"london restaurants" news and stories

Today's Times lists the top tastes of the Med, the best Mediterranean restaurants in London and the South East of England.

1. Pintxo People Western Road, Brighton "This new Brighton venture beings big-city pizzazz to the South Coast" [website]
2. Cafe Corfu Pratt Street, London NW1 "The short wine list is a good introduction to the diversity and quality of contempoarary Greek winemaking" [website]
3. Iznik Highbury Park, London N5 "Diners love the exotic atmosphere of Iznik, with its Ottoman tiles, Turkish lantrns and romantic candlelight" [details]
4. Giardinetto Albemarle Street, London, W1 "The cooking, which showcases specialities form the Genoa region of Italy, is generally well done" [website]
5. Medea King's Road, London SW6 "There is little in the way of spcae on the cushion-strewn floor so expect ot he showhorned in among the low tables" [details]
6. Noura Central Lower Regent Street, London, SW1 "This Lebanese mini-chain has worked up quite a following at its four brances around London" [wesbite]
7. Numidie Westow Hill, London SE19 "get to enjoy some of the best and most authentic North African cuisine in London" [website]
8. Pescatori Dover Street, London, W1 "The house speciality of cacciucco, a five fish stew, is not to be missed" [website]
9. Sardo Canale Gloucester Avenue, NW1 "interesting Sardinian menu is all about bringing the best of the island to London" [website]
10. Vrisaki Myddleton Road, London, N22 "unpretentious Greek restaurant is well known among the expat community" [details]

Food related chat forums abound across the internet; so do we need another? Well the Culinary Hags seem to think so and they have a perfectly valid reason for launching their own.

Their blog covers London restaurants, of which there must be thousands across the capital. The Culinary Hags number just two. Covering London's ever changing restaurant scene is a mammoth task so the hags have put out a call to all to participate in their new forum. They write "We are always approached by family and friends who say, 'I know this great place, you should put it on your blog...' If every single Londoner knows of just one great place, one cherished local, one family-run down-to-earth joint serving honest good food...that's a helluva lot of hot-spots. Combine all of that knowledge in one spot...and voila! We have a community of food lovers sharing their passion for stupendous nosh and slosh. It also gives our readers a chance to have their say. We Hags might consider a certain place to have the best sushi train in London. If you think, "No way! Those Hags must have asses for tongues! I've eaten at that place and I know another place with a much better sushi train."

So give them a hand in uncovering the best places to eat across London.

Source

From today's Times the top ten vegetarian restaurants in London; with two establishments this week residing outside the capital.

1. Terre à Terre 71 East Street Brighton "Who said vegetarian cookery is dull? This just-off-the-seafront restaurant is a large, light space that blends contemporary looks with a laid-back air, an imaginative wine list and astonishing Asian-edged food." [website]
2. 222 Veggie Vegan 222 North End Road, London W14 "a bold attempt to cater for the niche vegan market" [website]
3. Carnevale 135 Whitecross Street, London EC1 "This diminutive gem is not simply a vegetarian restaurant, but a Mediterranean vegetarian restaurant with a counter selling good things to take home too" [website]
4. Eat and Two Veg 50 Marylebone High Street London W1 "The menu atthis polished American-style diner is protein-led and full of comforting classics" [website]
5. The Gate 51 Queen Caroline Street London W6 "If you want to follow in the footsteps of the veggie celebs Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Stella McCartney, book a table at this jewel" [details]
6. Green Note 106 Parkway, London NW1 "With musicians performing on Wednesday to Saturday, it's a great place to share a bottle of wine with friends and dig into tapas-style dishes" [details]
7. Manna 4 Erskine Road, London NW3 "Desserts are sublime - a peach millefeuille is paticularly delicious, while the fruit crumble is to die for" [website]
8. Mildreds 45 Lexington Street, London W1 "a pleasant place to dine even if you are not a vegetarian. The skylit surroundings are stylishly informal" [details]
9. Rainbow Vegetarian Café 9A King's Parade, Cambridge "definitely the Cambridge vegetarian restaurant" [website]
10. Rasa 55 Stoke Newington Church Street, London N16 "one of the first Indian restaurants in London to tout its regionality as a point of difference" [website]

From Saturday's Times the top ten best cheapo eateries plus one in Brighton. I see Leon is mentioned again; its about the only place I eat on my infrequent dashes around the capital.

• Haché 24 Inverness Street, NW1 - "In the past few years the London gourmet buger scene has boomed, but Haché has that little extra that sets it above the competition" [website]
• Afghan Kitchen 35 Islington Green, N1 - "This tiny value-for-money eaterie packs 'em in" [details]
• Bill's The Depot, 100 North Road, Brighton - "This fantastic café-sum-grocer sources quality local prodcue for wonderful earthy dishes"
• Café Espana 63 Old Compton Street, W1 - "Punters are prepared to queue in the rain for the tapas" [details]
• Canteen 2 Crispin Place, Spitalfields, E1 - "The menu at this confident new venue is as fill-free as its minimalist decor and curiously nostalgic" [website]
• Cellar Gascon 59 West Smithfield, EC1 - "This classy wine bar serves an appetising menu of indulgent small bites alongside approximately 120 interesting wines from South West France" [details]
• The Fish Cub 189 St John's Hill, SW11 - "Don't you wonder why all fish restaurants aren't like this?"
• Imli 167-169 Wardour Street, W1 - "You won't find any frills and frippery at this Indian eaterie but the food is very good" [details]
• Leon 35-36 Great Marlborough Street, W1 - "Everything that the breezily stylish Leon serves is not only good for you, but is delicious and reasonably priced" [details]
• Mr Jerk 19 Westbourne Grove W2 - "With a painting of Bob Marley taking up one wall, there's no mistaking what kind of restaurant this is" [details]

The Times today lists the top ten 'celebrity chef' restaurants in London and the South East.

1. Royal Hospital Road, 68-69 Royal Hospital Road, London SW3, London, SW3 Chef: Gordon Ramsey [details]
2. The Connaught, London, W1 Chef: Angela Hartnett "one of only a handful of women in the country to hold a Michelin star" [website]
3. Millennium Hotel, Grosvenor Square, London, W1 Chef: Brian Turner "Turner himself is often to be spotted nipping in and out of the kitchen" [website]
4. The Fat Duck, Bray, Berkshire Chef: Heston Blumenthal [website]
5. Fifteen, 15 Westland Place, London, N1 Chef: Jamie Oliver [website]
6. Locanda Locatelli, 8 Seymour Street, London W1 Chef: Giorgio Locatelli [website]
7. Notting Grill, 123a Clarendon Road, London W11 Chef: Antony Worrall Thompson [website]
8. Rhodes Twenty Four, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2 Chef: Gary Rhodes [details]
9. Lindsay House, 21 Romilly Street, London W1 Chef:Richard Corrigan [details]
10. Smiths of Smithfields, 67-77 Charterhouse Street, London EC1 Chef: John Torode [details]

[Photo Andrew Barrow]