Randomness Guide to London

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.

Happy new year from all at RGL! I hope your 2019s have all been good so far.

Kicking off the featured articles for the year we have a friendly micropub in Winchmore Hill: the Little Green Dragon has plenty of real ale, real cider and real pickled eggs. It comes well recommended by our reviewer, so worth a visit if you're up that end of Green Lanes.

There's a new article for Nick's Cafe bang in the middle of Bromley Mall, a good lunch option that does Turkish breakfasts, and cheese that 'actually tasted of something'.

I'm sad to hear that Kris Wines in Kentish Town has shut for good - it was a great little spot for acquiring unusual beers. The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green is also closing its premises, as the business is moving to online-only. That worked out well for Mr J. Bezos in the 90s, so fingers crossed for them.

Good morning, RGL dudes!

This week's featured article is Aces and Eights, NW5 2HP, a drinking establishment in Tufnell Park (where Bar Lorca used to be) which will serve you a bunch of bourbons, a cavalcade of cocktails and a procession of pizzas. It's a friendly place with an American rock-n-roll diner theme so expect QUIFFS (personally I am very partial to quiffs).

Brand spanking new articles: Wenlock and Essex, a bar near the bottom of Essex road with a decent beer selection; La Bodeguita Deli, a Colombian cafe at the top of Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre; Caffe Venezia, a patriotically-decorated Italian cafe over in Hounslow; Bromley Cafe, a greasy spoon in -- wait for it -- Bromley; and the branches of AMT Coffee and Marks & Spencer in St Thomas' Hospital.

Red marker pen at the ready! You can permanently cross off the Gramaphone bar in Spitalfields (shortly becoming a Mexican restaurant) and the Clarendon pub in Newington Green (once the 'Nobody Inn', now called 'The Dissenting Assembly').

Further renaming confusion: tiny German sandwich shop Zeitgeist Lunch Box is now called Zeitgeist Coffee Bar. As long as they still do sauerkraut that's fine by us.

Have YOU been to a newly-opened pub or restaurant recently? Were there pictures of Italy on the walls? Was there sauerkraut? Let us know in the comments and we'll go and check it out!