London Reasserts. Main Strain. Galetti & Metzger News. Critics & More.
Nunn, Coren, Lynes herd to Impala. Ellis learns Polish. Preston clowns around.
Hello everyone. What a week it’s been! Some fairly major progress at work — a new dawn on a great new day for my agency, FleishmanHillard. And some great eating, including a visit to the brand new Oudh 1722 — about which more will follow on Thursday.
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.”
✍🏻 Andy Lynes (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".”
Stunning craft at Alex Dilling at the Hotel Café Royal. 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.”
Dominic Preston (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.”
Bruce Dessau (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.”
Thanks so much for reading this week’s update. I hope you found something useful. Please drop me a line in the Comments. And do subscribe if you haven’t already.
Thanks once again for the mention Marshall and very chuffed to have the 'read for the writing' indicator bestowed. I thought Jonathan Nunn's review was brilliant, a completely individual take that you wouldn't get from any other writer.
I refer to my other half as Mrs Smashed in my newsletter mainly because it makes me laugh, but also because she has a very respectable job and it's probably best for her not to be directly associated with my potty-mouthed ramblings.
I have just touched down back in Dubai this morning after four days in London. I felt a quiet nostalgia walking around a city I called home, but I could also feel how the city change. I thought about this steady Substack each time I stepped out for lunch! Clerkenwell was much more buzzy than Fetter Lane.
Also, I thought your opener about your wife was interesting more so because I find it weird that this is a line of commentary for people to chime in. I refer to my wife as Mrs EatGoSee somewhat as an homage to Gill but, also, she does not ask to be identified, and I prefer to keep her pseudo-anonymous for that reason. She is tickled when we step out together and people ask "Are you Mrs EatGoSee?".