Restaurant Reviews from Foodepedia

  • The Artichoke

    Wednesday February 1st, 2012

    Most people would consider throwing in the towel if their dream restaurant went up in flames. There's not many who would rebuild, expand and then win a succession of awards. Laurie and Jacqueline Gear are doing sterling work with The Artichoke

  • Comptoir Libanais

    Monday January 30th, 2012

    As a prospecting restaurateur driving expansion through an economic downturn it must feel like pennies from heaven to see the fourth incarnation of your Lebanese canteen packed to the gills on a cold Wednesday night in January. Not only were all 100 covers taken, people were queuing out the door and even eating outside.

  • The Grand Imperial

    Thursday January 26th, 2012

    The Grand Imperial has recently won two rosettes and was finalist in Tsingtao Legacy of Taste awards for Best UK Chinese restaurant, so I knew the food was likely to be excellent. What I hadn’t expected was the sheer opulence of the place and the hushed atmosphere that hit me like a blast of cold air after the frenetic activity of the station.

  • Hôp Namô

    Wednesday January 25th, 2012

    Hôp Namô is run by husband and wife Colin and Linh Vu as a deliberate and very successful attempt to bring modern Vietnamese food to an increasingly appreciative audience. ‘Vietnamese with a modern twist’ is their slogan, although they are keen to emphasise that they fully acknowledge the traditions of their country’s cuisine.

  • Royal China, Queensway

    Thursday January 19th, 2012

    All the staff we met had a smile and a friendly air about them and it didn’t seem forced. They were quick to refresh our crockery in the face of my messy eating and swift to top up the tea. And that’s about all I want. I certainly don’t want the American ‘Hi my name is Greg and I’ll just perch my resting actor’s buttocks on the table next to you and simper’ style of serving.

  • Sherlock's Grill

    Wednesday January 18th, 2012

    Does Sherlock Bar and Grill overcook its food as much as Cumberpatch overdoes his acting? Marcus Sedghi finds that in fact the food at Sherlock's is well balanced, restrained and easy to get down.

  • Caparossa Convivium

    Monday January 16th, 2012

    You could pop into Caparossa and have a glass of wine and plate of pasta and feel yourself well fed. Go for all four courses and you could feel yourself a bit fat. This modern Neapolitan eatery has a lot of charm, some very good cooking and not an oversized pepper mill in sight.

  • Rainforest Cafe

    Sunday January 8th, 2012

    Lashed by storms, hunted by 'entertainers' and frightened by a frog, intrepid explorer David finds the Rainforest can't be endangered enough for his liking. Bring on the bulldozers.

  • Carom at Meza

    Wednesday January 4th, 2012

    Carrom is a game I used to play when a little girl. The board had intricate patternings and holes into which you’d flick counters. It may sound delicate but the competition was sharp. Slit eyes and hexes were rife. I was expecting to see a little more carrom thematic going on at D&D’s new Carom restaurant in Soho before I realised I’d confused it with carom – that’s one "r" - the spice.

  • Roganic

    Tuesday January 3rd, 2012

    Roganic is picky, both in terms of where the plated ingredients are sourced and how they choose to construct them. Each course is like a well rehearsed act, requiring you to gawp, question and discuss. It’s superb stuff, but I want to eat not talk. Over a five-hour seating and 15 courses, there is time for both. But it’s not cheap

  • Tortilla Restaurant Review

    Tuesday December 20th, 2011

    Mexican doesn't have to mean burritos and tacos like everywhere else - sometimes it can be pretty good. We tried out one of the flourishing Tortilla restaurants springing up across London quicker than Speedy Gonzales. Ariba!

  • Potli

    Tuesday December 13th, 2011

    The absolute star of Potli’s show is the starter Chicken 65, tender poultry in a pungent ginger and pepper batter, like an excellent and healthy KFC. We couldn’t get enough. We also had tawa machi – tilapia fish steaks marinated in ginger, garlic and mustard which were good but we’d have liked more mustard.

  • The Meat Liquor

    Wednesday December 7th, 2011

    Meat Liquor is here. After much anticipation. The crew behind The Meatwagon have opened the doors to this once car park – fitting, seeing as chef Yiannis Papoutsis met pub owner Scott Collins in a Peckham car park, and thus forming Meatwagon - and in doing so have caused queues snaking around corners and up Welbeck Street.

  • Indulge in the Thai Christmas Banquet at Mango Tree

    Wednesday December 7th, 2011

    In a passer-by-free part of London – down the western side of Hyde Park Corner – Mango Tree is unlikely to be on your regular route unless you work locally. If you are well ahead with your Christmas wrapping and have time for a late, long lunch, or are taking a day off to Christmas-shop and need to recover from the throng by warming your wintry bones and spicing up your flagging enthusiasm, the Christmas banquet is extremely generous and excellent value for money.

  • The Bratwurst

    Monday December 5th, 2011

    There are plenty of options at Bratwurst with meal deals of sausages, as well as frikadelle and schnitzels too. With all the hype around street food, mostly stuff from the Far East, it’s worth remembering that closer to home we have a centuries old street food that is none the wurst for being eaten indoors either. Prost!

  • Chop'd at Boxpark

    Friday December 2nd, 2011

    The site of the new Boxpark ‘pop up’ shopping mall smells of freshly sawn wood and recently applied paint. But it’s a good smell. New, exciting and full of potential. And while these shops don’t have any windows, they do have a positive recession-bucking outlook selling unusual, interesting things and offering some food outlets too. We try Chop'd

  • Eight-Six Restaurant

    Thursday December 1st, 2011

    Following the success of their Club Coco in Verbier, co-owner Charlie Kearns and George Adams have created a destination that's fun but not frivolous, which is probably just as well for anyone with a finely tuned appetite.

  • Iberica Canary Wharf

    Wednesday November 30th, 2011

    In Cabot Square and rather discreetly fronted, the new Iberica Canary Wharf gives good Gosh when you get inside. A rack of reclining jamon legs next to the door make it clear you aren’t in a clothes shop, as it once was, and the space surges up ahead of you. A nice long bar to one side, space centre and left, and above two galleried floors for overspill.

  • Roussillon

    Monday November 28th, 2011

    Roussillon was once well known as a shining example of London dining. Yet that was under Alexis Gauthier, since decamped to the bright lights of Soho. With the arrival of new chef Shane Hughes has Roussillon retained its charm?

  • The Rookery, Clapham Common

    Sunday November 27th, 2011

    Overall the Rookery seems to be doing the right things in the right way to become a popular neighbourhood joint. There’s a lot of middle-class, recession immune, money in Abbeville village but the restaurants there have mostly got complacent, giving the Rookery a chance to fly in successfully.