All-you-can-eat buffet at Za Za Bazaar fares well against casual dining competition, says critic

John Lanchester visits Za Za Bazaar in Bristol, Britain's biggest restaurant at nearly 1,000 covers, and finds the all-you-can-eat buffet fares well against its casual dining competitors.

"The choice is numbing, and it would obviously be daft to assess the food as if it were trying to be fayne daining," the Guardian's food critic says. "Instead, Za Za Bazaar is pitched against the high street alternatives at around the same price point, and at that level does a pretty good job."

Writing in the Sunday Times, AA Gill says that the relaunched Restaurant Tom Aikens in London's Chelsea is one deep breath away from being one of the best dining rooms in the country. However, he adds that while Aikens "is still one of our most talented chefs", he needs to trust his ingredients more and rely on his craft less.

Meanwhile Fay Maschler is less enthused by Tom Aikens in her review in the London Evening Standard, finding the food and interior hit and miss.

The Metro's Marina O'Loughlin says that Mishkin's, the latest restaurant from the Polpo/Spuntino label, may not be kosher but it is better than the real deal.

Although he enjoys the food, the Independent's John Walsh suggests the owners of the Crooked Well in south London, should reconsider the atmosphere, while the Sunday Telegraph's Zoe Williams enjoys the weird and sometimes wonderful world of Hedone.

Finally, the Observer's Jay Rayner says although the owners are clearly very nice, 20 St John's in Norwich is a place that hasn't worked out how to do the thing it wants to do.

For these reviews in full and more, see What's on the menu? Visit Guide Girl for the latest gossip from the fine-dining world.

By Kerstin Kühn

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