Category: James

Leon ***

Leon is a new rapidly growing fast food chain. It specialises in dishes that try to balance healthiness with taste … expect lots of quinoa, brown rice, peas and “superfoods” hidden within. I’m a growing fan. I first sampled their food in a City branch, but didn’t realise quite...

La Scala **

A friend of mine who reads (and sometimes contributes) to this blog took me for dinner. He noted I had been to a lot of Italian restaurants recently, so we could try a new one – La Scala. Bocca di Lupo was my first choice, but was full, even...

Kurobuta ****

Kurobuta in Chelsea serves delicious Japanese tapas-style dishes. It is my favourite of the recent Scott Hallsworth ventures – he is a former Nobu head chef who knows how to create a strong pop-up restaurant. We particularly enjoyed the Tuna Sashimi Pizza, Artichoke chopsticks, and Pork belly buns. I much...

Making the perfect tagine

In my negative review of Comptoir Libanais, I lamented the struggle to find a good Tagine dish in London. Tired of this failure, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I’m a fan of Felicity Cloake’s guides in The Guardian, “How to cook the perfect …”. Whilst I don’t...

Bob Bob Ricard ****

I really liked Bob Bob Ricard. The environment is very pleasant with lots of booths, efficient uniformed staff, art deco surrounds, and the infamous “push for champagne” buttons. But what about the food? It was best described to me by one diner as “rich people comfort food”. Otherwise, it’s...

Comptoir Libanais **

I love tagines. But it is hard to find a good one in London. I’ve been on a bit of a quest. I went to Comptoir Libanais because they claim to serve a tagine. They also always a queue, and whilst I’m impatient and hate queues, I do place...

Gaby’s – ***

Gaby’s is a very basic deli. But their falafel are superb, particularly when they’re fresh. Accompanied by a salt beef sandwich and some hummus, you’re in for a lovely budget meal. Rating: 3/5 Address: 30 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0DE Phone:020 7836 4233...

Polpo ***

I’ve got the Polpo cook book, but this was my first trip to one of their restaurants. I went to the newly opened branch on Duke of York Square in Chelsea. They serve pleasant  tapas?style dishes, but they just didn’t quite hit the spot for some reason … I...

Taste of London

I went to Taste of London this year. It can be quite pricey as you have to pay for entry, but in return you get to sample small dishes from across many of London’s best restaurants. I most enjoyed meeting Theo Randall, who was distributing chunks of Parmesan from...