British, Oxford
Alex Gunz
No.1 Ship Street: Shipshape

Part of Oxford’s timeless allure is its narrow side streets. Visitors could easily miss Ship Street, despite it being footsteps away from both the city’s main tourist sights and one of its principal shopping thoroughfares. This would be a pity, since nestled halfway along lies an impressive boutique restaurant that could comfortably hold its own in London.

No.1 Ship Street: Shipshape
British, Covent Garden
Alex Gunz
Rules: The discreet charm of enduring tradition

Guests know exactly what to expect when they go to Rules. Its website reminds visitors that not only is it the “oldest restaurant in London” but that it “serves traditional British food.” Your reviewer had not been in over 25 years, but no part of the experience was markedly different. Think of Rules less as a tourist trap for those on an olde England nostalgia trip and more as an institution that has, and will continue, to endure.

Rules: The discreet charm of enduring tradition
Portuguese, City
Alex Gunz
Bar Douro: Saúde

The Portuguese, it is often said, are Britain’s oldest ally. Almost everyone who’s ever travelled to Portugal speaks highly of the country and the hospitality of its people. Gourmand Gunno has been more times than he can recall. Yet it remains anomalous just how few good Portuguese restaurants there are in central London. Fortunately, Bar Douro is one of them.

Bar Douro: Saúde
Chinese, Soho
Alex Gunz
Plum Valley: Plum choice

The English idiom is an apt one for this restaurant – a rare gem amidst the bustle of London’s Chinatown. Plum Valley stands apart from many of the 70 or so restaurants packed into the area around Gerrard Street. It provides a bridge between traditional Cantonese dining – the mainstay of the district – and a more modern, upscale aesthetic. It’s a sleek, tranquil escape.

Plum Valley: Plum choice
Indian, Soho
Alex Gunz
Kricket: Good sport

There’s something anarchic about deliberately spelling the name of your restaurant wrong – and somehow getting away with it. Kricket – a playful nod to the shared British and Indian cultural obsession with the sport – has grown up from its original Brixton pop-up inception in a shipping container. Visit their Soho outpost for a taste of modern Anglo-Indian cooking.

Kricket: Good sport

City

, ,

Fenchurch: View + food = winning formula (March 2016)

, ,

Tall buildings seem all the rage in London these days and, if you have an iconic landmark, then why not put a restaurant in there too? Too often, however, the complaint can be levelled at such venues that customers just end up paying for the view or the ‘experience’ and the food becomes an after-thought.

,

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.

, , ,

Sushisamba: Dancing to the beat (February 2014)

, , ,

It’s a fairly well-trodden path that you need to take if you want to try and succeed at present on the London restaurant scene – a menu comprising sharing dishes that draw their culinary influences from around the world, especially Asia and South America. 

,

Hawksmoor Guildhall (October 2013)

,

It is relatively rare for restaurant groups to be able to expand successfully, particularly without risking dilution either to their brand or concept. In the case of Hawksmoor, full credit to the team. I had enjoyed visiting their Seven Dials restaurant earlier in the year, and a recent lunch at the Guildhall location showed every evidence of consistent delivery.