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Just an update on my few favourite eating places in London:
* Sushi Tetsu in Clerkenwell (mentioned above) - opened last year and clearly the best sushi in London (possibly Europe so I'm told). The 7 seats are booked out 2 months in advance, e.g. they will take reservations on 1 April for the month of June and most/all slots that month will no doubt go in a few hours. (The only possible challenge to Sushi Tetsu may be Araki which is a 3-Michelin star sushi bar in Tokyo (I've not been) which is planning to move entirely to London (!) and open sometime this year. I heard that they plan to fly in all of their fish from Japan which will no doubt mean somewhat hefty pricing.)
* The Shiori in a side street in Bayswater - opened in December, Kyoto kaiseki, rave reviews from newspapers, e.g. 5 stars from Fay Maschler in the Evening Standard (one of only 4 restaurants she's given that to in 20+ years) and the latest yesterday in the Guardian.
* Hedone in Chiswick (SW London) - I think they have the best seafood in London. Opened in 2011 by a Swedish ex-lawyer with no previous professional kitchen experience (although he has eaten widely) and he managed to get a Michelin star within one year of opening. He's obsessed with getting the best ingredients and the dishes highlight that, e.g. a dish of some slices of Cévennes onions with a few pear shavings. Some people just don't get the food there but others do and rave about it. It's still a work in progress - the chef says he still has many areas for improvement. He wrote a well respected blog which he's just revived:
* The Quality Chop House in Farringdon - this opened in 1869, has gone through various owners and guises (including the last one as a meatball joint) but reopened last December under new co-owners (one of them is the son of the FT's wine critic (mum) and the FT's food critic (dad) and the other was ex-GM of Heston Blumenthal's Dinner and the niece of the owner of a well known London/HK fine wine wholesaler, Farr Vintners). The decor is the original one including narrow tables and hard wooden benches (now with padding thankfully!) - it's listed, i.e. protected by law and can't be removed/changed. The food is modern British - the dining room only has a daily changing evening menu of 4 set courses for £35 and that's it; and there's a bar menu next door. The wine list is really interesting such as a 1944 Rivesaltes available by the glass (only about £10 so well worth enjoying). They usually on Monday evenings open a bottle of something special and sell it by the glass to whoever is interested, e.g. like this one. Plaudits from various newspaper critics, e.g. the Independent:
* Sushi Tetsu in Clerkenwell (mentioned above) - opened last year and clearly the best sushi in London (possibly Europe so I'm told). The 7 seats are booked out 2 months in advance, e.g. they will take reservations on 1 April for the month of June and most/all slots that month will no doubt go in a few hours. (The only possible challenge to Sushi Tetsu may be Araki which is a 3-Michelin star sushi bar in Tokyo (I've not been) which is planning to move entirely to London (!) and open sometime this year. I heard that they plan to fly in all of their fish from Japan which will no doubt mean somewhat hefty pricing.)
* The Shiori in a side street in Bayswater - opened in December, Kyoto kaiseki, rave reviews from newspapers, e.g. 5 stars from Fay Maschler in the Evening Standard (one of only 4 restaurants she's given that to in 20+ years) and the latest yesterday in the Guardian.
* Hedone in Chiswick (SW London) - I think they have the best seafood in London. Opened in 2011 by a Swedish ex-lawyer with no previous professional kitchen experience (although he has eaten widely) and he managed to get a Michelin star within one year of opening. He's obsessed with getting the best ingredients and the dishes highlight that, e.g. a dish of some slices of Cévennes onions with a few pear shavings. Some people just don't get the food there but others do and rave about it. It's still a work in progress - the chef says he still has many areas for improvement. He wrote a well respected blog which he's just revived:
It was hard to decide whether we deserved all the good reviews since I did not know when most of the critics had been. We were shit some nights but doing pretty good food some nights. It was a struggle getting good enough produce on a daily basis and to find kitchen staff, me having no real connections in the British trade and no kitchen track record when we started. Sometimes I was dead tired and I could work for days with a constant headache.
the Quality Chop House is probably best suited for people who really care about what they eat and drink, and want to do it in the company of others who feel the same. This isn't the place to come and order a Diet Coke or a glass of pinot grigio, and the no-choice dinner option isn't going to suit the faddy. But the charm, and the general sense of ease and generosity make it the perfect synthesis of the ancient and the modern. It may not be strong on comfort, but the whole place is an absolute joy.
the two in York aren't so good. the one in Harrogate is the original and less touristy. love their fat rascal, afternoon tea with clotted cream and eggs benedict. they are the same company that make Yorkshire Tea, the ones in tesco
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