Gastropub, Indian, Islington
Alex Gunz
The Tamil Prince: Curry royalty

Even three years after opening, it is still very hard to get a table at the Tamil Prince. And rightly so. The restaurant may be off the beaten track, located in a restored pub in Barnsbury, but perseverance pays off. Get lucky with a booking (they can only be made 28 days in advance for a venue that has just 40 covers) and make the visit. Diners won’t be disappointed.

The Tamil Prince: Curry royalty
Gastropub, Marylebone
Alex Gunz
The Hart: We do need another hero

Pubs were pretty grim places to eat forty years ago, when Tina Turner sang “we don’t need another hero.” Fortunately, a lot has changed for the better in the world since. To witness the pub in 2025, diners should check out the Hart in Marylebone. Brought to London by the same team behind the Hero (and the Fat Badger), we need more pubs like this.

The Hart: We do need another hero
British, French, Buckinghamshire
Alex Gunz
Hartwell House: The curse of country dining

There is something wonderfully comforting about a roaring log fire, particularly on a blustery day. The one at Hartwell House, a Jacobean pile now owned by the National Trust on the edge of the Chilterns, was a particularly good and warming one. It was also, arguably, the highlight of our recent visit. Food was forgettable and service left quite a bit to be desired.

Hartwell House: The curse of country dining
French, Soho
Alex Gunz
Goldies: Keep it simple, do it well

If Soho’s Kingly Court dining complex is an incubator for restaurants, then Goldies is destined for bigger things. Perhaps we should not be surprised, since it is backed by the team behind the now sadly closed Blanchette. The angle at Goldies is comfort food in a casual dining format. Guests might not want to leave.

Goldies: Keep it simple, do it well
Spanish, City
Alex Gunz
Hispania: Mucho glamour

If you wanted to create “the most accomplished and ambitious project devoted to Spanish gastronomy in Europe,” then the City of London with its staid suited bankers might not be the first location that springs to mind. Regardless, Hispania – whose website is the source for this quote – is a gem of a venue. Décor, food and ambience all provide a reason to visit.

Hispania: Mucho glamour

Gastropub

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The Peasant: More chic than rustic (November 2017)

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The word peasant conjures up somewhat bucolic images of the English past; labourers and farmhands toiling away in the fields and the like. It perhaps, therefore, seems a strange name with which to adorn a pub, particularly in the trendy London district of Clerkenwell. There is nothing rustic about the venue and its prices would probably turn even many modern-day peasants away. Nonetheless, the venue is cool and offers a good range of beers and competently executed dishes.

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The Elgin: Trying too hard (June 2017)

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The Elgin, a seemingly on-trend gastropub, has come a long way from its existence as a boozer for old soaks - the format in which I first visited this venue some twenty years ago. Sure, it has improved in many ways and is much loved by the yummy mummies of Maida Vale (babyccino, anyone?), but a group of us who recently visited on a Sunday lunchtime couldn't help but feel singularly disappointed.

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

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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.

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

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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). 

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The Wells: Underwhelming (June 2014)

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Green and leafy Hampstead feels as if it could be part of the countryside rather than just a few tube stops north of Euston or Camden. Being a world removed from the London we all probably know better may have its charms, but what the Wells gains in terms of location, our group of five dining there recently on a weekday evening felt it lost in terms of atmosphere and service.

The Garrison: It works (September 2012)

It works for me. Many try but few succeed with the (albeit highly over-used) gastro-pub concept. It's hard to say where specifically the Garrison excels, but it is probably most strongly in that ineffable idea of ambience, captured by the decor, noise level (well-balanced), attitude of the staff (very clearly going out of their way to be friendly) and of the other diners.