rglondon | Entries tagged with se1

Hello and welcome back to another random week.

Harry Morgan, St John’s Wood, London NW8

This week our feature article is Harry Morgan, NW8 7NH, a restaurant and deli in St John's Wood. Expect Jewish (albeit non-kosher) comfort food in a NYC style. Expect good size portions and attentive staff.

A temporary closure reported for The Constitution pub, for refurbishment apparently, so fingers crossed that goes well.

A more permanent closure for The Blue-Eyed Maid pub in Borough. Who knows if it will return...?

Finally we've got reports of a "possible" closure of Casa Morita, SW9 8LB in Brixton's trendy market. It might be back but the website and socials are all a bit vague.

rowleybirkinqc

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

Handpumps at the Cotton Mill, Swanley, BR8

Evening folks! It's that time of year again when we investigate pubs in the new edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, leading to a whole barrelful of new pub entries on RGL:

The Cotton Mill, Swanley
The Dartford Jug, Dartford
The Black Dog Beer House, Brentford
The Black Lion, Surbiton
The Tap Tavern, Richmond
The Nonsuch Inn, North Cheam (Wetherspoons)
The Earl Beatty, Motspur Park
The Jolly Gardeners, Earlsfield
The Sir Julian Huxley, Selsdon
The Real Ale Way, Hayes (the Kent Hayes, not the Middlesex Hayes)
The Portland Arms, South Norwood
Suttons Radio, Lewisham
The Morden Arms, Greenwich
The River Ale House, Greenwich
The Rusty Bucket, Eltham
The Libertine, Borough
Draft House Camden Road, Camden
St John's Tavern, Archway
The Golden Fleece, Manor Park
The Coach And Horses, Leyton
The Miller's Well, East Ham (Wetherspoons)
Craft Beer Co., Aldgate

In non-GBG news, there's a new page for the Daily Petit Dejeuner cafe (good bus watching opportunities) and an update for Communitea, both in South Norwood. The Hornbeam Cafe in Walthamstow has had an update, as has the White Hart in Hampton Wick. Finally, the Kings Arms in East Molesey has reopened after a refurb - we've been along to try their breakfast jigsaw.

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.

katstevens

Bermondsey Bar and Kitchen, Bermondsey, SE1

It's a quiet week on RGL - almost too quiet. In our bustling metropolis the stream of information is constant, leading to an eerie stillness when it ceases. A precious moment to pause for reflection, or an intolerable vacuum that must urgently be filled? The delight of a cancelled appointment is short-lived, the infinite to-do list expanding to fill the fleeting space in the diary. The freedom of an unexpected snow day is nullified by the inability to escape the cosy duvet of entropy: the day has been called off - nothing further of value may occur! Equally as inevitable are the feelings of guilt around 'wasting time', by failing to either contribute to or consume the barrage of information thrust upon us. But how can inspiration or creativity strike without space to think? When the apple fell from the tree, Newton was sitting on his arse doing precisely nothing. Archimedes required quality chillaxing time in the bath to arrive at his 'Eureka!' moment. Until the advent of fully automated luxury communism, our social and cultural expectations will continue to demand that our productivity matches the overwhelming shower of information to be absorbed and obligations to be met, and thus our collective ideas and dreams will be stifled. So let's make the most of a quiet week and spend the recovered time wisely. In fact, why not muse further on the nature of meditative solitude and its effect on creativity in a post-capitalist society over a breakfast at Bermondsey Bar and Kitchen, the subject of this week's featured article?

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.

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

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.

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 to another week of randomness!

We understand that the content has been a little Croydon-centric recently, but expect the range to expand soon! In the meantime, your featured article is Kalpa, CR0 2SB, a Sri Lankan and Keralan restaurant in... Croydon! Our write-up suggests the food is a bit hit and miss, but since all the recent recommendations mean you're surely likely to passing through Croydon, why not stop off?

New articles move a bit further north, to Viet Hoa in Shoreditch: modern decor, and well spiced; and the Everyman King's Cross cinema. It's very posh and therefore both very comfortable and very expensive (like the rest of the chain).

Updates have been made to The Duke's Head Hotel in Wallington, and The Royal Oak in Borough. Thankfully the pub remains excellent, the beer good and keenly-priced too.

Finally, we must report the (thankfully temporary) closure of Mamuska! at Elephant & Castle, which is moving to another location nearby later this year. Polish dumpling fans can breathe easier.

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

Wotcher RGL massive!

This week's featured article is Cafe Provencal, a small family and dog friendly restaurant in Herne Hill serving up cocktails and Canopy beer. I can confirm their brunch selection is most excellent but do book in advance.

Fans of Ethiopian food will be pleased to note our two new articles are St Gabriel Cafe near Elephant & Castle, serving up appropriately sour injera, and Beza Ethiopian Food also near Elephant & Castle, though you might want to dine in to avoid hefty delivery charges.

We have three updates to existing articles this week - Star Tavern, a Fullers pub in Belgravia with a lot of love from RGLers, Zeret Kitchen in Camberwell continues our love for south London Ethiopian scran, and Roti Masters in Croydon continues to impress with substantial meals bursting with texture and flavour.

The Sidcup pub formerly known as The Portrait is now Hill Top Tap, and the Sekforde Arms, a Young's pub in Clerkenwell, has reopened as The Sekforde pub and restaurant.

If you're looking for knitting supplies, I Knit London has moved from its previous Lower Marsh location but fear not, it's only a short walk away to its new location near Lambeth North station.

Finally, we have four reported permanent closures - Duke of Hamilton is now occupied by the Hampstead Lounge & Jazz Club, Fuzedown pub in Streatham, Tas Turkish restaurant in Farringdon,and L'Anima Italian restaurant near Liverpool Street station.

katstevens

Evening RGLers! This week's featured article is for Polish Kitchen, a cosy restaurant in Cheshunt where the pierogi made a good impression on our reviewer. The zapiekanki sounds like a popular local choice too.

What's happening in sunny Cheam, I hear you ask? Well, our team has been to the Pepper Pot sandwich shop and deli, and there's a new article as a result. Expect their fridges to feature on a German electronica compilation near you soon. Hashtag Cheam!

Living room news: the Geffrye Museum on Kingsland Road has shut for a refurb, so your only view of it until 2020 will be from above (on the platform at Hoxton station). The Sir Richard Steele in Belsize Park is also undergoing a redevelopment, while The Oxford opposite Kentish Town station has been sold and has plans for redevelopment too.

Lastly, lovers of boshing techno will be sad but not surprised to hear that Elephant & Castle landmark The Coronet has finally closed.

ewan

Welcome back to another week of Randomness.

This week's featured article is The Mitre, TW9 1UY. We're calling this as North Sheen, but apologies if you don't believe that area exists: the map shows it, and this pub is near the station of that name, so don't @ us. It entered the Good Beer Guide this year, and I'm assuming the 14 handpumps had something to do with it, but it sounds rather nice.

Our one new article is Polish Kitchen, a cheerful Polish restaurant in Cheshunt. Go for the pierogi.

Three significant updates: confusing pricing at The Green Dragon in Croydon; pricy lime and soda at The Camel and Artichoke by Waterloo (and if you're getting your soda from a big bottle you've bought down the local shop, it shouldn't cost more); and low prices at Mamuska! in Elephant and Castle, which thankfully is not the Polish food equivalent of that recent film Mother! (or maybe it is; I've not seen the film).

Finally, the reported permanent closure of The Grape and Grain in Crystal Palace, a large corner pub which had been looking a bit empty for a while. Apparently owned by Wetherspoons but looks like it may not open as one.

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! 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.

katstevens

Hello RGLers!

This week's featured article is for the Crown and Pepper in Caterham, a pub that incorporates an Indian restaurant at the back. They also have a bar menu if you don't fancy the full sit-down experience - try the okra.

New this week, we have the Union Jack pub in Southwark, that perhaps isn't living up to its potential beer-wise, and the French House restaurant in Crystal Palace, a cheerful establishment themed around '60's Francophone pop music (the drinks menu looks pretty good too).

There's an update for the Prince George (just off Queensbridge Road in Dalston) following a visit, which reveals its all-important lime and soda pricing to be significantly cheaper than the Union Jack's.

Finally, Fujiyama in Brixton has closed: lovers of spinach ohitashi will have to venture elsewhere.

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

Welcome back!

This week's featured article is Banh Mi 108, TW13 4HE. It's a Vietnamese cafe in Feltham. That first part may be clear from the name, and indeed they do banh mi baguettes, including a vegetarian one. I'm not sure what the 108 refers to though. Why not visit and figure it out? It doesn't appear to be the address though.

There are three new articles. One is Curzon Aldgate, a branch of the boutique cinema chain which opened earlier this year in... wait for it... Aldgate! It's quite a nice place (if pricy obviously). A second cinema is at the Close-Up Film Centre in Shoreditch, and yes I added both these entries because I went to my first film at Close-Up just this past week. Anyway, it's also a video rental library (those still exist!) and a cafe, and I'm a member.

Finally for the new entries, there's Hubbub, a cafe/bar on the Isle of Dogs. It's in a lovely looking building.

There's a significant update to the Ferry House entry, also on the Isle of Dogs, a very old pub given a light makeover.

Reported permanent closures are Shu Castle, a Sichuan restaurant on the Old Kent Road, and The Albion pub in Bethnal Green.

Finally, one pub to reopen is The Marquis of Wellington, once a dowdy-looking backstreets Bermondsey local which now finds itself adjacent to all the coolest new breweries and food vendors along Druid St, so it's been given a makeover befitting that location.

katstevens

Evening crew, here's another update to kick off your week, featuring 100% pub content.

Our featured article is for a pub that's become one of my 'old reliables' over the years, the King and Queen in Fitzrovia. A haven for office workers and weekend rugby-watchers requiring no-nonsense drinking, it was mere 3 minutes away from my (now-demolished) office back in the 2000s. It has offered the same well-kept pints of Tribute, scuzzy carpet and bookable upstairs room for as long as I can remember.

Sadly another 'old reliable' on the other side of Tottenham Court Road has closed - the Jeremy Bentham is now a Simmons bar (I doubt they've kept the shrunken wax head which looks more like Tim Rice than Jezza B). Other closures include the Station Tavern in Brimsdown, the Well in Clerkenwell, the Balham Arms (guess where), and the Crown near Hillingdon Hospital.

Some slightly more cheering news from Muswell Hill, where the Victoria Stakes has reopened after a fire. The Camel & Artichoke in Waterloo has also reopened, while the Melbourne in Wallington is now The Star and the Norbiton & Dragon in Kingston has dropped any pretense at mythology to become merely The Norbiton. I guess I'll now have to get my dragon content from Duolingo Welsh, which seems very keen that I learn the phrase "mae ddraig goch yn ddiflas" (hashtag #notalldragons).