Randomness Guide to London

Welcome back, with another bumper crop of updates, although this one is not directly related to the Good Beer Guide.



Our featured article is Tip Top Cafe, BR8 8ES in Swanley. It's not quite a greasy spoon, instead it's a full-fledged British cafe, but not posh. Can't fault it if you ever find yourself in, or indeed find, Swanley.

Right then, plenty of new articles. We have Flavours of Paani Puri in Kingsbury, a casual Indian cafe with a good line in Pani Puri, masquerading as a shop. Then, not far away in Colindale, is Bang Bang Oriental Foodhall, the successor to the late lamented Oriental City, with loads of options, variable quality. A bit further out in Wembley is Krishna, a small and okay Indian vegetarian restaurant. And also in the north-west is Delisserie in Stanmore, a New York-style deli (which is to say, more of a cafe I guess) with a bunch of NW London outlets.

Moving out east is Hasi, an Albanian restaurant in Barking. You may not find a menu, but you'll have options, and while they may seem basic, they turn out to be worth eating. Swinging down across the river is Kitchen Counter, a vegan restaurant in Herne Hill run by "Deliciously Ella"; we only visited for breakfast, but it may be worth exploring. Over to West Norwood for Frangipani, a cafe with a cozy bright style and including vegan options.

Continuing west we get to Orange Pekoe, a tea shop in Barnes, so expect them to brew your tea properly at least, and they're happy to talk you through it. Still west, but north of the river in Ealing is Kiraku, a Japanese restaurant in the izakaya style, which gets busy and serves excellent (if pricy) food. Bringing us back towards the centre is The Bull and Last, a well-known (and also pricy) gastropub in Dartmouth Park, but the food is top notch even if it's only vanishingly pub-like. And on Highbury/Canonbury borders is Prawn on the Lawn, a silly name for a very likeable fish restaurant (and fishmonger).

I'll just list the significant updates:
* The Robin Hood, a Young's pub in Sutton;
* YBR Cake, a Thornton Heath cake shop;
* Finch's, another Young's pub, this one in Moorgate;
* The Volunteer, a pub in Bexleyheath;
* The Belvedere Hotel, in Belvedere;
* The Eel Pie pub in Twickenham;
* The Fox pub, not far away also in Twickenham; and
* The Norbiton pub in Kingston's Norbiton.

Three reported closures are: The Haandi Lounge in Edgware; L'Autre Pied in Marylebone; and Tigris in Waddon.

Dear all, welcome back to another sunny week of RGL updates. There's not too many today.



This week's featured article is the unwieldy-sounding Oaka at The Mansion House, SE11 4RS, a sort-of-pub sort-of-bar sort-of-Asian-fusion-restaurant near Kennington station. It's run by Oakham Ales and it's in the former Mansion House pub building, hence the name. The beers are good quality, and the food is competent, so there's that.

One new article is Agege Bread, a Nigerian bakery and takeaway in Deptford. It's good value, but if your dish has tripe, it may not be the finest cuts.

We've also got an update on long-standing vegetarian cafe Food for Thought in Covent Garden, which remains as good (and good value) as ever.

Sorry for no update last week, as I was on holiday. Last week's featured article was The Parcel Yard, N1C 4AH, Fuller's excellent new flagship pub in King's Cross station.

This week's featured article is Venetia's Coffee Shop, E5 0LH, a coffee shop on Chatsworth Road in Lower Clapton.

Additions are: The Havelock Tavern, a gastropub in West Kensington; and Hardy's Brasserie in Marylebone.

Reported closures are: The New Chandos, a pub in Colindale; So Asia, an Asian buffet in Acton; and Muna's, an Eritrean/Sudanese restaurant in Harringay.