Randomness Guide to London

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.

Hello! And sorry for the slight delay posting this update; all my fault.



This week's featured article is Addis, N1 9DT. It's an Ethiopian restaurant at the bottom of Caledonian Road, with plenty of options for veggies and vegans. Looks like everything was excellent, though you might want to think carefully about ordering falafel.

There are three new entries: a Turkish bakery and cafe called Tuana near Archway; Mi Rancho, a Colombian eatery in Nag's Head Market, Holloway, offering tasty street food in an unpretentious setting; and Black Cat Cafe, a vegan cooperative cafe in Lower Clapton.

Reported permanent closures are La Fermata on Tower Bridge Road, and Verru in Marylebone.

Finally, happier news, the old Duke of Edinburgh pub in Wanstead has been rebranded as The Duke and reopened. Looks promising.