Coren v. Ellis: Settled! (Or not.) New Eater Top 38. More on Pricing. Plus Critics.
Parker Bowles the latest into Town. Ellis awards 5 stars to Eels. Wilson gets gastro. Ivers finds "the place" in Chinatown.
So, er, that went well. On Thursday, I published my review of Josephine Marylebone and asserted myself as the deciding vote in a disagreement between Giles Coren from the Times and David Ellis from the Standard. After I shared my review on Instagram, both critics claimed victory:
As I hope is blindingly obvious, all of this is very tongue in cheek for me. I’m not for a moment trying to compare myself to Coren or Ellis. But I was really amused by their exchange and am grateful to both of them embracing the gag.
The result has been an unexpected influx of new subscribers, to whom I would like to say: Hello and welcome! Professional Lunch is about encouraging people to spend more time together over food and drink. Each Monday, you’ll get an update like this which includes a wrap-up of critics’ reviews. On Thursday, you’ll get a restaurant review from me. You can learn a bit more about me here.
I’m always eager to hear from you in the Comments, and would be incredibly grateful if you could share Professional Lunch or the London Guide with your friends and colleagues.
Got it? Great. Let’s get to the week’s update:
Eater Updates 38 Best in London List
I still mourn the loss of Eater’s London edition, a victim of parent-company cost cutting in 2023. But the global edition persists, and occasionally, former London editor Adam Coghlan returns to update key assets.
This time, he’s updated the 38 Best London Restaurants list, and, inevitably, it’s an essential bookmark. Adam offers some context:
This guide, which I’ve been compiling and iterating on for the better part of the last decade, aims to reflect the best food and most important restaurants in the capital. As of summer 2025, London’s wine bars are coming into their own and old cafes are installing new chefs to make the most of abundant produce. In the west of the city, big money means big protein, big wines, and power lunches. In London, as ever, you can mostly have it all.
Leila’s in Shoreditch, Cafe Cecilia in Hackney, and Dorian in Notting Hill, among others, have all joined the list. There’s the usual handy map for reference, too.
What are your picks for the top 5 best restaurants in London?
A Follow-Up on Pricing & Economics
Last week, building on articles from
and , I explored the challenging economic climate for restaurants and how it is driving restaurant pricing. Dan, who owns two great restaurants in Bristol, followed-up with an excellent piece explaining how restaurants price wine.Unsurprisingly, restaurants are suffering. According to an industry survey, fully one third of hospitality businesses are operating at a loss, and that’s up 11% in just the last three months. The report says that, “Six in 10 report that they have had to cut jobs, and 63% have reduced the hours available to staff, in order to try and mitigate the increases and stay afloat.”
So this is a really good time to make an extra effort to support restaurants. Plan more lunches! And dinners! And make sure you get back to your favourite local spot that you haven’t visited for a couple of months. Our restaurants need us.
World’s Top 50 Announces the Not-Top-50
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2025 will be announced in a couple of weeks. As a bit of a teaser to the big reveal, the organisers have released the restaurants from around the world who rank 51-100.
Two London places made this portion of the list: The Clove Club comes in at 86 and Mountain ranks at 74.
Last year, Brat, Lyle’s, and Core by Clare Smyth were also in this consolation list. Lyle’s has since closed. I’m hoping Core has moved up, but I suspect it and Brat have both fallen out of the rankings.
In last year’s top 50 itself, Kol was number 17 and Ikoyi was 42, but there were, incredibly, zero UK restaurants outside of London. I’ll report back when that list is announced later in June.
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.
🍽️ Tom Parker Bowles (Mail on Sunday) follows Giles Coren, Grace Dent, and David Ellis (among others) to Town in Covent Garden. “Town has only been open a couple of weeks, but feels like it’s been here for ever. It is, in short, an instant London classic.”
🍽️ David Ellis (Standard) gives 5 stars out of 5 to Eel Sushi Bar in Notting Hill, from the guy behind Dorian. “Queuing for restaurants is not something I do (don’t you know who I think I am?). But I would for Eel. Hell, I’d sleep overnight on the pavement if I had to.”
Catherine Hanly (Hot Dinners) also heads to Eel Sushi. “Wherever you sit, whether you're enjoying the people watching by the window or the sushi chefs hard at work, you know that the sushi is going to be very good indeed.”
✍🏻 Charlotte Ivers (Sunday Times) goes to the new branch of Noodle and Beer in Chinatown and finds “a confusing dungeon of red velvet and low neon lighting —halfway between a West End cinema and a Bangkok sex club… This is, of course, exactly what we want.”
Grace Dent (Guardian) checks out the new branch of Osteria Angelina in Shoreditch, which “shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does. It will also offend purists everywhere, but being upset has never been so delicious.”
William Sitwell (Telegraph) gets political in his review of the Blue Stoops in Notting Hill. “It is distinctly, chest-pumpingly, vow-to-thee-my-country English food. If vegan is hallowed turf to the Lib Dems, then this, in all its rabbity, mash-and-cabbage glory, is the menu of Reform.”
- (Braise) reviews the Bun House in Chinatown. “There aren’t many places nearby you can eat better and quicker, or more reliably, or pick up more satisfying parcels to take away with you.”
Dominic also gives us his list of his favourite London sandwich shops. Obviously a must-read for any professional luncher. I’m glad to see Dom’s Subs leading the way.
- (Bald Flavours) goes all gastropub at The Kerfield Arms in Camberwell. “It elevates British produce through the muscularity of classic European influence — most notably French and Italian — a coupling which works to great effect in the likes of Stroud’s Juliet or Copenhagen’s Silberbauers.”
- (Cheese & Biscuits) checks out Norbert’s in East Dulwich. After a bungled wine experience, “The chicken, though, was just about worth the stress. A healthily thick, dark skin packed with spice and seasoning, a brined but not in the least bit 'hammy' flesh, some excellent crisp fries that held their structure and flavour until the last bite, and a supremely crunchy, fresh salad.”
London on the Inside offers three reviews this week:
🍽️ Christina tries Duchy in Shoreditch from a couple of the team who were behind Leroy. “If you miss Leroy, coming here is no-brainer. If you never went to Leroy, you’ll find cracking dishes (those anchovy crostinis!), great drinks and a fantastic relaxed atmosphere – what more could you want?”
🍽️ She also tries Counter71 from Chef Joe Laker in Hoxton. “It’s one to go for if you want accomplished cooking without any stuffiness.”
Megan heads to Hello JoJo in the former ForzaWine location in Camberwell. “It’s full of personality and has comforting dishes that will leave you feeling very content.”
Palate’s May issue likewise includes three relevant reviews:
J.A. Smith braves Locatelli at the National Gallery, and it’s not great. “I certainly wasn’t prepared for the spectacle of security guards ejecting people who were still eating their meals.”
He also ventures to Deal to try the Rose from Nuno Mendes. “I wouldn’t necessarily say The Rose is one of those life-changing ‘destination’ restaurants you absolutely must go out of your way to, but if you’re in Kent it’s definitely worth it.”
Daniela Toporek tries Avanti for Spanish tapas in Turnham Green. “Avanti has all the ingredients and ambience to provide for a joyful, well-fed evening. Good tapas, good pizzas and thirst-quenching sangria, at a reasonable-for-a-Chiswick-establishment price. Its only enemy is paella inconsistency, but I have no doubt that it can be defeated.”
Hillary Armstrong offers two reviews in May issue of the The Glossary:
✍🏻 🍽️ At The Lavery in South Kensington, she finds that “Everything tastes like it was delivered fresh that morning in a wicker basket from the market in Nice.”
🍽️ At super-buzzy One Club Row in Shoreditch, she is enchanted. “It’s a menu of good things, designed to make regulars of the stylish denizens of Shoreditch, Bethnal Green and surrounds.”
Giles Coren (Times) didn't publish a review this week. Similarly, I don’t think the Observer published either (but who knows, as their website remains messy). They did have an excerpt from
’s new book, Picky. My interview with Jimi about Picky is here. You should read it.
Beyond London
Jay Rayner (FT) tries buffet giant Royal Nawab Pyramid in Stockport. “I’ve sneered at the idea of buffets in the past, called them the place where good taste goes to die, and many of them are. But the Royal Nawaab is a classy rebuttal.”
Thanks so much for reading this week’s update. I’ve got a review from an exciting new spot lined up for Thursday. Please do subscribe if you haven’t already. Have a great week!
Seamas O'Reilly reviewed SlowBurn in Black Horse Lane, that place at the back of a denim factory. I can't find it online, which is very odd. Next week, you'll be delighted to know that comedian Rose Matafeo will review Quality Chop House. I can't wait.