@wilkes888 – London based Food & Drink-o-phile

  HKK (Hakkasan Kitchen) Broadgate West II, Worship Street, London EC2A 2DQ “Bespoke Cantonese fine dining from the Hakkasan Group” is the claim from HKK, the second Hakkasan venture to open in The City this year. Does it deliver? Most definitely! Hakkasan Group has been busy lately. Opening two venues in just over two months. […]

Bo London 4 Mill Street, London, W1S 2AX This is the “Ode to Britain” 12 course menu from Bo London, which opened last week on Thu 06 Dec. This is the first foray outside Asia for “Demon Chef” Alvin Leung. In culinary circles, he is known for his signature ‘X-treme Chinese Cuisine’ which has earned […]

  FlatIron Steak 17 Beak Street, Soho, London, W1F 9RW Good news steak fans! FlatIron Steak have opened their new 60 seater venue in Beak Street, Soho. Can a venue which serves ONE cut of meat and ONE size really thrive? At just £10 for an tasty 200g cut of tender steak, I definitely think […]

MASH – Modern American Steak House 81 Brewer Street, London, W1F 0RH MASH the Danish “Modern American Steakhouse” has now been open for just over 4 weeks in London. I caught up with co-owner, Mikkel Glahn, at his large art-deco bar to chat about steak and the London restaurant scene. As you would expect from […]

Patty & Bun Joe 54 James Street, W1U 1EU OPENING OFFER: 20% off all food from opening day for one week (Fri 30-Nov to Thu 06-Dec inclusive) Patty & Bun Joe threw their doors open (just ajar) for a sneak preview to their first PERMANENT site. Officially open in a few days (on Fri 30th […]

The John Salt 131 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1QP UPDATED: 22-Nov-2012 10h45 Apologies to everyone. The version initially published was an old draft. Hence the grammar and syntax. This has been updated. Ben Spalding, Ramsay trained and former head chef of Roganic, has taken residency at the newly opened John Salt in Islington. (Formally, […]

Disco Bistro EC4, The Rising Sun, 61 Carter Lane, City of London, London, EC4V 5DY Disco Bistro EC4 starts a 6 month residency at The Rising Sun Pub (Blackfriars), nr St Pauls from Monday 19th Nov. I visited on Tuesday as part of the Soft Launch. Here’s a taste of what to expect. FIRST IMPRESSIONS […]

Wishbone Unit 12, Market Row, Brixton Market, SW9 8PR A fried chicken shop in the middle of Brixton? Wishbone fried chicken is one hell of a stereotype! It opened to the public on Tuesday following a private launch party on Saturday. MENU The chalkboard menu offers 3 types of wings, 2 types of thighs, a […]

Shoryu Ramen 9 Regents Street, London, SW1Y 4LR Note: This venue is in SOFT LAUNCH – until 16th Nov Shoryu Ramen claims to specialise in ‘Hakata tonkotsu ramen noodes’ and has generated more questions than any other review I posted in the last 2 weeks. After uploading a single picture on Instagram and (Twitter), I […]

GrEAT British 14 North Audley Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 6WE VISIT DATE: Mon 05th Nov 11h50 The GrEAT British “Greasy Spoon Restaurant” (as their chalkbroud proudly announces) is a new informal restaurant from George Hammer, and Tony Zoccola (owner of East Dulwich Deli). FIRST IMPRESSIONS Amazingly, this GrEAT British does actually achieve the feel of […]

Hawksmoor 5 Air Street, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0AD VISIT DATE: 04-Nov-2012 12h00 (First Visit)” Hawksmoor is well known among London Diners for its solid reputation as steak heaven. However, for their fourth venue Hawksmoor have departed from their usual ‘steak-centric’ offering to share the menu with fish! The shift to seafood is an interesting move […]

November 07, 2012 at 11:47AM via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/RuigrGCc62/ Shoryu Ramen 9 Regents Street, London, SW1Y 4LR Shoryu Ramen, the second ‘tonkotsu centric’ eatery in a week, opened at lunchtime today and this picture of their “Yuzu Tonkotsu” generated a lot of interest and many questions! Instead of trying to reply to them all in 140 […]

MASH – Modern American Steak House 81 Brewer Street, London, W1F 0RH Danish Steakhouse MASH – Modern American Steak House opened on Saturday evening in Piccadilly. As expected many of the art deco interior features from the former Titanic Restaurant site have been retained in the 300 seater venue. With a solid reputation from its […]

Bone Daddies Ramen Bar 30-31 Peter Street W1F 0AR Bone Daddies is now soft launched with 50% off today and tomorrow (Fri 2nd Nov/Sat 03rd Nov). The ramen bar headed up by ex-Zuma and ex-Nobu head chef Ross Shonhan, opened its doors this lunchtime to a busy crowd. If you want to take a sneak-peek […]

Zoilo 9 Duke Street, London W1U 3EG Argentinean Restaurant Zoilo opened its doors to the public for a soft opening on Wed lunchtime. I visited (anonymously) to gain a first look at the new Marylebone venue from the team behind Casa Malevo (Diego Jacquet and restaurateur Alberto Abbate). Here’s what to expect. The venue is […]

Lupita 60-62 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LT Lupita claims “Authentic Mexican City Cuisine in London”. Following the success of their first London venue in Villiers Street, they have now opened a second venue, a few minutes walk from Spitalfields Market in the heart of The City. According to their website, Lupita isn’t a new player […]

The Giaconda Dining Room 9 Denmark Street, London, WC2H 8LS The Giaconda Dining Room is a popular venue serving ‘Modern European’ cuisine. Situated in the middle of Denmark Street it closed to refurbish and to expand it’s tiny 2m x 2m kitchEN earlier this year. Denmark Street is London’s answer to ‘Tin Pan Alley’, Lined […]

Bubbledogs70 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 4QG The long anticipated Hot Dogs and Champagne-centric restaurant, Bubbledogs, opened their doors to the public this week! Can the odd-couple of hot dogs, (the icon of fast-food) and champagne (the epitome of fine dining) really work? Husband and wife team James Knappett and Sandia Chang have come together […]

SUSHISAMBA Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AY This eagerly awaited restaurant at the top of Heron Tower has officially opened to the public today! (Mon 30-Jul-2012) SUSHISAMBA showcases the unique fusion of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine which evolved from the Japanese immigrant community in Brazil. Already well established in the US (Miami, New […]

FIRST LOOK: Duck & Waffle (Soft Opening) Duck & Waffle (soft) opened to the public on Fri 27th at the 40th floor of Heron Tower in The City. Finally, London welcomes a large 24h bar and restaurant with cuisine from Chef Daniel Doherty. Unlike most international Cities, London seems to be in the dark ages […]

Burger & Lobster 36-38 Dean Street, Soho, London, W1D 4PS Who wants a whole lobster for the giveaway price of only £20? Thankfully Burger & Lobster open their Soho Site TOMORROW (Tue 17 Jul) and in a break with their Mayfair branch tradition, they will be taking reservations! I love Burger & Lobster. Their first […]

Courvoisier Institute of Grand CocktailsThe Heritage Rooms, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1B 4DA Courvoisier are back with their fun adventures. For two days only, they invite cocktail aficionados to experience their Courvoisier Institute of Grand Cocktails, an immersive theatrical experience through a world of classic cocktails If you haven’t heard, Courvoisier like to create […]

Evans & Peel Detective Agency 310c Earls Court Road, Chelsea, London, SW5 9BA A bar/restaurant posing as a detective agency in Earls Court? With bars springing up through wardrobes, phone boxes, and through Smeg Fridges, why not? But a trendy-secret-speakeasy-entrance does not a bar make! Thankfully, detectives Evans and Peel live up to the hype […]

Tonkotsu, 63 Dean Street, Soho, London, W1D 4QG Visited: 26-Jun-2012 14h45 The Japenese word “Tonkotsu” means “pork bone broth ramen”. This Soho newbie of the same name promises a Tonkonsu made by cooking pork bones and fat for up to 18 hours over a high heat. With so many noodle shops in London, is Tonkotsu […]

Invisible: Art of the Unseen 1957-2012, Hayward Gallery, London Is “invisible art” just a case of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”? Will I be faced with a vast emptiness of vacant plinths and walls mounted with blank pieces of paper? Invisible: Art of the Unseen 1957-2012 is an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery. So is there […]

Patty & Bun Joe (pop-up), The Endurance Pub, 90 Berwick Street, London, W1F 0QB Pop-ups and burgers are both hot property in the London food scene right now. Patty & Bun Joe’s pop-up burger residence in a Soho pub really cuts the mustard. With a huge thick patty, chunky salad and oodles of sauce, this […]

“Holy Mother of God” is the newest hot sauce from London street food favourite “The Rib Man”. It will be launched at Jamie Oliver’s Street party on 30th Jun with claims of being the hottest sauce yet! But what is it like? The Rib Man is one of the celebrities of the new London ‘Street […]

The popular Pitt Cue guys are back under Hungerford Bridge. There is one special on the newly re-opened Pitt Cue Trailer menu and it’s pretty unique… The Trailer Trash Burger The Trailer Trash Burger has a patty made from Mac ‘N’ Cheese coated in breadcrumb. The burger is topped with pickles and the pulled pork […]

Indian streetfood vendor Horn OK Please makes an insanely hot (and off menu) Bhel Puri using the infamous Holy Fuck sauce from The Rib Man. There is a reason why it’s under the counter… as Ira and the guys from the Byron Burger Van discovered at Street Feast London June 08, 2012 at 11:41PM via Instagram http://instagr.am/p/LoUgXOCc6o/