rglondon | Entries tagged with tw9

Welcome to another week of curated randomness :)

This week's featured article is Out Of The Brew, a veggie/vegan coffee shop twixt New Cross and New Cross Gate stations. Although the menu choices aren't vast, it seems a great place to work with a decent wifi connection and a possible resident dog.

Updates have been made to the Devereaux pub just off the Strand, and London Fields Brewery Tap Room.

We've two reported closures - Swan Books, an indie bookshop in Upminster and Lamberts, a British restaurant in Balham.

In reopening news, the Waterman's Arms, a Young's pub in Richmond, is refurbished and under new management, though we've yet to visit.

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

Evening RGLers!

This week's featured article is for Hilltribe, a Thai restaurant in Richmond. All the dishes our reviewer tried came with a lettuce leaf/hibiscus flower decoration, which certainly made the Chiangmai sausages look more colourful: like Esther Williams, in sausage form!

There's a new article for 161 Food And Drink, a wine bar just down the road from me in sunny Sydenham. They have a few interesting beers on offer too, plus a small plates menu, however if you're after substantial veggie options for dinner, in my experience you'd be better off at the Azeri chip shop three doors up the hill.

Staying in Sydenham, there's an update for the On The Hoof Bistro, a cafe run by the same people behind the coffee stalls in Sydenham and Forest Hill stations. I must go back there for another Sunday roast at some point.

Finally, down in Croydon there's an update for Don's Cafe, a traditional greasy spoon with proper formica tables. The sausages here may be slightly less glamorous than Esther Williams, but they get the job done.

mrs_leroy_brown

New Asian Tandoori Centre (Roxy’s), Southall, London UB2

Wassup ya'll, or in the parlance of Bill McNeal - Gaziza, dlznoofuses!

This week's featured article is New Asian Tandoori Centre, a Punjabi restaurant in Southall. Our reviewer enjoyed a rich and flavourful breakfast and appreciated the good service. Check out the bhatura if you fancy a change from the greasy spoon style fried slice!

Three new pages went up: Sambal Kitchen and Diner, a Sri Lankan restaurant in South Harrow featuring set meals at an affordable price; Momo and Roti; a Nepalese restaurant in Houslow where you can get a generous portion of chatpate bursting with well balanced flavour; and Hilltribe, a Thai restaurant in Richmond which might not melt your mouth with Thai-hot spice but impressed overall.

Updates have been made to The Prince’s Head, a Fuller's pub in Richmond; KKs Bar and Grill, a cafe-bar in Woolwich; and The Royal Standard, a pub in Blackheath.

We've one reported closure, Great Queen Street, a modern British restaurant near Covent Garden.

katstevens

Evening RGL crew!

This week's featured article is for the Douglas Fir micropub in Anerley (halfway up the hill, towards Crystal Palace). Expect all your favourite Gipsy Hill Brewing Company beers, and a place to plug your laptop in.

We've been to Orpington! This has resulted in a new page for snazzy Indian restaurant Masala Dabbas (the thali sounds good) and an update for the Orpington 'Spoons, the Harvest Moon, which looks exactly like I'd expect a Zone 6 Spoons to look like. A couple of stops up the line in Bromley we've a new page for gelato emporium Unico, which also does savoury pastries. The Wine Gallery in Purley has tapas plates to accompany your glass of rosé, while you admire the art - very sophisticated.

Keep going south from Purley and you'll reach Coulsdon, home of the Singapore Orchid, an 'old school' Singaporean/Chinese restaurant with lots of vegetarian/mock-meat options. Even further south is the Rambler's Rest in Chipstead, a country pub with open fireplaces, and the Kingswood Arms (in Kingswood), which has had an important fishfinger sandwich update. Before you start wondering if we should rename this blog the Randomness Guide to Surrey, the subject of our final new article is located right by Streatham Hill station: Perfect Blend self-describes its widely ranging menu: breakfasts, small plates, burgers, smoothies, cocktails, coffee, pancakes and an omelette. I defy you not to hum the Neighbours theme tune while reading that list ("breaaaaak-fasts....").

Finally, some closures to report. The Change of Horses in Farnborough is "currently closed for a short undeterminable period of time" (scratching-chin-emoji), the Waterman's Arms in Richmond is closed for a refurb, and Lounge 101 in Ruislip has met its pseudo-Orwellian fate at last, consigned to oblivion by Frank Skinner's comically-oversized lever.

ewan

Hello and welcome back, it's been a few weeks!

This month's featured article is The Orange Tree, TW9 2NQ, a pub and hotel near Richmond station. It's Young's-run so expect a decent pint of Ordinary. Also note that RGLers have been visiting long enough that there are comments pre-dating the smoking ban. Ah, those heady days.

Our two new articles are: Melisi, an Italian bar, cafe and restaurant in Ruislip. A small place, but nice food, soft rock, and Italian service. I learned that the "s" is soft in Ruislip from Kat when I visited recently (a sibilant sound, like "Rye-slip", not a "z" sound as I'd been incorrectly doing for years). There's also Taste of Kerala, where in Croydon you too can sample a taste of, er, Kerala I'm guessing? Kake gets into some detail about exotic and interesting styles of rice cooking in the entry, so be sure to read up on that.

Significant updates have been made to Nakhon Thai in E16's delightful Royal Docks area. Pretty nice, we conclude.

Finally the reported permanent closure of The Bree Louise due to HS2 redevelopment of the area. Expect more transport links, but fewer cask ales and ciders served on gravity dispense.

ewan

Hello again!

This week's featured article is Deli Felice, SE16 7JQ in Rotherhithe, a small space showcasing a frequently changing roster of local artists. Sounds pretty good and you may even find yourself not objecting to dried oregano.

We have updates! Three updates! There's Pearl Liang, a dim sum place near Paddington (still good!). There's Bridge Hotel in Greenford (still there). And there's The Orange Tree in Richmond (still probably best to avoid when there's rugby on).

Four reported closures though: Good Taste, a very good deli in CryPal, sadly missed; Kensington Roof Gardens in, er, Kensington; Rio's Britannia Cafe in Norbury; and Bunga Raya in Thornton Heath.

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

Mirth, Marvel & Maud, Walthamstow, London E17

Hello RGL crew! It's that time of year again where we explore the new entries in the Good Beer Guide. Which means a whole bunch of new pub articles for you to peruse at your leisure:

- The Albion (plenty of real cider in Kingston)
- The Angel (the Wetherspoons close to Angel tube station)
- The Antwerp Arms (a community-owned pub in Tottenham)
- The Black Horse (dog-friendly pub on the Kingston/Norbiton borders)
- The Brewhouse and Kitchen (microbrewery in Highbury)
- The Cricketers (Stonegate pub beside Epsom Common)
- Cronx (bar in the Croydon Boxpark, run by the Cronx brewery)
- Draft House Old Street (fashionable outpost of the ever-growing chain)
- The Dundee Arms (gloomily lit, narrow pub in Bethnal Green)
- The Flag (large pub by Watford Junction station)
- The Greenwood Hotel (huge Wetherspoons in Northolt)
- The Greystoke (Greene King pub on the Ealing/West Acton border, but with a better beer selection than that would immediately suggest)
- The Hope (sounds like a pleasant place to watch the cricket in Richmond)
- Jono's (oddly-decorated pub in Ilford)
- The Midland Hotel (stained glass and hexagons in Hendon)
- Mirth, Marvel and Maud (see picture above - an Antic pub and performance space, in a converted cinema in Walthamstow)
- The Mitre (more stained glass, this time in North Sheen)
- The Mossy Well (Wetherspoons in Muswell Hill featuring a large model cow)
- The North Star (bare lightbulbs in Ealing)
- The Northcote (above average pizza in Leytonstone)
- The Shelverdine Goathouse (Antic pub in South Norwood)
- The Taproom (deep fried courgettes in Woolwich)

Next week there'll be some non-pub updates! Stay tuned...

ewan

Hello and welcome back as RGL takes you to...

Leafy Forest Hill, where our featured article, cafe Teapot, SE23 3HF, awaits you. It's not big, but it will do you a good panino, and child-friendly portion sizes if you have children with you, which you may not.

There's a new entry for Jackson and Rye, a chain bar/restaurant in Richmond. I know there's one in Soho, as I've walked past it many times, but that's not a review. You can follow the link for that but be warned, there is a distinct lack of blueberries.

Finally, the reported permanent closure of Matsuri, a teppanyaki restaurant in St James's, by Piccadilly. You might miss some of its excellent food, but you won't miss the prices.

ewan

Big update this week, mainly thanks to Oddbins. Anyway, here we go...

Our featured article is Tram Stop, CR0 6RD, which is not in fact a tram stop but is right next to one (Addiscombe tram stop that is). It's a small coffee shop and cafe. It's child-friendly, and offers newspapers and bookswap books. The food is seasonal and good too!

Two new articles are: Magma, a small Ghanaian restaurant in Thornton Heath with a fine palaver sauce; and Gojo, doing Ethiopian food in a North Kensington basement, better than it sounds.

Four reported closures we've caught up with are: the Marylebone High St branch of Nicolas wine shop; the Barnes branch of Spirited Wines; Just Falafel in Covent Garden; and Japanese restaurant Kibou in sunny Wimbledon.

Those Oddbins renamings (generally from Spirited Wines or Nicolas) are:

* the Oddbins Beer Shop in Blackheath;
* the Notting Hill branch;
* the Wimbledon branch;
* the Kew branch;
* the Baker Street branch;
* the the Crouch End branch; and
* the East Dulwich branch.

katstevens

Afternoon RGL crew!

This week's featured article is for the Tap On The Line, a cracking Fuller's pub by Kew Gardens tube station - and when I say 'by', I mean you can read the platform indicators while still in the pub so you know exactly how many minutes you have left to finish your half of Chiswick. That's for northbound trains though - you might need a pair of binoculars to read the southbound platform times (for Richmond only), but if you've acquired mutant eyesight powers from a random outbreak of gamma radiation in Sheen you should be fine.

We have a new article for Cristina's restaurant in Barking, which serves both steak and dishes that are not steak. This might make for a boring venn diagram but the prices are reasonable and the mains are well cooked (desserts perhaps best avoided). Make sure to ask the staff if you want the secret Romanian menu!

Pudding Mill Lane DLR station is temporarily closed while it gathers up its skirts and moves to a shiny new location 100m down the road (opening Monday April 28th).

Finally, some closures of a more permanent nature: Parrilladas Del Sur in Walworth, the Garden Ladder pub in Green Lanes and Chuen Cheng Ku at the very bottom of Wardour Street.

katstevens

Hello RGL crew! This is the last update of 2013, and there's plenty to report.

Our featured article for the next three weeks is the Black Cat Cafe, a vegan co-operative on the site of the old Pogo Cafe, which sounds like a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon chatting over tea and cake.

Our sources tell us that banh mi and other Vietnamese dishes will soon be back on the menu at Panda Panda in Deptford. New year, new noodles!

Unfortunately the following won't be around in 2014: the Old Duke of Cambridge in Bow is likely to be turned into flats, as will the Whitesmiths Arms in Borough (shame - they had a great jukebox) and the Victoria Cross in Thornton Heath. London is certainly short of decent, affordable flats, but at this rate it will be short of decent, affordable pubs too...

The Lamb Brewery pub in Chiswick has changed its name to simply 'The Lamb'. It's no longer a brewery, so fair enough! This follows its takeover by the Mitchell & Butlers chain (along with other former Convivial London Pubs outlets The Botanist, the Crown and Anchor and the Clifton, the latter of which may not yet have reopened after its sale).

Finally, the Pilot Inn in Greenwich has reopened after a refurb. We have no idea what it's like now! There could be a cross-dimensional portal in the ladies' for all we know. If you're in SE10 over the festive period, why not pop in and check it out for us?

Thanks again to everyone who's contributed to RGL over the last year, especially

kake and

bob (and of course my co-blogger

ewan!) for keeping everything running smoothly. See you in the new year!

ewan

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.

ewan

Duke of Wellington, De Beauvoir Town, N1

This week's featured article is The Duke of Wellington, N1 4BL, an excellent real ale pub with food at the edges of De Beauvoir Town, a short walk from the Dalston stations.

New additions are: Best Kebab, a good kebab shop in Walworth; and Bar Boulud, an American celebrity chef's brasserie in a Knightsbridge hotel.

There's an update to the stub entry for The Ship, a Good Beer Guide pub around the back of Fenchurch Street station.

Temporary closures reported are: The Rye, a gastropub on the southern tip of Peckham Rye Common, which is being refurbished following its summer residency by the Meatwagon (who are taking up a permanent restaurant site in Marylebone W1); and The Shaftesbury Arms, a Young's pub in Richmond, also closed for refurbishment.

Reopening after temporary closure is La Fermata, an Italian trattoria on Tower Bridge Road in Bermondsey.

Permanent closures are: Moshi Moshi, the sushi bar in the Canary Wharf Waitrose; and Sea Breeze Fish Bar, a fish and chip shop in Walworth.