Chinese, Soho, Middle Eastern, Marble Arch/ Paddington
Alex Gunz
Freed from reviewing – almost

It started with a faint twitch, or nervous restlessness. There was an almost involuntary desire to pull out the phone and snap away. Your author even managed to resist the temptation to quiz the servers about what made their dishes special. As an (unintentional) experiment, Gourmand Gunno spent two consecutive nights in restaurants without a plan to review either.

Freed from reviewing – almost
Spanish, Catalonia
Alex Gunz
Stairway to heaven: dining in Priorat

Carthusian monks were onto a good thing 900 years ago when they settled in Priorat. Located in the foothills of Catalonia, this remote region was the source of a monastery called Scala Dei. Translate the Latin to English and you get ‘stairway to heaven’, an apt metaphor for the dining delights of the area. A burgeoning boutique food and wine scene is underway in the region, as your reviewer and his comrades discovered on a recent trip.

Stairway to heaven: dining in Priorat
Italian, East london
Alex Gunz
Satyrio: Hidden gem, needs polishing

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.

Satyrio: Hidden gem, needs polishing
Spanish, Shoreditch
Alex Gunz
Sagardi: Wasted potential

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.

Sagardi: Wasted potential
Indian, West Hampstead
Alex Gunz
Colaba: Well-sated, but poorly served

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.

Colaba: Well-sated, but poorly served

Ekstedt at the Yard: Smoke and Mirrors

Ekstedt at the Yard: Smoke and Mirrors

Eating out should be fun, right? Even better when chefs push boundaries and servers present their offerings with passion. It sounds so easy in principle, and I have no doubt that the eponymous chef behind this venture has all the above in mind. While there were flashes of absolute brilliance at Ekstedt, there were also moments when eating at this venue felt almost as if it were a chore. Three hours of food with a £145 bill per person (without considering drinks or service) constitutes a major commitment. Even if conversation with my dining comrade for the evening was superb, our time and money could arguably have been better spent elsewhere.

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Ember Yard: Still smokin’

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Ember Yard: Still smokin’

London restaurant goers have notoriously short attention spans and nowhere more so than in Soho. Barely a week seems to go by without some new venue opening in search of the next cool thing. The fact that Ember Yard has been going for almost a decade speaks to its success. Your reviewer’s first visit in seven years served as a reminder that if you have a winning formula, then don’t try and change it.

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Bubala: Oh, my darling (or maybe not) – Soho edition

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Bubala: Oh, my darling (or maybe not) – Soho edition

One of your reviewer’s favourite dining experiences of 2022 was a visit to the original Bubala, located on the Commercial Road in Shoreditch. I noted then that stepping inside was “almost as if one were in Tel Aviv.” Sadly Bubala’s second outlet, in Soho, did not quite replicate the same vibe. Like an upstart cheeky younger brother, Bubala Soho felt almost as if it was trying too hard. Sure, the food was once again lovely, the attitude less so.

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Maresco: A Scottish-Spanish love affair

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Maresco: A Scottish-Spanish love affair

Portmanteaus are wonderful things. Take two words, combine them and you’ve created a brand new one, perhaps even a concept too. This is exactly what Scot Stephen Lironi has done at Maresco, a new Spanish venue in the heart of Soho. The clue is in the name: ‘mar’ in recognition of the sea and ‘esco’, from escocia, as in a homage to Scotland. Beyond mere gimmickry, Maresco is a place with serious culinary intentions.

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Luca: Lots to like

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Luca: Lots to like

When you’re still salivating over a dish three days after you ate it, then you know it’s been a great dining experience. Luca was always likely to be a success given it is the second venture from Isaac McHale of Clove Club fame. The story here is about classy contemporary food, paying clear homage to Italy but using primarily British ingredients.

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Paradise: On the way there

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Paradise: On the way there

Say the word paradise to most people and they envisage some sort of idyll. Think of it as an end point, or something we all strive towards. For any restaurateur to choose this term for their venue is a bold move. Culinary paradise for me would not specifically be an opportunity to dine at a small on-trend Sri Lankan venue in Soho, although there was much to like about this restaurant.

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Jam Delish: Not quite jammin’

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Jam Delish: Not quite jammin’

London doesn’t lack for brave new restaurant concepts. However, it’s a Hobbesian world, sufficiently short, nasty and brutish that about half of all restaurant openings in the city shut within a year. You can blame Brexit, inflation, changing fashions, or all/none of the above, but the truth is stark. If your reviewer were a betting person, then he would put Jam Delish in the unlucky category.

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Saltie Girl: Best of Boston brought to Britain

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Saltie Girl: Best of Boston brought to Britain

One of your reviewer’s fondest culinary experiences of last year was sitting in the Spring sunshine in Boston’s Back Bay district and eating a wonderful composition of charred octopus served with spicy nduja and fledgling potatoes. The venue in question was cult seafood outlet, Saltie Girl. Good news for Londoners: the group’s third venue (number two is in LA) opened in London late last year. Your reviewer liked it so much, he visited twice in a week.

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Muse: Inspired, mostly

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Muse: Inspired, mostly

In restaurant circles it would be a fair question to ask: having been the youngest chef ever to be awarded two Michelin stars (at the age of 26), where do you go from here? The career of Tom Aikens has certainly not been short of adventure. What diners can experience at Muse is a chef – now in his 50s – clearly having fun and being willing to push boundaries, even if overall execution was not always perfect

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Arcade Food Hall: Lucky dip

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Arcade Food Hall: Lucky dip

Could Arcade be the future of modern dining experiences? Many would believe so. Go visit at any time of the day and Arcade is packed. Even with a capacity of 350 covers, booking on a week night evening has now become necessary. Far from the JKS Group (the backers of Trishna, Gymkhana, Brigadiers etc.) having over-extended themselves with Arcade, it is an exceptionally well-executed concept. There’s something for everyone.

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Antepliler: Turkish delight

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Antepliler: Turkish delight

Green Lanes evokes some wonderfully romantic and bucolic images. In times of yore, drovers would bring their animals to slaughter in town along this route which connected a series of greens reaching into central London. Today, it is a road that combines the gritty and the suburban. It’s somehow appropriate that much of Green Lanes now comprises restaurants – slaughtered animals find their way onto diners’ plates. Your reviewer visited recently and loved it.

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Hunan: Full of surprises

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Hunan: Full of surprises

This is not your typical restaurant. It’s been open for over 40 years and it still does not have a menu. You turn up (reservations are recommended), tell the chef what you don’t want to eat, and Hunan will do the rest. Such was the joy of eating here and the culinary artistry on display, it is little surprise that Hunan is still going strong.

2022 in review

2022 in review

2022 has been a banner year for eating. Gourmand Gunno certainly benefited from a post-COVID restaurant rebound. Meals out became the norm again. Venues are in the business of providing not just top food and drink, but also atmosphere. That’s why diners such as your reviewer end up going out again, and again. Just over 50 new reviews were added to the website through over the year. Furthermore, your reviewer managed to visit 17 different countries in 2022 and so the number of additions to the Global Gunno page of the website has also expanded. Below follow the key highlights –

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Stork: Long journey

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Stork: Long journey

The stork, after whom this restaurant is named, is famous for the long distances (up to 2,000 miles) that it can travel. That’s an impressive achievement and so is the ambition of the backers behind Stork, whose aim is to bring the joys of both African food and its broader culture over many miles to other cities. While the concept is laudable, your reviewer felt that Stork remains on a journey. To continue the bird metaphor, great you’ve travelled so far, but now you seem a bit tired to perform.

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Cocoro: Slice of Japan

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Cocoro: Slice of Japan

Blink and you might almost miss it. Despite your reviewer having lived and worked in the vicinity of Cocoro for much of his adult life, his first visit to the restaurant took place only recently. It won’t be the last. Tucked away on Marylebone Lane, its entrance only obvious from a red drape adorning the doorway, as soon as diners cross the threshold, it is as if they are transported to Japan.

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Core: Top of the tree

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Core: Top of the tree

It is a rare and beautiful thing when you and your dining comrade can leave a restaurant with absolutely no complaints. This is what Clare Smyth’s Core achieves – and does so seemingly effortlessly. This was your reviewer’s first visit since the venue had gained its third Michelin Star, but nothing has changed. Clare is still hard at work in the kitchen, smiling and greeting guests as they arrive.

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Miznon: High on chutzpah

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Miznon: High on chutzpah

People love stories and there are no shortage of these at Miznon, a buzzy new Israeli street food venue in Soho. Take the humble pita bread. Eating it at Miznon, the luridly-hued menu tells the diner, is “about recreation, not assembling.” Something may, of course, have been lost in translation. Regardless, whatever else Miznon loses, it more than makes up for in terms of chutzpah, that wonderful Yiddish idea of extreme self-confidence and audacity.

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Park Chinois: Opulent decadence

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Park Chinois: Opulent decadence

I’ve never been to Shanghai and did not live through the 1930s, but if Park Chinois is anything to go by, then it certainly would have been a wonderful period. This is the angle that this high-end Mayfair Chinese venue is going for. It’s full of old school charm; a sort of opulent decadence – albeit at prices not for the faint-hearted. Park Chinois was also so much better than I remembered it.

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The Bleeding Heart: Old school rules

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The Bleeding Heart: Old school rules

My last visit to The Bleeding Heart was around a decade ago. Much has changed in London in the ensuing period. However, at this venue, it is almost like being in a time warp. Wind the clock back to 2012, or even 2002/ 1992 and I doubt the experience would have been much different. Maybe there is something reassuring about old school French cooking in times of turbulence. Think of dining here as a rebuff to the modern zeitgeist. We loved the service and the wine, although the food left something to be desired.