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.

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.

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: 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.

Restaurant Review: Del Aziz, Clapham

The small London chain specialising in Middle Eastern deli foods and mezze options has opened a new Clapham flagship with built-in bar. Here's my review for South London Press.

The Del Aziz group has six sites across the capital, each sharing the same concept of freshly made, Middle Eastern inspired food and a style that crosses the divide between deli, cafe and restaurant.

Clapham’s vast branch is the latest opening and new flagship, adding a bar and live music venue to its credentials. In fact, there’s so many facets to the place that the decisions start in earnest before having even glanced at a menu. We choose between seats in the bright and airy deli space in the window, a darker more formal restaurant area and the exotic low-lit bar, plumping for the deli area primarily for its view of the semi-open kitchen.

Restaurant Review: Bunga Bunga

Of all the year's openings, one that's made the biggest impression is the wonderfully wacky Bunga Bunga. I find out if it's faring better than the Euro in this review for South London Press.

Berlusconi is gone, the Euro is in peril, and David Cameron is ensuring that the UK is increasingly distant from its mainland brethren. But that’s just politics. In Battersea, Berlusconi still reigns supreme and Europe takes centre stage thanks to the presence of the Eurotrashiest restaurant in town – Bunga Bunga.

From walls covered with photos of the Italian ex-Prime Minster to sexy pictures paying homage to his notorious parties which have leant the venue its name, just about the only thing that isn’t packed in is some subtlety.

Restaurant Review: The Three Stags

The Three Stags is one of one of my favourite local pubs in good ol' Kennington. I have a few. This is my review for South London Press.

Kennington isn’t an area short of pubs, and certainly not pubs of the modern, gastro variety. The Tommyfield and The Old Red Lion are a couple of them which have been reviewed and very positively rated in this paper over the last year. The sense of community at The Three Stags blows the competition out of the water, though. It’s tangible from the moment of stepping inside; this is no dining room with a bit of space for people to drink, rather this is a proper pub that just happens to serve food.

Restaurant Review: 16" West Brasserie

Here's a restaurant review originally written for my South London Press column - hits, misses and a look that's pretty much a Jubilee line tube station...

Off the beaten track isn’t really a description that should be used to describe a restaurant adjoined to one of London’s most popular and world renowned attractions. But when visiting this new opening at the Old Royal Naval College in Maritime Greenwich (named as it’s apparently sixteen seconds west of the meridian line) of an evening, it certainly feels that way.

The fact that the website cites the address as being on the perimeter of the Naval College grounds (presumably the official address for the whole complex) when it’s actually smack bang in the middle of it is one problem, and leads to a fair bit of unwarranted circle walking before dinner. The time of my visit is another factor. Although the brasserie is open all day, come evening all the attractions around it are closed off and plunged into darkness, meaning it’s effectively marooned in the middle of a somewhat large and intimidating park.

Restaurant Review: Delfina

A taste of honey at a dinner to celebrate Delfina's rooftop hives. Here's my write-up of the sweet evening for South London Press.

It would be fair to say that hip and happening Bermondsey Street not far from London Bridge is buzzing, but few people know just how literal that is. As mentioned in this column a few weeks back, Bermondsey Street is home to its own rooftop beehives, and the resulting honey recently scooped first prize at the London Honey Show. The only place the honey is currently available is Delfina, a twenty-year institution of a restaurant set in a converted chocolate factory on the same street. In celebration of this inner-city creation, Delfina has put on a special honey menu, using one of the most locally sourced ingredients that you’re ever likely to taste.

Restaurant Review: Ganapati

Here's a restaurant review originally written for my South London Press column. Ganapati is one of my all-time favourite Indian restaurants in London.


Ganapati sits off the beaten track in a gentrified enclave of Peckham that you’d never guess was mere minutes from Peckham Rye station and the high street. The restaurant focuses on South Indian food and references the street food culture of the area as an influence. The thing with Ganapati, though, is that aside from perhaps naan bread, paratha and a dhal, you’re unlikely to be able to pick out a single dish you recognise from the menu as their offerings deliberately stray from the norm.

The kitchen is headed up by chef Claire Fisher, who is notably not Indian. Her passion for the cuisine started when she travelled the area in 1992, and she’s revisited numerous times since, bringing seldom seen products such as kudampuli (smoked tamarind) back with her. In Ganapati’s menu, she brings together traditional dishes which have somehow not made it onto the repertoire of Britain’s Indian restaurants, and isn’t afraid to add some of her own twists either.

Restaurant Review: The Compass

Just the right amount of gastro at this friendly Rotherhithe pub which I've reviewed for my column in South London Press.

The gastropub continues to be a growing phenomenon. Almost every week a slightly grim old boozer will get a lick of paint, some eclectic retro furniture and a good floorboard polishing before re-opening with a full menu and another ale or two on offer.

Of course, this is no bad thing, but there’s always a downside. These pubs all too often lack the character and personal touch of a more old-fashioned establishment, and what’s created instead is row after row of almost identical yet indefinable pub-bistro-cafe-wine bar-restaurant hybrids.

Restaurant Review: The Stonhouse

Here's my review of The Stonhouse, part of the Renaissance Pubs group, written for my South London Press column.

The Stonhouse has held pride of place on a tucked away Clapham backstreet since 2006. Old boozer The Windsor Arms was bought by locals Mark Reynolds, Tom Peake and Nick Fox and transformed into the trendy venue that The Stonhouse now is. It occupies a space somewhere between gastropub and restaurant, not at all dissimilar to The Avalon, The Bolingbroke and The Abbeville establishments nearby which are owned by the same entrepreneurial trio.

Inside, The Stonhouse is light and bright, but just a bit cosy, too. During the summer, doors open into a picturesque walled beer garden, but there’s a fireplace ready to take centre-stage again come winter.

Restaurant Review: The Antelope

Here's a restaurant review originally written for my South London Press column, and an impressive gastropub dining destination in Tooting that's well worth remembering if in the area.

Heading to SW17 to review a “foodie pub” I wasn’t sure what to expect. So little is heard of the dining scene in Tooting that it doesn’t foster high expectations. There’s a couple of good boozers, The Antelope being one of them, but even in the age of the gastro, pub food can be hit and miss to say the least.

Set on Mitcham Road not far from Tooting Broadway tube station, you can spot Antelope a mile off. It looks all a pub should be – warm, welcoming and - even-midweek – it’s bustling. This atmosphere continues inside, but it’s once I’ve walked past the heaving bar, through an archway and into the “dining room” that things get exciting. This isn’t tables in a pub, this is a separate enclave and entering feels like being let in on a well kept secret. That said, it’s fairly full so it’s obviously not that well kept.

Restaurant Review: Four-O-Nine

A tucked away French spot that it's worth putting a bit of effort into finding. Here's my review of Four-O-Nine in Clapham, originally written for my South London Press column.

Four O Nine is not a place that you’d stumble across. You may stumble into the prominent Clapham North pub, which sits opposite the tube station of the same name, but you’d never know that lurking at the back was this gem of a restaurant. They probably wouldn’t want you to know they’re linked, either. The only way to get into Four O Nine is by leaving the pub and finding an inconspicuous residential-looking door at the back. Having found it, the work still isn’t done. To get access you need to ring a buzzer and give your name. If you haven’t pre-booked, there’s every chance you won’t be let in.

Through the door, the journey continues. A slightly dodgy, not entirely pleasant smelling, staircase leads the way up (and up, and up) until the restaurant is reached. On arrival, the

Restaurant Review: Zeitgeist

Here's a restaurant review originally written for my South London Press column. Zeitgeist is pretty much my local pub and I'm definitely a regular, though for me it's usually more about the beers than the food.

You can count London’s German restaurants on one hand. There’s The Hop Exchange German bar on Southwark Street, Stein’s in Richmond (which claims to be the very first), The Fest in Fulham (which keeps Octoberfest running all year round) and the only one of the lot that’s particularly well-known, The Bavarian Beerhouse on City Road. As the names of all of these places suggest, food isn’t really the main focus – it’s all about the beers. The almost unheard of Zeitgeist is one to add to the list, and it may be the place to break the mould.

Hidden inside The Jolly Gardener’s pub on Black Prince Road, Zeitgeist is mere minutes from the Albert Embankment and Vauxhall station, but could take a long time to find. You most likely would come across it having given up and gone in for a drink instead.

Restaurant Review: Chez Manny

Chez Manny is as homely as it sounds, leaving you feeling satisfied inspite of a few low points. Here's the full restaurant review originally written for my South London Press column.


Chez Manny doesn’t scream and shout about being a good restaurant. It just gets on with it. And it’s been doing so for around nine years.

The restaurant’s tucked away at the quiet end of Clapham Junction station on Battersea High Street. Though the road has a few noteworthy establishments, such as the excellent Galapagos deli, it’s fair to say it’s seen better days. Chez Manny stands out not only because it’s smarter than most of its neighbours, but because it looks so quaintly French with its overhanging canopy and a few outside tables.

Restaurant Review: Mekan

The small London chain specialising in Middle Eastern deli foods and mezze options has opened a new Clapham flagship with built-in bar. Here's my review for South London Press.

Mekan might not be renowned in the way that some of London’s restaurants-of-the-moment are, but for Catford locals this Turkish restaurant is well known as the being the best of the area. It’s true that Catford isn’t exactly overflowing with decent restaurants and that locals frequently flock to Dulwich, Blackheath and beyond in search of dinner, but from the praise heaped on Mekan by some regulars, it sounds as if it should be the rest of South London which is flocking to Catford. And perhaps people are, as even on a night blighted by cold, snow and ice when most people would rather stay at home, Mekan manages to be impressively full.

Restaurant Review: Nineteen

Here's a restaurant review originally written for my South London Press column. Nineteen is a smart bistro in Streatham that's serves reliably good grub with a few fancy flourishes.

Nineteen is nestled on Streatham’s High Parade, where it quietly stands out by virtue of being a touch smarter than many of its neighbours. The shiny exterior doesn’t give much help in deciding whether it’s a bar, bistro or restaurant; but don’t let this ambiguity deter you, it’s really down to the fact that it fits nicely into all three of these categories.

Cocktails are prominently advertised, and equally well served. Most days they’re capped at £4 each, which is an undisputed bargain by London standards. Understandably, this seems to draw people in, but customers who pop-by for a pre-dinner drink before moving on (as admittedly I have on occasion) are missing a trick.

Restaurant Review: Ichi Sushi & Sashimi Bar

A stunning hotel, but what about the sushi bar? This review of Ichi (where's Scratchy?) at the Westminster Bridge Park Plaza Hotel was originally written for my South London Press column.

It was just over one year ago that Park Plaza Westminster Bridge opened its doors to become one of London’s biggest hotels. As well as providing a plush resting spot for tourists, just minutes from the popular sites of the London Eye, BFI, Southbank and Big Ben across the river, it bestowed Waterloo with several new dining destinations. The most hyped of these was Brasserie Joël, the latest opening from renowned French chef Joël Robuchon. There’s been much said about this opening, and many reviews. Most praise the restaurant but question the setting. Whilst I couldn’t comment since I haven’t been to Brasserie Joël, much the same sentiment applies to Ichi Sushi & Sashimi Bar.

Restaurant Review: Champor Champor

Here's a slice of unashamed Asian fusion in the form of a review of Champor Champor at London Bridge, written for my Sou th London Press column.

Dubbed as serving creative Malay-Asian cuisine, Champor Champor sounds very much like a fusion food restaurant that doesn’t want to called as such. This is understandable given the bad rap the dreaded f-word has had of late, but visiting with an open mind and off the back of having heard good things about the venture, I’m not perturbed by a bit of boundary crossing.

Perseverance is needed to get through the ever-so-slightly unnerving railway tunnels that connect Tooley Street with the dull backstreets behind Guy’s hospital where Champor Champor sits. The reward of the trek comes as the door to the restaurant opens and you are hit by an intoxicating blend of incense, bright red walls, candles, draped fabric and all manner of exotic wooden masks and sculptures. The room isn’t large, with just 38 covers, but feels even more intimate for the many alcoves and tucked away tables. The over-riding atmosphere is one of decadent eccentricity that merges the luxury of fine-dining with the fun and friendliness of the owners’ experimentation.