Restaurant Review: Dego

Dego is an Italian that likes to do things differently. But it's had far from unanimously good press. I give it a visit for Scout London.

As desirable restaurant openings go, that of Degó was far from ideal. It became embroiled in an unfortunate Twitter furore after a slightly unfavourable blog review spawned public attack from an over-zealous promoter who obviously graduated from PR school before the introduction of the social media module (just read the comments). As a result, the food was largely overshadowed.

Run by a passionate young Italian couple, the concept is a bold one. They’ve merged the notion of a homely osteria (tavern) with that of more experimental cooking and tasting,degustazione. It’s the shunting together of these words which gives the place its name.

Restaurant Review: Ora Thai

It's a case of style over substance at a distinctly average Thai restaurant with a high profile and a top class location. This review was originally written for Blue Tomato magazine.

Ora Thai is the latest restaurant from the team that have brought us Awana and Mango Tree. In this incarnation, they’ve ramped up the style factor, with a below ground restaurant that looks more like a hip club; Italian fashion-house designed staff uniforms; and an unlikely collection of cosmetics in the toilets.

It follows, then, that the food is presented in a sleek and stylish manner, with all kinds of flowers and garnishes helping transform Thai staples into artistic creations. Beyond surface level, the food is more of a mixed bag, though. A starter platter of mini dishes allows the kitchen to show off their skills, with intricate and complexly flavoured versions of crab cakes and pork dumplings making a good start.

As main courses follow, the flavour notches seem to have been turned down somewhat.