rglondon | Entries tagged with w1

This week's featured article is Hopper And Bean, N10 3DU, a cheerful yellow cafe in Muswell Hill that is easy to access and work in.

A new article: Langley Quarter, BR3 3DE, a cafe in Eden Park where the food side is a bit hit-and-miss, and there are accessibility issues, but it's a good place to work on your laptop.

Updates to Tooting Daily Fresh Naan, SW17 7ER (now shawarma too), Poached, BR3 1AZ (new visits,photos of menus), and Category: Central Line (no longer direct trains to Chigwell et al.).

Square, W1J 6PU, a French restaurant in Bruton Street, Mayfair, has closed after the parent company went into admin, though we're hoping someone will take it on (it has a Michelin star after all). At Adam's Cafe, CR0 2TD, a greasy spoon in London Road, Croydon, the shutters have been down for weeks, but we don't know why.

Now, tap rooms. The Orbit Beers Taproom, SE17 3HD was, as its name implied, the tap room for the Orbit Beers brewery which operates from railway arches in Walworth. Or rather, the tap room attached to their brewery has closed. But they tweeted that a nearby cafe would be "hosting" their tap room. What does this mean though? Beer lines snaking through from the brewery to taps on the cafe counter? Or a few cans on a shelf? Whatever, could one call the cafe a "proxy taproom". On the subject of taprooms, do please opinionate on my blog post about what tap rooms are and aren't, and whether there we should have a dedicated category for them.

Current Mood: indescribable

ewan

Hello all, rather belatedly again because I'm a bit rusty at this. Also this will have to keep us going for two weeks, so special DOUBLE EDITION.

This week, our featured article is On the Bab, EC1V 9LA, a Korean street food vendor albeit in an actual building. bob was pretty happy with the bibimbap and expect it to be busy at lunchtimes.

One new article is Brown and Green on the Triangle, an excessively-named cafe catering to all kinds of diets in the Crystal Palace metropolitan hub. Expect kids.

We have an update to Frank's Cafe, still a local caff serving breakfasts near Limehouse. Handy if you find yourself in Limehouse.

Our two reported closures are for Klein's, a haberdashers off Oxford Street, and Yak and Yeti, a Nepalese restaurant in Eltham.

ewan

Welcome back to another week of Randomness.

This week's featured article is Golden Fleece, E12 5DB. It's a pub in Manor Park, which shouldn't be confused with Manor House or Mansion House, something I've sometimes done. The postcode will be a clue, and (depending on where you are right now) it's just on the near side of Ilford, where the postcodes are still London-y compass point ones. If you think that makes it sound like the inner city, then fear not for this very much has 'country pub' vibes. Bring some kids. Take a walk in Wanstead Flats first maybe?

The new article is for The Running Horse, a new pub (yes brand new), built as part of a big new housing development in Aldgate. It's filled with office workers during the week, and it's handy for Curzon Aldgate cinema. Look out for "raw lager" whatever tf that is (I think, unfiltered lager?).

Finally, after a short refurb, The Gunmakers in Marylebone has reopened.

ewan

Hello all!

Like me, you may be scratching your head trying to figure out where exactly Swanley is, though the postcode hints at a Bromley-adjacent location. Well, it's where this week's featured article can be found, The Cotton Mill, BR8 8ET, a micropub! Aha, micropubs, a very Kentish phenomenon, and this one comes recommended but no guarantees their sausage rolls won't have run out. NB Swanley is way out near the M25, so why not use the many map links on the RGL page to learn all about it.

We have one new article, More Flour to the People, and yes you did read that name right, it's a pun! Because! It's a bakery! Do you see? Anyway, you can toast your own bread, even.

Finally, the reported permanent closure of Japan Centre Ceramics and Sushi. Most of the business is now a basement food hall on Panton Street nearby.

rowleybirkinqc

Chennai Dosa, an Indian restaurant in West Croydon

Hello people, new blogger here, so quick intro: I'm

rowleybirkinqc - as surmised previously I stumbled into editing RGL years ago (probably because I liked the principle of wikis). Right, onwards...

This week's featured article is Chennai Dosa, CR0 2RL, a casual South Indian restaurant in West Croydon where you eat with your fingers. The food is usually good, and even though sometimes poor in parts our reviewers just keep coming back.

One new article: Warisan Cafe, W2 1TU, a Malaysian cafe near Paddington Station. It's in a half-basement, but is friendly and welcoming, with freshly made, flavourful food.

Several pubs (and one restaurant) reported as closed (though some temporarily) -- one closed for health and safety!

The Moon And Stars, RM1 1NX, a 'spoons in Romford, is being refurbished (reopening November). The Royal George, SE8 4QD (a Sam Smith's pub, New Cross/Deptford borders) has closed down; it is now up for sale, though we reckon as a going concern. In the West End, the Kings Arms, W1W 7QL, a pleasant pub near Broadcasting House, is being refurbished and is due to reopen next year.

Lewisham Council has closed the Catford Constitutional Club, SE6 4SP because "parts of the building are dangerous". I note that Antic were allowed to continue operating it for another week, so I have visions of "just put this hard hat on if you're going to the loo, and best not to tread on too many floorboards". The council state the pub will reopen, perhaps next year, after the necessary works, but we're not holding out much hope.

The Brewery Tap, TW8 8BD looks like it has closed for good: the area round this Brentford pub is being redeveloped, and Fuller's say it is no longer feasible to keep it open.

The Gaylord, W1W 7SJ, an Indian restaurant in Fitzrovia since 1966, has closed down. It is being replaced by a new restaurant from a New Delhi chain.

Some selected updates:
* "Laptop Friendly" category's criteria slightly broadened
* In Battersea, former cocktail bar Zocalo, SW11 3RA is presently a tapas place "Vinos y Licores"
* Epsom Station has crept into Zone 9

ewan

Welcome to another week in the company of your randomness guides.

Chances are you may have come across the Leicester Square basement wine bar original, but now there's a former pub in Hampstead renamed as Cork and Bottle, NW3 2QX and it's our featured article. Expect a range of furniture, a larger range of wines (and even some beer), and also some food, though that's likely to be the weakest element of the ambience.

No new pages, but significant updates to Mestizo, a longstanding Mexican on Hampstead Road alongside Euston which doesn't just do quesadillas but also caters to vegans et al., and The Windsor Castle in Carshalton, where all the cars live. They used to prohibit the use of mobile phones, but I wonder if they still do...

One possible closure is The Coach and Horses in Soho, which may even be closed right now. One definite closure is The Wallington Arms in Wallington, another failed experiment by Antic.

In positive news, The Cartoon Museum has reopened on Wells Street in Fitzrovia. We haven't been yet, but expect... cartoons?

ewan

Hello everyone and welcome to a midweek update for the RGL site.

The featured article this week is Santo Remedio, SE1 2TU, a Mexican restaurant in Bermondsey. It has a bar-like ambience upstairs, while downstairs expect a tulip on the table to provide a bit of colour. Expect enormous tacos and plenty of food on the set lunch menu.

There are four new articles! Four! These are:
* Levan, a cafe/bar in Peckham with annoying loud music (it's Peckham) and slightly underwhelming (European, not Levantine) food.
* Blackbird Bakery, also in Peckham, but in a railway arch which is exciting for a non-brewery enterprise. Anyway, it's busy and buzzy and the music is a lot quieter.
* Plumstead Pantry, and I shouldn't need to tell you where this is, you educated lot. I was there too and it has a nice cafe vibe with a vegan breakfast (heavy on the roasted greens like broccoli and sugarsnap peas).
* Kailash Momo in Woolwich, which looks like a dowdy takeaway from outside, but inside is a wonderful cozy Tibetan/Nepalese restaurant with tasty dumplings (the momo of the name) amongst other things.

Significant updates to our entries for The Old Mill and The Star pubs in Plumstead too, only one of which is still a proper old-school boozer, the other having been given a makeover as a pizza-serving upscale gaff.

Our two reported permanent closures are The Croydon Steak House and The Lukin (now a Guy Ritchie-owned pub called the Lore of the Land, so expect geezers I guess).

ewan

Hello again!

Halwa Poori House, Thornton Heath, London CR7

To whet your appetite, our featured article is Halwa Poori House, CR7 6JF, a Pakistani restaurant in London's glamorous and Croydon-adjacent Thornton Heath. The food of the name involves deep-fried flatbread with potato and chickpea curries and halwa (which I always thought of as a sweet thing, so I guess it's covering all the bases). Casual and relaxed apparently.

We have one new article, Nico, a small cafe in South Norwood. Expect hanging art in both of the major dimensions (2 and 3), a poached egg variation favoured by "Ellie", Ikea furniture, and helpful friendly service.

The one reported permanent closure is Wild Honey, a Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant.

ewan

Hello and welcome to another week of London randomness.

Our featured article this week is a micropub and crafty beer shop in Ruislip, The Hop and Vine, HA4 7AN. Expect friendly service, wood-panelled walls, ales, cheeseboards and, if you're lucky, maybe a dog or two.

Reported temporary closures for the Cartoon Museum (yes there is one and it was in Bloomsbury, but intends to move to Fitzrovia), and Cote d'Azur, a French/Mauritian fusion restaurant in Croydon, which has closed rather more mysteriously (so it may or may not return).

Reported permanent closures are Maze, a fancy Gordon Ramsay-owned restaurant in Mayfair (I'm sure you went all the time, so we're sorry to let you down); The Waterloo Bar and Kitchen which was a bar and kitchen in, er, Waterloo; and finally Obia, an Italian restaurant in "Croydon's restaurant quarter" (South End).

ewan

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.

Mandalay Golden Myanmar, Kilburn, London NW6

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.

katstevens

Hi readers! This week's featured article is for K's Spice in sunny Erith. This Nigerian restaurant is a tale of two halves: the casual, familiar tiling on one side, the dramatic elegance of stone cladding on the other, reflecting the eternal dualism within us all, the light and dark, the yin and yang, and all the shades in between that create a fulfilling and rounded human experience worth living for. Also, there's plantain!

New this week - we've all dreamed about it - the Christmas empanada. Yes, at Boca in Aldgate, your December empanada dreams can come true. If veggie stuffing and turkey fillings aren't your thing, try the sweet potato and feta - available all year round!

There's an update to Marylebone favourite The Golden Eagle - the beer is still good and there's still a dude playing piano classics in the corner. It's unlikely that this pub will change its style in the next millennium but your trusty reviewing team is happy to keep checking regardless.

katstevens

Hi RGL crew! I’m back after an unforeseen shortage of working laptops in the Sydenham area. We've had a productive week, so let's crack on with our featured article Itadaki Zen, a vegan Japanese restaurant in King's Cross. It's a solid, reasonably priced lunch option for the area with good tempura and bento boxes.

In Lloyd Park, Croydon, a morning soup can be avoided if you take a route straight through what is known as Parklife Cafe! As our new page for it describes, it's open for breakfast and there are plenty of tasty alternatives to soup, enough to give you an enormous sense of well-being.

There's a new page for GT Flavazs "N" Spices, which is not in fact the newest grime remixer on the block but a friendly Guyanese bakery and takeaway in Anerley. Thirteen stops up the Overground to Shoreditch, you'll find Lyle's, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the vein of St. John, which our reviewer enjoyed a great deal.

Also new to RGL is Brixton's Booma, a restaurant whose gimmick is curry-and-craft-beer pairing. A match made in heaven? You'll have to read the article and find out. Meanwhile down in Beckenham we have new pages for Indian restaurant Chai Naasto, and Poached, a small cafe where you have one (1) guess as to what sort of eggs our reviewer had for breakfast.

There's an update to the page for Bombay Burrito in Angel (now with vegan options!) and the Indian YMCA canteen in Fitzrovia (now with Rice Krispies!).

Lastly, Salt & Pickle in Crystal Palace has closed after less than a year - the final outpost of the Good Taste empire has now left the Triangle.

ewan

Hello and welcome back to another week, if your week starts on a Tuesday.

The featured article is Roti Masters, CR0 1YG in Croydon, a halal Caribbean cafe. But are they truly masters of the roti? Visit our reviews to FIND OUT.

There are no new articles, but two significant updates. These are to Vanilla Black, an upscale vegetarian restaurant near Holborn, and they can sort out vegans too. It's a lengthy review, so why not dive in? There'a also an update to The Wenlock Arms in Hoxton, which still has all the real ales and some basic pub food.

Finally, Suda Thai has moved from Covent Garden to Fitzrovia.

katstevens

Morning RGL readers! Apologies if you've been having trouble accessing the site, hopefully it should be working again now. We're rounding off the year with Swan Books in Upminster as our featured article. They've got a large children's section, plenty of local history books to peruse, and as you can see from the photo above, a cavalcade of different fonts on their shop frontage.

There are new pages for two small cafes: Roome, a smart establishment in Herne Hill with large teapots but small cup handles, and the New York Deli, situated not in New York but a mere 3,747 miles away in sunny Dartford.

The Black Horse in Bexley has had an update following a visit to make sure the carpet is still there, while after multiple name and location changes, vegan cafe Vitao on Oxford Street has now closed.

Finally, the Panton Street Odeon has reopened as the Odeon Luxe Haymarket. Apparently it will stick to showing the more unusual cinematic releases, as it did before, but you can now enjoy them while sat in an expensive-looking reclining chair.

That's it from us until 2018 - see you then!

ewan

Welcome back, with another bumper crop of updates, although this one is not directly related to the Good Beer Guide.

Our featured article is Tip Top Cafe, BR8 8ES in Swanley. It's not quite a greasy spoon, instead it's a full-fledged British cafe, but not posh. Can't fault it if you ever find yourself in, or indeed find, Swanley.

Right then, plenty of new articles. We have Flavours of Paani Puri in Kingsbury, a casual Indian cafe with a good line in Pani Puri, masquerading as a shop. Then, not far away in Colindale, is Bang Bang Oriental Foodhall, the successor to the late lamented Oriental City, with loads of options, variable quality. A bit further out in Wembley is Krishna, a small and okay Indian vegetarian restaurant. And also in the north-west is Delisserie in Stanmore, a New York-style deli (which is to say, more of a cafe I guess) with a bunch of NW London outlets.

Moving out east is Hasi, an Albanian restaurant in Barking. You may not find a menu, but you'll have options, and while they may seem basic, they turn out to be worth eating. Swinging down across the river is Kitchen Counter, a vegan restaurant in Herne Hill run by "Deliciously Ella"; we only visited for breakfast, but it may be worth exploring. Over to West Norwood for Frangipani, a cafe with a cozy bright style and including vegan options.

Continuing west we get to Orange Pekoe, a tea shop in Barnes, so expect them to brew your tea properly at least, and they're happy to talk you through it. Still west, but north of the river in Ealing is Kiraku, a Japanese restaurant in the izakaya style, which gets busy and serves excellent (if pricy) food. Bringing us back towards the centre is The Bull and Last, a well-known (and also pricy) gastropub in Dartmouth Park, but the food is top notch even if it's only vanishingly pub-like. And on Highbury/Canonbury borders is Prawn on the Lawn, a silly name for a very likeable fish restaurant (and fishmonger).

I'll just list the significant updates:
* The Robin Hood, a Young's pub in Sutton;
* YBR Cake, a Thornton Heath cake shop;
* Finch's, another Young's pub, this one in Moorgate;
* The Volunteer, a pub in Bexleyheath;
* The Belvedere Hotel, in Belvedere;
* The Eel Pie pub in Twickenham;
* The Fox pub, not far away also in Twickenham; and
* The Norbiton pub in Kingston's Norbiton.

Three reported closures are: The Haandi Lounge in Edgware; L'Autre Pied in Marylebone; and Tigris in Waddon.

katstevens

Evening crew!

This week's featured article is for Le Raj in Epsom, a fancy joint that's earned a spot in the Good Curry Guide. The takeaway prices are a bit lower but you'll have to come and get it yourself, as they don't deliver.

New to RGL but certainly not new to me is the Soldier's Return, the third best pub in Ickenham. It's changed a little since I was drinking cheap lager there in the '90s - the tie's changed from Courage to Greene King, and they've apparently got rid of the (really quite manky) carpet. Also new is Karachi Cuisine in Norbury, a child-friendly Pakistani restaurant that does an interesting-sounding traditional breakfast on weekends. Try the chickpeas!

Finally, the Michelin-starred Dabbous in Fitzrovia has shut. Apparently the team will be opening a new (hopefully less noisy) restaurant next year.

ewan

Hello all!

Patisserie Joie de Vie, Barnet, London EN5

This week our featured article is the very French-sounding Patisserie Joie De Vie, EN5 5SN. It's unclear how joyful life will seem by the time you get to High Barnet, but at least once there you can have a crepe or a galette, which surely will help.

There's a new article in the form of Lahpet, a Burmese restaurant in Hackney. I believe the names "Burma" vs "Myanmar" are somewhat political, but as I have no idea what the adjectival form of Myanmar might be, I'm glad the former has been chosen. If you, like I, are unfamiliar with the country's food, then a visit to Hackney may be required, though you may need some patience with the food it sounds like.

There are updates to Shadi Bakery in Croydon (for all your fresh naan needs), Kazan in Westminster (for all your quality Turkish food needs, assuming you don't mind paying a bit more), and Village Bookshop in Woodford Green (for at least some of your book needs).

There's a reported upcoming closure for Dabbous; their final day is 15 July. I guess its period of on-trend success just fizzled out?

Finally the old Chesham Brewery Shop is now called Mad Squirrel Chesham following the renaming of its parent brewery from Red Squirrel to Mad Squirrel. Best of luck with the new name.

katstevens

Evening crew, here's another update to kick off your week, featuring 100% pub content.

Our featured article is for a pub that's become one of my 'old reliables' over the years, the King and Queen in Fitzrovia. A haven for office workers and weekend rugby-watchers requiring no-nonsense drinking, it was mere 3 minutes away from my (now-demolished) office back in the 2000s. It has offered the same well-kept pints of Tribute, scuzzy carpet and bookable upstairs room for as long as I can remember.

Sadly another 'old reliable' on the other side of Tottenham Court Road has closed - the Jeremy Bentham is now a Simmons bar (I doubt they've kept the shrunken wax head which looks more like Tim Rice than Jezza B). Other closures include the Station Tavern in Brimsdown, the Well in Clerkenwell, the Balham Arms (guess where), and the Crown near Hillingdon Hospital.

Some slightly more cheering news from Muswell Hill, where the Victoria Stakes has reopened after a fire. The Camel & Artichoke in Waterloo has also reopened, while the Melbourne in Wallington is now The Star and the Norbiton & Dragon in Kingston has dropped any pretense at mythology to become merely The Norbiton. I guess I'll now have to get my dragon content from Duolingo Welsh, which seems very keen that I learn the phrase "mae ddraig goch yn ddiflas" (hashtag #notalldragons).

katstevens

Evening RGL crew!

This week's featured article is for Squires, a Nigerian restaurant in Canning Town serving at least two different types of pounded yam! I couldn't say if this is a 'typical Naija restaurant' as stated in the window but there are branches dotted around East and South London if you want to find out for yourself. If your prefer a cup of tea in Forest Hill instead, we have a new page for the Teapot cafe, which does a decent panini too.

Pub news! Famed Fitzrovia pie-haunt the Newman Arms is shut for a refurb, as is the Duke of Argyll (a Sam Smiths) in Soho. The Dartmouth Arms in Tufnell Park, the Widow's Son in Bow, the Lucky Rover in Chessington and the Great Northern Railway Tavern in Hornsey have all recently reopened - the latter is now owned by Fuller's, so expect the beer selection to be a little different.

However: the great pub deity giveth, and it taketh away again. The Taylor Walker-owned Devereux has shut, as has the Three Horseshoes in Southall. Also closed for good is Canal 125 on the Caledonian Road, once home to various club nights run by denizens of Livejournal. As small venues go it was pretty terrible, and I'm amazed it kept going that long. Let's hope whatever replaces it is better!

ewan

Hello all, and apologies for the particular delay this week, caused by jet lag (on my behalf).

This week's featured article is a Korean restaurant in Earlsfield called Cah Chi, SW18 4HP. Dumplings, noodles, efficient service and K-pop are your selling points for making the southwestern trek.

There's one reported closure, of Hason Raja, a Bangladeshi restaurant in Holborn described by our reviewer as "OK".

There's an update to the reopened The Beehive gastropub in Marylebone.

Finally an art materials shop which was by Aldgate then Brick Lane, called Atlantis Art, has moved premises to Old Street.