tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84026430205012083862024-09-19T16:53:41.985+01:00London Dinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349272509104481125noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402643020501208386.post-28225464679100726592012-08-11T17:09:00.000+01:002012-08-11T17:09:45.184+01:00

Soif London is a conundrum.  It is large - approximately 610 sq miles - and, like the Rorschach blot it resembles, is open to constant interpretation and flux.  For those of the 7.5 million souls that live here, we know it as a series of connected villages - a tired but accurate description - which helps to knock its vastness to a

London Dinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349272509104481125noreply@blogger.com027 Battersea Rise London SW1151.463419257923377 -0.1534652709960937551.443635757923374 -0.19294727099609377 51.48320275792338 -0.11398327099609375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402643020501208386.post-73799936383090564652011-10-24T17:26:00.000+01:002011-10-24T17:26:03.932+01:00

Chef Alexis Gauthier has a solid pedigree having worked with Alain Ducasse and been chef-patron of the Pimlico restaurant Roussillon which gained a Michelin star in 2000.  Wanting a more cosmopolitan audience, Gauthier, together with his sommelier Roberto Della Pietra, took over the Lindsay House premises and opened his eponymous restaurant just 18 months ago and although he

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It's London Restaurant Festival time again, and a chance to road-test some places that might ordinarily be outside our budget.   New on this year's menu is the chance to experience some outside-London chefs, and we jump at the news that Sat Bains is one of the first to be featured at Fortnum and Mason's Gallery Restaurant - Sat's eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant in Nottingham has

London Dinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349272509104481125noreply@blogger.com0Piccadilly Circus, Piccadilly Circus (N-bound), Piccadilly Circus, Westminster, London W1B 5, UK51.509936 -0.1346680000000333223.785419000000005 -59.900293000000033 79.234453 59.630956999999967tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402643020501208386.post-67433988003255072432011-01-23T23:18:00.000+00:002011-01-23T23:18:37.727+00:00

Helene Darroze: Le Salle a Manger The Dining Room Just before leaving home for St. Pancras and the Paris-bound Eurostar we read that Helene Darroze has been awarded a 2nd Michelin star - and though we later discover it's for her restaurant at The Connaught in London and not the one in Paris, we still bask in the warm glow of reflected glory - how clever of us to have made

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 L'Autre PiedIt's Sunday night and we're on the last leg of our LRF marathon.  How appropriate that it's at l'Autre Pied (the other foot, literally), sister restaurant to 2 Michelin starred Pied a Terre.  Marylebone is one of central London's most central neighbourhoods, with a high street full of high end stores.  We even spot 'Ortigia' a retailer of our new favourite

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Petrus  When Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing parted ways at the first Petrus (at the Berkeley Hotel, where Wareing has his current eponymous restaurant), Ramsay kept the name as part of the divorce settlement and earlier this year opened Petrus Mark II, almost within spitting distance of Wareing.  Given the very public and acrimonious nature of their split,

London Dinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349272509104481125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402643020501208386.post-64331843098069063422010-10-15T19:32:00.001+01:002010-10-15T19:43:26.229+01:00

Bistrot Bruno Loubet  On our way to the über-chic Zetter Hotel in trendy, arty Clerkenwell we pass a retro '20s Hendrick's Gin pop-up cocktail emporium that's occupying the space of a former petrol station - proof we've landed in the heart of hipness.  While Clerkenwell is close to being upstaged by Shoreditch as the art crowd move ever east, for now it still has the edge.&

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Apsleys at The Lanesborough     Quail with dried fruit From his 3-star restaurant La Pergola in Rome, Heinz Beck has dived into the crowded waters of the London dining scene. Like so many new openings lately - Bistro Bouloud and the soon-to-open Blumenthal restaurant both at the Mandarin Oriental, Pierre Koffman at The Berkeley, and Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester to name just

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The Square It's not often one gets to eat lunch at a 2-Star Michelin restaurant for a mere £25 for 3 courses, so we are eagerly anticipating this treat. Thanks to the LRF, The Square (Chef Phillip Howard) and a good number of other great restaurants are peeling back their prices so that we foodies-on-a-budget can see how the other half eat. A tube-strike Monday leads us to leave extra time for

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Siracusa/Ortygia Before memories of our dining experiences in Sicily fade as quickly as my tan, it's time to reflect on some of the highs (and a few lows). Siracusa is on the southeast coast of Sicily and Ortygia, an islet connected so firmly to the mainlaind that it's almost inseparable, is full of nightlife with bars, restaurants and cafes around almost every corner. It's also a maze of

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Fifteen London They say you shouldn't go back, that something that was wonderful the first time rarely lives up to the memory. Having given Fifteen such a glowing review the first time we went, I had hooked a couple of friends who were desperate to join us the next time they were in London, so I had two reasons to be crossing my fingers that it would live up to the pedestal on which I'd set it.

London Dinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349272509104481125noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402643020501208386.post-62898497006197783792010-09-09T17:03:00.001+01:002010-09-09T17:05:44.382+01:00

Riddle and Finns Champagne and Oyster Bar A trip south to London-on-Sea, or Brighton as it's better known, in pursuit of a rare sighting of a culinary hero of mine: Anthony Bourdain.  He is appearing as part of the month-long Brighton and Hove Food Festival, courtesy of City Books who have organised this event to promote his latest book, 'Medium Raw'.  So, for an investment of £6 

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Kitchen W8 In these days of text-write, the name of this restaurant gives pause (weight?) but it actually describes its location just off Kensington High Street.  Abingdon Road is down at the non-U end of KHS, but there's nothing downmarket about this restaurant.  Executive Chef is Phillip Howard whose food we've enjoyed earlier (see The Square Pops Up at Putney), and we are

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The Canton Arms A trip to the NFT raises the perennial question of where to eat.  While the Southbank has several options we seem to have exhausted most of the best which leaves chains which we try and avoid.  The Anchor and Hope is a great gastropub but always has a line out the door and Livebait, a usually reliable fish restaurant, has disappointed of late (both are in The

London Dinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349272509104481125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402643020501208386.post-77109036251185537922010-06-06T19:42:00.000+01:002010-06-06T19:42:26.202+01:00

Launceston Place, Kensington A birthday celebration gives us an opportunity to knock another name off our Must Eat At list of London restaurants - though as quickly as one gets moved to the 'done' column, another one gets added!  That's one of the great attractions of this city, there's always something new to try.  LP popped up on our radar screen when sous chef Steve Groves

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Fifteen London Jamie Oliver's groundbreaking venture in the City was founded in 2002, born of a belief that professional kitchen discipline could help rebuild the life and self-esteem of someone who'd taken the wrong path.  Fifteen does just that, taking on the wayward and neglected and putting them through chef apprenticeships - just 15 young people aged 16 to 24 are selected each

London Dinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349272509104481125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402643020501208386.post-20052712425920241652010-03-24T16:59:00.000+00:002010-03-24T16:59:59.001+00:00

Tom's Kitchen, Chelsea TA is widely acclaimed as one of London's top Chefs so we jumped when an opportunity arose to dine at the Kitchen during the March London Restaurant Festival.  The Festival menu was a bargain £15 for two courses, though less of a bargain at £25 for 3 - that's a big jump for dessert - and it was limited to two choices of appetisers and entrees.  It was a chilly day

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Murano, Mayfair. It was a surprise early Valentine's dinner - the perfect way of celebrating for a couple who think the whole Valentine's thing is a sham and who for years have declared it 'Amateur Night' at any restaurant, preferring to cook a special dinner at home and open a spectacular bottle (or two) without the worry of a DWI.  So, I have my suspicions before we leave the house -

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Restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas has done a wonderful thing for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.  For the month of March she is hosting pop-up restaurants in the Putney space that most recently housed her restaurant The Phoenix Bar and Grill and is donating the proceeds to Action Against Hunger for the Haiti campaign.  She has gathered top Chefs from Britain's 

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Comptoir Gascon, Smithfield: London's Wholesale Meat Market and home to some of the City's best meat restaurants (think St. John and it's nose-to-tail ethos).  But on a rainy Saturday we are at Comptoir Gascon for Brunch, and it's all about eggs.  Oh, and the best croissants this side of the English Channel.  Trust me, there are none better, not even Paul* comes close to

London Dinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01349272509104481125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8402643020501208386.post-72020499677280752992009-12-14T18:36:00.000+00:002009-12-14T18:36:15.359+00:00

Nestled prettily on the banks of the Thames, the village of Bray is just like any small English hamlet with one exception.  Or maybe that should be two: The Fat Duck and The Waterside Inn.  There are only 3 restaurants in the entire United Kingdom, deemed worthy of 3 Michelin stars (Gordon Ramsey is the other one), and two of them are within half a mile of each

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Last Saturday, Peter Jones was heaving with early Christmas shoppers, and Sloane Square was criss-crossed by crowds of purpose-driven Londoners. It was time for a late-ish lunch, around 2pm. The Botanist, catty-corner from The Royal Court Theatre, was wall-to-wall with Sloanies, paying too much for weekend brunch. The new Duke of York shopping area, anchored by the Saatchi Gallery, now offers

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