Randomness Guide to London

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM RGL (and this week's featured article)

2020-03-18T12:29:58Z

Posted by: ewan

Hello RGL community. I got back from a three-week holiday Down Under on Saturday (it was lovely!) and I've been a bit jet-lagged since, and a bit busy at work too, hence the delay to this post, a very special episode of the Randomness Guide to London.

You'll be aware of the news. Therefore the first thing to mention is that after this post RGL will take a break for a while. Most of us are now working from home, and avoiding going out as much as possible (some entirely). The latest government and Public Health England advice has been to avoid group socialising and non-essential travel, so it's likely that many of the pubs, bars, restaurants and cinemas will be closed at this point, and given the way things have progressed on the continent, it feels like only a matter of time before that is enforced more strictly. We cannot in all good faith, as of Wednesday 18 March, advise you to go out to any of the places on this list either; if they are still open, you will have to take that decision yourself, but find ways to support them however you can.

The list below was compiled on Sunday, and even in the few days since then, the public health advice has taken a much harder line.

With all that in mind, the featured article is Restaurante Santafereno, SW9 8PR, a popular restaurant in the Brixton Market supporting the Colombian community. Perhaps make it a place to visit when we are able to move freely again.

There's an update to Sala Piquin, also in Brixton Market, formerly Casa Morita. It's moving from just Mexican to regional fusion, with friendly staff, so why not help them out with a visit when it's safe again to do so.

Two reported temporary closures (that aren't related to coronavirus) are: Mirch Masala in Norbury (for hygiene reasons); and Joy King Lau in Covent Garden.

Well, that's our last update for a while. We don't know how long things will go, but it's likely to be for at least the length of the Summer, which is sad. Some places are still offering takeaways or deliveries so please do your best to support small businesses wherever you can in any way that is safe to both you and them, and spare a thought for those businesses who were gearing up to open or rebrand or refurbish in March and beyond. More than that, spare a thought for the many people working in the hospitality and tourist industries who will find life much harder now. Life will get hard for a bit, before things look up.

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New Featured Area - South Norwood

2020-03-08T18:27:44Z

Posted by: rowleybirkinqc

This week we're featuring not an article, but an area: South Norwood. This area of South London is a mix of residential and retail, with many cafés, pubs and parks. (I recognised the clock tower near Norwood Junction immediately from when I lived in roughly this area in the 1960s.)

The Bull And Last, NW5 1QS, a gastropub by Hampstead Heath, on Highgate Road, has just reopened after a long refurbishment. If someone would care to visit and tell us what it's like now, that would be great.

And there's a new article: Parseh, SE5 8RS, an Iranian place on Denmark Hill with a variety of interesting food for eating in (though it's quite small inside) or for taking away.

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New Featured Article - Cronx, CR0 1LD

2020-03-01T21:23:09Z

Posted by: katstevens

I hope you all enjoyed your extra day yesterday! Personally I think we should give the Hermetic Leap Week Calendar a go instead. That'd switch things up a little bit:

"A leap week calendar with 71 leap weeks per 400 years... the years are grouped into hexades of six or five years. The third year of each hexade is its only year with a leap week. The length of hexade is determined by the last two digits of its first year's number. A hexade is short (has five years) if and only if the last two digits of the product of 71 and the last two digits of the first year of the hexade is less than 26."

Sounds straightforward enough. And a whole extra week! I can't see any problems with that at all.

An intrepid band of RGL contributors and friends spent our run-of-the-mill Gregorian bissextile yesterday paying a visit to this week's featured article, The Cronx brewery bar. Located in the Croydon Boxpark, it's fairly small on the inside but you can take your pint out into the vast arena of shipping containers if you are feeling a little hemmed in. All the usual Cronx beers are there along with some guests, as well as some non-alcoholic bottled beers in the fridge.

Feel free to comment with your own ideas of what you could do with an extra week! I'd probably spend it reading more about alternative calendar systems.

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New Featured Article - Viet Hoa, E2 8DP

2020-02-23T16:17:27Z

Posted by: mrs_leroy_brown

What ho, RGL collective! Short and sweet this week :)

This week's new featured article is Viet Hoa, one of the many Vietnamese restaurants on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch. Here, you can expect an interesting menu of well cooked food for a reasonable price.

The page for Nico, a cafe in South Norwood has been updated.

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Featured Article — Harry Morgan, St John's Wood, NW8

2020-02-17T17:12:04Z

Posted by: ewan

Hello and welcome back to another random week.

This week our feature article is Harry Morgan, NW8 7NH, a restaurant and deli in St John's Wood. Expect Jewish (albeit non-kosher) comfort food in a NYC style. Expect good size portions and attentive staff.

A temporary closure reported for The Constitution pub, for refurbishment apparently, so fingers crossed that goes well.

A more permanent closure for The Blue-Eyed Maid pub in Borough. Who knows if it will return...?

Finally we've got reports of a "possible" closure of Casa Morita, SW9 8LB in Brixton's trendy market. It might be back but the website and socials are all a bit vague.

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New Featured Article - Hopper And Bean, N10 3DU

2020-02-10T15:36:07Z

Posted by: rowleybirkinqc

This week's featured article is Hopper And Bean, N10 3DU, a cheerful yellow cafe in Muswell Hill that is easy to access and work in.

A new article: Langley Quarter, BR3 3DE, a cafe in Eden Park where the food side is a bit hit-and-miss, and there are accessibility issues, but it's a good place to work on your laptop.

Updates to Tooting Daily Fresh Naan, SW17 7ER (now shawarma too), Poached, BR3 1AZ (new visits,photos of menus), and Category: Central Line (no longer direct trains to Chigwell et al.).

Square, W1J 6PU, a French restaurant in Bruton Street, Mayfair, has closed after the parent company went into admin, though we're hoping someone will take it on (it has a Michelin star after all). At Adam's Cafe, CR0 2TD, a greasy spoon in London Road, Croydon, the shutters have been down for weeks, but we don't know why.

Now, tap rooms. The Orbit Beers Taproom, SE17 3HD was, as its name implied, the tap room for the Orbit Beers brewery which operates from railway arches in Walworth. Or rather, the tap room attached to their brewery has closed. But they tweeted that a nearby cafe would be "hosting" their tap room. What does this mean though? Beer lines snaking through from the brewery to taps on the cafe counter? Or a few cans on a shelf? Whatever, could one call the cafe a "proxy taproom". On the subject of taprooms, do please opinionate on my blog post about what tap rooms are and aren't, and whether there we should have a dedicated category for them.

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New category "Tap Rooms"? But what even is a tap room?

2020-02-10T15:05:30Z

Posted by: rowleybirkinqc

Some places in RGL are said to be tap rooms, so I'm wondering whether we should have a dedicated "Tap Rooms" category. If we do, how should we define a tap room? Personal gut feeling? A scoring system based on how it meets given criteria? And what criteria?

My feeling is that a tap room is it's typically operated by and on the same premises as a brewery its purpose is as an outlet for its products, and the primary purpose of the premises is to brew beer.

An example of what I think is definitely a tap room: Southey Brewing's tap room off High Street Penge. It's a small bar in the same building as the actual brewery, even with an interconnecting door through which the actual brewers flit hither and thither. The bar is essentially functional, with rudimentary facilities, serving as an outlet for their own products.

And an example of something I think is definitely not a tap room: the Euston Tap. Although it has "tap" in its name, that's only because the Euston Tap is part of a chain which puts "tap" into their pub names.

How do other people define a tap room? There's this old blog post which suggests it's a room with a large number of beer taps, but I do think this is simply a misunderstanding, as does a commenter on that post; I wonder though whether the meaning of "tap room" has shifted over time, and perhaps it did once mean the room where the taps were (see "more example sentences" here on a site which seems to use a very dated corpus). I do like this definition from a brewery outside Chicago: "a place to taste and sample product from a microbrewery [typically] that produces its own beer in-house". Wikipedia has "A brewery tap is the nearest outlet for a brewery's beers. It is usually a room or bar in the brewery itself, although the name may be applied to the nearest pub. The term is not applied to a brewpub which brews and sells its beer on the same premises."

If there's a scoring system, criteria could include:
- Location (how near it is to the brewery, whether it's on the same premises, and whether the primary purpose of the premises is to brew beer)
- Products sold (how much of the drinks sold are produced by the brewery) (but would be perverse to include Sam Smiths)
- Operation (whether operated directly by the brewery, perhaps with crossover of brewery/bar staff) (unsure)
- Not a brew-pub such as the Florence in Herne Hill

...but one could get carried away with an ever more complicated scoring system, and just go by gut feeling after all.

What do you think? (I'm not confident I can construct a poll that could usefully discriminate between answers, so am being open-ended here!)

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New Featured Article - Devereux, WC2R_3JJ

2020-02-02T21:24:47Z

Posted by: katstevens

Our first featured article of February is the Devereux pub, just off the Strand. It's had a recent change of ownership so those looking for the usual Taylor Walker menu will be met instead by a variety of toasties. According to the website, they also sell Curly Wurlys!

There's a new article for Harry Morgan, a restaurant and deli in St John's Wood. Expect salmon bagels, salt beef sandwiches and, if it takes your fancy, a bowl of cold borscht.

It's the dawning of a classic sitcom plot in South Norwood as cafe Nico moves premises over the road. Will the old carpet shop be able to squeeze itself into Nico's previous home with hilarious results? We'll let you know if we see them sending passive-aggressive paper airplane notes across the street to each other on our next visit.

Finally, some pub news to report:
- the Fuller's Brewery Tap in Brentford has reopened after a refurb;
- the Royal Exchange in Paddington is temporarily closed after some sad news;
- Walthamstow Antic pub Mirth, Marvel and Maud is undergoing redevelopment;
- the landlords of the Ealing Park Tavern have decided not to renew their lease;
- the Change of Horses in Farnborough has had a Change of Management; the effect on the weekly Orpington Folk Club meetings is as yet unclear;
- the Load of Hay near Brunel University in Uxbridge has also recently had a refurb. Whether this will stop locals referring to it by a slightly different name remains to be seen.

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New Featured Article - Out Of The Brew, SE14 6AF

2020-01-26T13:36:47Z

Posted by: mrs_leroy_brown

Welcome to another week of curated randomness :)

This week's featured article is Out Of The Brew, a veggie/vegan coffee shop twixt New Cross and New Cross Gate stations. Although the menu choices aren't vast, it seems a great place to work with a decent wifi connection and a possible resident dog.

Updates have been made to the Devereaux pub just off the Strand, and London Fields Brewery Tap Room.

We've two reported closures - Swan Books, an indie bookshop in Upminster and Lamberts, a British restaurant in Balham.

In reopening news, the Waterman's Arms, a Young's pub in Richmond, is refurbished and under new management, though we've yet to visit.

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Featured Article — On the Bab, Shoreditch, EC1

2020-01-15T14:36:28Z

Posted by: ewan

Hello all, rather belatedly again because I'm a bit rusty at this. Also this will have to keep us going for two weeks, so special DOUBLE EDITION.

This week, our featured article is On the Bab, EC1V 9LA, a Korean street food vendor albeit in an actual building. bob was pretty happy with the bibimbap and expect it to be busy at lunchtimes.

One new article is Brown and Green on the Triangle, an excessively-named cafe catering to all kinds of diets in the Crystal Palace metropolitan hub. Expect kids.

We have an update to Frank's Cafe, still a local caff serving breakfasts near Limehouse. Handy if you find yourself in Limehouse.

Our two reported closures are for Klein's, a haberdashers off Oxford Street, and Yak and Yeti, a Nepalese restaurant in Eltham.

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New Featured Article - Belle Epoque, N16 9PR

2020-01-05T22:29:20Z

Posted by: rowleybirkinqc

Happy new year wherever you are. You are still keeping your new year's resolutions, dryanuary or tryanuary or whatever, aren't you?

This week's featured article is the Belle Epoque, a French-themed café on Newington Green for all your croissant and croque needs.

An update: the Green Dragon, CR0 1NA in High Street, Croydon have tweaked their opening hours: staying open an hour later to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, but opening later on Sundays (now 12 noon).

Several closures have been reported. Sanxia, SE8 4PQ, a Sichuan restaurant on Deptford Broadway, closed in October and is now another Sichuan restaurant. In Norbury, Nomad Cuisine, SW16 4AN, a halal restaurant with Middle Eastern art, closed sometime last year, and the premises now hosts Heady's Diner, a café. And Draft House Old Street, EC1V 9NR has closed (were they using the American spelling of "draught", or was the bar just a draft, in preparation for BrewDog which is due to open up there?).

So, out with the old. And in with the new! A new article for a completely new bar: the Wolfpack, NW6 6RA, the tap room for the Wolfpack brewery. It's near Queens Park and is a pleasant place if you're in the area. Another new article: On The Bab, EC1V 9LA on Old Street does tasty Korean street food and good tea. It's always busy at lunchtime.

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New Featured Article - Golden Ark, CR2 8LB

2019-12-16T22:47:26Z

Posted by: katstevens

Our final blog post of the year takes us to Selsdon for our featured article: all aboard the Golden Ark micropub! There's enough beers to have them two by two (maybe halves?), with a jar in front of each to show its goldenness or lack thereof.

There are two new cafe additions to see you through to 2020: Hopper and Bean in Muswell Hill and Out of the Brew in New Cross. Both are laptop friendly but you'll have to click through to find out which one might have a resident dog.

That's it for 2019 - thanks for reading and see you in January!

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New Featured Article - Urban Guj, CR7 7PA

2019-12-09T14:27:07Z

Posted by: mrs_leroy_brown

Good afternoon all :) A short one this week, as we've no new articles, updates or reported closures.

This week's featured article is Urban Guj, an Indian cafe and teashop in Thornton Heath. I've visited and can highly recommend the divine carb-in-carb Wada Pau experience, and the masala chips were an utter delight.

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Featured Article — Rusty Bucket, Eltham, SE9

2019-12-02T11:02:36Z

Posted by: ewan

Welcome back, and let's get straight into it with this week's featured article. It's The Rusty Bucket, SE9 5PR, a pub in Eltham. A small pub, mind, but a proper pub. It has real ales, it has bar snacks, and it's attractively kept.

Our one new article is Meydan Sofrasi, a Canning Town Turkish restaurant. You'll probably be wondering if a restaurant is worth a journey to Canning Town for, but perhaps let's just say that if you find yourself in E16, maybe this will be worth a visit.

There's an update to Husk, a coffee shop in Limehouse with a low-key religious connection; feels more like a community space.

Finally, news of the reopening of The Moon and Stars in Romford, a Wetherspoons pub now with added roof terrace.

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New Featured Article - Momo And Roti, TW3 1NP

2019-11-24T22:10:21Z

Posted by: rowleybirkinqc

This week's featured article is Momo And Roti, TW3 1NP, a Nepalese restaurant ("Taste of Himalayas") in Hounslow with cheerful décor.

The Dec/Jan issue of the London Drinker is now out, and available from a pub near* you. It reports several closures, some changes, and a reopening:

The Lord Nelson, E14 3BD, a pub in the Isle of Dogs, has reopened under new management, having closed earlier in the year. We don't know what might have changed, so caveat emptor.

The closure is reported of the Hoxton Pony, EC2A 3AH, a DJ bar that wasn't in Hoxton, and maybe didn't even have a pony. It had been brash and new when last visited in 2008, but its operator has gone into administration, with the lease up for sale.

The Hack And Hop, EC4Y 8BH, a pub off Fleet Street, has a new operator: the "Portobello Pub Co.", which as far as I can see has next to no online presence. I hope they're still doing Five Points' Railway Porter.

The Market Porter, SE1 9AA, a pub by Borough Market that has been in the Good Beer Guide continuously for over a decade, has halved its number of real ales.

The Star & Garter, part of which had been converted to Les Delices De Tresor, SE14 6TJ, an Ivorian restaurant, has closed. The restaurant itself -- a small one-woman business with especially flavourful stews -- is presumably still functioning.

The Cambria, SE5 9AR, a gastropub near Loughborough Junction, has closed and its future is uncertain.

TGI Friday's, W1D 7AG in Coventry Street off Piccadilly Circus has closed. On a visit (though in 2007), the food was substandard, so maybe this place will not be missed.

*YMMV

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New Featured Article - Warisan Cafe, W2 1TU

2019-11-18T23:04:31Z

Posted by: katstevens

Evening RGL readers! This week's featured article is for Warisan Cafe in Paddington, where you can enjoy some pretty good Malaysian cuisine in a basement setting.

New to RGL is Belle Epoque on Newington Green, a French cafe with some excellent bus-spotting opportunities. It's right next door to the Unitarian Church, which has a massive sign on it saying 'ERECTED A.D. 1708, ENLARGED A.D. 1860'. One of the many delights visible from the top deck of the 476.

There are updates to Affogato in Norbury (find out what an 'eggs hedderman' involves!) and the Manor Arms in Streatham - the latter has had a refurb and the crab shack is no more. I'm not sure where one would go if one wanted a pint of whelks nowadays?

I feel I should apologise for inflicting a soap-based earworm on unsuspecting readers last time I mentioned the wide ranging menu at Perfect Blend in Streatham. Rest assured I will not make the same mistake again for our final update this week, where our reviewer found the music more peaceful that day, it didn't get in the way.

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New Featured Article - Grape Variety, CR5 3TE

2019-11-11T11:55:45Z

Posted by: mrs_leroy_brown

Good morning / nearly afternoon!

This week's featured article is Grape Variety, a wine cafe (as opposed to wine bar?) and off-license in Chipstead. If you fear not the wrath of grapes, no need to w(h)ine - stop by to to sample their fine wares. They also offer charcuterie and cheese boards, as well as sweet cakey treats.

We've one reported permanent closure this week - Thai Silk, a Thai restaurant underneath the railway arches behind Southwark tube station.

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Featured Article — Golden Fleece, Manor Park, E12

2019-11-05T12:57:53Z

Posted by: ewan

Welcome back to another week of Randomness.

This week's featured article is Golden Fleece, E12 5DB. It's a pub in Manor Park, which shouldn't be confused with Manor House or Mansion House, something I've sometimes done. The postcode will be a clue, and (depending on where you are right now) it's just on the near side of Ilford, where the postcodes are still London-y compass point ones. If you think that makes it sound like the inner city, then fear not for this very much has 'country pub' vibes. Bring some kids. Take a walk in Wanstead Flats first maybe?

The new article is for The Running Horse, a new pub (yes brand new), built as part of a big new housing development in Aldgate. It's filled with office workers during the week, and it's handy for Curzon Aldgate cinema. Look out for "raw lager" whatever tf that is (I think, unfiltered lager?).

Finally, after a short refurb, The Gunmakers in Marylebone has reopened.

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New Featured Article - Lao Cafe, WC2N 4HG

2019-10-27T20:39:38Z

Posted by: rowleybirkinqc

This week's featured article is the Lao Cafe, WC2N 4HG, a small Laotian restaurant in Covent Garden. Inside it has an industrial look, but there is a huge mural of a smiling person and the food is good.

Two cafes have been reported closed, both permanently: Mimosa, SE24 9HU, a cafe/deli close to the Half Moon in Herne Hill, closed in mid-2019, and Familia Cafe, E7 9BB, a tiny, simple corner cafe by Forest Gate Station, closed earlier this month.

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New Featured Article - Quality Foods, UB1 1SQ

2019-10-20T20:26:34Z

Posted by: katstevens

Evening all! It's a new week on the RGL blog, and another featured article for you - Quality Foods in Southall. It's not on Quality Street of course, as we all know that's in Merstham. To be quite frank with you, I doubt Quality Foods could even fit on Quality Street, as the former is an enormous supermarket filled with delicious things! Merstham will have to look elsewhere for somewhere to put its dedicated ghee aisle.

We also have an update for 2T's Cafe in New Cross, which straddles the fine line between cafe and greasy spoon, by the means of surprise side salads.

Finally, one of my lunchtime regulars, Boca in Aldgate, has closed. Where will I get my Christmas empanadas now?

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New Featured Article - On The Hoof Bistro, SE26 5EX

2019-10-14T12:06:33Z

Posted by: mrs_leroy_brown

Good morning folks!

This week's new featured article is On the Hoof Bistro, a cafe/restaurant in Sydenham. Reviewers were impressed by the quality and size of the Sunday lunch on offer, and it appears to be a good place to work as well.

And that's all she wrote, as we've no new articles, updates or reported closures.

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Featured Article — Cotton Mill, Swanley, BR8

2019-10-08T10:35:19Z

Posted by: ewan

Hello all!

Like me, you may be scratching your head trying to figure out where exactly Swanley is, though the postcode hints at a Bromley-adjacent location. Well, it's where this week's featured article can be found, The Cotton Mill, BR8 8ET, a micropub! Aha, micropubs, a very Kentish phenomenon, and this one comes recommended but no guarantees their sausage rolls won't have run out. NB Swanley is way out near the M25, so why not use the many map links on the RGL page to learn all about it.

We have one new article, More Flour to the People, and yes you did read that name right, it's a pun! Because! It's a bakery! Do you see? Anyway, you can toast your own bread, even.

Finally, the reported permanent closure of Japan Centre Ceramics and Sushi. Most of the business is now a basement food hall on Panton Street nearby.

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Featured Article - Chennai Dosa, CR0 2RL

2019-09-29T19:07:29Z

Posted by: rowleybirkinqc

Hello people, new blogger here, so quick intro: I'm rowleybirkinqc - as surmised previously I stumbled into editing RGL years ago (probably because I liked the principle of wikis). Right, onwards...

This week's featured article is Chennai Dosa, CR0 2RL, a casual South Indian restaurant in West Croydon where you eat with your fingers. The food is usually good, and even though sometimes poor in parts our reviewers just keep coming back.

One new article: Warisan Cafe, W2 1TU, a Malaysian cafe near Paddington Station. It's in a half-basement, but is friendly and welcoming, with freshly made, flavourful food.

Several pubs (and one restaurant) reported as closed (though some temporarily) -- one closed for health and safety!

The Moon And Stars, RM1 1NX, a 'spoons in Romford, is being refurbished (reopening November). The Royal George, SE8 4QD (a Sam Smith's pub, New Cross/Deptford borders) has closed down; it is now up for sale, though we reckon as a going concern. In the West End, the Kings Arms, W1W 7QL, a pleasant pub near Broadcasting House, is being refurbished and is due to reopen next year.

Lewisham Council has closed the Catford Constitutional Club, SE6 4SP because "parts of the building are dangerous". I note that Antic were allowed to continue operating it for another week, so I have visions of "just put this hard hat on if you're going to the loo, and best not to tread on too many floorboards". The council state the pub will reopen, perhaps next year, after the necessary works, but we're not holding out much hope.

The Brewery Tap, TW8 8BD looks like it has closed for good: the area round this Brentford pub is being redeveloped, and Fuller's say it is no longer feasible to keep it open.

The Gaylord, W1W 7SJ, an Indian restaurant in Fitzrovia since 1966, has closed down. It is being replaced by a new restaurant from a New Delhi chain.

Some selected updates:
* "Laptop Friendly" category's criteria slightly broadened
* In Battersea, former cocktail bar Zocalo, SW11 3RA is presently a tapas place "Vinos y Licores"
* Epsom Station has crept into Zone 9

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New Featured Article - Good Beer Guide 2020

2019-09-23T21:38:12Z

Posted by: katstevens

Evening folks! It's that time of year again when we investigate pubs in the new edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, leading to a whole barrelful of new pub entries on RGL:

The Cotton Mill, Swanley
The Dartford Jug, Dartford
The Black Dog Beer House, Brentford
The Black Lion, Surbiton
The Tap Tavern, Richmond
The Nonsuch Inn, North Cheam (Wetherspoons)
The Earl Beatty, Motspur Park
The Jolly Gardeners, Earlsfield
The Sir Julian Huxley, Selsdon
The Real Ale Way, Hayes (the Kent Hayes, not the Middlesex Hayes)
The Portland Arms, South Norwood
Suttons Radio, Lewisham
The Morden Arms, Greenwich
The River Ale House, Greenwich
The Rusty Bucket, Eltham
The Libertine, Borough
Draft House Camden Road, Camden
St John's Tavern, Archway
The Golden Fleece, Manor Park
The Coach And Horses, Leyton
The Miller's Well, East Ham (Wetherspoons)
Craft Beer Co., Aldgate

In non-GBG news, there's a new page for the Daily Petit Dejeuner cafe (good bus watching opportunities) and an update for Communitea, both in South Norwood. The Hornbeam Cafe in Walthamstow has had an update, as has the White Hart in Hampton Wick. Finally, the Kings Arms in East Molesey has reopened after a refurb - we've been along to try their breakfast jigsaw.

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Featured Article — Vasanta Bhavan, East Ham, E6

2019-09-19T13:54:32Z

Posted by: ewan

People, sorry, I've been slammed at work so completely failed to update you on the goings and comings at the venerable Randomness Guide to London.

Our featured article this week is Vasanta Bhavan, E6 2JA, a veggie Indian cafe in East Ham. I accidentally typed "Eat Ham" there, but I've corrected it, and those of you who want to do that would be best advised not to visit. Actually, probably do visit because they'll do you a nice dosa and idli.

Our two new pages are Las Fuentes, a tapas place in Selsdon, which I surely don't have to tell you is near Croydon. Surprisingly good, I'm reading. Surprisingly good. Oh and there's also The Golden Ark nearby, which is a micropub, with normal human size tables for sitting at, and (as ever) decent ale.

There are also some significant updates to Chennai Dosa, a South Indian in Croydon where they would advise you to eat the food with your fingers as nature intended. I went there not so long ago and it was excellent, v nice. There's The Edward Rayne in Raynes Park, a Wetherspoons, so you know what to expect. And Urban Guj in Thornton Heath, an Indian cafe and tea shop, which sounds like a place to go when next you find yourself in sunny CR7.

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