katstevens: (dogswim)
[personal profile] katstevens
Devereux, Aldwych, London WC2

Our first featured article of February is the Devereux pub, just off the Strand. It's had a recent change of ownership so those looking for the usual Taylor Walker menu will be met instead by a variety of toasties. According to the website, they also sell Curly Wurlys!

There's a new article for Harry Morgan, a restaurant and deli in St John's Wood. Expect salmon bagels, salt beef sandwiches and, if it takes your fancy, a bowl of cold borscht.

It's the dawning of a classic sitcom plot in South Norwood as cafe Nico moves premises over the road. Will the old carpet shop be able to squeeze itself into Nico's previous home with hilarious results? We'll let you know if we see them sending passive-aggressive paper airplane notes across the street to each other on our next visit.

Finally, some pub news to report:
- the Fuller's Brewery Tap in Brentford has reopened after a refurb;
- the Royal Exchange in Paddington is temporarily closed after some sad news;
- Walthamstow Antic pub Mirth, Marvel and Maud is undergoing redevelopment;
- the landlords of the Ealing Park Tavern have decided not to renew their lease;
- the Change of Horses in Farnborough has had a Change of Management; the effect on the weekly Orpington Folk Club meetings is as yet unclear;
- the Load of Hay near Brunel University in Uxbridge has also recently had a refurb. Whether this will stop locals referring to it by a slightly different name remains to be seen.
mrs_leroy_brown: (Happy PK)
[personal profile] mrs_leroy_brown
Greystoke, Ealing, London W5

Hello friends and welcome to another randomness roundup :)

This week’s featured article is the Greystoke, a Good Beer guide pub on the border of Ealing and West Acton. Unsurprisingly, it’s a CAMRA-friendly joint with plenty of real ales to choose from, and a menu of pub classics to help soak it all up.

Three new articles have been added. Urban Gui, an Indian cafe and tea shop in Thornton Heath - if, like me, the idea of a fried potato dumpling served in a bun with chutney makes your tummy rumble in anticipation of carby goodness, then check out the wada pau. Grape Variety (NOICE) is a wine cafe and off license in Chipstead with a small menu of charcuterie and sweets. Canvas Cafe in Shoreditch serves vegan food in a chilled, arty setting. I visited for my birthday a couple years back specifically to try the freakshake, which was exactly as delicious as it was sugar-laden. Recommend!

Updates have been made to the Owl and Pussycat pub in Shoreditch.

We’ve three reported closures - Cote D'Azur, a French and Mauritian fusion restaurant in South Croydon, Providores And Tapa Room on Marylebone Hight Street, another fusion restaurant, in this case New Zealand/Asian, and the Common Room, a pub near Ealing Common Station.
katstevens: (dogswim)
[personal profile] katstevens
Round Table Books, Brixton, London SW9
Evening RGL readers!

This week's featured article is for Round Table Books in Brixton Market. It's a small children's bookshop with a focus on inclusivity. It also contains a table (shape unspecified)!

There's a new page for The Kitchen cafe in Lee, which serves breakfast until 11am, bagels thereafter, and banging tunes from Kiss FM throughout. We also have lots of pub updates (and one addition) this week following a successful flaneurs trip:

- The Cricketers, Orpington
- The Hackney Carriage, Sidcup
- Hopper's Hut, Sidcup
- The Greystoke, West Ealing
- The Lemon Tree, Trafalgar Square
- The Elephant Inn, North Finchley
- The Pineapple, Kentish Town

The last time I was in the Pineapple, I got chatting with a dude who said he was the keyboardist in Gorillaz. It was quite an animated discussion! Ahem. Let's draw a smooth Euclidean line under that, and wrap things up with a closure: the Clerkenwell branch of Foxlow.
ewan: Star (Default)
[personal profile] ewan
Welcome back to a rather quiet week on RGL.

Rose & Crown, Ealing, London W5

The featured article is The Rose and Crown, W5 4HN. It's a comfortable, low-ceilinged and dimly-lit space, according to our write-up, and you'll get a fine pint of London Pride (it's a Fuller's pub). If you're visiting soon, check out the gnocchi if you're looking for food.

The one reported permanent closure is Ezo Bistro in the concourse of Barking Station. There's still a coffee shop there, though, so fear not if you're passing through.

And... that's it!
katstevens: (dogswim)
[personal profile] katstevens
Sanxia Renjia, Bromley, London BR1

This week's featured article is for Sanxia, a Sichuan/Hubei restaurant in Bromley, where you'll find the marvellously-named dish 'ants climbing a tree' (spicy pork vermicelli). I do like a place that has a menu section called 'Adventurous Dishes' - if you're after some #TripeOfTheDay then you could do a lot worse than here (or their sister branches in Deptford and Fitzrovia). I've gone veggie for 2019 though, so you'll have to eat my portion for me.

Some pub updates, following a recent jaunt to Ealing: the Rose and Crown and the Castle Inn are both Fuller's pubs, with a predictably similar beer selection, but the menus are quite different (no tripe). Over towards Old Street, the Trader is now under new management, and has been renamed to the Whitecross Tap.

The Antic-owned Jam Circus pub in Brockley has closed (a distinct lack of actual jam there, as I recall), as has the Grill On The Market by Smithfields (jam quantities uncertain but I remember it being very noisy), and the Dispensary in Whitechapel (very handy for my office, zero jam). The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green has also finally closed its physical shop - online jam(s) available only.
mrs_leroy_brown: (Jack consoler)
[personal profile] mrs_leroy_brown
Koya, Cannon Street, London EC4

Good evening ya'll!

If you're looking for advice on where to seek out Japanese noodles in the City, "udon" well in reading this update. Koya serves up udon in a variety of temperatures in a rich and salty broth. Expect solid competence in a modern setting, with efficient service.

Two new articles have been added: Ma La, a Sichuan restaurant in Westminster which can accommodate small and large groups, though you might benefit from scattering across smaller tables if you want to reach the lazy susan. There's also Planet of the Beans, a child-friendly cafe in Selsdon serving an interesting interpretation of eggs royale.

Updates have been made to Ealing Park Tavern, where a pint of lime and soda is £2 and the mains are tasty, albeit on on the small side. Updates have also been made to The Speaker, a small pub in Westminster with a good selection of beers that passed the RGL drinkable taste test.

If you're looking for Stanfords, an excellent map shop in Covent Garden, note it's moved around the corner from Long Acre to Mercer Walk.

That's it for a fortnight as we prepare for and recover from Croydon Fun Weekend :)
ewan: Star (Default)
[personal profile] ewan
Salt + Pickle, Crystal Palace, London SE19

This week's featured article is Salt and Pickle, SE19 1TS, which is of course a wine bar with an interest in pickled things. It's all very interesting, it sounds like, especially the wine list... but not so much the bread.

Two new articles are Natraj, a very small Indian vegetarian cafe in Rayners Lane with generous portion sizes, and Station Pantry in Upminster (across the road from the station), also very pleasant but again the bread comes in for a spot of criticism.

Finally, there are updates to three articles: Hare and Tortoise's Ealing branch; Viet Rest (short for Vietnamese Restaurant, which is what it is) in Deptford, where the pork sounds like a winner; and Deli Felice in Rotherhithe, friendly but again watch out for the bread.
katstevens: (dogswim)
[personal profile] katstevens
at Kiraku, Ealing, London W5

Evening readers!

This week's featured article is for Kiraku, a Japanese restaurant-pub combo, near Ealing Common tube station, where the quality of the cooking justifies the above-average price tag.

We have new articles for three veggie and vegan-friendly cafes: the Rail House Cafe in Victoria has some interesting breakfast options, the St Gabriel Ethiopian Delicatessen in Finsbury Park has flavoursome food in big portions, and Cafe Provencal in Herne Hill offers breakfasts and burgers that make up for their lack of structural stability with high levels of tastiness. But wait - there's more new cafe pages! Le Delice in Ladywell sounds like a pleasant, relaxing place to pass the morning, while Morden-based Romanian cafe Time In Ro feels like it should be a pun, but on what, I'm not sure (frankly there's Morden enough puns available in the area already).

Rounding off the week, there's an update to the Ladywell Tavern page following a recent visit, while the Gowlett pub in Peckham ('East Dulwich borders') has closed down.
ewan: Star (Default)
[personal profile] ewan
Welcome back, with another bumper crop of updates, although this one is not directly related to the Good Beer Guide.

Tip Top Cafe, Swanley, Kent BR8

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: (dogswim)
[personal profile] 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...
katstevens: (dogswim)
[personal profile] katstevens
Hackbridge Cafe, Hackbridge, London SM6

Afternoon RGL crew!

This week's featured article is for the Hackbridge Cafe in sunny Hackbridge. They serve greasy spoon breakfasts with just the right amount of grease, and pay close attention to how long your teabag is brewing for.

There are updates to two pubs: the Goldsmiths Arms in East Acton, and the King's Arms in Ealing. The Goldsmiths seems to be a case of quantity over quality, but the King's Arms has plenty of beer and a perfectly reasonable Thai buffet. If I were equidistant between the two, I know which pair of arms I'd run towards.

Finally, staying in West London, Coco Noodle Bar in Ealing has closed, and is now a sushi restaurant.
ewan: Star (Default)
[personal profile] ewan
Untitled

Hello, it's that time of year, time for the new Good Beer Guide and all the new pubs it brings. The category page for this book is therefore, of course, the featured article.

Before we get into that, there's one new unrelated article, which is Banh Mi Hoi-An in London's trendy Hackney, which will do you a decent noodle salad.

Now this leaves us with all the new pubs for this year, so brace yourselves:

* The Aeronaut in Acton (also a brewpub!);
* The Argyle in Clerkenwell (Hatton Garden area);
* The Black Horse in High Barnet (also a brewpub!);
* The Clarence in Mayfair;
* The Constitution in Pimlico;
* Craft Beer Co. in Brixton (ell, can't complain about the beer selection I guess);
* The Crooked Billet in Upper Clapton;
* The Crown in St Margaret's, Twickenham;
* The Elephant and Castle in Kensington;
* The Flying Pig in East Dulwich;
* The George in South Woodford;
* The Grapes in Sutton;
* The Grove in Ealing;
* The Hops and Glory in Canonbury (Essex Road);
* The Hour Glass in Brompton;
* The Huntsman and Hounds in Upminster;
* The King's Head in Tooting;
* The Leyton Technical in Leyton;
* The Lighthouse in Battersea;
* London Fields Brewery Tap Room by the park of that name in Hackney (really a brewery);
* The Lord Aberconway by Liverpool Street;
* The Misty Moon in High Barnet (ex-Spoons, obviously);
* Oaka at the Mansion House in Kennington (the Oakham Ales pub);
* The Old Bell on Fleet Street;
* The Old Loyal Britons in Greenwich;
* Old Tom's Bar under the Lamb Tavern in Leadenhall Market;
* The Pig and Whistle in Southfields;
* The Prince of Wales in Clapham;
* The Railway Bell in New Barnet;
* The Royal George by Euston Station;
* The Shortlands Tavern in Bromley;
* The Sporting Page in Chelsea;
* The Station Hotel in Hither Green;
* The White Lion in Warlingham;
* Williams Ale and Cider House in Spitalfields; and
* Woodin's Shades around the corner on Bishopshate, by Liverpool Street Station.

There are also two stub entries which will be filled out by Kake in the next week or two:
* The Door Hinge in Welling (a micro-pub!); and
* The Hare and Billet in Blackheath.
ewan: Star (Default)
[personal profile] ewan
2013 Good Beer Guide cover

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.
kake: A tan capital R on an olive-green background, representing the Randomness Guide to London colour scheme. (RGL)
[personal profile] kake

This week's featured article is Tuli, SE1 2TF, a Chinese restaurant on Tooley Street near London Bridge station.

Originally opened as a pan-Asian buffet restaurant, it's now a white-tablecloth à la carte Cantonese serving dim sum all day. Quality is reasonable, and the dim sum menu includes items like congee, cheung fun, and turnip paste, all of which are good signs of some skill (or at least ambition) in the kitchen.

As befits today's Blogging Against Disablism day, physical access to Tuli is good; it's step-free to get in, to get to the main dining area, and to get to the toilets. There's a separate accessible toilet, but in addition there's an extra-wide stall in the ladies' with grab bars and a door that opens outwards.


Recent additions to RGL include Riding House Cafe, a new cafe/bar in Fitzrovia; Red Barn, a pub in Barnehurst; Birchwood, a pub in Abbey Wood; Coco, a pan-Asian noodle bar in Ealing; and Wide Fit Shoes, a specialist shoe shop in Kenton. We've also added proper writeups of Fox & Goose, a Fuller's pub/hotel near the Hanger Lane Gyratory; and Pleasure Boat, a small pub in Alperton.

Reported closures are Rump in Putney, and many branches of Oddbins.

Profile

rglondon: (Default)
Randomness Guide to London

March 2020

S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
151617 18192021
22232425262728
293031    

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 4th, 2025 05:56 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios