Randomness Guide to London

Hello RGL fans! The update is a bit late this week, but then it will need to get you through next week too, thanks to the joys of Croydon Fun Weekend! If you don't know Croydon Fun Weekend, then why not go to Croydon and have fun?



So last time I did an update, the featured article was Deli Felice. Well this week, it's a cafe called Le Felice, SE13 7UZ in leafy Ladywell. Expect French food, bare boards, wooden chairs, and a pleasant environment to do some work. Also, it's in a former pub building.

Our one new addition is Brown and Green, a cafe at Crystal Palace station. You may need extra cranberry.

There's a significant update to the entry for The Liberty Bounds, a Wetherspoons at Tower Hill which has true pies.

Finally, The Beagle by Hoxton station has closed! Or it may have closed! We're not exactly certain.

Hello friends!

We have a double edition for the holiday period (Happy Winterval! Merry Festivus!). The featured article for this special festive edition is The Station Hotel, SE13 5NB. It's bright airy pub near Hither Green station with plenty of ales, so, er, get thee thither.

There are FOUR new articles...

Kat went to Kauri Tree Cafe in Stoke Newington, a cash-based artisanal outpost.

I visited the Beer Shop, which despite the name is more of a micropub in a converted shop overlooking Nunhead Green (they have plenty of bottles too, which I'm presuming you can takeaway).

Kake went to Amber Tree Cafe in Deptford, a narrow little cafe with friendly staff in a former pub building. She also visited Gifto's Lahore Karahi in Southall, a Punjabi restaurant with communal tables and decent food.

Finally, there's been an update to the Dar Marrakech write-up, a Moroccan/Lebanese restaurant in Stratford.

Hello, it's that time of year, time for the new Good Beer Guide and all the new pubs it brings. The category page for this book is therefore, of course, the featured article.

Before we get into that, there's one new unrelated article, which is Banh Mi Hoi-An in London's trendy Hackney, which will do you a decent noodle salad.

Now this leaves us with all the new pubs for this year, so brace yourselves:

* The Aeronaut in Acton (also a brewpub!);
* The Argyle in Clerkenwell (Hatton Garden area);
* The Black Horse in High Barnet (also a brewpub!);
* The Clarence in Mayfair;
* The Constitution in Pimlico;
* Craft Beer Co. in Brixton (ell, can't complain about the beer selection I guess);
* The Crooked Billet in Upper Clapton;
* The Crown in St Margaret's, Twickenham;
* The Elephant and Castle in Kensington;
* The Flying Pig in East Dulwich;
* The George in South Woodford;
* The Grapes in Sutton;
* The Grove in Ealing;
* The Hops and Glory in Canonbury (Essex Road);
* The Hour Glass in Brompton;
* The Huntsman and Hounds in Upminster;
* The King's Head in Tooting;
* The Leyton Technical in Leyton;
* The Lighthouse in Battersea;
* London Fields Brewery Tap Room by the park of that name in Hackney (really a brewery);
* The Lord Aberconway by Liverpool Street;
* The Misty Moon in High Barnet (ex-Spoons, obviously);
* Oaka at the Mansion House in Kennington (the Oakham Ales pub);
* The Old Bell on Fleet Street;
* The Old Loyal Britons in Greenwich;
* Old Tom's Bar under the Lamb Tavern in Leadenhall Market;
* The Pig and Whistle in Southfields;
* The Prince of Wales in Clapham;
* The Railway Bell in New Barnet;
* The Royal George by Euston Station;
* The Shortlands Tavern in Bromley;
* The Sporting Page in Chelsea;
* The Station Hotel in Hither Green;
* The White Lion in Warlingham;
* Williams Ale and Cider House in Spitalfields; and
* Woodin's Shades around the corner on Bishopshate, by Liverpool Street Station.

There are also two stub entries which will be filled out by Kake in the next week or two:
* The Door Hinge in Welling (a micro-pub!); and
* The Hare and Billet in Blackheath.

Hello! This month's featured article is The George, NW3 2AE, which has been done up by Spirit Pub Co to be the first in a new premium brand. It sure is pretty posh, with blonde wood panelling and light from big open windows at the front and rear. That said, the food is overpriced and my burger was a bit disappointing. Still, there you go.

Lots of new additions, the first two in the Kilburn area. From there we have Barraco, a Brazilian restaurant, and The Carlton Tavern, an old man pub on the Maida Vale end. From Greenwich, there's Vietnam Oriental Cuisine, which despite the name is mainly Chinese. Finally, Rose Vegetarian in Kingsbury, which perhaps won't get you rushing out to visit Kingsbury, but if you're in the area, seems as good a bet as any.

Significant update to the entry for The Moon Under Water in Hounslow, which despite having been in many Good Beer Guides had remained a mere stub entry in RGL. Possibly because there's not much you can really say about yet another outpost of a Wetherspoons pub of this name.

Temporary closure for The Ladywell Tavern to do refurbishments.

Reported permanent closures are Elephant Walk, which was a fantastic Sri Lankan place in West Hampstead, and The Red Lion, a pub in Amersham (which by very few relevant criteria can actually be considered to be in London).

Finally, the Imperial War Museum has (mostly) reopened.