london restaurants

I was going to start a 'Most annoying restaurant trend 2012' poll but no-bookings policies would comfortably win AND DESERVEDLY SO.

xxpost that is so weird

otm so so much

Anyone else eaten at Giant Robot?

no-bookings is the absolute worst of anything, ever

When I first read about Bubbledogs I assumed it was the tipping point for this sort of thing simply because it was such a ridiculous concept.

The meatballs at Giant Robot are pretty nice but a) not any better than you'd get at a reasonable quality local Italian anywhere in London, and b) the bar space itself isn't actually that nice and has really bad acoustics, so you have to shout at whoever is sitting opposite you. I probably wouldn't have gone at all if it hadn't been called 'Giant Robot' and I am far from alone in this regard, I suspect.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum we went to Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester the other week (celebrating a couple of good months at work mainly) and the whole experience was just... wow. I'm not sure my unrefined palette can really tell the difference between food worth three Michelin stars and one, though.

Anyone else eaten at Giant Robot?

no... heard mixed reports, mostly.

i've been skint for ages paying college fee so my eating out is severely curtailed.

xpost i don't think you can upgrade a hotdog that much to be honest. any of the pop-ups i've been to it really wasn't that much better than your standard crap hot dog. like it was obviously better but not to the point of getting excited.

hawskmoor an exception, just about.

xpost I quite like it, but as a poor postgrad student it's my idea of a flashy meal out, when in reality it's just nicely done meatballs and cocktails. They do a Lucky Chip burger now and it's...pretty average.

the new friday night market up at hackney downs studio has good street food, btw. though i didn't think it had come to life as a place to hang out it's worth popping in if you're walking by. xpost.

(Extra stars are as much for the service as for the refinement of the cooking aiui.)

We went to Quo Vadis for my birthday and loved it, modern British like everywhere else, but really very good indeed, nothing at all wrong with it. Talking of which we tried to eat in the St John Hotel resto but it was booked out that night, had delicious food in their bar instead. Turned out it was the evening of the Michelin Star announcements (I know, I know, you chaps all have that evening as a red letter day in your diaries) so I guess downstairs was booked out for the celebration of their getting a star.

Would go to Bubbledogs because TATER TOTS.

went to ledbury in the end btw. very good. food was great and good to feel relaxed while being looked after. wine menu very reasonable! will go again.

Talking of which: http://www.bighospitality.co.uk/Events-Awards/The-Ledbury-wins-National-Restaurant-Award-hat-trick

Interesting to see Pitt Cue on there amongst lots of expensive high-end stuff.

they're breeding their own pigs and stuff now, they're closer to st john than meatliquor, in spirit.

xxp yeah its a great restaurant, i'd like to go back too, i havent been for a couple of years.

Meatliquor (and Burger & Lobster) are both even higher in the list than Pitt Cue.

meatliquor is opening in hoxton before christmas i think, incidentally.

and will take reservations

koya did very well on that list considering cost

I think Koya's kind of amazing (booking policy notwithstanding obv - I've only ever been there when it wasn't busy).

yes I had a very nice meal there too (again didn't really have to queue) enjoyed there being a section on the menu called "hiya hiya" *waves*

Good places to eat in Brixton on a Tuesday night?

Franco Manca, Honest Burgers and Mama Lan are all closed by 5pm.

Kaosarn looks promising...

That would be my choice, I really like it in there, I'd be pitching up early to get a table indoors in this weather. The Mexican place next door to it is somewhere I've been meaning to try properly since I bought a delicious £1 taco off them the other week.

I'm not really sure what's open and what's not around there on a Tuesday night.

I've heard this place is good, if you want something fancier: http://www.upstairslondon.com/web/index.html

Certainly sounds interesting.

Was in Asmara on Coldharbour Lane on Sunday, it's good Ethiopian.

had a great meal at tonkotsu on monday night.

Thanks.

Tried for Kaosarn but it was packed - even the outside seats were full in the freezing cold.

Opted for the Mexican next door which was okay-ish.

What time did you get there?

Just after 7pm. My own fault really - I should have booked.

The Mexican was perfectly decent.

late but fujiyama is pretty good. and apparently the jerk chicken place across the road from the windmill pub is decent

New rest/bar open on upper st called John Salt. Absolutely no idea if it's any good or not, but this is so O_o that I had to post:

Guests can expect Spalding's "chicken on a brick" - a London house brick coated in a caramel glaze, pairing chicken liver mousse with crispy chicken skin, circled by a mix of sweetcorn kernels, lingon berries, pearl barley and a white onion puree. This combination is so delicious, down to the glaze that, as Ben Spalding says “customers are encouraged to actually lick the brick”

I thought it was maybe a joke, but you can see pictures of it on twitter. It is, indeed, a brick covered in caramel.

Wishbone last night: very Brooklyn; very tasty; I particularly liked the Buffalo wings and the "salt and pepa" thighs; fries were a bit meh, though not bad in any way; wouldn't recommend eating the hot mess* with the Buffalo wings because the sauce is too similar; would happily go back but can't imagine gagging to do so any time soon.

Last weekend we went to the blogged-about but not-fancified Tasty Jerk in Thornton Heath. It was very good indeed. We decided to eat from the foil in the car as God intended, so as not to end up smelling of jerk smoke for the rest of the day. The jerk chicken in particular was amazing.

*sweet potato fries with jalapeno and blue cheese slathered in a hot sauce.

(the other thing about wishbone is the it is very Young People which is good but not necessarily for me because I am not one of the young people any longer, I'm afraid)

meat liquour is sort of like that too.

meat liquour is Young People in a super cheesy way

young "rock" people

young people "rock"

well that's because it's restaurants and streetfood which are the new rock and roll

if julian casablancas was alive today he would have a burger van

nice pub around brixton that might be showing football tomorrow?

well that's because it's restaurants and streetfood which are the new rock and roll

are you meant to be parodying somebody?

note the second line there...

It has been very dispiriting the last few times I've been through London how much high end american junk food has taken hold in London. If anyone serves me a drink in a fucking mason jar when I'm back at christmas, there will be blood.

sweet potato fries with jalapeno and blue cheese slathered in a hot sauce

this just sounds vile

shitty american food trend ugh

do we have to do this yet again

Crackle Box, I haven't ever watched football in Brixton, a friend of mine used to go watch it in the Canterbury Arms regularly... not sure I'd call it nice, though I haven't been there for a few years.

The Duke of Edinburgh is alright and shows the football I think?

Yeah don't worry Ed, there's still plenty of other stuff.

I know I know,

Ate at the bar at Dabbous last time I flitted through and that was pretty good.

What is good in high end Pub british comfort food right now?

The Gilbert Scott?