Eating in Paris. 1kg Sandwiches Land in London. Hit in St. James Plus Critics.
Giles goes back to the future with 'pan-Asian'. David Ellis crowns Henri. Sitwell explores Georgia (the country). Rayner finds Somalian history in Luton.
Hello, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I’m typing this in a hotel restaurant in Nairobi at the conclusion of a jet-lagged breakfast where I ate far too much, including a whole bunch of Swahili delicacies that were all new to me. I have no regrets. Want to know the single nicest surprise when you’re travelling long-haul? Turning up at your hotel at 6:00 a.m. after an overnight flight for a last minute business trip, desperate for a shower and a nap, and discovering that your room is ready.
I missed the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics because I was flying, but it sounds like it was utterly bonkers. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve really come to love the Olympics. We discover new heroes and, occasionally, villains. (I’m looking at you Charlotte Dujardin.) But notwithstanding all of the corporate sponsorship, the Olympics are important: They bring humanity together to push the boundaries of achievement. Faster. Higher. Stronger. Indeed. We can add closer, more resilient, and more aware of the world beyond our respective cocoons. No one needs a suggestion from me, but I’m offering one anyway: Find an athlete or team from a country other than your own in an obscure sport, follow them during the Games, and invest in their success. You’ll feel better for it, and enjoy the Games that much more.
If you’re feeling inspired, hit reply and tell me your favourite Olympic moment. If I get more than one or two, I’ll include them in next week’s update. Mine was ‘Super Saturday’ at London 2012, when Britain won three Gold medals in a stretch of 45 minutes, despite feeling like long shots. Mo Farrah, Jess Ennis, and Greg Rutherford. What a night. (Someone has done a 2 minute highlight reel of the evening if you want to relive it.)
Right. Sorry for all of the waffling. Let’s get to food stuff.
Heading to Paris?
Following Friday’s mad, rainy opening ceremony, and in spite of train difficulties / sabotage, I hope lots of you are popping over to Paris to catch some of the Olympics in person. If you’re going, you’ll need to eat, and various publishers are here to help. There’s the ever-indispensable Eater with its list of 38 Essential Places in Paris. Chef Jackson Boxer (who has just opened Henri in Covent Garden — see below) offers his favourites. The Standard has a nice wrap-up. But if you really are going, the site you need is
, the definitive source of anything to do with eating in the City of Light.Sandwich Sandwich Sandwich
I’ve mentioned before that I despise Pret, and prefer a good, well-filled sandwich or some other alternative. Reacting to my earlier rant, my old friend David Brain suggested that my preferred sandwich style was overfilled and not very nice. On that basis, I fear he will like the 1kg sandwich offer from Sandwich Sandwich even less.
Arriving in London for the first time after launching in Bristol, Sandwich Sandwich is a viral hit, and it’s easy to see why.
Hannah Twigg from the Independent agrees with my assessment of Pret, and suggests that Sandwich Sandwich may be the antidote to their overdose of boring. The Standard goes all in on the hype as well.
, meanwhile, charts its own course, eschewing the boringness of Pret in favour of 50 better sandwich places all over London. Their list is bookmark-worthy stuff. You will want to refer to it later.Worrying About the Critics
Following last week’s announcement that Pete Wells is stepping down as the NY Times restaurant critic for health reasons after 12 years, the Guardian talks to a few notable UK critics, including their own Grace Dent, about the perils of the trade. As ever, Grace has the spot-on take:
It is the best job in the world. I can’t complain. But the thing is, it will kill you. We all know it – the food writer crowd, that is – even if we don’t discuss it, as it’s a little taboo. But I have seen my colleagues get bigger and, increasingly, sicker. Eventually, they can’t do the job as they’re not well enough to walk from the car park to the dining table, or from a regional railway station up a very small incline. Then they die and everyone mutters, “How sad, such a nice bloke,” while flinging CVs at their editor.
The Telegraph offers their own take, from the perspective of former restaurant critic, now magazine editor, Lisa Markwell.
A Sojourn to Edinbrugh
My surname is Scottish, from a tiny village right in the northern tip of Scotland. And I love it there. Edinburgh in particular. So I enjoyed the FT’s quick hit for business travellers and its revel around the city’s pubs. If you’re going for fringe, festival, or anything else, this is content you need.
Hits & Misses
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: Al Duca
Al Duca is a fantastically throw back Italian place just off St. James Square. I’ve loved it for years. It’s got a great menu, offers interesting seasonal specials, and boasts a tremendous wine list. Best of all, you can usually get a table as a walk-in, which can be vitally important if you’ve been out for drinks or an event and are eager (desperate?) for some food.
We popped in on Thursday night after checking out the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. Minutes later, we were sipping a chilled Gavi di Gavi and tucking into a fantastic seafood risotto and a wonderful Tagliolini with crab meat. Service was warm and professional in that very Italian way, and we could just as easily have been eating in a little place on a back street in Rome. I’ve never done a Professional Lunch there, but I would happily, and am glad to recommend it.
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.
✍🏻 Giles Coren (Times) visits YiQi near Leicester Square. “I ordered the pork trotters (boneless) ancient taste, and was rewarded with a bamboo tube containing the most aromatic, fluffy and gentle coconut rice imaginable, with a pile of shimmering pork meat, fat and collagen, all cooked slow and low and long, so that each morsel trembled like a shy child’s lower lip, in a rich, sticky braising sauce.”
Tanya Gold (Spectator) goes to The Park in Bayswater, which I visited a few weeks ago. “It is open 17 hours a day and its ideal fictional customer is Jay Gatsby but redeemed.” Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) also visits The Park, and declares it “Democratic, delightful, and most of all, good old-fashioned fun.”
🍽️ David Ellis (Standard) tries Henri, the hot new French place from Jackson Boxer in Covent Garden, but David has a mixed experience across two visits.
The vibe at Henri. Photo by the restaurant via their Instagram. 🍽️ Grace Dent (Guardian) heads to Tollington’s in Finsbury Park, the fish place that Jimi Famurewa tried a couple of weeks ago. She loves it. “This unruly bunch are the British food world’s biggest trailblazers.”
William Sitwell (Telegraph) reviews Kinkally, a Georgian spot in Charlotte Street. “I went for dumplings, but preferred all the other bits.”
Marina O’Loughlin (independent critic) loves Cafe Britaly in Peckham.
Gavin Hanly (Hot Dinners) tries the freshly re-invented Koyn Thai in Mayfair. “A parade of excellent dishes.”
Gavin also visited Holy Carrot in Notting Hill, which has grown from supper club hit into a top-notch, plant-based spot “that pushes what's possible with vegan food without feeling like boundaries have been set.”
Chris Pople (Cheese & Biscuits) checks out Cafe Kitty in Soho. “The narrative on eating out in London has for so long been about soaring costs and lowered standards that when somewhere like this comes along, serving better than decent food at reasonable prices, it really deserves some attention.”
Lily Cotton (Chatting Food) reviews Arcade-X near Battersea Power Station. “The food isn’t cheap… but everything tasted so good you won’t feel too hard done by.”
Jay Rayner (Observer) visited Luton’s first Somali restaurant and had a “rather lovely” experience.
✍🏻 Tim Hayward (FT) had a bad upsell experience at Koan, the Michelin two-star spot in Copenhagen. I’ve had this experience, too, and agree with Tim — it distracts from the whole meal.
✍🏻 Charlotte Ivers (Sunday Times) was in the Cotswolds, eating in a gigantic luxury restaurant developed by an American chain furniture store where she and her mother were the only customers.
As ever, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy the Olympics and whatever else you’re doing to make your summer fun. Please subscribe if you haven’t already.