In an alternative world, imagine the London dining scene without JKS. The restaurant chain developed by the Sethi siblings has gifted the city with the likes of Gymkhana, Trishna, Brigadiers, BiBi, Hoppers and more. Diners’ knowledge of the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent would be much the poorer without their outlets. Despite its pretentious name, Ambassadors Clubhouse is a valuable addition to their suite of restaurants. In many ways, it represents the JKS team going back to its roots.
It is roughly three miles from Belsize Park, a comfortably wealthy north London suburb, to Mayfair. Or step out of one of the grand houses close to the euphemistic ‘Belsize Village’ square and you will find Mimi. More than a neighbourhood local, Mimi felt to this reviewer that it would be much happier in W1 than NW3. If glitz and glamour is what you want – without the central London hike – then Mimi is for you.
Few may have heard of Thomas Cubitt, but many may have visited the mini pub chain that is named in his honour. For the unaware, the gentleman in question was a British master builder, renowned for developing much of the late Georgian and early Victorian architecture that defines London. Wind the clock on to the 21st Century and many of his buildings have been reincarnated as up-market pubs.
The dove is often associated with peace and love. The backers of this newly opened on-trend Notting Hill venue perhaps hoped to inspire both with their restaurant. Your reviewer felt neither when visiting last week, even if its potential was evident.
The first thing diners notice when they step into Silva is the light. There’s a feeling of tranquillity. Maybe it’s akin to being in a forest glade, which would not be accidental since ‘silva’ is the Latin word for forest. Readers should get the impression then that aesthetics are a big thing at Silva. The food isn’t at all shabby either. Think of this restaurant as a combination of the refined and the relaxed.
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…
Four years is a culinary lifetime, particularly in London, but I have always retained fond memories for Ma Goa, a Putney-located Indian restaurant. Finding myself in the area on a recent weekend, the opportunity to return seemed too good to pass up. In summary, the restaurant has had a make-over, but the food remains as differentiated as before.
London does not lack for competition when it comes to high-end Indian restaurants, yet there is always room for more. When Indian Accent opened just under a year ago, expectations were certainly high for the venture, given the plaudits accorded to the original in New Delhi and its first offshoot in New York. Choosing to locate yourself on the same street as London’s Gymkhana is also tantamount to laying down a challenge; we can do at least as well, if not better than you. A recent visit saw both my dining comrade and I highly impressed by Indian Accent…
Reputation and hype combined often breed excess expectation. At Hide, take a highly talented chef, an alleged £20m investment, a wine joint venture with nearby Hedonism and anticipation levels can quickly become stratospheric. Gain a Michelin star within a year of opening and you’re in a whole different galaxy. Reviewers need to be sceptical by nature, but not since Sexy Fish have I been so underwhelmed by a London venue.
2018 has been another year of culinary pleasure for Gourmand Gunno both at home and abroad. 37 restaurants have been reviewed on my website over the past 12 months, although this probably only represents some 50% of those visited. For now, my site remains UK-specific, but beyond Britain there were notable dining highlights from Bergen to Boston with Indonesian food enjoyed in Amsterdam and Mozambique cuisine in Lisbon, among others. My top-ten highlights among venues reviewed follow.
A neighbourhood restaurant in Soho? Lovely idea, but surely not workable? Maybe not, but this is the angle that Foxlow has gone for. The venue – the fourth in this mini chain operated by the same team behind the successful Hawksmoor venture – was full of good vibes and food and all very much on-trend. In summary, highly comforting (just like your neighbourhood local) and competent if neither revolutionary or ground-breaking.
Being a regular reviewer of restaurants has many privileges, but a combination of coincidence and premeditation has seen me visit three different Hawksmoor locations across London in the last two months. Regardless of venue (Air Street, Seven Dials and Spitalfields, in reverse chronological order), the formula has been not only remarkably consistent but also hugely successful. Put simply, this is about good meat in a highly convivial atmosphere.
Beyond a handful of restaurants, several books, a regular Guardian column and the now-guaranteed presence of zaatar in every self-respecting middle-class larder, Yotam Ottlolenghi has spawned a generation of professional chefs. Ramael Scully is one of these, now plying his trade under a restaurant in his own surname. If his mentor became famed for successfully combining genuinely eclectic ingredients from across the Middle East, then Scully goes one step further. Scully is a celebration of joyful and inventive cooking…
The doors of Wild Honey have been open for 11 years during which time I have been a regular visitor. A recent lunchtime return visit to the venue reminded me just how good this place is and why it continues to pull in the crowds. Put simply, what Wild Honey does is offer impressively good comfort food in a lovely venue, albeit at Mayfair prices.
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.
When is Japanese food not Japanese food? This isn’t a question from a specialist philosophy paper, but more an observation about how much of the Japanese dining scene in London has seemingly morphed into what has been dictated as ‘cool’ and instantly Instagram-able by many trend-setters. If, however, you’re looking for authenticity (and the antithesis of a venue such as Sushi Samba), then consider Kurumaya. Located on one of the oldest streets in the City of London, Kurumaya has a long pedigree and a head chef who has been making sushi for over 25 years. Pass the take-away pit-stop on the top floor and descend to the basement for an experience which may not seem out of place in Tokyo. Beyond the stark and austere decoration, the wood and lacquer finishes and the prominent sushi counter, there is even a room replete with tatami mats, for those who want to go the whole hog here. Onto the food, and it is broadly what one might expect: a raw fish range (sushi and sashimi) followed by an offering of more substantial mains. The emphasis is on locally sourced produce, prepared to the highest standards. Both our sushi platter and our chirashi (meaning ‘scattered around’) bowl of fish on a bed of rice had that amazing sense of freshness, so much so that one could almost taste the sea. The presentation showed the fish off to its best effect, a vividly hewed rainbow spectrum. Meanwhile, a beef teriyaki main was comparable to similar offerings sampled in Japan, with pungent beef paired against bean sprouts. Pricing was not cheap, but then it is rarely is for Japanese food. Perhaps the best indicator of the success of the venue was simply how busy it was. This is a well-kept secret worth seeking out.
Restaurants with Michelin stars know what they’re doing, right? Especially those that have held at least one since 1993. You would assume so. We, however, encountered one of our least promising starts to a restaurant visit at Pied à Terre. Fortunately, things improved from there. Overall, the experience was positively memorable, if more so for the ambience than the food…
