British, Mayfair
Alex Gunz
Rosi: Nostalgia, Mayfair style

Everyone loves a bit of theatre when they’re out for a posh meal. Even better if it evokes a sense of comfortable nostalgia too. Rosi does both very well. The Beaumont Hotel’s main dining space has been revamped for the better. Out goes the Colony Grill and in comes Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s inimitable charm and take on British dining.

Rosi: Nostalgia, Mayfair style
Chinese, Soho
Alex Gunz
Real Beijing Food House: The real deal

How to choose when you’re in the midst of Chinatown? This is a subject upon which your author has mused previously. Fortunately, other more esteemed reviewers had favourably endorsed the Real Beijing Food House. Despite its incongruous name, our trio of diners were impressed by a recent visit.

Real Beijing Food House: The real deal
Alex Gunz
2025 in review

It’s been a stellar year for eating out. Gourmand Gunno chalked up his century of restaurants visited in 2025 on 5 December, with several more bookings still in the diary. He had the privilege to visit 10 countries across 3 continents in the past 12 months. These trips provided many wonderful dining opportunities. Just over 40 new reviews were posted to the website. 

2025 in review
South African, Marylebone
Alex Gunz
Kudu: Growing up can be hard

In the eight years that Kudu operated in Peckham, the restaurant developed a much-loved cult following, serving up cool cocktails and braai-based meats in an edgy part of town. Bigger ambitions (and presumably the lure of more money) saw Kudu relocate across the Thames to Marylebone. The trick has worked insofar as the venue was packed, but to this reviewer it felt like just another trendy restaurant, lacking a distinct identity.

Kudu: Growing up can be hard
British, Cardiff
Alex Gunz
Gorse: Cardiff’s star

It is very rare for any restaurant to gain a Michelin star within less than a year of opening. It’s even rarer in Cardiff. Tom Waters and his team have, however, done so – at Gorse. The Welsh capital now has its first starred venue. The recognition is deserved, as a recent visit confirmed.

Gorse: Cardiff’s star

Les Gourmets des Ternes: A tiny piece of France, transplanted to London (January 2015)

Maybe a few decades ago the French felt that they deservedly had the most bragging rights when it came to culinary superiority. Times have changed though. Japan can claim to have more three Michelin-starred restaurants than France and in London, ask many diners what style of cuisine they currently rate most highly, and – best guess – it won’t be French.

,

The Sportsman: Good, but maybe not worth its star (December 2014)

,

What does a restaurant or pub need to do in order to get a Michelin star? This was the question I mused as a group of five us set out for a recent lunch at the one-starred Sportsman near Whitstable. Since the Sportsman has had this accolade since 2008, it clearly must be doing something right.

,

Zorita’s Kitchen: The trouble with tapas (December 2014)

,

I love tapas; it is a wonderfully communal way of eating, where the food does not impinge of the conversation and diners can sample a range of dishes. Indeed the idea of sharing platters, long-favoured by the Spanish, has now become close to ubiquitous on the trendy London dining scene.

,

Cut at 45 Park Lane: Business class (December 2014)

,

There is always something profoundly depressing about restaurants in hotels. Even if they have their own separate entrances, the atmosphere often seems to be one of transience and impersonality. Cut at 45 Park Lane (which one is forced to enter through the eponymous hotel) is little different.

, ,

Crocker’s Folly: Not worth the wait (December 2014)

, ,

When I first moved to London 16 years’ ago, I was lucky to have as my local boozer Crocker’s Folly, a quite remarkable pub, decorated in a high Victorian style with much marble and mirrors. The ales were great, they had a lovely weekly pub quiz and average pub grub (for the late 90’s). 

,

Ma Goa: Flavour explosion (December 2014)

,
Ma Goa: Flavour explosion (December 2014)

Our annual Christmas gathering of university chums and partners saw us in Putney on the Saturday before Christmas with Ma Goa as the venue. Modern and trendy it may not be, but in terms of food quality, this restaurant definitely deserves to be up there, ranking among some of the tastiest Indian food recently sampled in London.

,

The Colony Grill Room: Not every restaurant can be a winner (October 2014)

,

The Colony Grill is the latest venture from Corbin & King, but certainly not their best. Just as this famous restaurant duo gave us their take on the grand European café with The Wolseley, on the French brasserie with Zédel and the Austrian experience with Fischer’s, here is their interpretation of the traditional Grill Room of the 1920s.