INSIDERS Restaurant
THE GEORGE
Fitzrovia isn’t short of a few boozers but there’s not many like The George. From looks alone you can tell that The George is a cut above the average pub. The 18th century building is Grade-II listed so lots of period details, including wood panelling, plasterwork, gilded mirrors and enamel paintings have been kept, with a recent refurbishment adding a nice bit of polish. In the downstairs bar you can get a great pint of Guinness as well as Irish whiskeys and Irish coffees, and upstairs, there’s a menu designed by a two Michelin star chef. The George, part of the JKS stable, has culinary director James Knappett (of Kitchen Table) overseeing the food and publican Dom Jacobs running the show. Pub classics are very much the name of the game but with lots of little details pushing things up a gear. There’s bacon jam and jalapeño mascarpone dip for some very good, heavily seasoned buttermilk fried chicken; a tangy Worcestershire sauce ketchup to accompany molten Welsh rarebit croquettes; and red curry seasoning and sriracha & kewpie mayo dip to liven up a pot of pork scratchings. Don’t miss the fish & chips or the sticky toffee pudding either!
CYCENE
Cycene is the new-ish restaurant at Blue Mountain School on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch – it took over the space that was previously Mãos. Cycene is headed up by chef Theo Clench, who was previously at Portland and most recently at Akoko. The space has remained very much the same but Theo has bought an entirely new menu into the renamed restaurant (‘Cycene’ means ‘kitchen’ in Old English, btw), and it’s clearly been working out very well already, as Cycene picked up a Michelin star earlier this year. The Cycene experience begins at the downstairs bar, where you’ll have your first course with an aperitif. For the next course, you’re taken upstairs to the kitchen, and then you’re into the proper dining room, a tiny, charming little place with wood-panelled walls and Persian rugs. The tasting menu now begins in earnest with some exceptional snacks and other highlights like confit scallop with tomato & ginger sauce; aged turbot with fish bone caramel; Hereford beef with sea buckthorn; and chocolate mousse on top of wafer-thin biscuit, topped with crème crue. A special mention must also go to the ‘half and half’ wine / soft drinks pairing – in between the wine servings, you get to try some really interesting soft drinks and kombuchas that have all been made in-house too.
KIBAKO
Kibako is a new concept centred around omakase-style boxes from the Hot Stone team. As well as an a la carte offering including snacks, sashimi, carpaccio, maki rolls, grilled unagi don and A5 Kagoshina wagyu, there are three different omakase box set menus to choose from – regular, premium and A5 wagyu & black cod. Each box features between six and twelve sushi and sashimi dishes, plus aged soy sauce and wasabi grated fresh at the table, and they’re all beautifully presented on different ceramics; a main dish like marinated salmon, miso aubergine or black cod & A5 wagyu, served with Japanese pickles, miso soup and rice; and a seasonal dessert.
AULIS
Aulis, Simon Rogan’s London chef’s table restaurant, has reopened with more seats (12) as well as a lounge for pre- and post-dinner drinks. Head Chef Charlie Tayer is still looking after the stoves alongside wingman Oli Marlow, Simon’s Exec Chef for the group. The tasting menu, based around British ingredients, uses produce from Simon’s own Lake District farm and tries to be as sustainable as possible, replacing citrus for vinegars and the like. Happily it’s as good as, if not better, than before with dishes like pig and eel donut; crispy chicken skin with Cornish crab; cheese and truffle pudding; crab bone custard with rosehip vinegar and marinated trout roe; peas from Simon’s farm served with beef tendons in broth; and a delicious spin on a cheese course, frozen Tunworth cheese with truffle honey and hazelnut. For a tasting menu experience in London that’s well worth the money (£175 a head) Aulis might just be the most failsafe option there is. Brilliant cooking, interesting wines and just enough story telling to keep you interested but not send you to sleep. All you need to do now is score yourself a seat.
BOSSA
Alberto Landgraf, the Brazilian chef behind the two Michelin-starred Oteque in Rio de Janeiro, has returned to London (he began his cooking career in London 20 years ago, starting out with no experience in the kitchens of Tom Aikens and Gordon Ramsay) with Bossa. Unlike Oteuqe which is a tasting menu set-up, Bossa is designed to be a bit more casual with a short, sharp menu of starters, mains, and desserts. Highlights include the scallops in tucupi sauce with leeks & buckwheat; a deluxe riff on a common Brazilian street food, pastel, stuffed with fresh crab and served with a fresh acai sauce; the Brazilian classic, moqueca, a seafood stew with prawns, squid, tomato and coconut milk; roast rump of lamb cooked perfectly medium rare on top of soft grilled aubergine; and traditional Brazilian dessert, quindim, a rich egg and coconut custard tart. There’s a great wine list here too, featuring a lot of natural wines from all around the world. Modern Brazilian is not something we’ve seen too much of here in London, so Bossa, with its fresh punchy flavours and killer wine list, is a very welcome addition to the city’s restaurant scene.
RAMBUTAN
The long awaited debut restaurant of Sri Lankan cookbook author Cynthia Shanmugalingam has opened in Borough Market – and it’s already proving a big hit. The site features a big open kitchen with a very impressive grill so be sure to grab a seat at the counter top and watch the show. The menu is all killer, no filler with a couple of snacks, selection of short eats, meat, fish and veg and just one dessert, a mango soft serve sorbet – which you’ll be lucky to squeeze in after working your way through the rest. Highlights include the chunky mutton rolls filled with curried lamb; the very delicious red pineapple curry (what might be one of the best veggie dishes on offer in London right now); tempered potatoes; and the black pork dry curry with some fresh roti. Don’t miss the snacks either, especially when washed down with banana negronis or calamansi iced tea.
CHUNGDAM
Korean BBQ restaurant Chungdam, named after the Cheongdam-dong district in Seoul and residing on the corner of Greek Street and Romilly Street in London, is the latest venture from the team behind Shibuya and Hongdae Pocha. It’s light, bright, and with green marble tables and gold cutlery, it feels elegant. There are premium quality ingredients on the menu too, including chateaubriand filet mignon, A3 wagyu, short ribs and Iberico pork ribs amongst the options for the BBQ. The menu also includes classics like japchae, seafood pancake, bibimbap, and kimchi, as well as the lesser-seen Pyeonbaek steam boxes. Made from Hinoki wood, the three-tiered box includes one filled with beef brisket, ribeye and veggies, another with mixed seafood and veggies, and broth at the bottom used to steam the food, which then gets turned into hotpot with the addition of seasoning and noodles. There’s also a private karaoke room downstairs for you to belt out some K-pop.
MAENE
Sister to one of our favourite seasonal spots just down the road, Townsend, Maene is located on Fashion Street in Spitalfields in an old clothing warehouse. Maene is a seasonal modern British restaurant, with a menu created by Head Chef Amber Francis who might only be 27 but already has quite the CV, having worked at places like Brawn and Zebra Riding Club. The food and drink tries to be as local and sustainable as possible, without being holier than thou. Cocktails are made from discarded ingredients (each one has an alcoholic and non-alcoholic version), and there’s a ton of interesting British wines too. Of the dishes we tried we’d recommend The Snapery sourdough with whipped brown butter; the gnocco fritto with Iron Cap squash and London stracciatella; the Nutbourne tomato tart; the Cornish sole with wild garlic; and the heritage potatoes with smoked yoghurt and salsa verde.
THE PARAKEET
What was The Oxford Tavern on Kentish Town Road, has now been transformed into The Parakeet, a 60-cover dining room where a locally sourced, seasonally changing menu from ex-Brat chef Ben Allen and sous-chef Ed Jennings is served. The Victorian pub is bursting with character and is beautifully put together, with ornate antique furnishings set against a backdrop of wood panelling, dark green leather booths, white exposed brickwork, and an open kitchen. There’s lots to love on the blackboard menus, with dishes like spider crab croquettes with wild garlic aioli; lamb chop with confit Jerusalem artichoke and gremolata; charred asparagus served amongst almonds, nettles and confit lemon; ox cheek on pomme puree with crispy polenta; and Kossoff kouign-amann with brown butter custard. The Parakeet have something special here, it’s the kind of place we love; an unpretentious approach to modern seasonal food resulting an elevated menu of exciting dishes, housed in a familiar setting with a sophisticated edge. In short, a posh boozer with banging food.
ZAPOTE
What was formerly home to St Leonards, and before that Eyre Brothers, has been reinvented once again and turned into modern Mexican restaurant Zapote. It’s the debut restaurant from Mexican chef Yahir Gonzalez and hospitality veteran Tony Geary. Yahir is really putting his own spin on familiar Mexican dishes, including making tortillas in-house using native corn varieties. And what tortillas they are – truly some of the best we’ve ever had. Happily they make quite a few appearances on the menu, including folded into a delicate little quesadilla filled with smoky wild mushrooms; crisped up into a tostada topped with actually spicy chilli-flecked crab and ruby red slices of fresh yellowfin tuna; and served on the side of a superb dry-aged beef ribeye with salsa roja and habanero aioli to make tacos. Don’t miss the smoked aubergine with tamarind and chilli, the al pastor skewers with a vibrant citrusy guac and pork skin crispies; and the chorizo, potato and burnt cheese. Zapote delivers sophisticated, refined food without veering into super high-end territory, and it’s a great addition to the neighbourhood.
PAPI
After a series of deliveries, pop-ups and residencies, Matthew Scott has finally taken Hot 4 U permanent and he’s got Charlie Carr of Wingnut Wines in on the action too. With Papi, open on a London Fields backstreet, combines the creative cooking (who can forget the garum pom bears and whisky bone marrow luge?) we’ve come to know and love from Hot 4 U, with Wingnut Wines’ selection of under-represented natural wines. Split across two floors, the intimate downstairs cocktail bar nods more heavily to the Hot 4 U days, with Ribena Negronis, Strawberry Nesquik Daiquiris, pig’s trotter nuggets with mustard smiley faces on offer. Upstairs in the main 28-cover dining room, Matthew’s signature mix of sustainable, zero-waste and fun cookery is still on show, just in a slightly more refined way. And what a menu – smoked rabbit kielbasa, cheeseburger tartare, garlic bread with cheese, ABC tomatoes, get it all!
HUMO
HUMO is the debut restaurant by Colombian-born chef Miller Prada, the protégé of chef Endo Kazutoshi. ‘Humo’ means smoke in Spanish and it’s not hard to see where the name comes from once you step inside the smart new space on St George Street. The room is dominated by a four metre-long open kitchen that glows with the embers of wood burning beneath the grills. There’s no specific cuisine at HUMO; instead, the menu is made up of dishes inspired by Prada’s Colombian background, his training at Endo at the Rotunda, the heritage of his Italian head chef, and influenced by the precision of Japanese cooking techniques. The wood grill is, of course, a big influence on the style and flavours too and it is in fact the only cooking method on offer here, with the wood chosen to enhance the flavours of different dishes. Don’t miss the 14-day aged Ike-Jime Hampshire trout topped with 3-month aged caviar grilled in kombu kelp, the Highland wagyu with Fiorentino tomato and yamadashi kelp, and the Amalfi lemon tart, topped with Oak “burnt” Italian meringue and fresh yuzu.
KURO EATERY
Notting Hill’s Kuro only opened in 2021 but it quickly gained a rep as one of the best coffee shops in town, and the team have wasted no time expanding, opening Kuro Eatery across the street and Kuro Bakery round the corner. The 30-cover restaurant has the same minimalist vibe as the coffee shop, with a wide stone counter, lots of light wood, and dried flowers set against the back wall. Andrianos Poulis (ex-Rovi, Cornerstone and Mazi), is heading up the kitchen, showcasing both his Greek heritage and love of fish on the Mediterranean-leaning menu, which features dishes like cod ham & extra virgin olive oil, brill with overnight cabbage & beurre blanc, and spaghettoni with clams & bottarga. The puds, like tarte tatin with goat’s cheese ice cream, are also excellent here, as you’d expect from a mini-empire that includes a bakery.
FOUR CORNERS AT RONDO LA CAVE
After originally landing at the subterranean, low-intervention wine bar as a pop-up, Four Corners is now a permanent fixture of Rondo La Cave. That means you can pair your glass of orange wine with a slice of Vodka Meatball pizza in perpetuity. Four Corners specialises in Detroit-style rectangular pizza, with lots of options al taglio. Highlights from the menu include the Red Top (cheddar, mozzarella, Sicilian oregano, pecorino and tomato, Beef and Onions (smoked entrecote, mozzarella, roasted red onions, white onions, sumac, paprika and pomegranate molasses and Pistachio Pesto & Mortadella (pistachio pesto, mozzarella, mortadella, pistachio and parmesan).
MARESCO
He already runs Bar Esteban in Crouch End and Escocesa in Stoke Newington, and now Stephen Lironi has opened his third spot, Maresco in Soho. It’s a tapas bar, so there’s mainly counter seating (plus a handful of tables for bigger groups downstairs), with one section running down the length of the open kitchen, and the other looking out the large windows onto the street. Named after the Spanish words for sea (‘mar’) and Scotland (‘esco’, short for ‘Escocia’), the restaurant was inspired by Lironi’s childhood visits to Spain and a Guardian article that detailed how the best Scottish seafood was exported to Spain. Stephen, Head Chef Pablo Rodriguez and General Manager Naroa Ortega (who are also partners in the other two sites), are showcasing that Scottish seafood through a Spanish lens, like halibut with black rice and txistorra del mar (fish sausage made with mackerel and monkfish). There are plenty of meat and veg tapas classics too and an all-Spanish wine list to get stuck into.
JACUZZI
It was only a matter of time before the Big Mamma crew headed west and naturally their first restaurant over that side of town is their most luxurious one yet. Like Gloria, Circolo Popolare and Ave Mario, Jacuzzi in Kensington is massively maximalist and OTT. The four-floor, 4000 sq ft, 170-cover space features a gigantic lemon tree, a Sicilian mezzanine with a retractable roof, a green boudoir, and glitter ball disco toilets in the basement. Of course the food is just as extra as the decor with the menu featuring dishes like Culatello di Zibello with gnocchi fritti; burrata with fresh seasonal truffle; pizzette topped with Italian caviar; lobster risotto with half lobster, clams, red gurnard & cuttlefish; truffle pasta for two with fresh black truffle, truffle cream & parmigiano foam, served in a 4kg wheel of pecorino; and chocolate fondue for two with Valrhona dark chocolate & homemade churros.
CHET'S
Following on from a successful four-month residency at Rondo la Cave in the basement of The Hoxton in Holborn, ‘LA Thai’ spot Chet’s has moved into another Hoxton (in Shepherd’s Bush), this time permanently. Created in collaboration with the creator of LA’s NIGHT+MARKET, Kris Yenbamroong, Chet’s blends Americana with Thai flavours. Kris’ unique brand has been inspired by his childhood spent working in his family restaurant, Talesai, which was the first mainstream Thai restaurant in LA, as well as his background in the arts. At Chet’s, this manifests itself as dishes like bodega sandwich with sai uah sausage, egg and cheese; pineapple rice; tuna melt with ruffles and pickles; Chet’s smashburger with American cheese, pickle, and thousand island sauce; firecracker lobster noodles; and bloomed tingling 5 spice onion. The cocktails, like the Holy Chet! (a holy basil and vermouth swizzle), and the Thai-ami Vice (a sharing cocktail served in Chet’s full moon bucket alongside a bottle of champagne), are just as punchy.
PASERO
After a series of sell-out supper clubs, Genevieve Sparrow took Pasero from pop-up to permanent by opening it as a restaurant and wine bar in Tottenham. Pasero, named after the Esperanto word for Genevieve’s surname, runs week-long as a cafe and deli by day before flipping into a restaurant in the evenings from Wednesday – Saturday. Pip MacDonald (ex-J. Sheekey, Scott’s, Cafe Murano and Levan) heads up the kitchen, cooking up a broadly European, regularly changing menu, with dishes like smoked cod’s roe choux bites, Cornish sole with caper beurre noisette, and apple & almond tart with creme fraiche. And as for drinks, expect a short list of low-intervention wines from small suppliers that you can take home with you.