kang.

Canteen, Jan 2025. Yeah it does feel like a lite version of that Italian-ish institution, though for me, this reminds me of a time bout 15 years when previous generations of ex-River Cafe chefs left the mothership, such as Sam H’s Zucca in Bermondsey , and Steve P at Dock Kitchen. Rmb the veal chop at Zucca ? Good times then, and some good memories from this first visit here that is building popular traction on the interwebs. The lead photo is porkchop with prosciutto and a quarter of a poached then grilled quince, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Pasta was freshly made green fettuccine with an excellent rabbit ragu, if I nitpicked just a touch overcooked as they juggled a busy service. Vitello tonnato was passable, with extra anchovy fillet garnishes that I didn’t think it needed. Good service, and the room has a nice buzz. I’m not quite sure why it’s no reservations, don’t think I want to show up before doors open hoping I can nab a table. All in all, if they hold prices like this, I don’t mind popping back in. @canteen.310 #italianishrestaurant #food #wine

Fantastic vanilla mille feuille @bardespreslondon , assembled to order with pecan nut praline, plus an extra scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. It’s really very good. This was preceded by two types of lobster rolls , one in brioche buns and the other rolled up as a maki; not many places you can have it back to back like this. I’ve been a fan of @cyril_lignac ‘s pastry in Paris over the years, and real happy I finally made some time to visit his digs in London. #millefeuille #toplondonrestaurants #food #wine.

Hope you guys had a good Christmas 😄. How time flies, and here we are yet again. You would have seen me post about Cornus a few times this year, and that’s because I love it there and it is indeed my favourite new opening of 2024. Had some lovely meals, and this gallery being the latest lunch just prior to Xmas, was certainly the best… and particularly comforting with all this wonderful late autumn produce. The young restaurant is still in their exciting forming stage, so I’m 100% sure there is even more to come from the team. Gonna be great following them scale the trajectory next year 💥. 1. Phenomenal assitte of Pyrenean milk fed lamb with early season black winter truffles, also from the Pyrenees; 2. Next is the iconic PH lango and parm gnocchi, with Gary’s sleek 2024 truffle puree that for me is top notch work. It is just a joy to see one of the ultimate retro dishes find a new home here, and from the same Chef who made at TS a decade prior; 3. Then, a presentation of a standout mallard pithivier, great pastry..! 4. Christmas pudding very successfully executed as a souffle and… 5. … a textbook tarte tatin, but with a twist and made with red flesh apples 🍎 love it ! @cornusrestaurant #toplondonrestaurants #food #wine #cornusrestaurant

Almost forgot to post this meal from back in Sept-24 @ikoyi_london. I’ve had many great things here, but this was probably my favourite meal yet, as it featured @jeremychanikoyi ‘s take on an ultimate childhood nostalgia that we both share and it is his version of hainan chicken rice. Somewhat surreal, for those of you who know and remember his lockdown IG recipe, if you ask , you might now see it served here in Ikoyi 2.0. The chicken is Tauzin, and carefully prepped and poached to utter perfection. The best part of course was the rice. Cooked with his master stock, and has been Ikoyi-fied and feels like an evolved version of his jollof. Plus all the condiments made in house, including the spring onions cooked in bubbling hot oil. Its brilliant, even better than what I’d imagine it to be. 2024 has been another great year at Ikoyi 2.0, looking forward to what Jezza and team have in store next year. #toplondonrestaurants #food #wine

Starling Bistro, Esher , Nov-24. Im over the moon to have @beardymanchef in my neck of the woods, now in his own digs which he newly opened this summer. Yes you know this talented Chef as he is ex-H&F, headed up Kerridge’s at The Corinthia and most recently was seen on GBM2023. For my first meal here, I went with his festive set lunch, £45 for 3 (his non-festive set is normally £25) , starting with a Jerusalem artichoke soup with these tasty tunworth cheese fritters, and 3 of em too, yummy. The mains was an excellent rump cap roast, that I really appreciated they served rare to medium rare, which is my preference, but most of all, I thought the work on the sauce was spot on. Full of flavour but has a vibrancy and lightness on the palate. With roasted Brussels sprouts, triple cooked chips were an extra order , but personally, I think it would be complete with frites, and so I ordered a tartare hashbrown instead. A blue ribbon finish with a piping hot bread and butter pudding served with a classy brandy creme anglaise on the side. Apart from the deckle, the rump cap is my favourite cut, and he’s got an English wagyu picanha on his alc, which has a dedicated steak section. Saw a few other dishes go out , like the pork loin and duck breast, and it all looks super. His GBM2023 dishes are also on the current alc if you so prefer to try em. Love the ambiance, an open and relaxed bistro feel, there are a few seats on the counter that overlooks his open kitchen too, I’d imagine me and @gen.u.ine.ness will be doing that at some point in 2025. If you end up at the Sandown race track for anything, I definitely recommend you eat here ; it is a 10min walk towards the start of the high street. As for me, I’ll be back very soon 😄. @starlingbistro #starlingbistro #rumpcap #food #wine #toplondonrestaurants

Cornus, Nov-24. Here are photos from last weekend’s peak autumn season lunch with @gen.u.ine.ness. It is that magical time of year for all this lovely produce, in the hands of the great @garyfoulkeschef , he transforms it all into a top class meal from start to finish 🪽. My favourites were the red mullet and its excellent mullet bone sauce , and the white truffle spaghetti. The house made pasta had fantastic texture, but it was the 36mo Parmesan “water” sauce that i thought was incredible. Pure stuff, and fantastic technique. Mains was a tour de force saddle of hare on quince tarte fine and celeriac puree. Love the retro Square vibes, but refreshed with little elegant tweaks here and there for a cleaner palate. Been here 4-5 times since they opened in the summer, including their £55 set lunch, and definitely is my favourite new opening of 2024 💥. @cornusrestaurant #toplondonrestaurants #food #wine #whitetruffle #cornusrestaurant

Ploussard, Nov-24. Back to one of my favourite bistro / wine bars in town, @ploussardlondon, i love the cosy ambiance even more as we head into shorter days and especially @mattharrischef’s cuisine. At this meal, he did us a carte blanche, with some slam dunk dishes. The lead photo is belly of tuna, cut from one of those bluefins landed in the Southwest with a simple consomme to draw out its sweetness, and next I really liked this canapé of beef tartare hash brown amped with dried and shaved ox heart, reminiscent of katsuobushi - a delicious start. Next, roast scallop with boudin noir and pumpkin, a fantastic trio, comforting, and rich but not overly heavy. My favourite however was definitely this soup/sauce of comte with confit egg yolk and chanterelles and hazlenuts,mix it all up with a spoon and its gloopy melange of autumn deliciousness 😋. To finish, skate wing with chicken butter and a chocolate choux bun with an ice cream centre. Some for pics guys 👉. #toplondonrestaurants #toplondonwinebars #food #wine.

Sezanne, Oct-24. Pt2o2. Following on from my previous post, here are highlights from the rest of @chezcalvert ‘s superb carte blanche. The lead photo is kinki from Hokkaido with Oita saffron, served with a very tasty baby aubergine. To me, this dish represented what Sezanne was all about: produce and pure cooking. The cook on the fish about as good as it gets, glassy crispy skin, with the resting heat travelling all through the meat so it’s just-cooked in the middle with juice and firm flakes. I watched the team grill their fish over bincho as service kicked off, and it is just about all you want at this level when it comes to showcasing their la minute tekkers. Bordier butter (what else but the best) accompanies his excellent sourdough; its dough blended with koshihikari and white miso, fragrant and qq on the inside. The bread is served warm and is paired with the first appetiser which is a warm soup of matsutake and ginko nuts. In the middle of the meal, Chef served up a blinder of a dish: steamed ankimo with beautifully balanced Sauternes consomme, drops of foie gras oil, and softened peanuts. The texture of the monkfish liver mousse-light, and apparently, the method was simply does it, wonderful cooking. For mains: Megumi duck from Aichi, cooked whole , swipe on, and you can see the golden brown skin, and oh yes, the breast was a joy to savour. Served with girolles, very tasty pan roasted potato and is adorned with a pitch perfect and shiny sauce meurette. Perhaps even better is the 2nd course of duck (like Peking duck) , with the rest of the bird made into a comforting and rich soup. Duck leg chopped into cubes. Topped with plenty of spring onion, it’s like a bowl of ramen (or kebab I suppose) and provided that feeling of satisfaction to end the meal. World class cooking, a top notch meal, and above all, everything tasted delicious. Really happy for Dan and team with their recent accolade, it is well deserved, and it’s also very encouraging to see the bib celebrate Chefs who champion the fundamentals and the love of great cooking. Can’t wait to return to Japan again soon 💥. @sezannetokyo #toptokyorestaurants #threemichelinstars #food #wine.

Sezanne, Oct-24. Pt1o2. This year, in the middle of October, I was fortunate enough to find myself in Tokyo, and was real happy to finally try @chezcalvert’s cuisine and at his home @sezannetokyo , where he has just received his shiny new 3rd star. Shanghai Hairy Crab and the start of alba white truffles season is on the menu, and oh boy, it sure was exhilarating. Whole crabs are “drunken” and marinated in vin jaune for 5 days, and it is served out 3 ways and arrive at intervals in between the tasting menu, all cooked la minute. The first as a tart was just brilliant, you get a glimpse of the quality of product and precision of technique, those wonderful oxidative notes from the Jura wine tempering the crab’s sweetness in just the right proportions. Next was the crab made into a porridge with koshihikari rice and white truffle. It took straight back to my time in Italy, especially a meal with Enrico C a few Novembers ago; this was pure and unadulterated joy of great cooking. At the finish, steamed carrot cake, with ginger and the crab roe in the mix served piping hot, so you get this sweet & savoury fragrance as it lands on table, for me analogous to the comfort factor that tamagoyaki provides at the end of the meal. A magnificent triptych, about as good as it gets for me. One for the food memory benchmarks that I won’t soon forget💥 #shanghaihairycrab #puregastronomy #toptokyorestaurants #threemichelinstars #whitetruffle.

There is a private dining room called Tabitito at @evernight_ldn , one of my favourite places in all of London, which sometimes plays host to @shaulansteenson @uoseilondon who has been working independently since his days with Endo san and latterly with Temaki Brixton. It’s been about 2 years since I last had Shaulan’s sushi, and my goodness, I was real impressed with his continual dedication to his craft, this was a great meal. It is a breath of fresh air to take in a meal these days in a private and back to basics setting, with no distractions. I love that the focus is purely on the joy of sushi , a pleasure that is shared by both on either side of the counter. Swipe for a few highlights👉. I went to see Shaulan at end of Sept, and he firstly got us going with an ode to the end of summer , lobster and tomatoes. After that, he proceeded to showcase his various fish, almost all caught from British waters, seabass, brill, scallops and I especially enjoyed a comforting mid-meal bowl chirashi with handpicked crab folded into his rice , ankimo and trout roe to keep things varied and interesting. The nigiri that wowed me the most was a hard shell clam which he prepped to order, red mullet infused with the essence of charcoal with a gentle kiss on the bincho and if I jump back towards the start, a super clean seabass landed in the southwest. There were also obligatory akami zuke and toro pieces too (if you cast your mind back a couple of months, these were ones landed in Cornwall) , as well as a plump lango tail with its brown meat cooked and piped back underneath to add flavour. Shaulan has been in @earlyjuneparis for most of October doing a pop-up in Paris , but I think he’ll be back to Evernight soon to resume his on and off again residency there. And speaking about Kaizen, I’ve always thought his rice was great, he’s tweaked it over time, and it is even better now. It is afterall the most important aspect of the meal. If you don’t already know it, I definitely recommend you check it out. He’s one of my favourite sushi chefs in town, and hope to see him in his own bricks and mortars soon 💥. #sushi #itamae #london #toplondonrestaurants.

Another wonderful meal @sollip_restaurant , I love coming here and especially for their lunch sot-bap where @woongchul_park and team rotate their steamed rice with seasonal vegetables. It’s one of my favourite rice dishes around London, very comforting, and a perfect complement with his slow cooked wagyu short rib. Also at this meal: all change with the newly unveiled beef tartare and Gamtae canapés. I love the new tartare , but also equally love the version it replaces. Entree was a super elegant Summer send-off with lobster, strawberries and tomatoes 😋. Swipe for pics 👉. #toplondonrestaurants #food #wine #sotbap.

Like the Ship of Theseus, @elystanstreet ‘s merry team undergoing some changes and I’ve noticed head chef @m_olive1996 been posting some nice looking dishes lately, and so I made a belated return to check out their latest. This was a really nice lunch, and I really like how @philchef’s classics are being re-interpreted by his current generation of chefs. We r into late summer, so his veal tartare & chokes is paired with yellow instead of white peach. This is one of my fav all time Phil Howard recipes, it makes me smile and shed happy tears for its simplicity and elegance. Next is a blockbuster cuttlefish ink gnochetti all made in-house with Cornish sardines, tomato & chilli vinaigrette and the pan grattato boosts the satisfaction factor. What I love about this : restraint and roundness on the palate, balancing the rich savouriness with just a touch of citrus, this is great work from @m_olive1996 and @aaronahi. And then a blockbuster chargrilled sourdough topped with a sauté of Dorset snails, girolles, parsley, new season garlic and also well balanced with just the right dash of acidity. For mains, a regal lobster tail and half a pouisson both carefully grilled to just the right temps. Chef Olive sent out a sun sweet melon sorbet with evoo and a spritz of mezcal, and I finished with one of my fav things as we head into the autumn, fig leaf ice cream served with warm madeleines. Swipe for photos 👉. I am reminded again how much a legend Phil Howard really is, his food has that enduring quality of deliciousness, and probably more than anything, many talented chefs have come thru his ranks and are leading lights in their own rights now around the country. Anyway, @m_olive1996 i see your rump cap cuisss, im coming back for that soon. #toplondonrestaurants