Regional Indian Food at The Grand Trunk Road, South Woodford. The reputation of The Grand Trunk Road goes before it. Chef Dayashankar Sharma was head chef at Michelin-starred Mayfair Indian restaurant Tamarind. and Kensington classic Zaika while the owner, Rajesh Suri’s restaurateur credentials hail from management experience with the Oberoi hotel group in India followed by a […]
Caldera – Hackney – Review
Mexican with a twist at Caldera A new Mexican restaurant has opened on Hackney’s Mare Street just a few minutes’ walk from London Fields station. Well worth a detour, Caldera offers an inventive and beautifully cooked mix of old favourites and fusion dishes as well as a warm welcome. We arrived in time for Happy […]
The Clove Club Restaurant, Shoreditch – Review
Shoreditch Spectacular at The Clove Club The Clove Club in Shoreditch is the love child of chef Isaac McHale, a chef who first came to prominence as one of the duo of ‘Young Turks’ who first hit the gastro headlines with their popup above The Ten Bells pub in 2011 in neighbouring Spitalfields. McHale had […]
Angelina Restaurant, Dalston
The hottest joint in Dalston just happens to serve excellent food – Angelina. There’s something charming about naming a restaurant after one of your Dad’s favourite songs. That’s just what owner Joshua Owens-Baigler (ex River Cafe and Artusi) chose to do when he opened Angelina Restaurant in Dalston with chefs Robin Beparry and Daniele Ceforo […]
Two Lights Birthday Celebrations in Shoreditch
Two Lights, Shoreditch – Review. Kennington tube was closed and the main road flooded. My companion The-Hedonist had an epic drive avoiding stranded cars across North London. There’s something rather satisfying though in persevering and arriving, having both battled through biblical floods to reach Shoreditch and Two Lights. It’s a welcoming neighbourhood restaurant from the […]
Tonica By The Distillery – Review
Exploring Tonica by the Distillery – a new concept from Portobello Road Gin: What could be more summery than a gin and tonic? The days of a simple Gordon’s and Schweppes are long gone and these days the humble G&T is at the forefront of cocktail development and experimentation. So in the spirit of progress, […]
Adam Handling’s Bean and Wheat food and beer pairing
Bean and Wheat, Hoxton – Food and Beer Heaven: Food and wine pairings have always been accepted as a sophisticated approach to eating well. It’s something that is not really questioned beyond an accepted truth. A couple of years ago though things began to shift and attention began to swing ever so slightly to other […]
The Frog – Hoxton
Adam Handling in Hoxton – The Frog. When Adam Handling made his move from The Caxton Grill at St Ermin’s Hotel to his own achingly hip restaurant, The Frog in East London, I was lucky enough to be invited to go along and try the tasting menu there. I couldn’t help but enthuse. A well-timed […]
Nest – Review
Three men in a Nest… Imagine three young men having a beer or three. Two have just lost their jobs and the third is a chef with Fulham’s Michelin starred pub The Harwood Arms listed on his CV. They reach that dangerous point in the evening when one of them cries out “Let’s start our own […]
Cub – Luxury and Sustainable Dining in Hoxton:
A Restaurant with an Ethos – Cub, Hoxton: Intrigued by the title? I was – especially as I’d been invited to try the food and drink pairing set menu which comprises several small courses of food with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to complement. In my head the concept of ‘luxury ‘ generally contradicts ‘sustainable’ […]