Randomness Guide to London

Another week of RGL and another week in which I drag my heels and don't get the post out until Tuesday, but we have content so keep reading!



It's nothing to look at from outside, but Kailash Momo, SE18 6ED should be a must-visit when you go to the charming southern enclave of Woolwich. It serves Tibetan and Nepalese cuisines, focusing on the momo (a dumpling) but there's plenty of other options. It's all very cosy.

Our one new article is Good Egg in Stoke Newington, which doesn't sound very vegan friendly, but I bet you could find something. After all it's N16, and you can expect food influenced by Israeli, Middle Eastern and modern American Jewish cuisine.

There are updates to Food for All, a health shop, also in Stoke Newington, and The Cittie of Yorke, a Sam Smith's pub in Holborn.

Finally, a reported closure for Lucky Seven, a record shop/secondhand bookshop in Stokey. It's now a salon.

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



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.

We have a rather pub-heavy week of updates this week!



Featured article is The Prince Albert, SE18 6NE, a pub in Woolwich which often goes by the name "Rose's". It's a single-room pub, it does crusty rolls, you'll get a pint of real ale, and it's proper trad.

New articles are: The Rochester Castle (the "Roch" if you live nearby) in London's trendy Stoke Newington, a classic 'Spoons and the oldest one that's still part of the chain (also one of the few that's in an actual pub building). There's also the Dalston branch of the Diner chain, which does the usual 50s Americana vibe with a menu to match, though it seems pricy.

Reported closures are The Cock Tavern under Smithfield Market (this one closed over a year ago apparently), and The Tamworth Arms in Croydon. The latter was a lovely old traditional Young's house, though I wouldn't be surprised if it reappears with a major facelift, as per other pubs in that chain (see the featured article from two weeks' ago). We also believe that Na Pura Portuguese cafe in Nunhead has closed.

On the plus side of the ledger, The Railway in West Hampstead has reopened following a period of refurbishment.

Finally, there are updates to two more pubs after recent visits: the weirdly sanitised and family-friendly The Dulwich Wood House in Sydenham; and The Old Orchard in Harefield, which has big terraces and beautiful views.

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.

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).

Hello! Unusually this week the featured article is not a place but a category: the Good Beer Guide 2013. Every year on the release of this guide, Kake uploads the 2013 pub information, and as a result a number of new pages are created in RGL (which she and other contributors try to visit before the publication date).

It's worth pointing out that the new articles that have been added as a result do not represent all the new 2013 GBG pubs, just the ones which didn't already have a page on RGL.

The new articles which are not GBG-related are: Dost, an Indian street food restaurant in Uxbridge; Bookworm, a second-hand bookshop in Carshalton; Raizes, a Brazilian restaurant in Bethnal Green; and Cafe Z Bar, a greasy spoon cafe in Stoke Newington.

So, those new GBG articles:
* All Inn One in Forest Hill;
* The Angel in Hayes End;
* The Argyll Arms in Soho;
* The Barnsbury in, er, oh guess;
* The Beehive in Bedfont;
* The Black Lion in Essex's Epping.
* The Botanist in Kew;
* The Coal Hole on the Strand;
* The Elm Park Tavern in Brixton;
* The Forester in West Ealing;
* The Grenadier in Belgravia;
* The Greyhound in Keston;
* The Hare in Bethnal Green;
* Howl at the Moon in Hoxton;
* Noble Green Wines, an off licence (not a pub) in Hampton Hill;
* The Old Sergeant in Wandsworth;
* The Queen's Head in Downe;
* The Railway Hotel in West Wickham;
* The Rising Sun in Surrey's Epsom;
* The Sir Michael Balcon in Ealing;
* The Sun in Carshalton;
* The Sussex Arms in Twickenham;
* The Swan in Hammersmith;
* The Three Greyhounds in Soho;
* The Walnut Tree in Leytonstone; and
* The Windmill in Mitcham.

No closures reported this week.