British, Marylebone
Alex Gunz
Boxcar: Every neighbourhood needs one

If New Quebec Street in Marylebone were my local high street, then I would be delighted. Luckily it is close to where your reviewer both lives and works. Zayna has been a long-standing favourite for curry. There’s also a great wine shop, a fishmonger and more. In addition, Boxcar is located on this street. Open since 2017, Gourmand Gunno corrected a long-standing anomaly by visiting it recently. Billed as a ‘neighbourhood restaurant’, it certainly constitutes a wonderful addition to the street, for both food and vibe.

Boxcar: Every neighbourhood needs one
Pan-Asian, Mayfair
Alex Gunz
The Ivy Asia: More is more

From a modest café that opened over a hundred years ago, to a Michelin-starred celebrity hang-out, the history of the Ivy has been both varied and colourful. The brand remains an enduring one in the culinary world despite having opened Ivy spin-offs across the country, in towns such as Guildford. Its most recent venture has been to create an Asian sub-brand. Trading partly on its name, the ethos at Ivy Asia is full-on decadence with decent enough food to match.

The Ivy Asia: More is more
Spanish
Alex Gunz
Horma Ondo: From Blackpool to Bilbao

A visit to Horma Ondo is an experience. Take in the views, enjoy the food and wine. This is the sort of place where one could comfortably spend a whole day. It’s located in the hills outside Bilbao and easy to miss if one does not know the way. Fortunately my host was a local to the area and successfully navigated the winding road up to the venue. Once there, we relaxed and enjoyed the restaurant to the full.

Horma Ondo: From Blackpool to Bilbao
Chinese, Mayfair
Alex Gunz
MiMi Mei Fair: Give me more

Reviewers that see any restaurant describe itself as “eclectic” have good reason – often through bitter prior experience – to be sceptical. When your venue has an absurdly pretentious name and is located on an expensive street in Mayfair, then the trepidation should mount further. MiMi, named with yet more absurdity in homage to a fictional empress who travels across China, is however worth a visit. There is substance behind the show.

MiMi Mei Fair: Give me more
Israeli, Soho
Alex Gunz
Kapara: Party like it’s Tel Aviv

Kapara is big and bold, full of joy and exuberance. It serves as a wonderful reminder of the many good things about Israeli culture and constitutes a welcome addition to the London restaurant scene.

Kapara: Party like it’s Tel Aviv

Marylebone

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Boxcar: Every neighbourhood needs one

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Boxcar: Every neighbourhood needs one

If New Quebec Street in Marylebone were my local high street, then I would be delighted. Luckily it is close to where your reviewer both lives and works. Zayna has been a long-standing favourite for curry. There’s also a great wine shop, a fishmonger and more. In addition, Boxcar is located on this street. Open since 2017, Gourmand Gunno corrected a long-standing anomaly by visiting it recently. Billed as a ‘neighbourhood restaurant’, it certainly constitutes a wonderful addition to the street, for both food and vibe.

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Bossa: Bossing it

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Bossa: Bossing it

Beware of heavy and ostentatious doors, noted one of my dining comrades when we arrived at Bossa, a new Brazilian restaurant on the edge of Marylebone. Bossa’s is big and brassy and requires a certain effort to open. However, don’t be put off. Enter into the venue and diners will immediately be struck with its sense of class. The cooking matches the décor too.

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Cavita: Mucho gusto

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Cavita: Mucho gusto

“I’ve never eaten good Mexican food in London” was what Gourmand Gunno’s dining comrade for the evening had told him when the two of us first discussed where we might go for our semi-regular supper outing. Your reviewer is fortunately a huge fan of all things Mexican, having first travelled to the country over 25 years ago. The good news – both for Gourmand Gunno and his then-sceptical comrade – is that London is now awash with ‘proper’ Mexican restaurants. Cavita is a welcome addition to the scene.

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St John: Meat comes to Marylebone

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St John: Meat comes to Marylebone

1994 might seem an age ago. At the time, your reviewer was just beginning university and rarely visited a restaurant unless benevolent relatives were paying. It was also the year when Fergus Henderson and his team created a culinary revolution when they opened the original St John restaurant in Smithfield Market. With it came the pioneering concept of ‘nose-to-tail’ cooking. This was (and remains) the place to go for offal. It is pleasing that a second St John venture has recently opened in Marylebone. Based on a recent visit, it can be every bit as good as the first.

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Cocoro: Slice of Japan

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Cocoro: Slice of Japan

Blink and you might almost miss it. Despite your reviewer having lived and worked in the vicinity of Cocoro for much of his adult life, his first visit to the restaurant took place only recently. It won’t be the last. Tucked away on Marylebone Lane, its entrance only obvious from a red drape adorning the doorway, as soon as diners cross the threshold, it is as if they are transported to Japan.

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Briciole: Make this my home

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Briciole: Make this my home

You would be unlikely to walk past Briciole unless you happened to be lost. It is located on the corner of a small road in the no-man’s land between Edgware Road underground station and the borders of Marylebone. Your reviewer has, however, passed it almost every day for the last decade on his way to and from work. Briciole, which doubles as both a deli and a restaurant, has always looked so inviting, yet circumstance never somehow quite permitted for a visit. That was until recently. Having been, I am now smitten.

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KOL: More Mexican magic

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KOL: More Mexican magic

Chef-patron Santiago Lastra’s KOL restaurant was one of the hottest dining tickets of 2021. It had opened in 2020 but owing to the pandemic, only truly got going in last year. Your reviewer dined there seven days after the Government permitted indoor meals to restart. He loved it so much that he sought to rebook for the full nine-course tasting menu in the evening. Once again, the pandemic intervened and he had to wait until a recent Saturday March finally to take his seat. In the interim, KOL has – justifiably – received a Michelin star. It is undoubtedly merited. For diners after a novel and memorable experience in London, KOL is the place to go.

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Sidechick: Chick it out

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Sidechick: Chick it out

Sidechick does for roasted chicken what Patty & Bun has done for burgers. It’s perhaps no coincidence that the site is next door to the original P&B and that the venues share the same backers. The reason for paying a visit is not just for the opportunity to enjoy high-quality roast chicken, but also to revel in a vibe that sets Sideckick apart from its peers (Humble Chicken and Nando’s) on the same block.

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Phoenix Palace: Best London dim sum yet

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Phoenix Palace: Best London dim sum yet

Many London venues serving Chinese food seem to be missing a trick. Nowhere does it say that dim sum should be all about just meat and fish. Even omnivores like vegetable-only offerings too. Fortunately, Phoenix Palace got the message. Plaudits to the venue for not just its food, but also the décor and overall experience.

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KOL: Mexican soul, and more

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KOL: Mexican soul, and more

When Gourmand Gunno first travelled to Mexico many years ago he was told that the Mexicans believed their cuisine to be the third-best in the world. This was a clever notion: why try to claim you’re better than the French or the Italians (who apparently ranked numbers one and two)? At the same time though, you’re making a clear statement of intent about how you believe your food should be regarded. Even if this ranking is certainly open to debate, it is still fair to wonder just why there are so few restaurants serving genuine Mexican food in the world’s major cities. The good news for Londoners is that KOL seeks to address this anomaly. It delivers admirably.

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Madera: Missing that Mexican magic

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Madera: Missing that Mexican magic

Having spent some time in Mexico – including a dedicated six-week period – your reviewer can state that what Madera offers is not authentic Mexican food, but a take on it, which will more likely appeal to British and American palates. Beyond the view and the people watching opportunities, Madera ticks almost all the evident boxes of what ‘on-trend’ restaurants seek to offer – a bewilderingly complicated menu, dishes explicitly made for sharing which arrive as soon as they are ready and music that was slightly too loud for a midweek lunchtime.

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Jikoni: Comfort food for uncertain times

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Jikoni: Comfort food for uncertain times

In many ways, Jikoni is the perfect place to go for a meal in these strange times. Consider that the restaurant’s name means ‘kitchen’ in Swahili. The emphasis is – and always has been – on informality; almost as if one were stepping into the proprietor’s kitchen. There are no airs and graces here. The principle of style over substance is almost inverted at Jikoni – an appropriate mindset, perhaps, for the COVID-19 world…

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Honest Burgers: An ode to the plant-based burger

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Honest Burgers: An ode to the plant-based burger

Credit to the founders of Honest Burgers – a now 20+ outlet mini-chain in London and beyond – for being ahead of its time. Your reviewer may not be the biggest fan of burger and chips but in the interests of research, I visited the Marylebone branch of Honest with a willing colleague last week and a very specific purpose in mind – to sample the vegan burger they have recently launched. The burger was damn good and would convince many a sceptic

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Donostia: Welcome home

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Donostia: Welcome home

Visitors to the Basque region of Spain will see large adverts at the airports welcoming them to “the home of Spanish food.” This is not a bold claim, given that the city of San Sebastián has more Michelin stars per square metre than any other in the world. London may be some 1300km away from Spain’s culinary capital, but diners need not travel that far to experience some of the best food from the region. Donostia (what the locals call San Sebastián) is a 40-cover venue located in Marylebone’s restaurant quarter and provides an exceptionally good introduction to Basque cooking

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Harry’s Bar: La dolce vita, London style

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Harry’s Bar: La dolce vita, London style

Say Harry’s Bar to most foodies or well-travelled tourists and the immediate response would be ‘Venice.’ Such is its fame that the Italian Ministry for Cultural Affairs declared the Venetian venue a national landmark in 2001. Part of going to Venice is saying you’ve been there, but now you don’t even need to. For a pleasingly authentic experience with significantly fewer tourists and a much more reasonably priced menu, central London now has an outpost of Harry’s.

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Dinings: Dine out on this

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Dinings: Dine out on this

Blink and you might miss it. Dinings is located in a tiny Georgian townhouse on an obscure side street in Marylebone. Spacious, the venue is not. Rather, it is distinctly cramped and bereft of decoration, but the food is so supremely good that it is well worth a visit…

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The Wallace Restaurant: Artful

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The Wallace Restaurant: Artful

Walk two blocks north of Bond Street underground station and you will encounter one of London’s best-kept artistic secrets – the Wallace Collection. Located on Manchester Square, it houses an extensive collection of fine and decorative arts, and is free for anyone to visit. If this were not reason enough to visit, then the restaurant too is worth checking out…

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The Gate: Memorable in its disappointment

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The Gate: Memorable in its disappointment

First impressions count. This is a basic life lesson and one does not need to have much experience of visiting restaurants to know that there is a right way of doing things and a wrong one. The Gate did it the wrong way. It’s not a lot to ask the front of house to greet guests with a modicum of enthusiasm. It’s also not unreasonable to expect that the menus don’t have previous diners’ food stains on them. You can guess what happened to my dining comrade and I on a recent Saturday night visit. Our evening at The Gate was therefore off to a bad start and it would have taken some amazing food or vastly memorable service to have revised this negative impression. Neither was forthcoming.