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
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Hakkasan Mayfair: Indulgent, but definitely worth it (June 2014)

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Going to Hakkasan is an experience, from beginning to end, and while not cheap, it is undoubtedly worth it. The sense of anticipation and occasion is heightened on arrival. While the exterior of the building is relatively nondescript, in an office block to the side of Berkeley Square, diners are forced to walk down a relatively long, delicately-scented black passageway lit only by small sparkling lights in order to reach the dining room.

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Peyote: Much Mexican magic (June 2014)

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All things South American (and not just the football) currently seem in vogue. After the success and subsequent entrenchment of Coya and Sushisamba on the London dining scene, along comes Peyote, devoted broadly to the cuisine of Mexico – admittedly in Central America, but stylistically quite similar in terms of cuisine.

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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.

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Benares: Over-priced and overrated (May 2014)

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It doesn’t matter how many times I go to Benares, I just can’t get to like it. This was the first time for me for a while, but it hadn't improved since my previous visit. Clearly chef Atul Kochhar must be doing something right to have earned a Michelin star for the eighth consecutive year, and while the food may have been good, it certainly wasn’t outstanding, the whole experience far from cheap, and the atmosphere underwhelming.

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Kateh: Disorganised, rather than charming (April 2014)

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Kateh is a restaurant specialising in Persian food, located in Little Venice down a quaint side-street, on a site formerly occupied by the Green Olive. My dining comrade and I had been meaning to go for some time, it being local and also having being recommended by a Persian friend.

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Sushisamba: Dancing to the beat (February 2014)

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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.