Eating & Drinking In...Kensington

Here's my latest piece for Flavour London magazine, an area guide to eating & drinking in Kensington.





Home to the UK’s most expensive streets, Europe’s priciest flats and many of the world’s most elite boutiques and eateries, it’s good to know you don’t need to be one of life’s super-rich or a member of the Made In Chelsea cast to eat out in Kensington. With museums, Harrods and Hyde Park on your doorstep, it’s just a matter of telling the top runners from the tourist traps.  Flavour knows the places that give some bang for your buck...

South Kensington
The heart of the borough’s dining scene, South Kensington is the gateway to a world of cuisines. Head across the road from the tube and sample the Scandi lifestyle at Madsen (www.madsenrestaurant.com), the restaurant which flew the Nordic flag way before Noma made it notoriously trendy. Norwegian style meatballs and a bottle of Danish craft ale is as hearty as it gets, whilst gravlax on rye bread is far more virtuous. Add a shot of fiery akavit or two if you feel like channeling your inner Viking. 

If Scandinavia leaves you feeling cold, there’s no shortage of Spanish sunshine down the street, with fine dining Cambio de Tercio, tapas bar Tendido Cero and sherry bar Capote Y Toros taking proud ownership of Old Brompton Road (www.cambiodetercio.co.uk). Whilst the first is a local institution and you can expect to queue for a table most nights, the latter is even more of a star, serving no fewer than one hundred different sherries alongside some of the best ham you’ll find this side of the Med.

Head back past the area appropriate Lambourghini shop for another slice of Europe in the form of laid back brasserie Racine (www.racine-restaurant.com), where chef-patron Henry Harris has built up an indisputable reputation for some of the best cooked, most reliably brilliant and good value food in the capital. Très bon.

Restaurant Review: La Barca

A proper old-school Italian right in my neighbourhood. I like this place a lot, even if it is a bit slebby.  This is my review of Waterloo's La Barca for my South London Press column.

London’s restaurant scene is ever-changing.  You need look only as far as the Russell Norman empire of Polpo, Spuntino and the likes in Soho, or the hoard of overhyped burger joints to get a feel for what’s on trend at the moment. Whilst the quality of food being dished up at these establishments is not in question, the rest of the experience has a lot to answer for. 

It’s great that these establishments can leverage a bit of twitter talk to build instant demand, and with limited seats available, a no-booking policy makes vague sense. But most people consider eating out to be something of a luxurious occasion: a time when you’re waited on, rather than waiting in a line. Call me a snob, but standing for an hour in the cold before being grumpily ushered to a tightly packed table (or worse still, bar stool) just doesn’t do it for me.

With this in mind, Waterloo’s La Barca is a revelation. The restaurant has sat in the same spot on the edge of Lower Marsh for more than thirty years, and the pristine Italian food it serves has varied little in that time.  Entering on a sunny lunchtime, it’s the owner Gino who greets us rather than a surly doorman, and he’s a man that understands the importance of service. In fact, all the staff here are exemplary.  We’re laden with freshly baked bread, crisp breadsticks and plump olives as we’re serenaded with stories of the numerous celebrities who’ve passed through the doors.  This is a popular spot for actors appearing at the Old Vic and has a loyal following from the nearby ITV studios, too.  To suggest this is South London’s answer to The Ivy doesn’t seem too far off. It’s old school in exactly the way it feels right for an Italian restaurant to be.  Before long we feel more like old friends than customers, and indeed most of the tables are on first name terms with their waiters.

Lumiere: London's Coolest Bar

I believe I may have discovered London's coolest bar. Really. I'm not sure when you can get in, though. Read on in this article for Scout London to find out why...

Fast Random discoveries are one of the best things about living in London. No matter how much time you spend flitting between pubs, bars and restaurants (we’ve spent quite a bit) there’s always a new discovery to be made. A hidden gem as other publications would say.

Well, few gems come as hidden as Lumiere on Chatsworth Road.  It sits round the corner from Homerton Hospital and looks fairly normal from outside. To many a passer-by, its most distinguishing feature is that it’s usually shut. A step inside, however, and you’ll be transported into a utopian cornucopia of madcap cocktails, exuberant juices and voluptuous cakes. You’ll lose hours of time and emerge bleary eyed wondering what the heck happened. As regulars have come to say, you will have experienced Lumiere.

The Un-Unemployed

This is a piece I wrote for the Employment issue of the fantastic Pea Soup magazine. If you don't already, follow Pea Soup on Twitter and Like them on Facebook. 


THE Un-Unemployed

In a city that’s full of people moaning about their jobs, and others miserable because of a lack of one, spare a moment’s thought for those stuck in the middle who aren’t quite sure. The hermaphrodites of the employment world. Yep, we’re talking about you, freelancers...

But do they have double the burden or the best of both worlds? Pea Soup spends a week with a selection of London’s most prolific in a bid to separate the fact from the fiction.

We meet our first freelancer at 9 o’ clock on a Monday morning, promptly knocking on his door and secretly hoping to find him still in his pyjamas. After all, don’t freelancers always wear pyjamas? Well, apparently not. Freelance journalist Adam is awake, dressed and ready to head off to his place of work: the local Costa. On arrival he buys a coffee and heads instinctively to the far corner of the room, his reasoning becoming clear when we spot a plug for his laptop. It all seems very calm and civilised until it transpires that today the coffee shop’s wifi is as dodgy as its coffee, and his webmail account won’t load because it keeps timing out. It’s not so much the waste of precious work time which makes this a true freelance disaster, but the waste of a whole one hundred and ninety five precious pennies on a cup of watery liquid filth. This may sound like a bit of a first world problem, but as Adam puts it, “Living without Gmail is pretty much like living in the third world”. Well, quite.

Restaurant Review: Electric Social

An electrifying experience in Brixton. You've got to allow me that one... This is my review of Electric Social for my South London Press column.

Electric Social opened with only the slightest of fuss and fanfare late last year. Pretty much just when Electric Brixton opened down the road, in fact.  As the owners of both venues are no doubt bored of reiterating, they are not linked in any way.

With that established, the next task is to work out exactly what Electric Social is. On paper, its status as a one-fits-all joint merging bar, pub, restaurant and club is painful to comprehend. It’s to the credit of the maverick who thought it up that once inside this confused conceptual headache becomes cannily hedonistic.

The comfy surrounds play their part in this transformation, with a variety of sink-in sofas, prop-up bar stools and practical tables designed to fit just about any mood or purpose. A ‘library’, WiFi and plenty of plug sockets gives it something of an upgraded common room feel. This is a place you can spend all day, and perhaps even manage to fit in a bit of work along the way. If my common room had ever decided to serve cocktails along the lines of the Brooklyn which is made here with bourbon, vermouth, bitters and a slug of maraschino liqueur, then I’d certainly have spent a lot more time in it, though how much work would have got done is another matter.

Food Stalls: Chula Fused Foods

Here's a piece originally written for www.londonist.com as part of a series which shines a light on some of London's best artisan food producers and businesses which attend markets around the city. 


Follow Londonist on Twitter to keep up with their daily posts on all things London.




Business: Chula Fused Foods

Based: HQ at Park Royal
What: Street food stall serving Indian inspired burrito-style wraps

Chula Fused Foods is the brainchild of Vinod Patel, a man well placed to deliver his take on the burrito. He spotted the full potential of street food in those heady pre-Meatwagon days when London’s offering still consisted primarily of pallid sausages and playing Russian Roulette with e coli. And for that matter, the heady pre-Wahaca days when our Mexican know-how didn’t go much further than Old El Paso. Yep, you’ve guessed it: Vinny had travelled to the States.

Back in town and following a foodie path, Vinny started work in the first UK outpost of American super-chainChipotle. Moving through four ranks from ‘crew member’ to ‘service manager’ in record time, he was in training to become a store manger when he decided once and for all that the corporate food world wasn’t for him and took the leap of starting his own business.

Restaurant Review: Ravensbourne Arms

I've reviewed a fair few Antic pubs for my South London Press column before, and they're reliably good if not hugely exciting. The Ravensbourne Arms has something a bit special, though. Worth heading to Lewisham, even...

New pub openings get a hard time sometimes, especially if the word ‘gastropub’ comes into play. But the response to the transformation of old boozer The Coach & Horses into this smarter, food-led pub has been overwhelmingly positive. Residents and local bloggers alike can be heard singing its praises, grateful of a much needed safe, decent pub in a largely bereft area of Lewisham.

Ravensbourne Arms is the latest opening from the Antic group, a growing collection of pubs around south east London which are individual in style but reliable in standard. Previous successes in the area include Brockley’s Jam Circus and The Royal Albert in New Cross, and anyone familiar with these venues will quickly spot the resemblance.

Shabby, reclaimed furniture, wooden floor and an abundance of nic-nacs has become a calling card for the pub group, and pretty much sums up the styling here, too. There’s a large bar area for drinkers and a rotating selection of ales, whilst the menu hovers somewhere between homely comfort food and ever-so-slightly poshed up pub grub. 

Restaurant Review: Colchis

Here's a restaurant review originally written for www.londonist.com. Follow Londonist on Twitter to keep up with their daily posts on all things London.


This new Georgian restaurant close to Notting Hill may have its roots in the Paleolithic era and serve what many believe to be the world’s oldest cuisine, but it keeps up with the times rather well, considering.

A polished chrome bar offers contemporary cocktails made with local spirits such as Sipsmith gin alongside Georgian wines from some of the earth’s oldest and most precious vines.

If uneasy pronunciation can be seen as a sign of authenticity, then Colchis’ menu is painstakingly historic, with the likes of mtsvadi and khachapuri available to tantalise the taste buds as they twist the tongue. The former will be familiar to you as shashlik kebabs, and these are particularly tender, juicy and well seasoned ones, with a hit of smoky charcoal from the grill upgrading the eating experience. Khachapuri could better be described as cheese stuffed bread, and isn’t a million miles away from that late night Anglo-Indian classic of cheesy naan. What’s not to like about that?

Eating & Drinking In...Waterloo

Here's my latest piece for Flavour London magazine, an area guide to eating & drinking in Waterloo.





Waterloo is no shrinking violet. Acting as London’s gateway to the Southbank, the namesake station is the busiest in the UK boasting over 1,500 trains in and out daily. It’s also the local stop for the country’s most popular tourist attracting, helping 3 million a year onto the London Eye.  What far too few of the area’s visitors realise is that Waterloo is also fast becoming a foodie hub for the capital. A hub for those who find Borough too busy and the centre too chaotic. It’s a place solely for those in the know. Let Flavour fill you in...

Lower Marsh

Tap out and turn right as you leave Waterloo Tube station to find Lower Marsh, an ancient market street that overflows with charm and character.  Head here on a weekday and you’ll find the narrow road lined with food-to-go stalls and an occasional veg seller.

If you’ve shopping to do, you’ll have to avoid being lured into brightly coloured Cubana (www.cubana.co.uk) which sits on the street’s corner. This modest Cuban restaurant churns out plate after plate of delicious and underpriced delights. They make their money instead on the Mojitos and other suppable cocktails which whizz off the bar of an evening. Catch their happy hour from 5-6.30 and join the party.

One of the first stalls you’ll see as you head down Lower Marsh is Buen Provecho, which has widely been hailed as one of the best places to eat Mexican in London. Try owner Arturo Ortega Rodriguez ‘s legendary pork pibli tacos or indulge in a toasty cheese quesadilla. Just make sure you add a dollop of roasted tomato and chipotle salsa – it will make your tongue sing.

Pull Your Own Pints At The Thirsty Bear

The Thirsty Bear is a London first - a pub where you can pull your own pint from the comfort of your table. And it's local to me. If only they had a few more beers on offer... Here's my post originally written for www.londonist.com. 


You build your own furniture because it makes it cheaper. Before you head to the airport, you check in online because it’s faster. When you go to the supermarket you scan your own shopping because you like arguing with electronic women who think you’ve bagged double the weight you ought to. We are in a D-I-Y era.

With the opening yesterday evening of The Thirsty Bear at Waterloo, self-service has come to the service industry, with London’s first pull-your-own-pint pub.

The venue, which replaces the old man friendly Stamford Arms, is the first venture by the appropriately named Robot Pub Group, and though we’ve been made aware of this place in Manchester which uses a similar concept, it’s a brand new one to us.

Restaurant Review: Kimchee

How long would you queue for a restaurant? Kimchee in Holborn has boasted one of London's biggest waits for the duration of January. Here's my review for Scout London.

We know that London’s foodies are dedicated, but queuing round the block on a cold weekday evening in January for a relatively unheard of Korean restaurant named Kimchee is something out of the ordinary.

As we walked down High Holborn and saw the 7pm queue snake its way round the corner and right down Old Red Lion Street, our mind went into overdrive wondering just what could be going on. Has John Terry popped in for a bite and this is a very polite lynch mob? Is the Big Society in such a sorry state that this is the queue for a bar job? Are TfL rehearsing for what it will be like topping up your Oyster card during the Olympics.

Restaurant Review: Lovage

I've always thought that Indian restaurants shouldn't try too hard to be fancy, and for my money Lovage near Tower Bridge gets the balance of sophistication and simplicity just right.This is my review for South London Press.

A stone’s throw from the foodie bustle of Borough Market and mere minutes’ walk from touristy Tower Bridge, Lovage feels like it’s in a different world.

This vast Indian restaurant occupies a corner spot on a residential Bermondsey street and makes the space its own. A tout dressed in traditional Indian costume stands outside, acting to attract attention from passers-by as much as to greet customers. Giving a first impression which recalls the bartering and competition of Brick Lane, albeit in a competition-less area, it’s ironic that our waiter later finds the time to tell us how the restaurant isn’t like the majority of establishments on the famous East London curry street, but rather a higher end dining establishment offering a series of unique and specially prepared dishes alongside the classic options.

The People's Olympics

This is a piece I wrote for the 2012 issue of the fantastic Pea Soup magazine. If you don't already, follow Pea Soup on Twitter and Like them on Facebook. 


THE PEASOUP PEOPLE'S OLYMPICS

Yep, it’s the Olympics this year. You know that. The media has only been going on about it for, like, seven years. But what does it actually mean to us as Londoners? Considering most of us aren’t actually able to compete in the games, and that it’s only relatively few of us who have even managed to get tickets to see anything, perhaps the answer is: not a lot, really.

With that in mind, we’ve put together our own set of more relevant games, which we can all participate in together this year. This is the Peasoup Peaple’s Olympics, designed around the influx of visitors both the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will bring, as well as some of our favourite everyday London habits.

Perhaps if any of you put in a good performance in one of the below games and are able to send us YouTube evidence, then we’ll dig out a medal or two. And if you have any more Games suggestions, why not let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

On your marks. Get set. Go!

A Visit To Chipotle...

What do you get if you cross an enthusiastic American with lots of avocados and a member of Blur? Well, this article for Scout London, since you ask...

Fast food is fast food, right? Well, we’re not so sure. Whilst some establishments enter the race pumped up on steroids in the form of artificial additives, MSG and the cheapest of cheap ingredients, others focus on natural nutrition and plenty of prep to get the desired results.

We couldn’t possibly comment on most of the establishments out there, as their techniques are shrouded in behind-the-scenes secrecy. Though from the looks of this recent ‘insightful’ article, it seems The Sun’s hard-hitting food correspondent Alex James was convinced by a few factory tours that a Greggs’ sausage roll and a piece of deep-fried chicken “in a nice box” can be almost as good as coffee and TV.

Breaking News: There Is A Plan

This isn't real news, just so you know. What it is is a witty and insightful piece that comments on the state of our society, politics and economy in 2012. Well, it amused me  a bit, anyway. This was originally written for the brilliant Pea Soup magazine's New Year issue. Follow Pea Soup on Twitter and Like them on Facebook for more such stuff...


BREAKING NEWS: THERE IS A PLAN

2012 is upon us, folks. And just in case it is, indeed the last year before our planet goes kaput, we’d better make it a good one.

For those of you worried about the burden of more budget cuts and financial austerity, a repeat of last year’s riot-filled summer of discontent, and the ongoing scandal that is our corrupt banking system: worry no more.

In an exclusive story (not learned from listening in on imaginary governmental voicemails) we can exclusively reveal that contrary to popular belief, our fine leaders do actually have a plan.

Restaurant Review: Boisdale, Canary Wharf

Here's a post originally written for www.londonist.com, as part of their Dining Beyond Zone 1 series of restaurant reviews. Follow Londonist on Twitter to keep up with their daily posts on all things London.



Think of Canary Wharf and the words that come to mind. We’ll take a conservative guess that “vast” and “bankers” are amongst them. Incorporate this into a restaurant, add a little Scottishness and you have yourself the newly refurbished Boisdale Canary Wharf. And what better time than Burns' Night to tell you all about it…

A few superlatives to get you going. Not only is the impressive art deco Boisdale building which overlooks Cabot Square Canary Wharf’s largest restaurant, it also boasts London’s widest selection of whisky, the city’s biggest cigar club and is one of the leading jazz, soul and blues venues in the UK.

Add to this a fully stocked crustacean bar, a spot of haggis and a trademark tartan carpet, and what you have is a deliriously different kind of restaurant that you’re unlikely to find elsewhere. Even the smaller, more subdued Boisdale restaurants in Belgravia and Bishopsgate can’t compare.

2012 Is A Ham-tastic Year For Cured Meats & Bad Puns

Is there much better in this world than ham? I reckon not. Bring it on! Here, I indulge on behalf of Scout London.

The Italian riverside retreat which throughout December kept our cockles warm in a custom-built chalet by the Thames has found a new way to our hearts for 2012. And whilst doctors might advise it really isn’t what our heart needs, we reckon we’d all be happier with a bit more ham in our lives.

Paying homage to the regional variations so abundant in Italian food and cooking,Cantina is refraining from putting all their charcuterie (excuse our French) in one proverbial basket. Instead, they’ve taken the ingenious decision of placing us on a meaty, porcine drip-feed; taking us month-by-month on a tour of the different products made in the northern, central and southern regions.

Restaurant Review: Soif

Here's a post originally written for www.londonist.com, as part of their Dining Beyond Zone 1 series of restaurant reviews. Follow Londonist on Twitter to keep up with their daily posts on all things London.

Following in the footsteps of older sister Terroirs, Brawnopened on Columbia Road just over a year ago to critical acclaim and a giddy amount of cool credentials.We certainly loved it.

We were therefore excited for the birth of offspring number three from this group, which has added ‘natural wines’ to the vocabulary of London’s restaurant goers, and done more for nose-to-tail eating than anywhere since St. John.

Adding to Terroirs’ touristy West End location, and Brawn’s trendy East End spot on Columbia Road, the brand is working towards a complete compass with the arrival of new southern outpost, Soif in Battersea.

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: Caparossa

Here's a post originally written for www.londonist.com, as part of their Dining Beyond Zone 1 series of restaurant reviews. Follow Londonist on Twitter to keep up with their daily posts on all things London.

It’s hard to know what to expect from an Italian restaurant before visiting. They’ll have mostly similar menus and near-identically described dishes, but while some are the real deal serving patriotically authentic, regional food cooked with Italy’s trademark passion, others are a catch-all option taking advantage of the cuisine’s almost ubiquitous appeal.

A look at the outside of Caparossa situated at the foot of one of the stark new builds at Putney Wharf in Wandsworth, and you really wouldn’t know which of these restaurant types to expect. The moment you swing open the doors, though, it’s clear that passion is key here.