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
Chinese, French, Mayfair
Alex Gunz
Revisiting old friends: Kai and LPM

“But why do you always choose new restaurants?” The question was put to your reviewer by a long-standing friend and sometime dining comrade recently. He continued, “surely if you rated them previously, then they must still be good.” We’re all fascinated by the novel, and there is a certain imperative as a reviewer to check out hot new openings. However, return visits to a pair of old favourites – coincidentally days apart – confirmed that sometimes it is best to stick to the tried and tested.

Revisiting old friends: Kai and LPM
Gastropub, Notting Hill
Alex Gunz
The Fat Badger: Magical mystery tour

A venue without either a formal entrance or a menu might not be everyone’s idea of a fun experience. But this is precisely the point. Create a mystery and you make things kind of cool. There’s a cachet value – you’re either in on it, or you’re not. Such is the zeitgeist of 2025 London. Overcome your prejudices and visit the Fat Badger. You will not be disappointed.

The Fat Badger: Magical mystery tour
Middle Eastern, Marylebone
Alex Gunz
Seymour Kitchen: Pure Persian pleasure

Every neighbourhood needs a venue like the Seymour Kitchen. Walk in and it’s hard not to fall in love. The place works as a grocery, a deli and a restaurant. It’s full of colour and charm and if you haven’t yet fallen for the flavours of the Middle East, then you will after visiting.

Seymour Kitchen: Pure Persian pleasure

Soho

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Señor Ceviche: Great food, pity about the name (May 2017)

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Peruvian food remains distinctly on-trend in London – and so it should do, since the country offers a wide range of flavoursome dishes spanning meat, fish and veg. There isn’t a lot of gluten in the Peruvian diet and so this should also tick a box for many. Much as I love all things Peruvian (and I can highly recommend the country as a holiday destination), I was instinctively put off Señor Ceviche because of its name.

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Smoking Goat: Flavour explosion (March 2017)

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Tucked down a side street in Soho best known for its guitar shops, Smoking Goat is paving the way for a new era of Thai cuisine. This is about as far removed from curry in a coconut milk sauce or a plate of stir-fried rice noodles as you can imagine. Instead, Smoking Goat is all about a profound explosion of flavours, mostly based around smoke, spice and soy

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Lobos Soho: Feast, like the wolves (March 2017)

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There is no shortage of competition for tapas joints in London and far too often they fall down on offering indifferent fare that is a far cry from even the most basic establishment in Spain. Against this background, Lobos – Spanish for wolves – is an excellent addition to the London scene.

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Chotto Mate: Classy – but, wait a minute, check the prices (October 2016)

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Chotto Mate ticks many boxes – it is cool, serves excellent food and wines and has enthusiastic and engaging staff. The catch, however, is the cost. The menu is somewhat bewildering in its complexity, the dishes are small and the bill can therefore rack up quickly.

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Casita Andina: My kind of house (August 2016)

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I first visited Peru 16 years’ ago and fell in love with the country, the culture, the food and the people then. Back in London everything seemed so grey in contrast to the visual hues of the Andes. Even the now-shut Fina Estampa on Tooley Street was scant compensation for the culinary delights that Peru had to offer.

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Morada Brindisa: Spat-out (July 2016)

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Eating out is generally considered to be a joyful experience. Doing so regularly, I clearly subscribe to such a view. I also recognise that popular restaurants – understandably – want to turn their tables, to draw in as many visitors as possible and also to make a fatter profit.

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Gauthier Soho: Impressed, but not wowed (September 2014)

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Just minutes from the sex shops of Soho is not perhaps the most obvious place to site a high-end French fine dining restaurant. Diners enter Gauthier (eponymously named after the head chef) through a discrete black door on Romilly Street and find themselves amidst an oasis of calm, a notable contrast to the outside world.

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The Palomar: Every reason to go (August 2014)

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As a seasoned London restaurant-goer, it is relatively rare, but nonetheless highly pleasurable, that when leaving an establishment after eating I was smiling from ear-to-ear, struggling to find enough superlatives to praise the place and thinking that I needed to make my next reservation as soon as possible.