Da Polpo, Covent Garden
John Underwood braves the crowds of Covent Garden to find Russell Norman’s latest culinary hideaway, the too-cool-for-school super-hip eatery for those who like a dash of Greenwich Village meets Shoreditch: Da Polpo.
Browsing: Famous London Restaurants
Wiltons
I am rather surprised, and in truth ever-so-slightly-disappointed when I arrive at Wiltons to be…
Langan’s Brasserie
“As we settle into our seats with their fraying edges, and frail wooden armrests, we hear a commotion at the table behind us. Without proper warning a man suddenly falls backwards off his chair and rolls onto the floor. He’s ruddy and broken looking.”
Quo Vadis
“J.D., QC is a sophisticate like myself, boasting a detailed knowledge of the finer things that make life bearable. My reputation was at stake. I needed to deliver reliability for quality, but with uplift. There is only one place: Quo Vadis.”
The Dorchester Grill
“I was here for one purpose: grouse. I wasn’t exactly going to get the first bird from the Glorious Twelfth season, but no matter; I was told if you want grouse in London, The Grill at the Dorchester was the place to go.”
Le Pont de la Tour
When Jonesy drops one an email, one tends to sit up and take notice. More often than not, they offer tidings of comfort and joy. However, this one was laconic: “Larman, old chap. Cookery class at Le Pont de la Tour.”
Benares
Benares has a great reputation, for both its food and its owner and chef, Atul ‘Master of Spice’ Kochhar, so I didn’t expect to be disappointed. I didn’t expect, either, quite the culinary thrills that lay before me that evening…
Clos Maggiore
A young woman sits alone at a candlelit table. She flicks somberly through a heavy leather-bound wine list; her eyes fall upon the dark ink of exotic promises, but the seat opposite remains vacant…
Criterion Restaurant
When I stepped inside the Criterion in Piccadilly Circus – better termed a ‘tourist circus’…
Spuntino
First Polpo, then Polpetto, and now he’s done it again. Russell Norman and his recipe for success have taken the London restaurant scene by storm. Douglas Blyde ventures forth into the latest venture, Spuntino in Soho.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Oh Heston. Oh sweet, sweet Heston. Dear Willy Wonka. Arch-Mage of the culinary Dark Arts.…
The Bombay Brasserie
I nearly ate a hand towel. This was not a frivolous impulse or a drunken…