rglondon | Entries tagged with london bridge

Momo & Roti, a Nepalese restaurant in Hounslow

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

katstevens

Good evening RGL readers! Or should I say good e-vin-ing, as this week's featured article is for the Wine Gallery in Purley. Look out for some 'vine art' on the walls and 'corkingly' good tapas, in 'oeno-rous' portions. Sincere apologies for the low quality of these puns, it's been a long day. Perhaps I need a glass of pun-ot noir?

There are updates for a couple of Young's pubs, the Wheatsheaf in Borough Market and the Windmill on the Common in Clapham. Chai Naasto in Beckenham has also had an update, it sounds like a decent local option for Indian street food with friendly service.

Peruvian restaurant Tito's has moved from its old home near London Bridge station to Stockwell, though if you're still in the mood for spicy prawns there is now a different Peruvian restaurant on the premises. Over in Twickenham, the Rifleman has had more reimaginings than Madonna over the last few years; it's reopened once more under new management.

Finally, two closures to report: Brasserie Vacherin in Croydon, and the PlumTree Cafe in Greenwich.

mrs_leroy_brown

Plumstead Pantry, Plumstead, London SE18

Good afternoon!

This week our new featured article is for The Plumstead Pantry, a small cafe on the edge of Plumstead Common. The vegan breakfast features bonus veg alongside the trad faves and the roast tomatoes with feta, basil, and a slow-cooked egg on sourdough toast was marked very good. With a selection of teas as well as coffee, and friendly service, it sounds like a great place to start the day.

We’ve two new articles added this week. Le Tran Cafe a Vietnamese cafe and restaurant in Bermondsey serves a straightforward menu in a nicely decorated setting. Near London Bridge Station, there’s Kin and Deum, a Thai restaurant on the site of the old Suchard Freehouse with decent enough food but a rather noisy and crowded atmosphere.

Updates have been made to The Marquis of Wellington pub in Bermondsey, The Horseshoe Inn in Borough, and in Southall, New Asian Tandoori Centre, a Punjabi restaurant.

Finally and back to SE1, The Bridge Lounge and Dining Room held a farewell yard sale but we’re unsure if this means a permanent shut down or a change of management/ownership.

katstevens

Pueblito Paisa Cafe, Seven Sisters, London N15

Hello RGL readers!

This week's featured article is for the Pueblito Paisa, a Latin American cafe right by the north-west exit of Seven Sisters station. It's an excellent spot for bus watching - look at all this lot - and you can enjoy a multi-carb bonanza of chips, rice and plantain with your seafood stew. Hmm, maybe it's missing some bread there? I guess we can't all be perfect.

There's a bunch of new articles to peruse: scrambled eggs at Bermondsey Bar & Kitchen by London Bridge Station; hibiscus flower enchiladas at Santo Remedio, a short hop away in Tooley Street; Sichuan aubergine at Sanxia in Deptford, and over in Eltham the new Vue cinema is showing Detective Pikachu (2019, dir. R. Letterman) four times a day!

The Kings Arms in London Bridge and the Crown and Sceptre on Streatham Hill both have updates following a visit: the former will be of interest to lime and soda fans, while the latter is no longer a Wetherspoons, so your opportunity to order a surprise bowl of onion rings to whoever happens to be sitting at table 23 has passed.

Finally, some closures to report: Teapod near Tower Bridge (it's now a coffee shop), SoBo in Bermondsey is now a cafe called Earthsea (presumably full of wizards), and Bubbles and Tea in the Stratford Centre has... burst.

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).

katstevens

Morning RGL crew!

This week's (slightly belated) update sees the Curzon Aldgate cinema, opened this year, as our featured article. Currently at the Curzon Aldgate, humans are at war with the Transformers, and Optimus Prime has vanished. It's up to the unlikely alliance of Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins and Laura Haddock to save the day via a series of expensive-looking explosions.

There's a new article for Long Shot Coffee in Whitechapel, serving coffee, tea, soup and sandwiches. Tito's Peruvian restaurant in London Bridge has had an update after a visit (featuring an insufficient quantity of prawns), as has Le Raj in Epsom (which does a decent veg biryani). The latter also has air-conditioning, so I'm sorely tempted to go there this very instant.

ewan

I'm back-back-back from my holidays to take over update duties from Kat.

風味食堂 (Food House), Chinatown, London WC2

The featured article this week is the imaginatively named Food House, W1D 5QH, which we can confirm does indeed offer food. But perhaps instead you should call it 風味食堂. In fact, it's Northern Chinese and Sichuanese food, moved from that bit of Charing Cross Road currently being refurbished. The food was a mixed affair -- check the review for more details -- but the Chinese 'hamburger' was considered rather good at the most recent visit, and the service is friendly.

Lots of new articles, many of them in Tooting. Those that aren't are a relaxed Italian in Covent Garden, Wildwood Kitchen, and the Clapham Junction branch of We Brought Beer beer shop (we added their Balham branch recently). Moving onto those Tooting outlets, we have: Apollo Banana Leaf (a meaty Sri Lankan); Dosa n Chutny (a South Indian cafe); Gourmet (a Pakistani bakery/sweet shop); Pooja Sweets and Savouries (an Indian sweet shop); and Tooting Daily Fresh Naan, which will sort you out for all yr naan needs (though watch out for the hygiene rating).

There are updates to The Lyceum Tavern and The Edgar Wallace, both on or near the Strand.

Sadly, plenty of reported closures too, most of them pubs as noted in the London Drinker magazine: All Bar One by London Bridge ('redeveloped'); Costa Dorada on Hanway Street; The Fox Reformed in Stoke Newington (renamed); The Gilpin's Bell Edmonton Wetherspoons pub; The Man in the Moon Stanmore 'Spoons; Mela (an Indian on Shaftesbury Ave); The North Pole in Islington (renamed); The Queen's Head in Mitcham; The Widow's Son pub in Bow.

We've heard that Mum's House (a Burmese grocery, not literally your mum's house, unless your mum is Burmese and runs a grocery shop) has moved from Wood Green to Tottenham.

The Misty Moon in High Barnet is now called The Butchers Arms.

Finally, Adams Cafe in Croydon has reopened, for your London Road greasy spoon needs.

ewan

Welcome back, another week another delayed Tuesday update for you. I was on holiday is my excuse.

This week's featured article is Simplicity, SE16 4JJ, one recently updated following a visit from a prominent RGL administrator. It's a British restaurant by Rotherhithe station. It may not be worth a special trip, but for the area it's pretty decent.

There's a new article for Xi'An Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant in Deptford which features a special menu of food from Xi'an, capital of the Shaanxi province. (I'm sure you know where that is, but if like me you drew a momentary blank, it's in NW China.) Kake's been getting through a fair bit of the food there, and it sounds like a nice place for some interesting dishes. Go for the cold-skin noodles, which you can't get anywhere else in London that we know about.

There's also a reported closure for The Great Wall restaurant near London Bridge, soon to be a Chilango.

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

Garden Community Cafe, Custom House, London E16

Evening all!

This week's featured article is for the Garden Community Cafe near the Excel Centre in Docklands. It's a small, cheerful place with cheap food and plenty of community spirit.

We have new articles for two eateries: Maida, a Somali cafe in Streatham, and Cirilo, which serves Filipino food in Whitechapel. If you want to find out which one does halo-halo and which one gives you free refills of rice, you'll have to click through and read them!

Royal Delight on Tower Bridge Road has temporarily shut, but is still doing takeaway, but Twins Cafe and the Lin Ji Supermarket in Peckham have closed for good, as has the King's Arms in Twickenham. And the Horseshoe Inn in London Bridge no longer does Mongolian Food! I dunno, they'll be getting rid of the dartboard next...

Finally, an advanced warning for Zone 6 dwellers/visitors: the tube will be closed for three weeks over the summer between Uxbridge and Ruislip (Metropolitan line) and Uxbridge and Rayners Lane (Piccadilly line), as they're replacing the track (more info here). So if you've booked a holiday to Hillingdon in late July you'd better get the Central line there instead!

ewan

Barrowboy and Banker, London Bridge, SE1

Sorry for the delay this week, but we don't have much to report.

The new featured article is The Barrowboy and Banker, SE1 9QQ. That's a large Fuller's pub (one of their "Ale and Pie Houses") just near London Bridge station and the bridge itself. It's in a former bank branch (the very first branch of NatWest in fact), and is very handy for Borough Market, not to mention walks along the Thames. It serves all the usual Fuller's beers, and I can't really say too much against it if you like decent pubs.

Sadly, there are no additions, but then again there are no reported closures.

ewan

This week's featured article is The Chandos, a Sam Smith's pub at the corner of Trafalgar Square that anyone who has ever had a drink in central London will probably be familiar with. You may already have an opinion of Sam Smith's pubs, but at least their beer tends to be dependable.

The new entry is The Smithfield Tavern, which you may have guessed is a tavern just off Smithfield Market, central London's major meat market. Given this fact, you'll be surprised to hear it's totally vegetarian, and the food sounds pretty good to me.

Reported closures are Delfina on Bermondsey Street (probably permanent), and Mizgin Restaurant on Green Lanes, Harringay (definitely permanent; it's been replaced another Turkish restaurant). We also have a reported temporary closure for Hoxton's Wenlock Arms, but this is promised to be just for a refurbishment.

Finally Just Deli in SE1 has been renamed as London's Kitchen Cafe.

ewan

Lucky Seven, Stoke Newington, London N16

Happy New Year! This week's featured article is Lucky Seven, a second-hand bookshop and (mostly) record shop in Stoke Newington. I went there for the first time the other week having not even registered its existence before and it was filled with things from floor to ceiling, often precariously piled and stacked.

One temporary closure is Imperial War Museum, for six months.

Three reported permanent closures are, very sadly, Hoopers Bar, an excellent real ale-loving local in between Camberwell and East Dulwich; the Camberwell branch of Wing Tai; and the N1 Centre branch of Yo! Sushi (in Islington, that is). The last is the least sad, as I've ranked them on a sliding scale. Feel free to disagree with my ranking (unimportant as it is) in comments.

Also, Foote's Music has moved from Soho to Bloomsbury, so take note, music instrument fans.

In more positive news, a pub has reopened! In this case, The Wheatsheaf by Borough Market (no, not that one), meaning there are now two competing Wheatsheafs within a few steps of one another, ostensibly the SAME PUB (the first was opened when this pub closed for the Thameslink work and the management went around the corner to the Hop Exchange).

katstevens

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!

ewan

This week's featured article is Tapas Brindisa, SE1 1TJ, a high turnover tapas place by the corner of Borough Market, near London Bridge station. Even on a Saturday, you should be able to get a table without too long a wait, and the food is still decent after all these years.

New articles are: Pratts and Payne, an Antic pub in Streatham replacing a Goose pub; and a short one about The Globe, a fairly unmemorable pub opposite Baker Street station.

Reported closures are: The Masons' Arms in Walworth; and The Plough Inn, another victim of Young's sell-off of their pub estate (and heritage). It's a rather attractive building, so a sad loss.

ewan

This week's featured article is an excellent pub in Leytonstone, The Red Lion, E11 3AA. Lots of good ales and beers, and tasty food. Heartily recommended.

Three new articles are: The Crown and Anchor, a new "craft beer" pub in north Brixton from the people behind The Jolly Butchers in Stoke Newington; The Hatchet, a Greene King pub by Mansion House station largely catering to vertical-drinking City workers; and Store Street Espresso, a well-regarded coffee shop in Bloomsbury.

Three reported permanent closures are: The Ivy House pub in Nunhead; The Northumberland Arms pub on Goodge Street (set to become a Draft House pub in July); and Amano, a cafe not far from London Bridge.

kake

Image © bob and Kake

This week's featured article is Champor-Champor, SE1 3QJ, a "modern Malaysian fusion restaurant" in Borough, just south of London Bridge Station.

The decor is somewhat idiosyncratic, the air is scented with incense smoke, and the food tends to have quite a lot going on on the plate, but I quite like it.

Recent additions to RGL include Amurg, a Romanian and Moldovan restaurant in Leytonstone; Shanghai Village, a dim sum restaurant in Twickenham; Langton's Bookshop in Twickenham; and the Cheapside branch of Daunt Books. We've also updated the writeups for four of Twickenham's pubs: the Fox, the Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, and the Rifleman.

One reported closure: Only Fools and Falafels just off Tower Bridge Road.

kake

Image © Kake

This week's featured article is Tuli, SE1 2TF, a Chinese restaurant on Tooley Street near London Bridge station.

Originally opened as a pan-Asian buffet restaurant, it's now a white-tablecloth à la carte Cantonese serving dim sum all day. Quality is reasonable, and the dim sum menu includes items like congee, cheung fun, and turnip paste, all of which are good signs of some skill (or at least ambition) in the kitchen.

As befits today's Blogging Against Disablism day, physical access to Tuli is good; it's step-free to get in, to get to the main dining area, and to get to the toilets. There's a separate accessible toilet, but in addition there's an extra-wide stall in the ladies' with grab bars and a door that opens outwards.

Recent additions to RGL include Riding House Cafe, a new cafe/bar in Fitzrovia; Red Barn, a pub in Barnehurst; Birchwood, a pub in Abbey Wood; Coco, a pan-Asian noodle bar in Ealing; and Wide Fit Shoes, a specialist shoe shop in Kenton. We've also added proper writeups of Fox & Goose, a Fuller's pub/hotel near the Hanger Lane Gyratory; and Pleasure Boat, a small pub in Alperton.

Reported closures are Rump in Putney, and many branches of Oddbins.

kake

This week's featured article is Uncle Lim's Kitchen, CR0 1UZ, a Malaysian cafe in the Whitgift Centre in Croydon.

Uncle Lim's is well-loved among London's foodbloggers for its excellent Hainan chicken rice, but it also has other Malaysian specialties such as curry laksa, nasi lemak, and char kuey teow. Although it's on the first floor of the shopping centre, there is step-free access via lifts.

Recent additions to RGL include Tuli and Absolutely Starving on Tooley Street near London Bridge, Champor-Champor on Weston Street at the other side of London Bridge Station, Paul A Young in the City, and Viajante in Bethnal Green.

Reported closures are the Jackdaw and Rook in Balham and Cafe Anjou in Palmers Green. In addition, the Knitting Shop near Arsenal Station is no longer open to casual visitors.