Randomness Guide to London

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).

The featured article this week is The Ashburnham Arms, SE10 8UH, a small Shepherd Neame pub in Greenwich with good fresh beer. However, it does seem as if the locals prefer wine. None of that craft beer guff here.

There are fully four new pages this week: Cote d'Azur, a French-Mauritian fusion restaurant in southern Croydon (try the crab soup); Squires, a Nigerian restaurant in Dagenham (look out for some pounded yam); Upney Cafe, a greasy spoon in Barking (you know what to expect); and The Royal Albert in Crystal Palace. This last one is another traditional locals' pub, though there are increasing numbers of locals who probably want something more gastro, so hopefully it will hold out for a bit yet.

Finally, the David Lean Cinema in Croydon has reopened in its original location of the Clocktower.