Restaurants

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Over the past couple of years, there’s been a rapid growth in focus on sharing within some of London’s best restaurants. Personally, I have absolutely no qualms against this ‘Social Food’ concept, as OPSO put it. However, most Londoners (and most of my friends) are a bit selfish when it comes to Food and they’re not so keen on the concept of sharing. Unfortunately, this is a bit of a disadvantage for restaurants such...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Opened as the sibling of Westminster’s Cinnamon Club, situated within a Grade II listed Library, Cinnamon Kitchen landed in East London’s Devonshire Square in 2008, just metres from Liverpool Street Station. While Brick Lane is generally regarded as the area’s prime Indian restaurant destination, Cinnamon Kitchen was surprisingly busy during our early dinner visit, leading up to the recent grand reopening of Cinnamon Club, having undergone a £1 million refurbishment, as well as the...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food It’s that time of year once again when Great Britain and Ireland’s foodie elite will flock to sample what’s on offer at the latest wave of restaurants to have been praised by the newly published Michelin Guide 2016, with the results having been published on Twitter, one day early. In total, this year’s comprehensive restaurant guide features 15 new One Star restaurants, two to be awarded Two Stars, and no new Three Stars, meanwhile...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Situated towards the less exciting end of the King’s Road, Masala Grill first opened in May, taking over the spot of the now relocated Chutney Mary (now in St. James). Set up by the MW Eat Group, which also works with Michelin-starred Amaya, Veeraswamy, Masala Zone, and the aforementioned Chutney Mary, Masala Grill bridges the gap between the group’s formal and casual outposts. And although the restaurant’s name does sound reminiscent of a local...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Way back in 1989, Robert Zemeckis’ classic cult Sci-Fi blockbuster – 'Back To The Future 2' – predicted that 2015 would behold all sorts of outrageous, futuristic contraptions most probably designed by an outrageous (evidently very prolific) scientist with dreams that even the most brainy of scholars would struggle to conceive. Many of those predictions of 2015 did, in fact, come true. Self-lacing Trainers and actual Hover Boards have been invented (although just for...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Following the huge success of their restaurant placed just behind London’s busy Oxford Street, which now demands gargantuan queues during busy times, just in order to get a seat, the team behind MEATliquor have announced that their new offshoot will open in Islington next month. Opening as Yianni Papoutsis and Scott Collins’ fourth London restaurant, MEATliquor Islington is the first since 2012’s MEATmission, and will takeover an old Citroen Garage on Upper Street, which...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Somehow it seems that scathing restaurant reviews are always the most fun. Not so much for the writer (negative reviews are no easier to write) but, in fact, for the reader, and proof comes with the fact that some of the most revered food writers are also the most outrageously unforgiving. Let’s face it, there’s only so many times that you can enjoy reading 500 words of drivel that describes every single specific detail of...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food With plenty of exciting restaurant openings constantly taking place across the Capital, here’s our pick of the best new restaurants arriving in London over the coming month. Four Hundred Rabbits - Crystal Palace Coming soon to Crystal Palace, the team behind The Lido Café’s new opening will have a strong focus on Pizza and Beer. Named after traditional Aztec lore of the God of Fermentation and the Goddess of Alcohol spawning 400 Rabbits. Boasting some of the best...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Having opened way back in 1999, it would seem that, once upon a time, Quilon was actually quite brilliant. Again, they’ve managed to wow Michelin this year, for the seventh year running, so it’s a real shame that our recent visit didn’t quite manage to live up to high expectations. Owned by the Taj Hotel Group, Quilon is perched upon the corner St. James Court Hotel just a stone’s throw from Parliament and Victoria...