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Bar Trattoria Semplice W1
Just off the top end of Bond Street, a potentially very useful trattoria offshoot of the popular neighbouring Ristorante Semplice; the place seems to have suffered from a curious personality bypass, t
Tsunami W1
A small but smart Fitzrovia offshoot (the first) of the popular and well-established Clapham Japanese establishment of the same name; on our early-days lunch, the food tended to unremarkable.
At it
Bob Bob Ricard W1
Handily located on Soho’s former Circus (RIP) site, a beautifully-appointed ‘instant classic’ brasserie; its convoluted English menu, however, offers many overpriced dishes, and, on our first-da
Obikà WC2
Just off Trafalgar Square, a rare example, for London, of an establishment focussing on a single product – mozzarella; we don’t think that’s a route to success in this city, and – judging the
Soseki EC3
Near the Gherkin, a surprisingly comfortable and atmospheric Japanese restaurant, specialising in sushi; standards are uniformly high, and – if you choose the sushi menu – can even be enjoyed at r
Perry Street, NYC
<img src='http://images.hardens.com/images/rpics/PerrySt.jpg' width:400px; />
<div style='font-size:0.8em;'>Photo courtesy of Jean Georges Management</div>
<i>Oddly located overlooking a highway
Lena EC2
On a difficult Shoreditch site (once Savarone, RIP), an odd-but-interestingly-styled Italian restaurant, with cosy basement bar; our early-days visit found the – perhaps surprisingly conventional
Inamo W1
A gimmick-led Soho Japanese, where you: i) order online; and ii) get to control the pattern which is projected on to your personal tabletop; it’s amusing enough to appeal to most people’s inner ch
Corrigan’s W1
The welcoming flagship restaurant of the eponymous Irish chef, offering an unflashy but very comfortable Mayfair experience; on our early-days visit, the menu, specialising in game and seafood, was of
Corton, NYC
<img src='http://images.hardens.com/images/rpics/Corton.jpg' width:400px; />
<div style='font-size:0.8em;'>Photo courtesy of Michael Harlan Turkell</div>
<i>On an ‘historic’ Tribeca restaura
108 Marylebone Lane W1
Hidden away in a cute Marylebone back street, an airy brasserie – with notably comfortable bar – that tries to disown the parentage of the hotel to which it is connected; a relatively straightforw
Murano W1
An elegant and refined, if perhaps rather anonymous, addition to the Gordon Ramsay empire, on the former Mayfair site of Zen Central (RIP); Angela Hartnett’s Italian-influenced menu is the highlight
The Refinery SE1
Instantly popular, a very large warehouse-style bar/restaurant, in a newly-created pedestrian street, behind Tate Modern; our early days visit suggested that its popularity has nothing to do with its
Tierra Brindisa W1
From the famous Spanish food importers – a sibling to their Borough tapas bar, with an expensive Continental look; its tapas dishes show promise, but they’re neither cheap nor wholly consistent; (
Rosa’s E1
Down Brick Lane way, but don’t feel like curry? - head for this handy new Thai canteen.
With the global economy about to implode – we visited a couple of weeks before this review was published!
Avista W1
Handy for Mayfair business meetings, a relaunch of the somewhat anonymous hotel dining room formerly occupied by Brian Turner; its Italian cuisine, from an ex-Zafferano chef, has been notably improved
Lovage SE1
Rather obscurely located behind Shad Thames, a large and contemporary (but essentially conventional) Indian restaurant of a high standard; it offers very good all-round value, particularly at lunch.
Le Bouchon Breton E1
Very large, light and airy, a first-floor Gallic brasserie, within Spitalfields Market; the food is fine and the wine list impressive, but prices are quite high, and the formula doesn’t really ‘cl
Searcy’s EC2
Modestly revamped, this lake-view Barbican restaurant offers an interesting menu in a room still rather redolent of the ’70s; while the cooking is of good quality, the bravely English menu perhaps l
Kazan EC3
Offshoot of a the mega-popular Pimlico Ottoman, an east-City spot that makes an particularly suitable venue for a recession-busting lunch.
In Pimlico, the restaurant-land that time forgot, the ori
Just St James SW1
A former banking hall, recently re-relaunched as a bar and restaurant; in spite of cooking that’s good value – especially by St James’s standards – we find an overall lack of character that ma
Santo W10
A North Kensington Mexican, just north of the Westway, with good food and notably friendly service; it’s a useful spot – open all day at weekends – but the kitchen can sometimes be irritatingly
Arch One SE1
A boon for Waterloo travellers and South Bank culture-vultures – a modestly-priced bar restaurant, where an ex Gordon Ramsay group chef dishes up simple but satisfying fare at notably keen prices; t
Broome and Delancey SW11
A large and bright brassserie-style Battersea spot, offering a straightforward menu generally realised to a good standard; we enjoyed our visit, but wondered if it was on the pricey side for a venue c
The East Room EC2
Near Finsbury Square, a trendy club dining room that welcomes outsiders for lunch and dinner, and makes a congenial place for a friends’ rendezvous; the food has no great ambitions, but it is compet
St Pancras Grand NW1
The main dining room of the revamped St Pancras Station; our (very) early-days visit found an unusually glamorous room and welcoming service, as well as food – from a long and varied menu – of som
Bangalore Express SE1
From the same backers as Chelsea’s excellent <a href='http://www.hardens.com/az/restaurants/london/sw10/the-painted-heron.htm' target=“_blank”>The Painted Heron SW10</a>, an exemplary contempora
Buddha Bar WC2
Off the Embankment, near the Savoy, a vast new pan-Asian bar/restaurant, modelled on (and run by the same team as) the original Paris establishment of the same name; on our early-dog-days-of-August vi
Saf EC2
A stylish and buzzy Hoxton spot, with good cocktails and a buzzy atmosphere, but where the vegan fare is a decidedly acquired taste.
“How about a trip to Hoxton”, we said to our friends, bright
Mint Leaf Lounge EC2
A case-study in ‘how not to do a restaurant opening’ (and that was leaving aside the ultra-mean portions); the design of this City newcomer is great, but is the current environment going to be rec
Hélène Darroze (The Connaught Hotel) W1
A dull Gallic re-launch of the Mayfair dining room until recently tenanted by Angela Hartnett; the food on our early-days visit impressed only by its enormous prices.
More mature readers may recall
Manicomio EC2
Handily located near St Paul’s, a rare new-build restaurant (Norman Foster) offering surprising good Italian food on a number of levels.
We weren’t frankly expecting much from this new City Ita
Ambassade de L’Ile SW7
On the former South Kensington site of Lundum’s, an ambitious Gallic newcomer from a Lyonnais chef (Jean-Christophe Ansanay-Alex) of considerable repute; on our visit, food that was somewhat below e
Devonshire Terrace EC2
Near Liverpool Street, a large new bar/brasserie in the Devonshire Square (re-)development, whose only real distinguishing feature appears to be that it has a large number of tables, many of them semi
Vapiano W1
Handily close to Oxford Circus (on the former Mash, RIP, site), the first UK outpost of a German chain of Italian cafeterias, specialising in pizza, pasta and salads; at off-peak times, it would make
Brasserie St Jacques SW1 (Updated)
A classic Gallic brasserie style St James’s newcomer, on the former Fiore (RIP) site; despite some auspicious backing, it falls surprisingly flat across the board.
**Note (27 June): We hear that,
Bincho Yakitori W1
A disappointing second branch of the Japanese skewer chain, far inferior to the South Bank original.
When we <a href='http://www.hardens.com/az/restaurants/london/se1/bincho-yakitori-oxo-tower.htm'
L’Anima EC2
An elegantly ambitious newcomer, near the Barbican, which deserves to transcend the obvious description of ‘City Italian’; on the basis of our early-days visit, it appeared to be one of the best r
Pantechnicon Rooms SW1
From the team behind the Thomas Cubitt: another elegantly transformed Belgravia boozer, where the grand upstairs dining room offers an extensive English-slanted menu realised to a solid standard.
Quo Vadis W1
Inspired by the grand <i>hotel</i> grill restaurants of yore, a decidedly English re-launch of the long-established Soho restaurant; the straightforwardness of the formula arguably risks tipping into
Cha Cha Moon W1
Just off Carnaby Street, the latest venture from the capital’s leading oriental restaurateur, Alan Yau; it’s as smart and elegant a budget venue as you could ever wish for, and – at least in the
Aaya W1
From Gary Yau, a path-breaking restaurant, bringing high-quality Japanese fare (including top-quality sushi) and striking design values to Soho; it’s no bargain, but standards on our early-days visi
The Botanist SW1
An elegantly-conceived bar/brasserie, on a corner of a square which is a byword for fashionability; the latest product from the Martin (‘Gun’) brothers, it offers ‘high street’ fare at boutiqu
Byron W8
An airy, clean-lined and spacious Kensington parlour, serving top-class burgers at reasonable prices; service is friendly but sometimes inattentive.
A rave review elsewhere drew us to this new burg
Côte W1
In Soho, the second member of a new Gallic bistro chain (brought to you by many of the people who created Strada); it’s a useful enough place, in a chain sort of way, and friendly too, but our visit
The Clissold Arms N2
A laid-back but high quality gastropub that’s all the more welcome in the gastronomically deprived environs of Muswell Hill.
Typical Conversations We Have with our Customers: No 14.
<b>Reader<
Gazette SW12
A basic Balham bistro, aiming to offer a true Gallic experience at reasonable prices; on our visit, however, the food was very up-and-down, and service was shocking.
The first Gazette is hidden-awa
Hix Oyster & Chop House EC1
A plain Smithfield establishment on the former Rudland & Stubbs (RIP) site, bearing the name of a former Caprice group executive chef; our early-days sampling of the meat-heavy English menu showed sig
The Betjeman Arms WC1
By the tracks at the new St Pancras, a run-of-the-mill ‘English’ pub-cum-brasserie, from Geronimo Inns, with ideas above its station.
"Yeah it's good... well, it's all right... it's fine."
O
The Beehive W1
Italian bistro-meets-Marylebone boozer – Claudio Pulze’s latest addition to London’s dining scene (his 50th!) is an odd and hard-to-characterise venture, offering good food at good prices, and f
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