rglondon | Entries tagged with cr7

Santok Maa's, Thornton Heath, London CR7

Good evening ya'll!

This week's featured article is Santok Maa's, a totally vegetarian and vegan-friendly Indian restaurant in Thornton Heath. It serves a good selection of savoury food as well as sweets, and has been visited frequently by Kake. I'd like to sample the house speciality of Nairobi bhajia (battered potato slices) which is allegedly too large a portion for one, which feels like a challenge!

We've got a heap of new pub pages:

Great North Wood in West Norwood
Sambrook's Brewery Tap Room in Battersea
Country House in Earlsfield
Gidea Park Micropub in Gidea Park
Craft Beer Co in Limehouse
Owl and the Pussycat in West Ealing
Dodo Micropub in Hanwell

But wait! There's more! Updates have been made to even more pub pages:

Bull in Streatham
Woodman in Battersea
Fish in a Tie in Battersea

In non-pub news, updates have been made to Sunrise Jacket Potato and Oriental Food, a Filipino cafe in Romford, beating Fish in a Tie for this week's best business name, which truly is saying something.

Reported closures this week are Bull and Last on the edge of Hampstead Heath, although it's only temporary. Permanent closures have been reported for central Croydon's Roti Masters as part of the redevelopment of St George's Walk, and Beer Rebellion in Crystal Palace.

katstevens

Who among us can truly said to be good? What is goodness? At this week's featured cafe, Communitea in South Norwood, the 'Good Sandwich' may hold the answers. Is morality a measurable scale upon which we are judged, with those passing a certain tally of good deeds ending up in a restaurant pun utopia while those falling short are destined to dine forever at mundanely named establishments? There's vegan cake, so perhaps a Brioche With Death won't be required to find out.

For those neither waxing nor waning, the Half Moon in Herne Hill has an update following a breakfast time visit, as does Santok Maa's in Thornton Heath, a vegetarian Indian restaurant with excellent bhel puri. Finally, Umana Yana (also in Herne Hill) has a new page, in which you can read about Guyanese rotis and scotch bonnet sauce.

That's it until next week - in the meantime here are some roti restaurants that haven't made it to Herne Hill yet: A Roti Nowhere, The Roti Mandalay, Crop Roti-ation, Why I Atta, Paratha The Rapper, Paratha Fashion, Peppermint Chapati, Don't Leaven Me This Way.

ewan

Hello again!

This week's featured article is Deli Felice, SE16 7JQ in Rotherhithe, a small space showcasing a frequently changing roster of local artists. Sounds pretty good and you may even find yourself not objecting to dried oregano.

We have updates! Three updates! There's Pearl Liang, a dim sum place near Paddington (still good!). There's Bridge Hotel in Greenford (still there). And there's The Orange Tree in Richmond (still probably best to avoid when there's rugby on).

Four reported closures though: Good Taste, a very good deli in CryPal, sadly missed; Kensington Roof Gardens in, er, Kensington; Rio's Britannia Cafe in Norbury; and Bunga Raya in Thornton Heath.

katstevens

Evening all! We're back after a week off, with another featured article: Hasi is an Albanian restaurant and bar in Barking, with no discernible menu. Sounds like the food was tasty though, so certainly worth checking out if you're in Barking and/or want to brush up on your Albanian current affairs.

Two new pages this week! The Pan Tao Garden stall in Tooting Broadway Market serves boxes of extremely good value (if not particularly adventurous) Chinese food, while the Oasis Cafe in Thornton Heath has both British and West Indian menus (including a West Indian breakfast) - no Gallagher brothers sighted on our visit however.

Sydenham's best vegan cafe, the Honey Hive, has had an update following a visit (alas featuring the most terrible vegetable of them all, in 'rice' form), as have the Fox On The Hill Wetherspoons in Denmark Hill and Brasserie Vacherin in Croydon.

The Japan Centre has moved (yet again) just round the corner to Panton Street - its previous home in Shaftesbury Avenue now specialises in ceramics and books. Meanwhile further down Panton Street, the Odeon has closed, and is due to reopen at some point as a rather more 'luxurious' cinema. London Bridge's cinema/bar combo Roxy Bar and Screen has a less glamorous future: it is turning into a KFC. Finally, Croydon's fine dining scene is mourning the closure of Albert's Table (it's currently unknown whether or not it will become a fried chicken emporium, but if so they are welcome to take "Albumen EinstHEN's" as the best name I could come up with in 5 minutes).

ewan

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.

ewan

Welcome back! The featured article this week is Karachi Cuisine, SW16 4XD in exotic zone 3 Norbury (that's in South London, so don't be confused by the name). It's a Pakistani restaurant with excellent reviews from our team of tasters (a "very good" is not dispensed to all and sundry on RGL).

We have three new articles: Munal, a Nepalese/Indian restaurant in Worcester Park with some oddness; Barwell Cafe in sunny Chessington, where you'll get classic greasy spoon vibes but beware some of the ingredients; and Cocum Keralan restaurant in East Molesey. Kerala is a state in South India for the record.

We have an update to Affogato, also in Norbury. I assume they offer an affogato on their menu, but no one amongst us has tried it. Still the other food options seemed to go down well.

Reported permanent closures are to Craft Beer Co. in Clapham (it's quickly morphed into another pub), and Kathiawadi Cuisine in Thornton Heath.

One of our entries has moved, which is Mandalay Golden Myanmar now in Brondesbury NW6 (from Edgware Road in W2), though we don't have much of a write-up.

Finally the cinema in Bermondsey Square has renamed to Kino Bermondsey from the Shortwave Cinema.

ewan

Hello and welcome back from a long weekend.

Shree Krishna Vada Pav, Harrow, London HA1

This week's featured article is Shree Krishna Vada Pav, HA1 2TY, an Indian vegetarian cafe in a casual location in Harrow. It moved recently from another location nearby, and it has a decent vada pav (as you'd hope for given the name of the place). All pretty good value it seems.

We have not two, not three but FOUR new articles! There's The Pembroke, a pub in Coulsdon. Alright beer; seems child friendly. And then there's Archie's, a cafe/bar in Deptford -- a railway arch to be precise, HENCE THE NAME. Pretty good sandwiches and friendly service! Also, Halwa Poori House in Thornton Heath does Pakistani food with sparkly floor tiles and mild lukewarm curry. Finally, Canary Cafe, a greasy spoon in South Croydon. There's a solid selection of the usual staples.

ewan

This week's update features Thai Smile, W6 9NH, a Thai supermarket, though it has plenty of other regional stuff. Pastes! Sauces! Seasonings! Frozen Things! Tofu! Strange herbs!

There are four new articles: Fish Kitchen in Norbiton, like an upmarket chippie; Saints and Sinners pub in Croydon, lacking ale though; Santok Maa's vegetarian Indian in Thornton Heath, with friendly staff, though not fully structurally sound puri; and Bus cafe towards the Selhurst end of Croydon, which is in a bus.

We have significant updates to The Norbiton and Dragon pub; The Willoughby Arms pub in Kingston; The Park Tavern pub in Kingston; and The Boaters Inn pub in Kingston. Someone's been visiting the area, I'll wager...

Temporary closure is reported for The Queen's Head pub in Kingston. Permanent closures are: Snackpot (in Norbiton); Magma Ghanaian restaurant (in Thornton Heath); and The Gatehouse (in Highgate), which is still a pub just not a Wetherspoons so is DEAD TO US.

Finally is the reported reopening of Na Pura Portuguese cafe in Nunhead.

ewan

This week's featured article is Magma, CR7 7ND. It's a small Ghanaian restaurant in Thornton Heath. Expect bright colours and probably not many people, but load up on carby goodness with tasty palaver sauce.

There are new entries for The Thatched House in Barking, a pub with Kenyan food; The Four Quarters, an 'arcade bar' in Peckham; and Chipstead Tandoori, which is surely self-explanatory, but it's an Indian in Chipstead, one of the few places to eat in this part of town, and even then probably missable.

We also have news of the reported closure of The Kennington Bookshop.

Finally, for those who have an interest in this sort of thing, Jeff 'Stonch' Bell has sold up The Finborough Arms and moved on to other things.

ewan

Big update this week, mainly thanks to Oddbins. Anyway, here we go...

Our featured article is Tram Stop, CR0 6RD, which is not in fact a tram stop but is right next to one (Addiscombe tram stop that is). It's a small coffee shop and cafe. It's child-friendly, and offers newspapers and bookswap books. The food is seasonal and good too!

Two new articles are: Magma, a small Ghanaian restaurant in Thornton Heath with a fine palaver sauce; and Gojo, doing Ethiopian food in a North Kensington basement, better than it sounds.

Four reported closures we've caught up with are: the Marylebone High St branch of Nicolas wine shop; the Barnes branch of Spirited Wines; Just Falafel in Covent Garden; and Japanese restaurant Kibou in sunny Wimbledon.

Those Oddbins renamings (generally from Spirited Wines or Nicolas) are:

* the Oddbins Beer Shop in Blackheath;
* the Notting Hill branch;
* the Wimbledon branch;
* the Kew branch;
* the Baker Street branch;
* the the Crouch End branch; and
* the East Dulwich branch.

ewan

It's a short update this week after last week's blizzard of closures, and my forgetfulness the previous week.

The featured article is Bunga Raya, CR7 6AW. It's a Malaysian restaurant (and takeaway) in glamorous Thornton Heath. The food all sounds very nice from Kake's write-up, so you might want to venture an order if you live in their delivery area (or visit!).

We have one new article, which is Les Delices de Tresor, an Ivorian restaurant at the Deptford End of New Cross Rd, and confusingly located at the front part of a completely separate pub. It's a small space with somewhat variable opening hours.

Finally, a note on the closure in 2014 of The Corrib Bar in Camberwell.

ewan

Hello all! This week we travel a world of food.

There's a new featured article again this week, which is Maida, SW16 6AB. It's a good value Somali cafe/restaurant where you can load up on as much tender lamb as you want.

New articles are: Ergon, a Greek restaurant/deli in Marylebone; Bunga Raya, a good Malaysian restaurant and takeaway in Thornton Heath; VQ, a 24hr cafe in Bloomsbury; Castle kebab shop in Walworth; and the Guy's Hospital branch of dependable coffee stall AMT Coffee.

Permanently reported closures are, sadly, the very excellent locals' pub The North Pole on the Isle of Dogs, and Moyo-Ma, a Nigerian restaurant in Walworth.

katstevens

Hello RGL crew! This is the last update of 2013, and there's plenty to report.

Our featured article for the next three weeks is the Black Cat Cafe, a vegan co-operative on the site of the old Pogo Cafe, which sounds like a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon chatting over tea and cake.

Our sources tell us that banh mi and other Vietnamese dishes will soon be back on the menu at Panda Panda in Deptford. New year, new noodles!

Unfortunately the following won't be around in 2014: the Old Duke of Cambridge in Bow is likely to be turned into flats, as will the Whitesmiths Arms in Borough (shame - they had a great jukebox) and the Victoria Cross in Thornton Heath. London is certainly short of decent, affordable flats, but at this rate it will be short of decent, affordable pubs too...

The Lamb Brewery pub in Chiswick has changed its name to simply 'The Lamb'. It's no longer a brewery, so fair enough! This follows its takeover by the Mitchell & Butlers chain (along with other former Convivial London Pubs outlets The Botanist, the Crown and Anchor and the Clifton, the latter of which may not yet have reopened after its sale).

Finally, the Pilot Inn in Greenwich has reopened after a refurb. We have no idea what it's like now! There could be a cross-dimensional portal in the ladies' for all we know. If you're in SE10 over the festive period, why not pop in and check it out for us?

Thanks again to everyone who's contributed to RGL over the last year, especially

kake and

bob (and of course my co-blogger

ewan!) for keeping everything running smoothly. See you in the new year!

katstevens

Afternoon RGLers! I hope your Julys are going well so far!

This week's featured article is Asadal, WC1V 7EG, an underground Korean restaurant in Holborn. When I say 'underground' I mean that it's downstairs, not a hideout for avant-garde nonconformist activity, though I suppose "broth from pig liver & kidneys" is not quite what I'd call conformist.

The latest article to be added to RGL is the Railway pub in Streatham, which has decent food and a monthly farmer's market. There's also a significant update to the page for the Diners Delight Cafe in Thornton Heath, with details of breakfasts and accessibility (two things your RGL team are very keen on).

Tapas fans in Putney may be disappointed to learn of the closure of La Mancha, but it seems though the owners plan to move over the river to Chiswick at some point in the future. Also closed is the Fresh Pizza Company in Victoria Station, which has been boarded up during the ongoing works there, though we're not sure whether this is permanent. Finally, the Bookshop On The Heath in Blackheath is being sold by the owners and has reduced opening hours (and presumably will soon be closing altogether).

kake

Image © Kake

This week's featured article is Orchard, SE4 1LW, a nice little bar and restaurant in Brockley.

Vegetarian and vegan options are clearly marked on the menu (the photo here is of the warm lentil and roast vegetable salad, which is vegan), and there's step-free access and an accessible toilet.

Recent additions to RGL include YBR Cakes, a cake shop and cafe in Thornton Heath; Chai Corner, an Indian tea shop and cafe in Croydon; and Manchurian Legends, a Dongbei (northeast Chinese) restaurant in Chinatown.

One reported closure: the Wheatsheaf in Vauxhall.