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.
In the culinary desert that is Paddington Basin, Ayllu offers a rare bright spot. Even if not quite yet the finished product, the venue is on the right track. The premise of ‘affordable fine dining’ – the restaurant’s self-defined pitch – is a laudable one. Go, if not for the food and service, then certainly for the atmosphere
A visit to La Rei Natura was one of the most memorable your author has experienced anywhere recently. Sure, truffle was in abundance, but chef Michelangelo Mammoliti showcased a master class in daring to be different. His restaurant’s two Michelin stars were richly deserved. At the age of 40, he may not be at the peak of his culinary excellence yet – and a third star could be imminent.
Anyone who eats out regularly will know that after a while all meals begin to merge into one. It takes something truly astonishing to be memorable. The suckling pig cooked by Nieves Barragán at Sabor is one of those dishes. Your reviewer still dreams of it regularly. It was therefore with excitement that he visited the chef’s second restaurant. However, if Legado is intended as Barragán’s ‘legacy’ (the word translated from Spanish), then it is a disappointing one.
In a world where dining is so often about the next hot trend, experiments with fusion and Insta-friendliness, it’s a reassuring thing of beauty to find a classic French brasserie. Located in a leafy Oxford suburb, Pompette is the sort of place where you could happily go for lunch and never leave. This is perhaps the aim of the owners, since translated, the name means ‘tipsy.’ Crack on with the wine and leave happy.
In a world where first impressions count, many diners might naturally be put off Satyrio. Not only could the exterior do with a face lift, but to get there, visitors must navigate liminal London. Located on Aldgate High Street, Satyrio feels like it neither quite swanky City nor trendy Shoreditch. Step inside, however, and there is a lot – even if not everything – to like about this venue.
Your reviewer really wanted to like Sagardi. He has been visiting the Basque region for over 20 years, had one of his best meals of 2024 there and fell in love with Ibai when it opened in London last June. Fronted by a chef from the region and with other successful Sagardi branches around the world, there was so much to like on paper. Walk into the Shoreditch venue and you will be wowed on first impressions. We were let down though by both food and service.
Every neighbourhood should have a good Indian restaurant. Colaba ought to be West Hampstead’s. Named after a district of Mumbai, its quality of cooking would put it close Dishoom. However, our quartet left Colaba feeling severely underwhelmed by its service. Improve this and the venue could be a local star.
“Because it’s cooked with love” was the answer given by our garrulous host when asked what made Barrafina’s tortilla better than those of its rivals. Such a response may sound trite or flippant. However, it serves as a perfect expression for Barrafina’s cooking. 18 years’ on from when the first branch opened and now up to 5 outlets, it was abundantly evident to both your reviewer and his dining comrade on a recent visit to the Covent Garden site that this love story remains very much alive.
Colour is the first thing you notice when flying into Cork in Ireland’s south and then driving west. It’s like seeing forty shades of green, as our host for the weekend put it. Beyond the stunning countryside, there’s the coastline; the blue of the Atlantic that stretches from here across to America. The locals are rightly proud of the scenery. Working with and respecting both land and sea informs the approach to cooking in County Cork. The holy trinity of local, seasonable and sustainable features strongly. Almost all we ate was delicious too.
There is oodles of potential at this luxury hotel close to the border between Scotland and England. Like many similarly styled venues, the somewhat pretentiously named Schloss (German for castle, if you were not aware – despite the venue’s lack of connections with the country) suffers in comparison with fine dining options in London. Its cuisine will also never show at its best when catering for large groups. But have no doubt, the setting is stunning and the recently installed Head Chef has grand plans.
If eating out were like competitive sport, then it is certainly a statement of intent on the part of Long Chim to locate itself almost next door to Speedboat Bar. The latter is fronted by chef Luke Farrell and backed by the increasingly ubiquitous (and highly successful) JKS team. However, in the Long Chim corner stands David Thompson, a chef who has probably done more for Thai food in the UK than any other. While a city like London clearly does have room for both venues, diners only have so many pounds in their wallets and finite free evenings. Were it a direct competition, this reviewer knows where he would prefer to spend his money.
Think of Nipotina as a homage to all things Italian, but spruced up for the Mayfair dining crowd, with prices to match. The restaurant is a class act, but only to be expected given the success of nearby dining venues Jamavar and Mimi Mei Fair, owned by the same group. At Nipotina, a chef from Turin is installed to prepare food with an emphasis on home-cooked classics, particularly from the south of the country.
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 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.
When your reviewer first moved to London in the late 90s, Randall & Aubin was one of the places to be. Located on the site of London’s first French butcher, with many of the original features still in place, R&A (as regulars refer to it) had just opened as a dedicated seafood restaurant. Sited on the corner of Brewer Street and Rupert Street, it hit the vibe perfectly for a Soho that was gentrifying from seedy to cool.
What does a chef with two Michelin stars do, especially if they don’t want a third one? Simple. Go back to basics and open a neighbourhood restaurant, albeit in the rarefied locale of Chelsea. Of course, it helps if you’re Phil Howard. Within a year of Elystan Street opening in 2016, it had become one of the hottest tickets and gained a mere single star from the Michelin inspectors. The venue’s held it ever since and based on your reviewer’s recent visit, it is fully deserved.
When Rambutan first opened its doors two years ago, food critics – almost universally – could not get enough of it. Coventry-born chef, Cynthia Shanmugalingam, had transformed her take on Sri Lankan diaspora cooking onto the London restaurant scene. To be clear, the angle is definitively not Indian food and nor is it traditional Sri Lankan; rather it is a showcase for the island’s cuisine, but with a very British twist. As long as you like spice and don’t mind fruit in your curry, then Rambutan is the place to go.
As your author and his dining comrade ate at Porte Noire on a recent weekday night, one of the topics our conversation turned to was ‘what makes a good restaurant?’ In a world where brevity trumps verbosity, suffice to say that Porte Noire is a strong candidate, or compelling case study. If all neighbourhoods had a similar venue, then nearby punters would have every reason to be happy.
How do you make excellent even better? In the world of food, it’s a question that Clare Smyth, the chef-patron of Core, is able to provide a ready answer to: keep plying your trade joyfully. This is your author’s fourth review of the venue. Each time he and his dining comrade have visited, the experience has been taken to another level. Throughout, there remains Clare, in the kitchen, still smiling.
