Evening Standard, 2 July
David Sexton loves the steak but not the seafood at Gaucho Grill

The restaurant reservation site, OpenTable.com, runs a chart of the 10 most-booked restaurants in London. Though it includes places like Le Café Anglais and Tate Modern, it is invariably dominated by multiple Gaucho restaurants, the group taking at least five of the top places. Why? It's certainly not because the place is a bargain. For a chain, Gaucho is startlingly expensive, the final bill ending up pretty close to one from much more stylish, individual restaurants, such as the lavish new Italian in Broadgate, L'Anima. So what's the appeal?
Read the full article here >>

Metro, 2 July
Marina O’Loughlin feels uninvited at Hix Oyster & Chop House

Mark Hix is a man with many stellar connections; as the dude behind the Caprice Holdings kitchens (The Ivy, Scott's, J Sheekey and, of course, Le Caprice) he's hobbed and nobbed with le tout London. Surely this can't be why he's received little but slavering reviews since opening this, his first self-owned restaurant? Because my dinner leaves me feeling a touch disenfranchised. Hix is one clever, zeitgeisty chef: so is it just me? I go a-Googling; here's a teeny taste of what I find.
Read the full article here >>

Bloomberg, 20 June
Richard Vines at L’Anima

It's one of life's little tricks that talented chefs are opening venues in the City financial district just as there's pressure on jobs, bonuses and even expenses. Where will it all end? I sometimes ask myself over a cocktail or two. L’Anima, a London restaurant a stone's throw from the banks and financial-services companies of Broadgate and Bishopsgate, opened its doors this month and is primed and ready for when the good times roll. For now, it's a good place to drown your sorrows.
Read the full article here >>

Time Out, 3 July
Susan Low visits Princess Victoria

By the late nineteenth century gin palaces were thriving in London. The style bars of their time, they shone with mirrors, their high ceilings were ornate with detailed cornicing, glass windows were intricately etched and the interiors glowed with bright, modern gas lighting. You can still find a few gin palaces in London with their finery intact. The Princess Victoria near Shepherd’s Bush first appeared around 1829, at a major tram interchange between Acton and Shepherd’s Bush; it was the perfect place for a swift dram on the journey home. During the Victorian era it had numerous improvements, culminating in a major refit in 1899 by the leading pub architect of his day, William Bruton. You can still see his sweeping carved-wood, harp-shaped bar, and the high ceilings with original cornicing work around the light-filled atriums.
Read the full article here >>

Caterer Eats Out
Check out the latest dining deals or book a table at 100's of restaurants at Caterer Eats Out here

By Kerstin Kühn

E-mail your comments to Kerstin Kühn here.