Randomness Guide to London

Hello all! It's the busiest week of the year at my work, so thinking about places to eat and drink is always a pleasurable divertissement.



This week's featured article is the extravagantly-named Mandalay Golden Myanmar, NW6 2DB, where you can enjoy all your favourite Burmese food... or is it Myanmarese? I understand there's quite a bit of politics behind the naming of the country, and who would have guessed 10-20 years ago how we'd be thinking about Aung San Suu Kyi nowadays, eh? Ah well, there's still the food, and I'm certainly intrigued to try tea leaf salad, despite some of Kake's adjectives.

Two new entries are for The Hercules, which is the bar in the old Pillars of Hercules pub building, and Naughty Piglets, a wine bar ant tapas-y restaurant in Brixton with a twee name.

Loads of updates pages, mostly for pubs...
* Kulu Kulu in Soho, a Soho sushi place;
* The Duke of Argyll in Soho;
* The Newman Arms in Fitzrovia;
* The King William IV in Leyton;
* Browns of Brockley, a cafe in Brockley;
* The Nightingale on the Green in Wanstead;
* The North Star in Leytonstone;
* Domali, a cafe/bar in Crystal Palace;
* The Crown and Sceptre in Streatham;
* The Duke of Wellington in Belgravia;
* The Dog and Fox in Wimbledon "Village" if you will;
* The Aeronaut in Acton;
* The Roebuck in Hampstead;
* The Sir Richard Steele in Belsize Park;
* The Ivy House in lovely Nunhead;
* The Rye in Peckham;
* The Herne Tavern in East Dulwich; and
* Babur Indian restaurant in Forest Hill.

Finally, there are two reported permanent closures, being The French House, a French cafe in Crystal Palace (not the Soho pub!), and Mr Lawrence in Brockley, a sad loss to the area, which has been on the decline for some time but had been a fixture there for many decades.

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.

The featured article this week is The Ashburnham Arms, SE10 8UH, a small Shepherd Neame pub in Greenwich with good fresh beer. However, it does seem as if the locals prefer wine. None of that craft beer guff here.

There are fully four new pages this week: Cote d'Azur, a French-Mauritian fusion restaurant in southern Croydon (try the crab soup); Squires, a Nigerian restaurant in Dagenham (look out for some pounded yam); Upney Cafe, a greasy spoon in Barking (you know what to expect); and The Royal Albert in Crystal Palace. This last one is another traditional locals' pub, though there are increasing numbers of locals who probably want something more gastro, so hopefully it will hold out for a bit yet.

Finally, the David Lean Cinema in Croydon has reopened in its original location of the Clocktower.