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    • Little Social – Review
    • Review-Ametsa with Arzak Instruction
    • Review-Balthazar
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    • Review-Copita
    • Review-Hawksmoor Air St.
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The Hedonist

Hot Plates-Where to eat right now

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The Berner’s Tavern               Fitzrovia

10 Berners Street, London, W1T 3NP

020 7908 7979/www.bernerstavern.com/

IMG_3062Not satisfied with opening The Little Social and The Social Eating House within days of each other chef Jason Atherton of Pollen St Social has now ventured into hotel dining room territory. The Berner’s Tavern is situated in Ian Schrager’s (Studio 54 partner and King of the boutique hotel) new hotel The London Edition, in partnership with Marriot. The room is simultaneously grand yet modern with huge chandeliers referencing those at New York’s Grand Central Station and walls covered with gilt-framed photos of artworks. The food is refined yet robust enough for the hotel crowd-it’s another hit.

Casse-Croute                              Bermondsey

109 Bermondsey St, SE1 3XB
www.cassecroute.co.uk/0207-407-2140
 IMG_2886Casse-Croute is a charming new 20 seater Bistrot in Bermondsey run by Herve Durochat, business partner of Jose Pizarro, with sommelier Alexandre  and ex Morgan M head chef Sylvain Soulard. The menu changes every day with the three starters, mains and desserts being displayed on a blackboard. It’s an all day operation offering breakfast from a civilised 9a.m. as well as small plates of cheese and charcuterie to fill those painful gaps between meals.

 

Flesh and Buns                       Covent Garden

41 Earlham St, London WC2H 9LX
 
020 7632 9500/http://www.fleshandbuns.com

 

Flesh & Buns

Flesh & Buns

After the success of his Soho Ramen joint Bone Daddies, ex-Zuma chef Ross Shonhan has opened his second restaurant named Flesh and Buns  in Earlham St, Covent Garden which w features steamed hirata buns. Fillings include slow roasted shoulder of lamb with Korean flavours; whole baby chicken with yuzu koshu; and robata grilled seabass with coriander miso. The flesh and buns are served along with salad vegetables, sauces and pickles. Diners will be encouraged to build their own buns according to taste and mood.

Aqua Shard                           London Bridge

Level 31 The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, SE1 9SY

www.the-shard.com/restaurants/

Hong Kong restaurant group Aqua is expanding its London portfolio. Their first openings were contemporary Japanese restaurant Aqua Kyoto and Spanish influenced Aqua Nueva both at 240 Regent Street. They have now launched Hutong, a northern Chinese restaurant, on the 33rd floors of the Shard and on the 31st floor with a three-storey high panoramic view of London is modern British restaurant Aqua Shard. In the kitchen Pierre Gagnaire alumnus  Anthony Garlando will be manning the stoves.

 

Shake Shack London                         Covent Garden                   

24 Market Building, The Piazza, WC2E 8RD

http://www.shakeshack.com/location/london-covent-garden/

Shake Shack London is the big smoke’s first restaurant from New York City’s uber-restaurateur Danny Meyer whose operations include Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Maialino, North End Grill, Blue Smoke, Jazz Standard, and Untitled at the Whitney. Featuring menu favourites from the original 2004 Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, it is serving “all- natural burgers, flat-top dogs, frozen custard, beer, wine and more.”

 

The Lockhart                           Marylebone

22-24 Seymour Place, W1H 7NL

http://lockhartlondon.com/

Opening June 11th

The Lockhart is the brainchild of two London based Texan couples, Gwen and Chris Wren and Shelby and Dunny Wanstrath, whose dream has been to open a restaurant showcasing the cuisine of their native Southwest American states. Head Chef is Andrew Justice, a quarter finalist of Master Chef the professionals 2010, and service will be in the cool and capable hands of Bunmi, last seen opening Lima and Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner. Expect a contemporary take on steaks, enchiladas, crawfish etouffee, hush puppies and crispy okra all washed down with a southern cocktail or three.

 

Grain Store                            King’s Cross

1-3 Stable Street, Granary Square, London N1C 4AB

 For on the day reservations call 020 7324 4466/www.grainstore.com 

Opening June 10th

Grain Store

Grain Store

Chef Bruno Loubet has considerable form when it comes to London restaurants. Some of us are old enough to remember Bistro Bruno and then L’Odeon which was on the site now occupied by Hawksmoor Air St. He has had terrific reviews for his Bistro Bruno Loubet which occupies a corner of the Zetter Hotel in Clerkenwell and has now spread his wings to King’s Cross. Grain Store has a large outside area, guest chefs, an emphasis on vegetables and cocktails by top mixmeister Tony Conigliaro. It’s fab-think Ottolenghi with French technique.

 

Casa Negra                               Shoreditch                   

54-56 Great Eastern St  London, Greater London EC2A 3QR
020 7033 7360

50% off all food 12-5pm, Mon 10 – Sun 16 June!

Casa Negra is opening on the site previously occupied by the Great Eastern Dining Rooms in Great Eastern St. It is the younger sibling of Soho’s La Bodega Negra which in turn is the London outpost of New York’s sexiest Mexican street food joint La Esquina. Are you following this?-I’ll be  testing you later! Unlike the sex shop entrance and hyper-styling of La Bodega, this noeva cantina (not sure about my Spanish..) will have the atmosphere of an English country house that has been invaded by a bunch of Mexicans!

Picture                           Oxford Circus

Wellington House, 70 Buckingham Gate, SW1E 6AL

Alan Christie and Colin Kelly who were head chefs of the Michelin-starred Arbutus and Wild Honey are opening their first venture Picture. With a reasonably priced international menu and affordable wines the food and drink offer will be familiar to fans of those two restaurants.

Oblix                                London Bridge

The Shard, Joiner St  London, Greater London SE1 9EX

020 7268 6700;oblixrestaurant.com

The 32nd floor of The Shard has been leased to be the owners of  Zuma and Roka, Rainer Becker and Arjun Waney, will be called Oblix and will feature a New York style rotisserie and grill restaurant as well as a lounge bar with live music. Fabien Beaufour who has worked at The French Laundry and Eleven Madison Park will be in charge of the kitchens-this will be one of the signature openings of 2013.

 

Kaspar’s Seafood Bar and Grill at the Savoy       Charing Cross                    

The Savoy, Strand, London WC2R 0EU (0)20 7836 4343/www.kaspars.co.uk

The redesigned River Restaurant space at The Savoy has reopened as Kaspar’s Seafood Bar and Grill. With great river views, a new 1920′s style look for the room and a seafood menu this is bound to become a destination for lunching ladies and the great and the good taking time off from the Savoy Grill.

1 Leicester St                             Soho

1 Leicester St. London WC2H 7BL 

1 Leicester St

1 Leicester St

The St. John Hotel is now history, the much heralded redevelopment of the old Manzi’s site off Leicester Square, and the building has going through another remodelling to be launched as 1 Leicester St. It is now owned by the team behind The Town Hotel Hotel in Bethnal Green where Viajante is located. Michelin starred Chef Tom Harris will still be in charge of the kitchen. The room was a bit cold when the hotel was under the St. John group and never really had much of a buzz despite the quality of the food. It’s now a bit more Soho…

IMG_1969AMETSA      Belgravia

The Halkin, 5-6 Halkin Street, Belgravia, SW1X 7DJ

(020) 7333 1234/http://www.comohotels.com/thehalkin/dining/ametsa

Ametsa or to give it its full title Ametsa with Arzak Instruction (see our review) is the much anticipated London outpost of Arzak, the 3 Michelin starred San Sebastian restaurant that is presided over by the father/daughter culinary tag team Juan Mari and Elena Arzak. Dishes have been developed in Spain for the restaurant which will has staff drawn from  Arzak itself and locally.

 

BRASSERIE CHAVOT                                       Mayfair 

41 Conduit St  London W1S 2YQ
020 7078 9577/brasseriechavot.com

Chef Eric Chavot who won 2 Michelin Stars at The Capital in Knightsbridge has opened Brasserie Chavot in  the Westbury Hotel on Conduit Street in Mayfair. Less formal than The Capital with more of a traditional brasserie than a fine dining approach it is getting great reviews.

IMG_2192THE SOCIAL EATING HOUSE                Soho

58-59 Poland Street, W1F 7NR

0207 993 3251

Jason Atherton of Pollen Street Social is taking time out from his new operations in the Far East to open a new joint in Soho which will be  run by his PSS head chef Paul Hood. It will be on three levels, featuring a chef’s table, a mid-range bistro offer and a bar. The cooking will be a progressive take on bistro classics and the restaurant will have the stylish informality that has made PSS such a hit. It will be a welcome addition to the already thriving Soho scene.

THE LITTLE SOCIAL     Mayfair

IMG_20995 Pollen St, London, W1S 1NQ

0207 870 3730

Chef Jason Atherton of Pollen Street Social has also taking on the lease of the Italian restaurant 5 Pollen St which has been refurbed and reopened under the name Little Social with Michael West heading the kitchen. The restaurant  serves classic French bistro food and there is a fixed price lunch menu and an a la carte in the evening. The feedback is terrific on this new space-try the Poutine-Canadian style chips in gravy with curd cheese! See our review.

 

 

BALTHAZAR LONDON         Covent Garden

4-6 Russell St, Covent Garden, WC2B5HZ
020 3301 1155/www.balthazarlondon.com/
Balthazar-Scarlet and Black or Cafe Rouge?

Balthazar-Scarlet and Black or Cafe Rouge?

Bethnal Green Boy Keith McNally is one of New York’s top restaurateurs and has opening an all-day Grand Brasserie in the refurbished Transport Museum in Covent Garden. Carrying the same name as his New York flagship it is be one of the biggest openings of 2013. There is a bakery attached to the coffee shop. How will it compare with Zedel, Colbert, The Wolseley or Delaunay? Well, we will all be going so we will know soon enough…

See our review

 

THE CLOVE CLUB      Shoreditch

380 Old Street, London, Greater London EC1V 9LT

thecloveclub.com/0207 729 6496

The Clove Club boys started out with a private dining club in Dalston, graduated to a pop-up above a pub at The 10 Bells in Commercial St. and have opened their new restaurant in the refurbished Shoreditch Town Hall. The cooking will be robust, eclectic and Modern European but less experimental than that of Nuno Mendes at Viajante who is down the road in the town hall in Bethnal Green. In the restaurant they serve a 5 course set menu for £46 per person but in the bar its all about sharing plates. Expect the venue to have a cool East London feel with music to match.

HKK                         City

HKK

HKK

Broadgate West, Worship St, EC2A 2BE

www.hkklondon.com/0203 535 1888

From the people behind Chrysan and Hakkasan, HKK is serving ‘Bespoke Cantonese Fine Dining’ with a tasting menu designed by Michelin-starred Executive Head Chef of the Hakkasan group Tong Chee Hwee. Dishes include Lychee wood-roasted Peking duck served with sesame pancakes, Dim sum trilogy of truffle har gau, pan-fried Szechuan dumpling, sour turnip puff, Wok-fried lobster in yellow bean sauce with braised pan mee and Jasmine tea-smoked Wagyu beef.

CAFE ROYAL              Regent St

Cafe Royal

Cafe Royal

68 Regent Street, London W1B 4DY
020 7406 3333/www.hotelcaferoyal.com/London

The iconic Cafe Royal in Regent Street has opened as a luxury hotel with several food and beverage outlets including the famous Grill Room, The Ten Room and the Domino Room. The bar  features an absinthe fountain-will it again become the haunt of witty intellectuals duelling with lethal bon mots or just another City Boy watering hole?

 

 

ELECTRIC DINER         Notting Hill

191 Portobello Road, London W11 2ED

Soho House have collaborated with renowned Chicago chef Brendan Sodikoff to launch the Electric Diner and Electric Donuts. Both sites are situated on Portobello Road on  December 3rd, with the Diner taking inspiration from Sodikoff’s Chicago restaurant Au Cheval and the Electric Donuts offering a take on the restaurateur’s popular Doughnut Vault.

 

 

BO LONDON        Mayfair

4 Mill St, London, W1S 2AX  

http://bolondonrestaurant.com/

dine@bolondonrestaurant.com

              
‘X-treme Chinese’ chef  Alvin Leung has spent more than £1 million on his new Bo London restaurant in Mill Street, Mayfair. His signature dishes at his two Michelin starred Bo Innovations Hong Kong restaurant include ‘Sex on the Beach’ which features an edible condom and ‘Dead Garden’, a blend of morel, caterpillar fungus, green onion and lime . The London outpost features a 15 course chef’s tasting menu at £138 as well as a lunch menu (2 dim sums, 1 main course plus dessert du jour) at £35.00 and a 15 and 12 course vegetarian menu.

 

Hawksmoor Air Street                   Piccadilly

5a Air Street, London, W1J 0AD

020 7406 3980/http://thehawksmoor.com/airstreet

Hawksmoor Air St

 

The group behind the three Hawksmoor steak restaurants (Guildhall, Seven Dials and Spitalfields) have opened their new operation in an Air St site that has traditionally seen restaurants fail and fail quickly. However with great reviews this operation seem to be about to buck the trend.  Alongside their steak offer they have an extensive seafood and fish menu devised in collaboration with piscine specialist Mitch Tonks of the Seahorse restaurant in Devon. With big slabs of turbot or a Dover sole cooked over charcoal and sides including the Swedish anchovy, cream and potato wet dream Jansonn’s Temptation it is set to become the plaice (sic) to go for butch seafood.

COLBERT              Sloane Square

52 Sloane Square  London SW1W 8AX
020 7730 2804/www.colbertchelsea.com/

Colbert

 

Hot on the heels of the successful launch of Brasserie Zedel, Chris Corbin and Jeremy King have opened a Parisian style Grand Cafe, serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and a full dinner service. The menu majors in egg dishes, a large selection of croques, as well as Parisian café stalwarts, such as Salade de Magret Fumé, Bayonne Ham with Celeriac Rémoulade, Steak Diane, Moules Marinière and Cassoulet de Canard. On the site of the much unloved Oriel, this is already  a hit with the local Sloanes and tourists alike.

 

BONE DADDY’S                                     Soho

Bone Daddies

Bone Daddies

30-31 Peter Street, Soho, London, W1F 0AP                020 7287 8581

Ross Shonhan, previously Head Chef at Zuma and Nobu, has opened London’s latest Ramen Restaurant taking on recent Soho openings Tonkotsu and Ittenbari. Will this lead to Soho noodle wars? Is Ramen the new Peruvian?

 

 

GIACONDA DINING ROOMS          Soho

9 Denmark Street, London, WC2 H8LS                 0207 240 3334
www.giacondadining.com
The Giaconda Dining Rooms has been closed since July is reopening  with a bigger kitchen space and room for a few more tables. Since 2008 Australian Chef/Patron Paul Merrony has  been dishing up the kind of Modern European food that has picked up so much in the way of critical plaudits for new openings such as 10 Greek St and ducksoup. Hopefully with the relaunch Merrony will pick up some of the social media interest that has driven business into more recent openings.

GREEN MAN AND FRENCH HORN                              Covent Garden

Green Man & French Horn

 

54 Saint Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4EA

Ed Wilson and Oli Barker have added a fourth member to their excellent trio of brasseries Terroirs, Brawn and Soif. Green Man & French Horn is situated in a renovated pub space in St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, and as with the other restaurants  features organic and biodynamic wines with a focus on the Greater Loire. There is a greater emphasis on seafood than in their other operations.

 

 

GARNIER             Earl’s Court

314 Earl’s Court Rd, SW5 9BQ

0203 641 8323

GARNIER

For those of us who have been knocking around the London restaurant scene for the last twenty years or so, seeing Eric Garnier front of house has always been a reassuring sign. Whether directing platoons of waiting staff at Quaglinos or Bank in the 90’s or working on a more human scale at Koffman’s and Racine more recently, you always felt that you were watching a master at work, and so it is great to see his family name above the door of his own Earl’s Court restaurant. Heading up the kitchen is  Andreas Engberg who was in charge at Racine for many years and fans of the Knightsbridge restaurant will love Garnier.

 

BRASSERIE ZEDEL             Soho

20 Sherwood St, W1F 7ED

Brasserie Zedel

http://www.brasseriezedel.com/

0207 734 4888

Restaurateurs Chris Corbin and Jeremy King are not natural revolutionaries. The Wolseley and The Delaunay, their other outposts, are grand, conservative and exclusive. However with Brasserie Zedel they have come up with an offer that combines retro glamour with a much more democratic outlook. Situated on the site of the old Regent Palace Hotel and in the space occupied by the long departed Atlantic, Brasserie Zedel is a loving distillation of all that is fine about the Parisian grandes brasseries, think La Coupole meets Chartier, combined with an additional cafe, jazz bar and cocktail bar. What is remarkable is that it all works and at such a competitive price point, in the brasserie at least, that a real  challenge has been created for other operators.

 

 

 

BUBBLEDOGS                          Fitzrovia

Bubbledogs

70 Charlotte St, London W1T 4QG

http://www.bubbledogs.co.uk

0207 637 7770

Imagine you’re an up and coming young chef (James Knappett), you’ve worked at the top end of international fine dining at Noma, Per Se and Marcus Wareing, and your wife is the sommelier at Simon Rogan’s Roganic (Sandia Chang).Maybe over a coffee the two of you are idly dreaming about opening your own place. You want something different-that will stand out from the crowd…and so Bubbledogs was born. Gourmet hot dogs with grower Champagne from lesser known producers. Grease and bubbles-what’s not to like. There is talk of a fine dining option at the back but I’m going for the dawg’n fizz option.

 

 

TONKOTSU             Soho

63 Dean Street, W1D 4QG

http://www.tonkotsu.co.uk

020  7437 0071

Tonkotsu

 

Tonkotsu and Ittenbari are the first dedicated Ramen (wheat-based noodles in a rich stock) shops to open in Soho and with Ross Shonhan’s upcoming Bone Daddy’s set to open soon this has the makings of a new trend. Ramen is hugely popular in Japan where there are 34,488 ramen shops with nearly 4,000 of those being in Tokyo. The stock is made from pork and chicken bones with vegetables and sometimes fish bones or katsuboshi ‘bonito’ (dried, smoked skipjack tuna) and this is added to the ‘base’ (a concentrated blend of miso, soy or salt) to create a soup into which fresh alkaline wheat noodles and a variety of toppings, which nearly always include pork and egg, are placed. So get down to Soho, order a beer from their exciting list and get slurping!

 

 

 

SHRIMPY’S              King’s Cross

The King’s Cross Filling Station, Goods Way, N1C 4UR

www.shrimpys.co.uk

0208 880 6111

Shrimpy’s at The Filling Station

Pablo Flack and David Waddington, the team behind Bistrotheque, have opened a new canalside venture in the visually stunning The King’s Cross Filling Station. The eponymous Shrimpy is a mythical showgirl who settles in Palm Springs and becomes an ambassador for the pineapple industry….and this is her space-It’s fun and very camp with the food and cocktails channelling 1950s West Coast glamour. Think soft shell crab in a bun or grilled lobster washed down with a pisco sour.

 

 

 

SUSHISAMBA                              City

Floors 38 and 39, Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY

http://www.sushisamba.com

020 3640 7330

It’s a sign of the confidence that there is in the London restaurant scene that the city is now being targeted for new openings not only by international chef/patrons wanting to make a mark on the global stage, but also by top end restaurant groups who are either developing new concepts or transplanting successful ones from abroad. Samba Brands Management, an American operation, have just opened their London branch of SUSHISAMBA. It’s their sixth restaurant under this branding and it features a mash-up of Brazilian, Peruvian and Japanese cuisine. What is extraordinary about SUSHISAMBA is the location. Two floors of the Heron Tower give some of the best views of London anywhere, and combined with an upmarket South American party vibe and the quality of the food and drink the whole operation makes some of the offerings of our better known restaurant groups feel old fashioned, staid and rather unsexy.

 

 

 

MARI VANNA            Knightsbridge

16A Knightsbridge  London SW1X 7PJ

020 7225 3150

www.marivanna.co.uk

Mari Vanna

Mari Vanna is a mythical Russian hostess who welcomes you into her pimped up fantasy dacha and then stuffs you with pancakes, dumplings, cream and cakes, washed down with intensely flavoured vodkas. You submit because she is utterly charming and seductive; as you leave you realise that not only has she emptied your wallet but also that your trousers don’t seem to fit anymore!

 

 

 

 

LIMA            Fitzrovia

31 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1JH
www.limalondon.com
020 3002 2640

LIMA

Peruvian food and drink has been one of the big London trends of 2012 with ceviche and pisco sours popping up on menus all around town. Lima is a more serious and contemporary take on Peruvian food and chef Virgilio Martinez, who is also chef patron of Central in Lima, Peru was previously Executive Chef at Astrid y Gaston, listed on the San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list. Peruvian cuisine mixes together indigenous ingredients,  often unfamiliar to British palates, with European and Asian influences and has been cited by El Bulli’s Ferran Adria as a positive agent of social change in a country trying to move away from coca leaf production to more socially responsible forms of agriculture.

 

 

 

BURGER & LOBSTER             Mayfair/Soho

29 Clarges Street, W1J 7EF/36 Dean St,  Soho London W1D 4PS

Burger & Lobster Dean St

http://www.burgerandlobster.com/

020 7409 1699

Lobster prices have been democratised thanks to the people behind the burgeoning Burger & Lobster outlets.£20 for a grilled whole lobster has undercut the competition and created a new market for our clawed crustacean friends. The burger comes with fries and salad and the lobster comes with fries and salad. Simple enough? To complicate matters slightly the lobster can be served in a bun as a lobster roll or just grilled in its shell. It’s fun and tasty and highly suitable for people suffering from menu fear! See our review at http://www.the-hedonist.com/reviews-burger-lobster/


 

DABBOUS           Soho

39 Whitfield Street, London W1 2SF

http://dabbous.co.uk/

020 7323 1544

Dabbous

 

Oliver Dabbous, the chef/patron of Dabbous, has burst into the culinary firmament like an unstoppable gastronomic comet. His mentor and backer is Raymond Blanc with whom he worked at Le Manoir followed by a stint at the modernist Icelandic restaurant Texture in London. He had also done short stages at The Fat Duck, L’Astrance and Noma, three of the great temples of contemporary food. There are lots of young chefs who follow this type of career path and go on to make no real impact but when Blanc started tweeting about his protege’s upcoming opening the critics took notice and rewarded the young chef with such good reviews that it is now nearly impossible to get a table. If you like clean, innovative modern cooking delivered at the highest level in a brutal modern space, then The Hedonist’s advice is to call on the day for cancellations. You need to go.

 

 

 

LA BODEGA NEGRA           Soho

Restaurant-9 Old Compton St London W1D 5JF

Cafe-16 Moor St London  W1D 5NH

http://labodeganegra.com

0207 758 4100

LA BODEGA

In Little Italy, on the junction of Kenmare and Lafayette, is a taqueria called La Esquina. There’s nothing about it from the outside to tell you that it is other than your average neighbourhood joint, but go through the kitchen and down the stairs, and assuming you can get past the doorman, you are suddenly in one of New York’s hippest restaurant nightspots. ‘Cultural Engineer’ Serge Becker, who also runs venues such as The Bowery Bar, The Box and The Mercer Hotel,has brought his New York formula to London-tacos, tequila, stylish sleaze and a hip music policy combining to create one of the hottest tickets in town at La Bodegra Negra. There is a cafe and ceviche bar on Moor St with the basement restaurant on Old Compton. You enter through a sex shop. Don’t take your mother (or even mine).

MELE E PERE                                 Soho

46 Brewer Street, London W1F 9TF

Mele e Pere

 

www.meleepere.co.uk

020 7096 2096

A northern Italian trattoria from Andrea Mantovani who has been behind the stoves at Arbutus and Harry’s Bar.Eat crab ravioli with squid and bottarga or hand-chopped raw veal with Parmesan and sweet and sour radish. The drinks list  features small vineyards from Trentino, Veneto and Friuli as well as their own home-made vermouth.

 

DONOSTIA                               Marylebone

10 Seymour Place, London W1H 7ND

www.donostia.co.uk

020 3620 1845

DONOSTIA

 

Donostia is the Basque name for San Sebastian, the gastronomic capital of Northern Spain and Tomasz Baranski, ex-head chef at the Hart brothers’ Barrafina,and his team have been working and researching in the some of the city’s best restaurants prior to the opening. The food is a mix of Spanish tapas and Basque pinxtos. Drinks focus on riojas, Basque cider and the delicious summery txakoli, the sparkling white Basque version of Cava.

 

 

 

 

QUO VADIS                  Soho

26-29 Dean Street, London W1D 3LL

www.quovadissoho.co.uk

020 7437 9585

QUO VADIS

 

The dapper Hart brothers have pinched chef Jeremy Lee from D&D’s Blueprint Cafe in their New Year reboot of Soho survivor Quo Vadis. Lee brings a Modern European and seasonal sensibility to the classic room and The Hedonist thinks he may well have found the location for his talent as he is clearly a Soho man at heart!

 

 

10 GREEK ST                          Soho

10 Greek Street, W1D 4DH

10 Greek St

www.10greekstreet.com

020 7734 4677

10 Greek Street has become the next Ducksoup making a similar offer to the Soho crowd- informal Modern European neighbourhood eatery with a seasonal menu changing each day alongside a short and eclectic wine list. It’s always busy so it seems like a smart move by chef Cameron Emirali (The Wapping Project) and his partner Luke Wilson.

 

 

MISHKIN’S                              Covent Garden

25 Catherine Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 5JS

http://www.mishkins.co.uk

020 7240 2078

Restauranteur Russell Norman (ex Caprice Holdings) is reputed never to sleep having just delivered his fifth restaurant opening in two years (Polpo, Polpetto, Spuntino and da Polpo). Mishkin’s is a New York style Jewish deli with prohibition era cocktails from the 1920s and 30s. Cod cheek popcorn, reuben on rye, chopped liver, salt beef sandwiches and knishes all washed down with a Gimlet or Pink Gin, so what’s not to like. All that’s needed is a few old jews telling jokes… The interior is recognisably from the Norman stable with distressed wood offset by duck-shell blue paintwork and the outdoor signage is deliciously retro. Somehow Bananas Foster, a Crescent City classic originating from Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans, has crept onto the menu but hey, how many Jewish desserts can you name? So for a passover pitstop Mishkin’s is your best bet.

On The Menu:

STARTERS @  £5-£9       Severn & Wye lox beigel with house schmear-Chopped chicken liver with schmaltzed radish-Reuben on rye with pastrami, sauerkraut, Russian dressing & Swiss cheese

MAINS @ £9-£12           Oxtail cholent with barley, beer & beans-Latkes, smoked eel, apple sauce & soured cream-Roast figs, cashews, goat curd & spiced honey

PUDDINGS @ £5/6      Warm choc chip cookie & ice cream-Apple & honUCKSOUPey blintz-Bananas Foster

 

DUCKSOUP                                       Soho

40-41 Dean Street, W1D 4PY

020 7287 4599/restaurant@ducksoupsoho.com

http://www.ducksoupsoho.co.uk

Despite being slightly chaotic, cramped and noisy, Ducksoup is the on-trend Soho food joint of the moment. With occasional live music, a BYO vinyl policy (anything as long as it is early 70s), a small but perfectly formed list of ‘natural’ wines and an eclectic and seasonal food policy, Ducksoup has an endearingly quirky character reflecting the personalities of its proprietors, manager Rory McCoy, chef Julian Biggs and PR manager Clare Lattin,  all alumni of Hix in Clerkenwell. With a minimal booking policy, turn up, grab a table at the bar and enjoy the buzz.

 

 

On The Menu:

STARTERS @ £7.50          Chargrilled Quail, Sumac, Yoghurt Tahini-Artichoke Vinaigrette-Clams, Fideo and Fino

MAINS @ £14          Cassoulet-Whole Crab, Lemon and Mayo-Fried Lamb Chops, Lemon Salt

PUDDINGS @ £5-6     Creme Caramel-Lemon Tart

 

 

HEDONE                                                Chiswick

301-303 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4HH

0208 747 0377

http://www.hedonerestaurant.com

Swedish Chef/patron Mikael Jonsson has had  a career as a lawyer, runs the high-end food blog Gastroville (http://www.gastroville.com), and is a specialist on food sourcing. His mission with Hedone is to offer a haute cuisine showcase for his favourite produce and to counter what he feels is the malign spread of chemical additives into both molecular gastronomy within the high end and processed foods at the ‘cheap as chips’ ends of contemporary food culture. Situated at the less glamorous  of Chiswick High St., the interior is of brick and wood with the kitchen visible and integrated into the room. Jonsson and his acolytes have a slightly reverential air about them as they prepare the food and the tone is more one of serious contemplation rather than raucous enjoyment. But for people serious about the provenance of the food who won’t be put off by the stark simplicity of some of the dishes, this critic’s favourite is a must visit.

On The Menu:

LUNCH £30 for three courses, £40 for four courses, £50 for five courses.

DINNER £50 for four courses, £60 for five courses, £70 for six courses

STARTERS       Slow cooked hen egg with Scottish girolles and a slice of peach, Tart of ceps, thyme and coffee jelly

MAINS        Aged beef with braised endive, Wild Dorset turbot, sea aster, cannellini bean sauce

PUDDINGS     Baked apricot with almond blancmange, Vine peach millefeuille

 

CAY TRE SOHO                                            Soho

42-43 Dean Street, London W1

0207 317 9118/CTSH@vietnamesekitchen.co.uk

http://www.caytresoho.co.uk

CAY TRE

 

Cay Tre Soho  is the fourth in a group of Vietnamese restaurants that have up to now being wowing the Hoxton and Shoreditch brigade. This latest iteration pairs an upmarket take on Vietnamese cooking with British sourced ingredients housed in a chic Soho interior. We particularly like the Pho bar, ideal for a quick blast of fragrant, hot nourishment on a cold winter’s day, and the wine list has been specially chosen by vineous supremo Malcolm Gluck to match the menu. Service is of the winsome and charming variety and if you are looking for an alternative to the identikit menus of many of the restaurants in Chinatown, then Cay Tre Soho is definitely worth a look.

 

 

On The Menu:

STARTERS @ £5-£9.50          White Crabmeat Fresh Rolls -Asian Mushroom Salad-Vietnamese Beef Carpaccio

MAINS @ £8.50-£11.50          Banana Leaf Whole Roasted Mackerel-Ox Cheek au Vin-Assorted Mushroom Pho

PUDDINGS @ £3-£5     Grilled Banana coated with glutinous rice, sago, savoury coconut sauce-Gelupo ice cream

 


PIZARRO                            Bermondsey

194 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3TQ

Pizzaro

 

No booking-just walk in

http://www.pizarrorestaurant.com/

Bermondsey’s King of Tapas Jose Pizarro has opened his first sit-down restaurant on the site of the former Bermondsey Kitchen, just down the road from his sherry and tapas bar, José, on Bermondsey Street. Dedicated to the memory of his grandfather, the restaurant features sharing plates and communal tables as well as a bar specialising in cavas, sherries and wine. Pizarro makes an exciting addition to the already buzzing Bermondsey scene.

 

On The Menu:

STARTERS @ £5.50-£7.50          Duck Livers, Capers, Fino-Prawns, Cecina, Chilli, Garlic-Butternut Squash, Cabrales, Almonds

 

MAINS @ £12-£16          Partridge Stew, Olives-Salt Cod, Potatoes, Vinzcaina-Manchego Canelones, Silver Chard, Pine Nuts

 

PUDDINGS @ £5.50-£6     Cava, Pear Sorbet-Rice Pudding, Clementine, Vanilla Ice Cream, Moscatel Grapes, PX

 

 

SOIF                                          Battersea

27 Battersea Rise, SW11 1HG. 020-7223 1112

Soif

Ed Wilson and Oli Barker, the team behind  Terroirs and Brawn, are extending their burgeoning empire beyond Covent Garden and Bethnal Green to south London. As with the others in the group Soif showcases natural and biodynamic wines and a menu built around seasonal British and Mediterranean influenced food. This iteration is fast becoming a sarf London destination, bringing some quality to the Battersea food scene.

On The Menu:

STARTERS @ £7-£12 Chanterelles, Pancetta-Black Pudding and Squid-Clams, Lemon and Coriander

MAINS @ £13-£18      Pig Cheeks, Cidre, Turnips and Swede-Brill, Pommes Boulangere-Tête de Veau, Sauce Ravigote

PUDDINGS @ £5-10     Baked Apple, Frangipane and Custard-Cheese from Androuet, Chestnut Cake, Creme Fraiche

 

 

34                                       Mayfair

 34 Grosvenor Square, W1K 2HD.

020 3350 3434

http://www.34-restaurant.co.uk/Booking from website

Richard Caring’s Caprice Holdings (Le Caprice, The Ivy, Scott’s, J. Sheekey) have entered the newly competitive upmarket steakhouse market (Goodman, Cut, Barbecoa, Hawksmoor) with their latest Mayfair joint 34  which offers ’carefully sourced meat, seasonal game and shellfish’. There is a rotating coal-fired parilla grill for the meat and glamorous interiors from designer Martin Brudnizki (Scott’s, Dean St. Townhouse, Les Deux Salons). It’s stylish, swanky and starry with live jazz and delicious dead animals all presented with the slick service that marks most of Caring’s offferings.

On The Menu:

STARTERS @ £9.50-£17   Salt-Baked Beets, Burrata, Truffled Honey Walnuts-Dorset Dressed Crab-Steak Tartare

MAINS @ £14.75-£85          Dover Sole, Australian Wagyu Beef, Champagne Risotto with Perigord Truffles

PUDDINGS @ £6.75-8     Sloe Gin Fizz Jelly-William Pear Tart

 

THE DELAUNAY                            Aldwych

55 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BB

020 7499 8558/info@thedelaunay.com

http://www.thedelaunay.com

Another grand mittel-European style Cafe from The Wolseley’s Jeremy King and Chris Corbin. If you enjoy their style of stagey glamour go for the people watching as much as for the food which majors in wieners and schnitzels as well as brasserie classics such as choucroute à l’Alsacienne, moules frites and steaks. Anywhere that has a Mont Blanc on the dessert menu gets the Hedonist’s seal of approval.

On The Menu:

STARTERS @ £5.75-£10.50   Borscht- Tarte Flambée-Severn & Wye Oak Smoked Salmon

MAINS @ £14.25-£22          Choucroute à l’Alsacienne-Moules Frites- Fillet of Beef ‘Stroganoff’

PUDDINGS @ £4-£8.75      Mont Blanc-Coconut & Pineapple Dacquoise- Hungarian Chocolate & Cream Pudding

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