurant called Il Passaggio under brilliant, up-and-coming Chef Mirko Cairone, who they poached from 1-star Il Luogo Aimo e Nadia in Milano.

Cairone made it very clear that he is chasing a Michelin star of his own.

And based on our experience, he might just get it.

First, the setting is a stunner. There’s gorgeous view over the valley below, stretching out miles into the distance. Facing west, it’s the perfect place to watch the sun set over Tuscany. The space is ultra-modern, but still very comfortable.

On our first night, we joined a special “Four Hands” dinner for friends of the restaurant. As we were staying in the suites, we were invited to join. Cairone partnered with his mentor and legend of Tuscan cuisine, Chef Gaetano Trovato of 2-star Arnolfo, to produce a joint tasting menu.

We returned the next night to enjoy a wider range of Cairone’s own cooking and a selection of Capanna’s excellent wines.

Across both nights, Cairone’s food was first-rate. He favours only local ingredients, and his interpretations of Tuscan classics, adapted and modernised, were singularly delicious. Presentations were artistic and modern. Innovation was ever-present. Stand-out dishes included a fantastic ravioli filled with pigeon and a barbecued monkfish.

Service was friendly and, at times, hilarious. Conversation was free-flowing, and we were made to feel very welcome, even on the first night when the front-of-house team were run off their feet with a full restaurant and a banquet-style service of complex, multi-element dishes.

Were we to revisit Montalcino, I would definitely return.

Hit: Il Moro, Montalcino

Il Moro is pretty much the opposite of Il Passaggio. Where Il Passaggio is chasing Michelin stars, Il Moro is made for family dining. It’s a local’s place on the short main street in the small, hill town of Montalcino.

That said, it does have a couple of things in common with Il Passaggio. First, there’s a great view. It has a picture-window with a perspective across the whole valley. Second, the service is amazing. Our waitress treated us like old friends and made us feel right at home.

And, in a sense, we were. All of the pastas were homemade. I went for Pici, the traditional Tuscan pasta shape, with a Ragu made from beef, veal, and pork. It was wonderfully rich. The pasta was the best made and best cooked that I enjoyed on the trip. We also managed an order of another Tuscan classic — spaghetti with wild boar. The cinghiale was slow cooked and falling apart. It was lovely.

The whole experience was so good that I forgot to take photos, so this one of the exterior will have to do. But if you are in Montalcino, make sure to try Il Moro. You’ll love it. I swear.

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• 🍽️ David Ellis (Standard) heads to Lutyens inside the Ned in the City. “It is not a challenging restaurant, Lutyens, nor particularly fashionable. But service is exceptional, food excellent, and the setting a beauty.”

• ✍🏻 🍽️ Grace Dent (Guardian) is the latest to try Impala, the super-buzzy place in Soho. “Impala left me punch-drunk with memories, and wondering if this hazy blend of styles, cuisines and shabby-chic luxury might actually be the future. If that all sounds a bit bloody much, you’re right, it is. Impala is shamelessly, brilliantly too much.”

• Giles Coren (Times) writes most of his review about Simpson’s in the Strand, but winds up focusing on Belly, a sort of French Filipino place in Kentish Town. “Most batshit of all, I had a glass of natural wine that I liked: a Spanish orange wine called La Pequeñita. It went crazily well with the genius Filet-O-Fish rip-off in a noisy room full of children of every hue having the time of their lives, and I will drink it again when I go back.”

  • Jules Pearson (LOTI) also enjoys Belly. “This might just be the finest example of all killer, no filler when it comes to a restaurant menu.”

  

• Rebecca Buchanan (The Arbuturian) writes an actual review of Simpson’s, which I adored a couple of weeks ago. “It’s understandable for us to crave nostalgia in times of uncertainty, but this exemplary British fare is too good to be forgotten regardless.”

• 🍽️ Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) loves Burro, the new Italian spot in Covent Garden. “London has an abundance of Italian restaurants, but very few that are actually any good. Burro is up there with the best.”

• Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Sova, a new Slavic place in Notting Hill. “Sova is a more than solid addition to Notting Hill's increasingly creative food and drink scene.”

• (Braise) checks out Tofu Vegan, a Chinese joint in Islington. “Expect to get in and out in under an hour, knocking back a single beer or a pot or two of tea, and working through a string of dishes that arrive invariably promptly.”

• (Eats Dulwich) tries Hanar, a Kurdish place in Peckham. “You know that cliche where you discover something, and it’s so good you want to keep it a secret. This was that. Luckily for you I’m hopeless at keeping secrets.”

• 🍽️ (Eat this Now!) loves the Kidneys with Madeira sauce at Casse-Croûte in Bermondsey. “Kidneys, like liver, need to be cooked with precision: the texture alone makes the dish practically inedible if they are under- or overcooked. Here, they were perfect. You are in very safe hands.”

• Ari Alibhai (The Sauce) visits Khao Bird, the Thai spot in Soho and feels “pretty pleased with ourselves for having discovered an authentic, original and fun place to get our northern Thai kicks.”

Beyond London

• ✍🏻 🍽️ (eponymous Substack) visits Romanè during a trip to Rome. “I loved every moment of it. Every mouthful, every second. I loved the collapsing saltimbocca, the pervy tongue and the whole weird ‘kid-whisperer’ situation. I loved the souvenirs of Rimini, the doilies.I even loved the brown wine.”

• Jay Rayner (FT) is in Salford to try Greek spot Kallos. “The food here provides its own gorgeous kind of sunshine.”

• Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) checks out Noto in Edinburgh. “Seven years on, Noto remains a thrilling yet accessible testing ground for one of Scotland’s best chefs.”

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) finds himself in Bristol, and tries ’s well-regarded Lapin. “With a little cheer and cleaner starters, this place will deliver the brilliance that that little soft bunny deserves.”

• Adam Kay fills in for Camilla Long this week in The Sunday Times, heading to Ewen in Gloucestershire to try the Wild Duck pub. “I had the risotto, which was the evening’s biggest error. I’m not entirely sure which grain it was made of, and I generally pride myself on being able to identify what’s in my mouth. All I know is it was ectoplasm green and had the texture of pre-chewed babyfood.”

• Rebeccca Nicholson (Observer) turns her attention to Hitchcock’s, Marla’s, and Hearth in Hull. “It’s a mad old place, Hitchcock’s.”

I hope you found something useful in this week’s update. Would love to hear your suggestions for what else you might find interesting. Let me know in the Comments.

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Don’t get me wrong. I’m into conversations over lunch and dinner as much as anyone. Hence, you know, creating this Substack.

But I also adore the opportunity to sit across from a top chef, watching up close as a well-oiled brigade turns out fantastic food.

Over the past couple of years, some of my favourite experiences have been chef’s counter dining at Maison in Paris, The Cocochine in Mayfair, Legado in Shoreditch, and Kiln in Soho. Japanese influenced experiences have their own unique vibe, and equally enjoyable. Fantastic, very foodie-friendly meals at Wild Izakaya and Luna Omakase stand out.

There’s no question that restaurants have recognised their diners’ interest in a more interactive experience. Chef’s counters seem to be appearing all over. And high end places like Bonheur are designing interactive experiences that go much deeper into the food than a typical meal.

Smart restaurateurs have recognised an opportunity, and they a delivering.

Which brings us neatly to Aces Foodcraft.

Entering Aces, the counter dominates the small space. It is the centrepiece. The focal point.

Chef Alex Craciun and his team immediately seize your attention — and hold it — through your whole meal. Alex’s knife skills, honed through more than a decade working in multi-star kitchens in Tokyo and Kyoto, are riveting to watch. On the evening we visited, he took apart tiny quail with impossible perfection and pace, time after time, without a single mistake. For a mediocre home cook like me, it was an opportunity to enjoy an up close look at greatness.

And the Aces counter doesn’t feel sterile and distant like some high end kitchens do. The action swirls around you as orders are called off, the brigade hands up elements for final assembly, and the front of house team choreographs delivery. Watch carefully, and you’ll spot little mistakes to be quickly rectified. There is a lot you can learn.

Alex himself is a delight. Intense and focused. He quietly pushes his team to deliver their best work. And he somehow remains alert and alive to what’s happening with his counter guests. At one point, he caught a small service wobble that we were experiencing, purely off our body language, and made sure it was instantly addressed.

While the point of delivery is full of focus and intensity, Alex also plainly has a streak of whimsy, humour, and delight. The menu and food are full of amusement, sure to inspire a quiet chuckle or an outright laugh. And dinner at Aces feels as much like a carnival ride as a formal meal.

We went for Alex’s 8-course tasting menu, and the amusing notes started right away.

There was “French Man in Japan,” built around Salmon roe and a ravishing red pepper and lemon filling. “Chinese Man in France” included a perfect prawn dumpling and “mussels green juice” served in a weaponised pipette.

“Temaco,” a “Mexican Taco + Japanese Temaki” was the highlight of evening, though we were advised to “turn your head, not the taco” when eating, lest you end up with a lapful of tuna.

The dishes were beautiful and delightful to eat. They were also creative, clever, challenging, and felt new.

“Italian Man in Normandy,” was so delightfully rich with parmesan flavour that when Alex saw me eating it with a spoon, he encouraged me to spread it on accompanying brioche instead, in order to get the right balance. But I didn’t care, and carried on with the spoon.

“Japanese Man in Basque Country” was a a play on Japanese noodles, served with a broth made from mushrooms and truffles, positively bursting with flavour.

An amusing sushi course, called “English Man in Edo,” delivered first-rate salmon belly and responsibly sourced Bluefin tuna. Roasted Quail was wonderfully stuffed with foie gras.

The whole meal was a brilliantly conceived combination of Japanese influences and excellent ingredients. And it’s clear that Alex is creating some of the most interesting and innovative food in London right now.

Best of all, unlike Motorino across the street, which feels like eating in a Hilton hotel, Aces Foodcraft is incredibly distinctive. It stands out amongst the trendy and has the courage to practice its craft in its own way.

As a result, Aces is perfect for a professional lunch or dinner. At lunch Alex offers a very reasonable a la carte menu, and at dinner, there’s the choice of a la carte or the tasting menu.

Whatever you choose, I suspect you’ll leave feeling, as I did, that the ride was worth it, and you’ll want to ride again.

Quick hit: A carnival ride of whimsical dishes, sure to surprise, delight, and leave you smiling.

Details: Booking essential. Fitzrovia. ££££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram and from Michelin.
Find it on Google Maps. 8 Pearson Square, W1T 3BF.

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But, as I’m enjoying a long weekend, we’re going to keep this week’s update short. Let’s dive in.

Michelin Releases April Guide Additions

Another busy month for Michelin, which 18 new places other the UK & Ireland guide, including 8 places in London:

• Fan — Japan meets Peru in Bayswater.

• Luso — Portuguese fine dining in Fitzrovia.

• Moi — Gigantic Japanese in Mayfair.

• Mareida — Reasonably priced Chilean in Fitzrovia.

• Nora — Turkish in Canary Wharf.

• The Hart — Posh pub in Marylebone.

• Motorino — Ultra-hip sort-of Italian place in Fitzrovia. (I hated Motorino, and you can read that review here.)

• Osteria Angelina — Buzzy Italian joint in Shoreditch. (I didn’t love this one, either.)

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• ✍🏻 David Ellis (Standard) reviews Gordon Ramsay’s new Hell’s Kitchen restaurant in Mayfair, and casts it into the fires. “After his recent Michelin push, Ramsay does TGI Fridays is hardly the best look.”

• Giles Coren (Times) adores Brutto, the new Italian place in Covent Garden. “This is great, rustic Italian in a beautiful airy space with plenty of easy West End glamour. One for the ages.”

  • William Sitwell (Telegraph) also tries Brutto, and declares it, “Very simply and faithfully, crazily good.”

• Grace Dent (Guardian) enjoys Holy Carrot, the new vegetarian place in Spitalfields. “Holy Carrot’s offering is not just a portobello mushroom in a white bap masquerading as dinner, either; rather, this is serious plant-based dining. If you’re a meat-eater and leave sad that there was no steak on offer, you’re a lost cause, because this is as good as it gets on my side of the leafy, cruciferous fence.”

• Jay Rayner (FT) heads to Cometa, the Mexican fish place in Carousel in Fitzrovia. “Admire it. Take pictures of it. Then eat it.”

• Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) is the latest to review Simpson’s in the Strand, which I loved. “This is old-school eating with a thoroughly modern grin, the best of British in one of London’s most handsome rooms. An old classic is reborn. And, dare I say it, she’s better than she’s ever been before.”

  

• Ben McCormack (Wallpaper) is the latest to rave about Impala in Soho. “Is the cooking authentically Egyptian? Maybe not, but it is authentically [Chef] Meedu Saad –and it is absolutely, exhilaratingly unique.”

• Andy Hayler (andyhayler.com) finds disappointment at Whiteleys Kitchen in the Six Senses Hotel in Bayswater. “This was, overall, a pretty disheartening dining experience. The menu concept seems at odd with the dishes on that menu, the cooking was, to put it politely, mixed in standard, and seasoning was, to say the least, eccentric.”

• Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Orrey, recently relaunched under Chef Pierre Minotti. “Having already set out his stall as gunning for a Michelin star, we'd say that Pierre Minotti is well on his way with this major makeover of Orrery. It's long been one of the best looking restaurant in Marylebone and now it has a chef, menu and experience to match.”

• Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) ventures to Teal, the place in Hackney from Chef Sally Abé. “Dishes here are beautifully executed with the kind of finesse you'd pay loads more for in central London. So if you don't live East, maybe this is one to travel for.”

• Hillary Armstrong (The Glossary) checks out Osteria Vibrato, the buzzy Italian place in Soho. “In fact, there’s plenty about Osteria Vibrato that’s near perfect. It has only just opened and yet it looks like it’s been there for years.”

• Phil Clark (The Sauce) reviews Willet’s in The Cadogan hotel in Chelsea. “The food was excellent, the service slick and the menu is genuinely interesting and fun.”

  

• 🍽️ (Bald Flavours) reviews Bara Café, a Welsh place in Peckham. “This sliver of Peckham encourages and satisfies appetites beyond the obvious. It bustles with clusters of people nattering in Welsh, as if with the relief of a speakeasy; the queue outside is audibly curious over what, exactly, the hell a Welsh cake or bara brith is. Bara is unapologetically Welsh—let’s not take that for granted.”

  • (Eats Dulwich), inspired by Sam’s review, rushes over and offers his own take. “If it was my last meal I’d have died a happy man. And a full one.”

• (The Greedy Dick) heads to Auguste, the new Abruzzian restaurant in London Fields. “The food is good, but the customer needs help finding their feet.”

  • Mallory Legg (The Handbook) says Auguste, “Is where everyone under 30 is about to start going.”

• Camilla Long (Sunday Times) didn’t publish a review this week.

Beyond London

• ✍🏻 🍽️ (Standard) travels to bath to try Upstairs at Landrace. “Observing tradition in such a considered way that it becomes a black sheep is a splicing of genetics to be encouraged and preserved.”

• Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) visits Brett, a fine dining spot in Glasgow. “Do all you can to book a seat at Brett. It’s the hottest culinary show in town.”

• ✍🏻 Dan Cullen-Shute (Standard) heads to the Lake District to check out The Yan, and falls for the gravy. “I know that describing a Cumbrian restaurant as generous runs dangerously close to cliché, but when the generosity is this pervasive, and this charming, and this downright wonderful, it would be insane of me to ignore it. Some clichés are lazy, others have earned their right to be etched in stone.”

• (Braise) reports from Washington, DC, where he tried Queen’s English. “I loved Queen’s English mostly for how playful its cooking is, and how many of those experimentations actually turned out great.”

• 🍽️ Ed Gilbert (Gourmet Gorro) discovers at gem at the Jackdaw in Conwy, North Wales. “The Jackdaw’s combination of epic Welsh cooking without a single misstep, warm and friendly service, and a charming, relaxed setting made it one of the best meals we've ever eaten in Wales. I would say it’s surprising that it doesn’t have a Michelin star but then nothing surprises me about the tyre people anymore.”

• Rebecca Nicholson (Observer) “reviews” the food vans around St. Andrews Park, home of Birmingham City Football Club.

Thanks for spending some time with this week’s update. I’ll be back on Thursday with a review of an uber cool place in Fitzrovia. For now, please let me know what you think in the Comments.

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Instagram suggests that Chef Francesco Mazzei has spent more time than that in his restaurant at the Corinthia Hotel.

Perhaps he should spend more. Because Mezzogiorno is positively ordinary, and given its price point, that makes it unconscionable.

The problems start on arrival. In the Northall Bar, which is connected to the restaurant but (I think) managed by the hotel, my glass of Laurent Perrier Rosé is flat and served in the wrong glass. A fresh bottle procured, the proper glass retrieved, a few sips into the glass… And another bartender appears and tries to refill it with Whispering Angel. I splutter a ‘stop’ just quickly enough to prevent such a tragedy. Around me. the bar area is a mess. The manager is shouting across the bar at the bartenders. It’s a sh*t show.

In the restaurant, things get off to a fine start. The sommelier is helpful. A good Brunello appears. The waiter explains the menu. Our primi arrive promptly, but then it takes 45 minutes or more to get our main courses. I’m confused about what sides I ordered, and ask a waiter. He tells us that he’ll check and never returns. It’s difficult to flag down other staff. My friend is also American, so I assume they think we are hotel guests, never to be seen again. We are treated as such.

When I finally do manage to flag someone down, I mention the long delay in our mains, and ask if we can have our dessert relatively quickly. He storms off, returning seconds later to cast our dessert on our table with a thud. I’m not sure what we did to deserve this, but I watch the service team on the floor, and it is obvious that they are disorganised mess. Odd, because the restaurant is busy but not buzzing. It feels like a normal night, not the high wire act that you sometimes feel when a front of house team is overwhelmed.

After a while, I conclude that the problems in the bar and restaurant are related, but I can’t put my finger on a cause.

Through it all, the food was… fine.

A massive bowl of zucchini fritti is oversalted. The portion size is too big, so the ones nearer the bottom go soggy fast. This isn’t clever or generous. It’s wasteful and makes the food experience worse.

The “Chairman’s Tortellini” are pretty good. There’s a pleasant broth made in the style of a consommé from chicken stock and marsala wine. The pasta filling is decent. But my friend’s carbonara is so rich and salty that it’s almost inedible.

For mains, I try “Zia Maria’s Polpetta” — a giant meatball stuffed with cheese and served over tomato sauce. The oozing cheese is a clever gag, but it doesn’t taste very good. The meatball is homemade, but unspectacular. The tomato sauce is fine, but could have come from Waitrose. My friend’s lamb chops with various green bits looks nice on the plate, and at £47, it should.

The dessert is mostly ice cream, so nothing really to do with the kitchen. Although it’s served — I think on purpose — still in a baking paper wrapping. I’m not sure why, and it doesn’t look great. Still, it’s the best dish of the night.

Chef Mazzei is a bit TV-famous, and on his own website, he details his extensive experience in top kitchens. Sadly, I can’t see much of that reflected in Mezzogiorno.

But there is another bit that feels more relevant. In his bio, he explains that, “Thanks to a very successful partnership with Pizza Express, for which I created an n’duja based pizza recipe, this renowned spreadable chilli-spiced sausage was finally introduced into the restaurants and dinner tables of Britain (and there’s been no turning back!).” Noted.

The food portion of the bill comes to £125 per person — for a starter, a main, a bowl of fritti, and a shared dessert. I’m not hugely cost conscious when it comes to restaurants, and I think I’ve demonstrated a willingness to happily spend money for quality food and a pleasant experience. Mezzogiorno offers neither, so the prices really sting.

I felt terrible for the other groups we saw — a couple celebrating a milestone with an over-the-top date night and a group of university-aged friends in town for a night out — who were clearly stretching for a top London experience. I hope their evening was better than ours.

With so many good restaurants now dotting Whitehall, and more soon to come online with the opening of the Waldorf in Admiralty Arch, there is no reason to spend time or money at Mezzogiorno. Sadly, it’s exactly what we have come to expect from big restaurants in big hotels by big name chefs.

Instead, consider making the short walk to Giovanni’s, where the owner greets you and helps look after your evening. It is tons of fun and offers great food. The prices are normal and fair, and they’ll treat you like old friends. That’s why it’s a great place, and Mezzogiorno really isn’t.

Quick hit: Disappointing and expensive. Avoid.

Details: Booking essential. Whitehall. ££££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram and from Michelin.
Find it on Google Maps. Corinthia Hotel, 10a Northumberland Ave, WC2N 5AE.

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Back down to earth this week. Every national paper ran a story in the last few days about how bad things are for restaurants. (The Times has the best take.) As I said last week, if you value your local eatery, go visit. Go now. April is turning out to be even more difficult than expected. The challenging climate is forcing owners to make some hard choices. And when a smart business owner sees the cliff edge coming, it might be time to sell. Here are two very smart, very successful hospitality owners doing exactly that.

Ivy, Scott’s, J Sheeky & Annabelle’s Sold

Richard Caring is one of the most successful owners of hospitality businesses anywhere. He has built an empire that includes everything from Sexy Fish and Scott’s to Bill’s, The Ivy, and J Sheeky. Now, it’s all being sold.

The Sunday Times first broke the news. The FT adds some detail.

The buyer is Diapha, the Abu Dhabi–based luxury and hospitality investor, which is ultimately controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Caring is 77, so this may be a natural transition, and he will stay on as Executive Chairman. But it is also, inevitably, a recognition that it’s a good time to sell.

The new owners have expansion plans for many of Caring’s brands. So expect to see The Ivy appearing in the U.S. and elsewhere in the years to come.

Cubitt House Sells Out

I’ve been a fan of the Thomas Cubitt and the Orange, both in Belgravia, for years. They were go-to choices for professional lunch when I worked in Victoria. (My review of the Thomas Cubitt is here.)

They were fantastic destinations for food and wine, and if you knew their portfolio, you could find the right choice for any occasion, and be absolutely certain that you would have a great experience.

Sadly, those days may be coming to an end.

Last week, Cubitt House sold their whole estate to Young’s, reports Restaurant.

Among the pubs sold were The Barley Mow in Mayfair, The Builders Arms in Chelsea, The Coach Makers Arms and The Grazing Goat in Marylebone, and others. Bummer.

No one associated with the deal mentioned the more challenging trading climate. But you can be absolutely sure that ever-higher costs were a driving force behind the decision to sell. In this case, increasing costs will degrade quality. Yet another way that restaurateurs and diners lose.

Hits & Misses are mini-reviews of places that were either (a) good, but not quite good enough to do a full review and add to the Guide, (b) had a flaw or two, or (c) that I revisited following a prior review.

Hit: The Cocochine

In my original review of The Cocochine, I gushed that it was one of the rare restaurants that really feels special in every way. I returned recently with my wife, to dine again with Chef Larry Jayasekara and his team, at the wonderful counter overlooking the kitchen. Would the second adventure match the first? Simply put, it did.

Given the seasonal nature of the restaurant’s menu, there were some excellent new dishes. The wine matches remained on point. Chef Larry and his team were a pleasure. And it was fantastic to see them work on a busy Friday night with a big party in the private dining room, a full counter in the kitchen, and a full restaurant downstairs. Ballet has nothing on this.

It is one the great injustices of this year’s Michelin awards that The Cocochine was overlooked for a star. But I don’t care. I will happily return, again and again. First-rate food expressing Chef Larry’s Sri Lankan roots. An absolute delight.

Hit: Baccalà

When I first reviewed Baccalà in Bermondsey last year, its excellence came as a big surprise. So when I visited again with two colleagues for a long lunch on a recent Friday, my expectations were higher.

Happily, Baccalà still delivered. It’s so authentically Italian that you feel as though you have gone on holiday. There was lovely fresh fish and a gorgeous wine selection. Service was attentive, friendly, familiar, and even doting. If anything, the food had improved compared to my visit last year.

Baccalà remains a gem.

Hit: Akara

I adore Akara in Borough Market, and have written about it a couple of times, including a full review about two years ago. Over two recent visits, it was a pleasure to discover a few additions to the menu, and to experience a kitchen still operating at its peak powers.

Akara is a great choice for an adventurous guest who is intrigued by new cuisines and fresh possibilities. There are fantastic wine options, and the service is excellent. The space is also comfortable and not too noisy. The perfect place to take someone that you may not yet know very well. Though everything is for sharing, so you may want to know them a little!

Miss: Osteria Angelina

I visited with a journalist who gets around London more than I do, and we were both excited to try Osteria Angelina in Shoreditch. There have been a lot of positive reviews, and even some awards for its Japanese accented take on Italian classics. Sadly, we both agreed that it didn’t quite work for us. The service was really off on the day we visited, lunch took forever, and the dishes weren’t worth the wait. Lots of them felt slapdash, both in appearance and preparation. I’m disappointed to offer a negative take, as I really wanted to like it. But given the plethora of other, excellent choices nearby, including Legado, I can’t see why I would return.

Critics Wrap-Up

✍🏻 indicates a review that you should read for the writing.
🍽️ indicates a place that sounds excellent and is probably worth a try.

• David Ellis (Standard) positively gushes about Impala, the very buzzy new place in Soho. “I even managed to get excited by a dandelion salad, a plate of childhood clocks with their hands blown away. The bread had me gurgling idiotically; the glazed sausage rich with cloves and cinnamon had us quizzing the kitchen.”

  • also loves Impala. “There’s only one dessert on the menu at Impala because there is now only one dessert. All others are rendered permanently obsolete.”

• Camilla Long (Times) gets personal in her 5-star review of Simpson’s in the Strand, which I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. But ultimately, she comes back to the food. “It’s pure last day on the Titanic. The menu contains all the things you’d ask for if you’re heading straight for the ’berg.”

  • Grace Dent (Guardian) also reviews Simpson’s. “Simpson’s proves that while the British may not have the most sophisticated palates, we are adorable in our culinary urges.”

• Giles Coren (Times) raves about Med Salleh, a new Malaysian place in Kentish Town. “It’s small and brick-walled, lined with cute little photos, lit with a blast of daylight from the front window that generates dazzling chiaroscuro, and is permanently full, now, a few weeks on.”

• Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) tries Mr Dumpling in Shepherd’s Bush. “I’ve been twice now, but have yet to delve into the wilder reaches of a fairly extensive menu, where intestines, pig’s ears and spinal cord lurk.”

• And Hayler (andyhayler.com) returns to the iconic River Cafe in Hammersmith. “The River Cafe uses good ingredients and has an appealing menu. However, I can never really reconcile the price here with the quality of what appears on the plate.”

• Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) test drives Holy Carrot Bistro in Spitalfields. “Making it vegetarian instead of vegan is only part of the story - the menu has changed significantly, as has the whole setting.”

• Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) checks out the new branch of Greek chain Maza, this one in Mayfair. “The food is delicious, the scene is buzzing and the room's a winner; it looks like Maza's going to be another hit for them.”

• (Dining Out) tries Tiella, the cool Italian place in Hackney. “Regardless of the specific reasons why, this dinner was really pretty great.”

• (Eats Dulwich) isn’t quite sold on The Angel Oak in Peckham, finding that it, “serves food as fuel, but dressed up as something more. Is this the future of pub catering? I hope not.”

  

• visits Ploussard in Clapham, which I reviewed last year. “I defy anyone to not enjoy Ploussard. A modest, aspirational restaurant that every neighbourhood needs. The cooking is first rate, the wine list intriguing, the hospitality is generous and personable.”

• Alex Larman (The Arbuturian) heads to Brasserie Angelica in Fitzrovia. “It is a credit to Brasserie Angelica that the welcoming, stylish atmosphere here makes for a place that you don’t want to leave and that you plan to come back to many more times. It deserves to be a big, national border-crossing hit.”

• Mina Holland (Observer) revisits J Sheeky, the legendary fish place in Covent Garden. “There’s no proscenium arch at J Sheekey, but it’s a grand performance of the most delicious sort.”

Beyond London

• ✍🏻 (Braise) is in Washington, DC this week, and encounters that city’s superb Salvadoran community. “The upshot is that you don’t have to work very hard to find a pupusa in DC, and even plenty of the city’s ostensibly Mexican restaurants actually seem to have Salvadoran chefs behind them.”

• (Cheese & Biscuits) travels to Margate to try Willy’s. “How lucky Margate is to have option of this exciting new venue to eat at, alongside what I believe is a fast-expanding breadth and depth of other bars and restaurants. The place really feels like a town on the up.”

• Jay Rayner (FT) heads to Bristol, gives a grateful nod to , and tries Other. “Perhaps this neon-bright dining room with its flamboyant food and ineffable cool sounds like a lot. Perhaps it sounds like a little too much. But then not every restaurant has to be for every night. Other only seats a few dozen but those seats are full. It’s really not hard to see why.”

• Chitra Ramaswamy (Times) reviews La Cîme in Edinburgh. “Sometimes you walk into a café and can immediately sense it’s the realisation of a lifelong dream. La Cîme is one such manifestation.”

• William Sitwell (Telegraph) is in Leeds to try the Highland Laddie. “Winning the mains was the simple, northern poster boy of the menu: ‘sliced ham from the fire, dinner rolls, butter, mustard’. It was a dish to smite every chef who presents the tedious niceties of smears, foams and micro herbs.”

• Edible Reading ventures to Oxford and finds something to dislike at Cuttlefish. “The problem was that octopus is a tricky beast to get right and, unlike everything else the kitchen tried, their sure touch deserted them here. It was a proper chewy workout for the jaws, more than I would have liked, and it made me apprehensive about my forthcoming dental appointment.”

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After losing control of the company behind those iconic places, he has spent the last 3 years building a new collection of destination restaurants: First at The Arlington, in the old Le Caprice location. Then at The Park, where he put the food of New York City front and centre. And most recently, restoring and relaunching historic Simpson’s in the Strand. In between openings, he also wrote a book, reflecting on his adventures in hospitality.

It’s a stunning list of achievements in such a short time.

But even as Simpson’s starting scoring top flight reviews from all sorts of critics, there was still one more job to do: Finish and launch Romano’s. It is, according to King’s team, his “tribute to the restaurant that once shared the Strand with Simpson’s, until it was bombed in 1941. Founded by an Italian (possibly of Russian origin) known simply as ‘The Roman’, Romano’s at its peak had a distinctly bohemian air, operating almost like an unofficial private club with its own unspoken codes of belonging.”

You’ll find it upstairs at Simpson’s, across the hall from the gorgeous main bar. Romano’s recalls the artistic salons of the 19th century, a place where actors, writers, political thinkers, coffee drinkers, and chess players might gather throughout the day.

Where the Grand Divan downstairs is dark panelled and feels formal, Romano’s is done in a powder green palate and feels more approachable, in spite of its listed interior complete with faux marble columns, Wedgwood-inspired friezes, green leather upholstery, and bright mirrored detailing.

Its elevated position on the corner, facing west, overlooking the Strand and the Savoy driveway allow its big windows to collect the best of the day’s light.

The menu is approachable, too. Starters include Sotch Egg, sprouting broccoli, candy beetroot, braised celery hearts, and cold roast beef. Mains include Lincolnshire Poacher Soufflé, fillet of cod, local fish of the day, Lancashire Hot Port, Veal 7 Crayfish Marengo, and a pie of the day. On Sunday, there is Roast Rib of Devonshire Beef with all of the trimmings.

The wine list pulls off the rare trick of being both excellent and accessible. The choices are mostly French, drawn from a cross section of regions, at a range of price points, including some quite affordable options.

We went for a very pleasant 2023 Gevrey-Chambertin village wine for a reasonable 3:1 mark-up.

For my starter, I went for the restaurant’s signature dish. Listed as “Crème Pink ’Un,” on the menu, it comes from the original Romano’s, which was first put on the map in the 19th century by John Corlett of The Sporting Times (the “Pink ’Un”), who held weekly staff dinners there and helped develop the dish, named in the newspaper’s honour, a rich crayfish bisque, now made to the original recipe. It was fantastic. Rich and bright with crayfish flavours, balanced with a hit of sharpness from brandy.

My wife chose “Portland Crab and Fried Egg Crumpet,” which was likewise really tasty. Strong crab flavour with a ready made sauce from the egg yolk, and a well-made crumpet. I would happily have it for breakfast every day.

Mains were similarly yummy. One was pork & herb faggots, served with excellent mashed potatoes and “ale gravy.” My wife chose the fish of the day, which was fillet of lemon sole, served in a traditional caper and butter sauce. Traditional, yes. Well made and a pleasure to enjoy? Also, yes.

We were rushing off to the theatre, so we didn’t get the full dessert experience, but the choices looked excellent, and I’m happy to really on the Simpson’s kitchen to provide a delicious, sweet ending. There are also cheeses and Welsh rarebit if you’d like another savoury hit.

To be clear, this is not Michelin starred cooking. It’s not even remotely trying to be. But it absolutely delivers on King’s mission of creating a restaurant where people will actually want to go.

And I do want to go, and go back, again and again. Romano’s was a delight. And choosing between visiting there or the Grand Divan is going to a perennial tough call.

For me, it comes down to the vibe you want for your professional lunch or dinner. Romano’s is more accessible, brighter, and more affordable than the Grand Divan. On the other hand, the recipes, techniques, and ingredients in the Grand Divan are more elaborate. The service is more formal. And the wine list is more extensive.

Choose accordingly.

But Romano’s is undeniably another triumph from King and his team.

Over the past three weeks, I have now experienced every aspect of the new Simpson’s. I suspect that Jeremy won’t thank me for talking in these terms, but all of the gifts that he and his team have given London, the fully formed Simpson’s might be the most important and the most long-lasting. If Romano’s is King’s last big opening, completing the restoration of Simpson’s, he will have left London a stunning legacy, sure to remain a centrepiece of the Strand for another 200 years.

Quick hit: Accessible take on British cuisine in a gorgeous, bright space.

Details: Booking essential. Covent Garden. £££.
Restaurant website. More on Instagram.
Find it on Google Maps. 100 Strand, WC2R 0EZ.

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