Metro, 18 November
Marina O’Loughlin visits The River Café, Thames Wharf, Rainville Road, London W6
I've eaten all over the world in nose-bleedingly expensive temples of haute cuisine without ever giving a toss about my lack of designer schmutter or manicure. But in The River Café, I've always felt as though I had a 'shops at H&M' sign stapled to my high street lapel. Gawd knows why. It's not fellow customers – all are a little long in the tooth for intimidating cool or beauty. Or snooty sommeliers – ours veers us away from our first choice to a cheaper, better option. Or indecipherable menus or confusing cutlery – it's a studied bastion of informality. The problem is clearly mine, not theirs.
The River Café - review in full >>
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Evening Standard, 19 November
Fay Maschler visits Terroirs, 5 William IV Street, London WC2
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s observation that “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” is the quote at the head of a long drinks list at newly opened wine bar and restaurant Terroirs. Faced with the 25-page booklet — divided and described at some length by method, colour, geography and influence — foolish hobgoblin was how I felt.
Fortunately, the amiable owners and staff were well versed in the particularities of what is on offer, as I noticed, with a flicker of goblin pleasure, that the page numbers at the front of the tome sometimes don’t accurately correspond with the content.
Terroirs - review in full >>
Time Out, 20 November
Jenni Muir visits Princi, 135 Wardour Street, London W1
Four gold Chinese statuettes stand discreetly above the coffee-making alcove in Soho’s new bakery-café Princi, offshoot of an esteemed Italian chain. Do they have these in Princi’s original Milanese outlets? You can’t blame Alan Yau for wanting a little feng shui-style luck on his side. Best known for his wildly successful Asian eateries, his previous attempt at an Italian restaurant was the short-lived Anda on Baker Street back in 2003 (it’s now the much-loved Galvin Bistro de Luxe).Yau’s grasp of Italian cuisine is not an issue here, for this new spot is a joint venture with Rocco Princi, sometimes called ‘the Armani of bread’.
Princi – review in full >>
By Janet Harmer
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