Recently in What the Critics Say Category

Dabbous, the first restaurant from former Texture head chef Ollie Dabbous, has wowed the London food critics, with both the Evening Standard and Time Out scoring it a perfect five.

Located in Fitzrovia, Dabbous is a joint venture between the chef and mixologist Oskar Kinberg, who previously managed the Cuckoo Club, with a menu of small plates with seasonal produce and light, clean flavours at its heart.

The Evening Standard's Fay Maschler loved her experience at the restaurant saying Dabbous really understands eating pleasure and claiming it is a restaurant that changes the game.

Meanwhile Time Out's Guy Dimond says thanks to its stark design it is not an immediately lovable restaurant, the food is as cutting-edge as you'll find anywhere.

Writing in the Sunday Times, AA Gill visits Chinatown in London's West End hoping to find a decent restaurant. But after eating at Manchurian Legends, he leaves spectacularly disappointed.

"I haven't actually been defeated by a restaurant for ages. It was spectacularly, triumphantly awful," he says.

The Observer's food critic Jay Rayner has a hit-and-miss experience at Viajante, where he says deliciousness is too often forced to give way to cleverness 

The Independent on Sunday's Lisa Markwell says Soho institution Quo Vadis, where former Blueprint Café chef Jeremy Lee has just taken over the kitchen, is a foodie favourite for a reason.

Finally the Metro's Marina O'Loughlin says the food at 34, the latest addition to the Caprice Holdings' stable, is almost excellent but adds that it is a restaurant designed for the privileged.

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 a bit hit and miss.

The Metro's Marina O'Loughlin says that Mishkin's, a kind of Jewish deli 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 in Norwich is a place that hasn't worked out how to do the thing it wants to do.

34, the latest restaurant from Caprice Holdings, was the focus of the restaurant reviews this weekend and largely impressed the critics.

While dinner at the Mayfair restaurant, which has steak at its heart, certainly isn't cheap, the fabulous grilled meats and devil-may-care luxury make it really rather worth a visit, agree the Sunday Telegraph's Zoe Williams and the Guardian's John Lanchester.

However, writing in the Independent Tracey MacLeod is less enthused by 34, which she says is all about expensive comfort rather than excitement, while in the Times Giles Coren reviews 34 and fellow London newcomer the Delaunay, insisting it's the latter that will no doubt be a massive London institution for years to come.

What the Butley Orford Oysterage in Suffolk lacks in frills it more than makes up for with its flavoursome, no-nonsense cooking, says Jay Rayner writing in the Observer, while according to the Independent on Sunday's Amol Rajan Angela's in Exeter is a wonderful local restaurant.

In London, the Evening Standard's Fay Maschler finds the combination of Jeremy Lee and the Hart brothers at Quo Vadis in Soho is the dream team of which her nights are made, while Time Out's Guy Dimond says the meaty menu and unfailingly friendly and smiling service make the 30-minute queue at Pitt Cue worth the wait.

Finally, Andy Lynes says in the Metro that although the cooking and service at Alyn Williams at the Westbury is faultless, he's unsure he'd ever go back.

While the food at Meat Liquor, the permanent outpost from the team behind the hugely popular Meat Wagon, is great the queue outside prevents it from ever being a real restaurant, according to Giles Coren.

The Times food critic says although the burgers are fantastic and the staff are friendly, you can never be friends with Meat Liquor.

"You can live upstairs, you can go every night, you can tip big, kiss everybody, recommend it to your friends and have five children with the front of house, but show up at teatime on a wet Thursday in the mood for a burger and you can get to the back of the queue, son, like everybody else."

The Delaunay, the latest restaurant from Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, gets a warm welcome from both John Walsh of the Independent and the Guardian's John Lanchester.

Walsh says the Delaunay is a restaurant he looks forward to visiting again and again: "It's lovely just to hang out there. The waiting staff are friendly and attentive. The prices aren't astronomical. You can't help feel it's your kinda place."

Lanchester adds that although not quite there yet, it will certainly become a huge success. "I'm sure the Delaunay is going to keep improving [...] and it's clearly going to be a massive hit," he says.

The Sunday Times' AA Gill enjoys the food at Novikov, the giant Mayfair venture from Russian restaurateur Arkady Novikov, while the Metro's Marina O'Loughlin says that Stravaigin continues to lead the way among restaurants in Glasgow.

And although Anna Hansen is a real talent, Lisa Markwell, writing in the Independent on Sunday, says her recent visit to the Modern Pantry was ill-fated.

34 , the latest restaurant from the Caprice Holdings stable, was the focus for Jay Rayner this week who found perfect steaks, incredible desserts and a scattering of phone-hackerati...

Writing in the Observer, Rayner said that while early publicity had billed 34 as a meaty version of its sister fish restaurant Scott's, he wasn't sure that that was true. "The menu is broader than that," he says. "But certainly a list of very good steaks is at its core, including Australian Wagyu at fearsome prices and Scottish cuts which are both more affordable and leave less of a whacking carbon footprint, with American steaks in between. My rib eye was simply a great piece of meat, cooked with care and precision."

"Three weeks from signing the contracts, the Punch Bowl was again open with staff in place, menus written and a major refurbishment undertaken. I was tempted to hotfoot it over there the first day, but with respect, I waited for a week and found the place heaving on a Thursday night in November, a bit of a rarity these days."

The Times's Tom Chesshyre, meanwhile, found Jolyon's at No 10, a new 21-bedroom independent hotel in Cardiff as "a breath of fresh air" in a city full of "big, boring, corporate chain" properties.

"The bed was wide and there was a tiny bathroom with a "Japanese bath" -- a deep, square trough. Some of the rooms are quite tight, but with suites such as mine from £80, you can hardly complain."

However, the Daily Telegraph's Matthew Norman wishes to forget his visit to Massimo, London, adding "the first and last thing to be said in Massimo's defence is that it is a prisoner of one of those hotels, The Corinthia off Whitehall, that suck the life out of restaurants like dehumidifiers. Such paeans to marble-sanitised vulgarity may be perfect for lobbyists to entertain their prey, and well suited to very young and blonde Bulgarian women seeking quality time with a new uncle or godfather from Moscow. But it is hard for any restaurant within them to create an atmosphere, and despite its lavish decor Massimo did not come close."

Mishkin's, the latest restaurant from Russell Norman and Richard Beatty, was the focus of the critics this weekend and while it may not be true to its Jewish inspiration, its atmosphere makes it worth a visit.

A take on a New York Jewish deli, Mishkin's is the fifth venture from the duo behind hit London restaurants Polpo, Polpetto, da Polpo and Spuntino, located in Covent Garden.

Writing for the Times Giles Coren says the food at Mishkin's may not be authentic at all but the place is a hoot and worth a visit, with huge portions, small prices and great cocktails.

The London Evening Standard's Fay Maschler is underwhelmed by the food and Mishkin's lack of authenticity.

But Tracey MacLeod of the Independent says that being the kind of place you can pop into at any time of day, Mishkin's is just what London has been crying out for.

Meanwhile the Observer's Jay Rayner says Aurelia in Mayfair is a place where you can eat very well. But thanks to its annoying service, it's not a good restaurant.

Finally, Zoe Williams, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, is pretty impressed by the food at the relaunched Rib Room at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower hotel. But she can't help but wonder if it's really good enough to justify those prices?

Aurelia, the latest venture by veteran London restaurateurs Giuliano Lotto and Peter and Arjun Waney, came under the scrutiny of the food critics this weekend and mostly impressed. 

While Tony Turnbull, writing in the Times, isn't convinced by the sharing concept at the Mayfair restaurant, he finds the food to be faultless.

"Better than faultless, actually, like watching a slide show of all your childhood holidays rolled into one and discovering they were even more sun-kissed and golden than you'd remembered," he says.

Meanwhile the Sunday Telegraph's Zoe Williams is slightly less enthusiastic about Aurelia. "It's pricey and a bit mixed, and if you get it right it's wonderful, and even if not, it's fine," she says.

The Guardian's John Lanchester says Paul Foster's cooking at Tuddenham Mill in Suffolk deserves all the accolades the young chef has garnered this year.

The Sunday Times' AA Gill dines at Caprice Holdings' latest restaurant, 34, where the only thing done well was his steak, which he wanted rare.

The 10 Cases is a great idea for a restaurant but a short menu, small portions and unreliable food means it doesn't deliver, says the Observer's Jay Rayner, while Time Out's Susan Low leaves Mishkin's, the fifth site from the team behind the Polpo and Spuntino restaurants, feeling processed rather than nourished.

The Independent's John Walsh leaves Soif, feeling stuffed, but impressed by the gutsy intensity of the chef's cooking, while the Metro's Marina O'Loughlin can't imagine anyone not liking Union Jacks, the latest restaurant concept from Jamie Oliver, which has been tested to an inch of its life.

Finally the Evening Standard's Fay Maschler says the Delaunay, the latest restaurant from Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, offers elegance, attention to detail and most importantly what diners really want and scores it a rare, perfect five.

Jay Rayner says the relaunched Rib Room at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in London serves lacklustre food at extortionate prices.

The Observer's food critic complains that a restaurant that in the 1960s declared its ambition serve the best beef in London has not aged well.

"They charge like this for such lacklustre food because they know their clientele don't really care about either cost or quality. And it really shows," Rayner says.

Writing in the Independent on Sunday, Lisa Markwell finds that at his new chain Union Jacks, Jamie Oliver is reimagining the pizza. But she can't help but notice that there really is no need to.

The Sunday Telegraph's Zoe Williams visits the Riding House Café, which she says is a restaurant that strives to be all things to all people, a Jack of all trades and master of some.

In London, the Metro's Marina O'Loughlin says Ducksoup is the very incarnation of nowness but not for those looking for a relaxing lunch; while the Evening Standard's David Sexton finds a menu that's on trend and an inspired wine list at Soif in Battersea, the third venture from the creators of Terroirs and Brawn.

After years of disappointment, Jay Rayner finally discovers a gastronomic place of safety among Manchester's restaurants: San Carlo Cicchetti.

The Observer's food critic says that his failures to eat well in the city have even started to bore him but arriving at the Italian restaurant, he finally knows that everything will be fine.

Time Out's Guy Dimond says Jamie Oliver's latest venture, Union Jacks, is so good, you have to like it. "If it wasn't all done so very well - cheeky chappie service with a smile, good food, fun atmosphere - you'd have to hate it," he says.

Giles Coren experiences service from hell at Chinese restaurant the Grand Imperial London, housed within the Thistle Grosvenor Hotel.

The Times' restaurant critic says although the food is good, the restaurant doesn't give a "flying lee ho fook about their customers" after sitting "in their giant golden room being treated like crap for the better part of 40 minutes".

Meanwhile devastatingly pretty waitresses and wonderful food mean the Independent's John Walsh has a lovely time at the Pig Hotel in the New Forest, Hampshire.

The Devonshire Arms in Chiswick, west London, doesn't set the Sunday Telegraph's Zoe Williams' heart on fire but with delightful service and décor, it's a lovely neighbourhood pub.

In London, the Metro's Marina O'Loughlin says there's nothing on the menu at the Balcon that she wouldn't want to eat, while the Evening Standard's Fay Maschler discovers delicious burgers at MEATliquor, a more permanent site from the team behind Meatwagon and MEATEASY located in a car park site behind Debenham's in Oxford Street.

The Artichoke Restaurant in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, impressed John Lanchester this weekend, who says chef-proprietor Laurie Gear's cooking is on fire.

The Guardian's food critic says the restaurant, which reopened after a devastating blaze two years ago, "is a neighbourhood restaurant that's on top of contemporary trends and executing them with command, precision and a degree of relaxedness".

"The place is still on fire, but now it's in the happy, metaphorical way," Lanchester says.

Meanwhile Italian restaurant Casa Batavia in west London fails to hit the spot with AA Gill, who complains about both the food and service.

"Most of the dishes, which came in silly plates, had temperature issues. They were either worryingly chilly or tepid in parts. Which might have been trendy, or it might just have been forgetfulness and boredom" he moans.

The Daily Telegraph's Matthew Norman enjoys the excellent food served at the Greek in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, while the Metro's Marina O'Loughlin says she'd cheerfully go back to the 10 Cases, in London's West End, every week.

Both the London Evening Standard's Fay Maschler and Time Out's Guy Dimond review Aurelia, the latest venture by high-end London restaurateur Arjun Waney and Giuliano Lotto, where a menu of small markedly expensive Mediterranean dishes is served.