oliverthring's Favourites
The Harwood Arms
27 Walham Grove, Fulham, London SW6 1QR6th December, 2009.
Probably the best gastropub in London
Oh, it's a majestic restaurant - I live round the corner and visit at least once a week. Venison Scotch egg is the best bar snack in the city - £3 or so for a soft-boiled egg wrapped in spicy venison and sausagemeat, under a crisp gold shell. Meat is superbly sourced by Mike Robinson (mostly from Berkshire). Pricing is staggeringly reasonable. A much lauded place, deservedly so.
Bocca di Lupo
12 Archer Street, London, W1D 7BB6th December, 2009.
Overrated Italian
This place opened to frantic acclaim around spring 2009, and although it serves well-executed, well-considered, not-unfairly-priced and very fashionable small plates of pan-Italian cooking, it's hardly the best restaurant in London. Prices have crept up, too, since the critics first came. Still, it's worth a visit if you're in the area, although getting a table can still be tricky.
The Cinnamon Club
Old Westminster Library6th December, 2009.
Very good high-end Indian
Set lunch is one of the best deals going - £22 for three courses and a cinnamon bellini. It's dextrous, cleverly spiced, thoughtful Indian food, and a good outpost near the Houses of Parliament.
Chelsea Brasserie
12 Sloane Square6th December, 2009.
Hopeless place
God, it was a grim meal. Toughest steak I've ever been served, revolting salad of chewy duck and spattered mayonnaise, and then a breakfast that made me throw up. It survives because it's subsidised by a hotel and has an excellent site. Don't go near it.
Trojka Restaurant
101 Regents Park Road, London, NW1 8UR6th December, 2009.
Pleasant Russian
Unapologetic and largely unbastardised food from Poland and Russia. Herrings, potato salad, coulibiak (fish pie) – all good, sunless, filling, honest grub. Fairly priced considering the fancy location: it's on one of the most expensive streets in London.
Hereford Road
3 Hereford Road6th December, 2009.
Pared-down British restaurant
Solid cooking and unpretentious surroundings, but on my visit a lot of the cooking was slapdash and ill-thought-out. Slow-cooked ox cheeks were good, though. The menu changes daily, which is always nice.
Terroirs
5 William IV Street, London, WC2N 4DW6th December, 2009.
Excellent wine bar with restaurant
Terroirs was one of the best openings in London in 2009 - unpretentious, solid European cooking from a chef trained by the Galvin brothers. The wine list attached (designed by Caves du Pyrène) is excellent and places strong emphasis on biodynamic producers. Bone marrow with truffle oil is a highlight.
Byron
75 Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4SS6th December, 2009.
Arguably London's best burger chain
Extremely well-sourced meat - correctly seasoned and cooked medium rare as standard; crunchy salad; hot chips; French's mustard and Heinz ketchup. Conceivably the best burger chain in London.
The Wine Theatre
202 - 206 Union Street6th December, 2009.
Abysmal
A hopeless place, an inept concept, and pisspoor cooking. Almost everything we ate was borderline inedible: grim squid (pre-frozen, with horrible sliced olives), a sardine salad resembling fishy muesli, and utterly disgusting prawn and tuna pasta (tuna like cat food). The place was empty, and had the atmosphere of a morgue.
The Salisbury
21, Sherbrooke Rd, London, SW6 7HX6th December, 2009.
Disappointing Fulham gastropub
A 2009 opening, The Salisbury has yet to make much of a mark. Cooking skill is variable, and ingredients are indifferently sourced. The Harwood Arms round the corner, by contrast, is one of the best pub restaurants in the country, and is certainly where I'd recommend.
Le Vacherin
76-77 South Parade, Chiswick, London W4 5LG6th December, 2009.
Ideal French bistro
Le Vacherin is one of Malcolm John's three restaurants. It's an outstanding local restaurant serving considered bistro food with panache, confidence and honesty. There's a brilliant Sunday lunch deal of three courses for just £19.50.
Eastside Inn
38-42 St John Street, London, EC1M 4AY6th December, 2009.
Highly worked, creative cooking
Eastside Inn is Bjorn van der Horst's new Clerkenwell restaurant. It's split into a bistro and a high-end restaurant, and the schizophrenic approach seems to work. Dinner in the fine dining wing is complex and inventive, including dishes like his signature foie gras with espresso syrup and amaretto foam. The tasting menu is fairly priced at around £10 a course.