Time Out, 27 June
Simone Baird at Idlewild, Maida Vale
A claim to be "the first pub restaurant deluxe" is funny and cringeworthy in equal measure. Printing the word "deluxe'" on a packet of processed macaroni cheese doesn't make it proper food; likewise, the addition of a few glamorous chandeliers and some great retro tiling doesn't change the fact that Idlewild is still just a local pub - albeit a very pretty one with some gorgeous old English crockery found on eBay.
Idlewild – Time Out review in full >>
Evening Standard, 27 June
Andrew Neather at The Canteen, South Bank
When Canteen opened in Spitalfields in 2005, it was an instant success: simple bench seating and unpretentious but carefully sourced British food. Voted Observer Restaurant of the Year 2006, it was praised by almost all the critics. Now a new branch has launched at the refurbished Royal Festival Hall, a massive 250-seater, almost twice the size of the original and with the additional pressures of having to satisfy a rushed pre-performance crowd. Does Canteen risk spoiling its own formula by going so big?
The Canteen – Evening Standard review in full >>
Metro, 26 June
Marina O'Loughlin at Stanza
Sometimes my restaurant karma simply deserts me. I really wanted to tell you about the Papine Jerk Centre (yes, really: it's a tribute to the original in Jamaica) in Battersea, the first restaurant from Levi Roots, the engaging chap who scored big on Dragons' Den with his Reggae Reggae Sauce. So I trooped off with a pal, a massive jerk chicken and curried goat fan, whose birthday it was. Gussied up to the eyeballs, we landed in the middle of one of South London's sprawling housing estates, complete with styrofoam boxes and other grubby detritus dancing a skittish jig in front of the restaurant.
Stanza – Metro review in full >>
Bloomberg, 22 June
Richard Vines at the River Café
Ask almost any serious chef in London the key to good food and you're likely to be told it's the use of fresh, seasonal ingredients. What a surprise. The Italians had this idea long before any of us were born and only those brought up on fish fingers and Angel Delight should consider something so obvious a mantra. Anyway, the idea isn't new to the UK. It's what the River Cafe has done for 20 years.
River Café – Bloomberg review in full >>