rglondon | Entries tagged with bars

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.

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.

katstevens

Evening RGLers!

This week's featured article is for Hilltribe, a Thai restaurant in Richmond. All the dishes our reviewer tried came with a lettuce leaf/hibiscus flower decoration, which certainly made the Chiangmai sausages look more colourful: like Esther Williams, in sausage form!

There's a new article for 161 Food And Drink, a wine bar just down the road from me in sunny Sydenham. They have a few interesting beers on offer too, plus a small plates menu, however if you're after substantial veggie options for dinner, in my experience you'd be better off at the Azeri chip shop three doors up the hill.

Staying in Sydenham, there's an update for the On The Hoof Bistro, a cafe run by the same people behind the coffee stalls in Sydenham and Forest Hill stations. I must go back there for another Sunday roast at some point.

Finally, down in Croydon there's an update for Don's Cafe, a traditional greasy spoon with proper formica tables. The sausages here may be slightly less glamorous than Esther Williams, but they get the job done.

mrs_leroy_brown

Sambal Kitchen & Diner, South Harrow, London HA2

Good evening friends and neighbours!

This week's featured article is Sambal Kitchen and Diner, a cozy Sri Lankan restaurant in South Harrow. The set meal sounds like a cracking bargain and our reviewer was particularly impressed by the dhal and sambal.

We've one new article - Megaro, a hotel restaurant and bar just across the road from King's Cross/St Pancras where it seems the breakfast brioche bun is a fork-and-knife affair.

Updates have been made to:

Blue Jay Cafe, a Carribbean cafe in South Norwood
Albert Tavern, a Greene King pub in South Norwood
Quaker Cafe, a cafe and bookshop directly opposite Euston Station in the Friends House
King’s Head, a pub on Essex Road in Islington
Tierra Peru, a Peruvian restaurant near Essex Road station in Islington

mrs_leroy_brown

Hello friends and welcome to another randomness roundup :)

This week’s featured article is the Greystoke, a Good Beer guide pub on the border of Ealing and West Acton. Unsurprisingly, it’s a CAMRA-friendly joint with plenty of real ales to choose from, and a menu of pub classics to help soak it all up.

Three new articles have been added. Urban Gui, an Indian cafe and tea shop in Thornton Heath - if, like me, the idea of a fried potato dumpling served in a bun with chutney makes your tummy rumble in anticipation of carby goodness, then check out the wada pau. Grape Variety (NOICE) is a wine cafe and off license in Chipstead with a small menu of charcuterie and sweets. Canvas Cafe in Shoreditch serves vegan food in a chilled, arty setting. I visited for my birthday a couple years back specifically to try the freakshake, which was exactly as delicious as it was sugar-laden. Recommend!

Updates have been made to the Owl and Pussycat pub in Shoreditch.

We’ve three reported closures - Cote D'Azur, a French and Mauritian fusion restaurant in South Croydon, Providores And Tapa Room on Marylebone Hight Street, another fusion restaurant, in this case New Zealand/Asian, and the Common Room, a pub near Ealing Common Station.

mrs_leroy_brown

New Asian Tandoori Centre (Roxy’s), Southall, London UB2

Wassup ya'll, or in the parlance of Bill McNeal - Gaziza, dlznoofuses!

This week's featured article is New Asian Tandoori Centre, a Punjabi restaurant in Southall. Our reviewer enjoyed a rich and flavourful breakfast and appreciated the good service. Check out the bhatura if you fancy a change from the greasy spoon style fried slice!

Three new pages went up: Sambal Kitchen and Diner, a Sri Lankan restaurant in South Harrow featuring set meals at an affordable price; Momo and Roti; a Nepalese restaurant in Houslow where you can get a generous portion of chatpate bursting with well balanced flavour; and Hilltribe, a Thai restaurant in Richmond which might not melt your mouth with Thai-hot spice but impressed overall.

Updates have been made to The Prince’s Head, a Fuller's pub in Richmond; KKs Bar and Grill, a cafe-bar in Woolwich; and The Royal Standard, a pub in Blackheath.

We've one reported closure, Great Queen Street, a modern British restaurant near Covent Garden.

ewan

Welcome to another week in the company of your randomness guides.

Chances are you may have come across the Leicester Square basement wine bar original, but now there's a former pub in Hampstead renamed as Cork and Bottle, NW3 2QX and it's our featured article. Expect a range of furniture, a larger range of wines (and even some beer), and also some food, though that's likely to be the weakest element of the ambience.

No new pages, but significant updates to Mestizo, a longstanding Mexican on Hampstead Road alongside Euston which doesn't just do quesadillas but also caters to vegans et al., and The Windsor Castle in Carshalton, where all the cars live. They used to prohibit the use of mobile phones, but I wonder if they still do...

One possible closure is The Coach and Horses in Soho, which may even be closed right now. One definite closure is The Wallington Arms in Wallington, another failed experiment by Antic.

In positive news, The Cartoon Museum has reopened on Wells Street in Fitzrovia. We haven't been yet, but expect... cartoons?

ewan

Apologies once again for my tardiness in providing you with much-needed London-based updates.

Our featured article this week is Casa Morita, SW9 8LB, a Mexican taqueria in the market at Brixton, which also sells some Mexican groceries. Expect excellent tortillas, and friendly service.

The new article is The Cork and Bottle in Hampstead, which used to be the White Horse pub, and is now a restaurant/wine bar, though they still have ale. The food gets our approval, and may be worth checking out if you're around the area.

Sticking with NW3, there are significant updates to The Enterprise down the hill (possibly not worth your time) and The Duke of Hamilton, returned from its brief stint as a jazz bar.

Finally, The Devereux pub just off the Strand has reopened.

katstevens

Evening RGL crew!

This week's featured article is for the Douglas Fir micropub in Anerley (halfway up the hill, towards Crystal Palace). Expect all your favourite Gipsy Hill Brewing Company beers, and a place to plug your laptop in.

We've been to Orpington! This has resulted in a new page for snazzy Indian restaurant Masala Dabbas (the thali sounds good) and an update for the Orpington 'Spoons, the Harvest Moon, which looks exactly like I'd expect a Zone 6 Spoons to look like. A couple of stops up the line in Bromley we've a new page for gelato emporium Unico, which also does savoury pastries. The Wine Gallery in Purley has tapas plates to accompany your glass of rosé, while you admire the art - very sophisticated.

Keep going south from Purley and you'll reach Coulsdon, home of the Singapore Orchid, an 'old school' Singaporean/Chinese restaurant with lots of vegetarian/mock-meat options. Even further south is the Rambler's Rest in Chipstead, a country pub with open fireplaces, and the Kingswood Arms (in Kingswood), which has had an important fishfinger sandwich update. Before you start wondering if we should rename this blog the Randomness Guide to Surrey, the subject of our final new article is located right by Streatham Hill station: Perfect Blend self-describes its widely ranging menu: breakfasts, small plates, burgers, smoothies, cocktails, coffee, pancakes and an omelette. I defy you not to hum the Neighbours theme tune while reading that list ("breaaaaak-fasts....").

Finally, some closures to report. The Change of Horses in Farnborough is "currently closed for a short undeterminable period of time" (scratching-chin-emoji), the Waterman's Arms in Richmond is closed for a refurb, and Lounge 101 in Ruislip has met its pseudo-Orwellian fate at last, consigned to oblivion by Frank Skinner's comically-oversized lever.

ewan

Hello everyone and welcome to a midweek update for the RGL site.

The featured article this week is Santo Remedio, SE1 2TU, a Mexican restaurant in Bermondsey. It has a bar-like ambience upstairs, while downstairs expect a tulip on the table to provide a bit of colour. Expect enormous tacos and plenty of food on the set lunch menu.

There are four new articles! Four! These are:
* Levan, a cafe/bar in Peckham with annoying loud music (it's Peckham) and slightly underwhelming (European, not Levantine) food.
* Blackbird Bakery, also in Peckham, but in a railway arch which is exciting for a non-brewery enterprise. Anyway, it's busy and buzzy and the music is a lot quieter.
* Plumstead Pantry, and I shouldn't need to tell you where this is, you educated lot. I was there too and it has a nice cafe vibe with a vegan breakfast (heavy on the roasted greens like broccoli and sugarsnap peas).
* Kailash Momo in Woolwich, which looks like a dowdy takeaway from outside, but inside is a wonderful cozy Tibetan/Nepalese restaurant with tasty dumplings (the momo of the name) amongst other things.

Significant updates to our entries for The Old Mill and The Star pubs in Plumstead too, only one of which is still a proper old-school boozer, the other having been given a makeover as a pizza-serving upscale gaff.

Our two reported permanent closures are The Croydon Steak House and The Lukin (now a Guy Ritchie-owned pub called the Lore of the Land, so expect geezers I guess).

katstevens

Evening readers!

This Sunday Morning saw a new featured article on RGL for Nico, a cafe in South Norwood. Run Run Run there to sample some poached eggs while Waiting For your Man! Reports of a plant-based burger joint opening next door called All Tomatoes Patties are as yet unconfirmed, but further research reveals that the cafe is named after its resident dog, so all my Velvet Underground puns are in vain.

Luckily our other update is for Project Orange, a rock bar right outside Clapham Junction station, so all is not lost, musical-pun-wise. They serve a wide range of keg beer and cans/bottles, but only bar snacks are available - if I was in charge I'd serve a vegan menu of Polenta Sandman, Ane-Jollof Death, Mock-Duck Feelgood, Breakin' The Slaw and Cucumber Of The Beast. Those definitely don't sound disgusting at all!

mrs_leroy_brown

Happy Sunday y'all!

This week's featured article is Kikirocs in South Woodford - by day, a child-friendly cafe, by night, a cocktail-friendly bar. Why not stop by for a Kake-recommended bagel with a side of coleslaw?

I recently found out that MEATLiquor has vegan options, so we truly are taking over. However not at the MEATliquor W1G location, as it has been permanently closed, though other branches remain open.

That's all til next time - have a great week :)

ewan

Hello and welcome to another week of London randomness.

Our featured article this week is a micropub and crafty beer shop in Ruislip, The Hop and Vine, HA4 7AN. Expect friendly service, wood-panelled walls, ales, cheeseboards and, if you're lucky, maybe a dog or two.

Reported temporary closures for the Cartoon Museum (yes there is one and it was in Bloomsbury, but intends to move to Fitzrovia), and Cote d'Azur, a French/Mauritian fusion restaurant in Croydon, which has closed rather more mysteriously (so it may or may not return).

Reported permanent closures are Maze, a fancy Gordon Ramsay-owned restaurant in Mayfair (I'm sure you went all the time, so we're sorry to let you down); The Waterloo Bar and Kitchen which was a bar and kitchen in, er, Waterloo; and finally Obia, an Italian restaurant in "Croydon's restaurant quarter" (South End).

ewan

Hello and welcome back again, once again belatedly (on my part)!

Arroz caldo (Filipino congee) at Sunrise, Romford, London RM1

This week's featured article is Sunrise Jacket Potato and Oriental Food, RM1 3AB, a Filipino cafe in a Romford shopping mall. It's casual and utilitarian but clean, and the food is good, though Kake advises to avoid the chicken dishes.

After the Good Beer Guide pub blowout of the last few weeks, there are only two new articles: Jishal Goan in Wembley (again pretty basic, but with more underwhelming food), and Everyman Crystal Palace, a new outpost of the upmarket cinema chain.

There are significant updates to The Case Is Altered pub in Harrow Weald which has a large beer garden, and The Crown and Sceptre in West Kensington, a small many-pillared space.

One reported permanent closure is Cafe Adagio in Addiscombe, and a possible closure is The Station House in Chingford, but no one is sure if it's temporary or permanent.

mrs_leroy_brown

Handpumps at the Red Lion, Bromley, London BR1

Beer fans celebrate! All the new Good Beer Guide 2019 entries have been uploaded. There are 306 in total, so why not visit a local watering hole, or wander to a new 'hood to quench your thirst?

New articles include Lounge 101, an Indian restaurant and bar in Ruislip with some interesting ideas about service. If you're round Ruislip way and fancy a beer, there's Hop and Vine, a micropub which as expected is small, but happy to make room for canine friends. Finally, the West Norwood Library and Picturehouse in, you guessed it, West Norwood, opened its doors, though we've not visited yet.

Updates have been made to Somali Town Restaurant in Streatham. It serves up hefty portions of food, though with slightly carbonized anjero on this visit.

In closure news, Halcyon Books in Greenwich has permanently shut. Masaledar, an Indian restaurant twixt the Tootings Bec and Broadway is also shut, although we're uncertain if this is temporary or permanent.

ewan

Hello welcome back to another week of Randomness. This week's featured article is Domali, SE19 3AH, a narrow cafe/bar in Upper Norwood's Crystal Palace neighbourhood, where you can find mostly vegetarian food as well as some draught beers. Expect to find our local correspondent in there for weekend brunches.

The two new articles are... Roti Joupa in sunny Clapham, a Trinidadian place, primarily a takeaway though there are a few stools from where you can view beach scenes and palm tree decals, though I suspect the food will be the main way you commune with its Trinidadian origins. Sounds like tasty good value to me.

The other new article is Craft Beer Co. in what they like to call Covent Garden. It's been recently done up, and Kake has managed to get a photo of it with no people in, which is not how you'll generally see the place (as it's quite popular).

Four reported permanent closures are for: The Sandrock in Shirley; The Castle in Holborn; the Nordic Bakery in Covent Garden; and Bread Ahead in Covent Garden.

ewan

Hello all! It's the busiest week of the year at my work, so thinking about places to eat and drink is always a pleasurable divertissement.

Mandalay Golden Myanmar, Kilburn, London NW6

This week's featured article is the extravagantly-named Mandalay Golden Myanmar, NW6 2DB, where you can enjoy all your favourite Burmese food... or is it Myanmarese? I understand there's quite a bit of politics behind the naming of the country, and who would have guessed 10-20 years ago how we'd be thinking about Aung San Suu Kyi nowadays, eh? Ah well, there's still the food, and I'm certainly intrigued to try tea leaf salad, despite some of Kake's adjectives.

Two new entries are for The Hercules, which is the bar in the old Pillars of Hercules pub building, and Naughty Piglets, a wine bar ant tapas-y restaurant in Brixton with a twee name.

Loads of updates pages, mostly for pubs...
* Kulu Kulu in Soho, a Soho sushi place;
* The Duke of Argyll in Soho;
* The Newman Arms in Fitzrovia;
* The King William IV in Leyton;
* Browns of Brockley, a cafe in Brockley;
* The Nightingale on the Green in Wanstead;
* The North Star in Leytonstone;
* Domali, a cafe/bar in Crystal Palace;
* The Crown and Sceptre in Streatham;
* The Duke of Wellington in Belgravia;
* The Dog and Fox in Wimbledon "Village" if you will;
* The Aeronaut in Acton;
* The Roebuck in Hampstead;
* The Sir Richard Steele in Belsize Park;
* The Ivy House in lovely Nunhead;
* The Rye in Peckham;
* The Herne Tavern in East Dulwich; and
* Babur Indian restaurant in Forest Hill.

Finally, there are two reported permanent closures, being The French House, a French cafe in Crystal Palace (not the Soho pub!), and Mr Lawrence in Brockley, a sad loss to the area, which has been on the decline for some time but had been a fixture there for many decades.

mrs_leroy_brown

Friends, HELLO!

Our new featured article is Cafe Oto in Dalston. By day it's a cafe serving Persian-inspired food, and by night it's an avant garde music venue - very Dalston, including the inflated prices.

Updates have been made to Sarashwathy Bhavan (or possibly Sarashwathy Bavans) in Wembley. The food's all vegetarian and good portions though it seems the quality's a bit patchy for certain dishes.

In other totally vegetarian food updates, Communitea in South Norwood is a cafe and community space with a small menu but rave reviews. I'll be checking out the "good sandwich" very soon!

ewan

Welcome back to another week of RGL!

Ah here is a Croydon pub, and it's your featured article for this week: The Cricketers, CR0 6SG. I've been there, though before it went through its troubled smoked meat phase. I mean, we all do, don't we? Luckily, they have a sandwich good enough that Kake would travel all the way there to eat it. You may demur and say, well, Kake doesn't live all that far from it, but I think it's still enough of a recommendation. Why not read the entry to find out about this wonderful sandwich? (If you like fish.)

We have an update to the Cafe Oto entry. The Persian-inspired food is perhaps a little overpriced, but I'm visiting later this year to see some kind of avant-garde cacophony no doubt, so perhaps shall get to judge it myself.

A reported temporary closure for The Compton Arms near Highbury, but I was told a few weeks ago that it was fully open once again, so perhaps just tread carefully. Perhaps it is, perhaps it's not.

Many other pubs, though, have definitely closed, and closed more or less permanently. There's The Fox in Dalston, there's South London Pacific in Kennington, there's The Fountain in New Malden, and there's the Adnam's pub The Bridge House on Tower Bridge. Times do change, but I can't imagine some of these locations will be closed forever.

One final note about the Earl Haig in sunny Hounslow, not closed but instead renamed to Keg & Cask. Well I for one will be unlikely to visit, but mostly because I rarely make it quite so far out of the centre.

mrs_leroy_brown

Hello & happy spring-at-last, RGL peeps! :)

This week's featured article is Melisi, an Italian restaurant, bar and cafe very near Ruislip Station. It's a bright and welcoming place, even to our normally Italian-food avoidant reviewer, providing a decent sanger as well as the usual pizzas and pastas.

The India Club article has been updated - a restuarant with a rich and interesting history, though unfortunately those two adjectives don't appear to apply to the food.