We never tried Skye Gyngell’s beloved lunch spot at Petersham Nurseries, despite living in Richmond for three years. I could never make the dishes as written on the menu match up to the prices next to them and had the distinct impression that this was more a place to be seen to be seen, a …
There’s something about Italian cuisine. Those who are attracted to it seem to invariably be attracted to the idea of “peasant cooking”, of taking raw ingredients and doing simple things to them. The price differential in modern Italian restaurants seems to be dictating more by the price and provenance of the raw ingredients than by …
Customer: “That was a really good tasting menu. X and Y were particularly brilliant. I must admit though, we all thought the four desserts were a bit repetitive, all basically ice cream. One dish with a pastry element or a bit of cake might have been good…” Waiter: “To be honest sir, you’d never get …
The Oak. It sounds like a pub, but it’s actually a casual Italian restaurant on Westbourne Park Road. Don’t come expecting sausage and mash or a pint of Guinness. Instead expect rustic stripped-back tables decked with candles packed into the shell of a handsome looking old boozer. The atmosphere even on a Tuesday in February …
This bastion of Spanish cuisine in London has been around for a few years and has a great reputation. It doesn’t really need reviewing by me, as every major critic has sung its praises at some point. So let’s call this a check-up, just to make sure they’re still dishing up the goods. I came, …