Category Eating out
The Duke of Cumberland Arms
I can be extremely demanding, often. One one such occasion I wanted to have lunch in a country pub that had all of the following things: a log fire, beams, a display of friendly dogs, relaxed and amiable staff, proper ales, nice wooden tables and rustic charm in abundance. Not to mention a […]
Barrafina, Soho
What else can be said about Barrafina except for this: make haste and go there – it serves probably the best tapas I have ever eaten, even better than in Spain itself. You can’t book, but don’t fear the queues – just order a sherry and some nibbles while you wait, and the charming Spanish […]
Joanna’s, Crystal Palace
Had a mediochre day blighted by tedium and annoyances? Feeling lacklustre and needing gastronomic comfort and a back rub? Well, Joanna’s in Crystal Palace doesn’t do back rubs, but their food is the next best thing. It’s the kind of place that every neighbourhood should have, serving delicious and well-executed food that is reasonably priced, […]
Wahaca, Soho
Tomasina Miers (victorious maiden chef-ess of Masterchef several years hence) has several very successful outposts of her Mexican streetfood restaurant under her belt, spanning Canary Wharf, Covent Garden, Westfield and now Soho. I had been a devotee of the first branch when it opened in the restaurant wasteland that is Covent Garden a few years […]
The Cheese Box, Whitstable
A few years ago, the cheese-starved inhabitants of Crystal Palace, South London, only had a dismal branch of Morrisons in which to buy their fromages. It was a sorry state of affairs – anaemic cheddar and Edam, and not a lot else besides, sold under fluorescent strip lights. But then, lo! Rescue came in the […]
Yalla Yalla
Flamin’ heck. I’ve been to Yalla Yalla twice in the space of one week – their food is that good. This tiny little cafe just off Brewer Street in Soho serves delicious Beirut-style street food and makes a baba ghannouj dip that I would walk across hot coals for. Well it’s at least worth queuing […]
Fernandez and Leluu
Underground supperclubs are like a little dip into the unknown. Unlike going to a restaurant, where you roughly know how the experience is going to pan out, going to a supperclub requires taking a big leap of faith. You’re essentially paying complete strangers money to eat a meal in their living room, sitting alongside other […]
Regency Cafe
Imagine the following words being belted from the small mouth of a slender, bespectacled woman with fair hair, looking as though she would usually whisper and work in a libary: “TWO EGGS, SAUSAGE, CHIPS AND BEANS!” or “HADDOCK, CHIPS, PEAS AND BEANS!” Here is the lady in question, manning the counter at the Regency Cafe […]
Guilt-free eating out
Last time you went out for dinner, did you worry at all about whether your meal was sustainably sourced and whether the restaurant had any kind of ecological business practices? Chances are that you didn’t: the majority of us are usually too distracted choosing something good on the menu, gossiping and worrying about the price […]
Urban Orient
I am so very excited. Why? Crystal Palace finally has a superb Vietnamese cafe/restaurant, just a stone’s throw from my house. Hurrah! And the whole neighbourhood seems thrilled to be able to say ‘welcome’ to Urban Orient, which has been packed to the rafters ever since it opened its doors. It houses a once-unloved site […]
Toast & Butter 