circeplum

if it's the old pearl assurance building, that would be qc at the chancery court hotel i think. it - and jun tanaka's cooking - are talked about in other threads. it's not really new, though. where did you hear about new restaurant?

isn't that the place where scenes from the incredibly creepy 'peeping tom' were filmed? m

also brilliant to see the utterly lunatic oslo court getting a mention for their gorgeous approach to their customers. not only is it one of the maddest restaurants in london - you can still get things like veal holstein and duck with cherries! - but you can't leave without thinking that the staff love you, they really, really love you ...

i saw the 0/20 and prepared for a savage attack. then scoured the piece for some serious dissing - all i could find was approbation (apart from the fact that fort didn't like the decor). the score seems like a bit of flouncy, drama-queen behaviour based purely on price. does anyone know how the scores are reached? i'd always assumed it was about the place as a whole: atmosphere and, primarily, food.

in the trouble at the top prog, fm was also at the junket for the opening of the connaught, hobnobbing with gordon ramsay. (maybe this should have gone on that thread ...)

agree on the format. hated him dressing up as old lady. liked his art vs craft explanation, something like art is something never repeated, whereas craft is repeated until it's perfect. does the man never smile? he is a supreme poseur. kikujiro - i get popbitch and didn't see anything about meades. am i missing something? edited for typo

'you're norman bates with a briefcase.' genius. fellow peasant. p.s. was watching while eating chorizo piquante to keep thread on meades/sausage relevance.

gavin - the river cafe? that spawned the oliver one, and was the first 'modern italian', i think. m (love the idea)

sorry to wankily quote myself, but went to prospect grill last night and was mightily disappointed in my much anticipated burger. much smaller than i remember, overcooked and the onions, rather than the crispy, tobacco-style ones, were floppy, wimpy-style. also too much sugar had been added to (not) achieve caramelisation. disappointed.

the injera, particularly, which is quite an acquired taste. like i said, it's a bit like eating cold damp flannel. it's apparently fermented for a couple of days to give it its distinctive, slightly sour taste. you use it to scoop up the food which is often wildly hot. the wots are kind of thick, very dark stews rich with incendiary spices and butter.

i went to one called axum on the wandsworth road. ate flannelly injera bread and fiery wot. the food is quite awesomely hot, even for a chilli fan like me. very, very cheap, friendly and laid back. there's also a really popular one on the caledonian road called merkato, i think. it looks a bit more accessible than some of the others which can come over as a bit scary ...

not possible ...

best i've had are at the prospect grill (thick, meaty, topped with frilly caramelised onions) and at black & blue, the tootsies-owned steakhouse in kensington church st. weirdly, they're much better than (pretty good but not awesome) tootsiesl.

i have loved the hunan passionately, saving it for special occasions. went last week with a couple of pals from out of town and ended up feeling rather processed and very pissed off. the food was as good as it ever was - although when you go a few times, you realise that the dishes (the pigeon soup, the dry chilli-fried beans, the stuffed mushrooms) are replicated over and over which takes away that incredibly seductive element of surprise - but we still came out feeling grumpy. partly, this was to do with the waiters' insistence on filling our wine glasses every time we took so much as a sip. we begged them to stop (and i can drink bloody fast) but they were on a mission. also, we were sat beside what appeared to be the solitary, communal ice bucket so the insane dash to fill everyone else's glasses meant like we felt as though we were eating in the middle of clapham junction. mr peng was as arch as ever. at least he tries to pretend he recognises me. think my affair with the hunan is on its last legs. maybe it's one of those spoiled by success thangs. ps: too late i realise, but the best place to drink nearby(ish) is the back bar at the gloriously louche boisdale, a place just designed for hideous indiscretions and bad behaviour. and i should know ...

excuse ignorance. what is brake brothers?

it is the jun tanaka place. i think his cooking can reach the sensational. the matsuri place across the road features great, un-nouveau japanese food but has the atmosphere of a deserted new town bus station.

... or embassy? don't know about the byo, but it's definitey buzzy and garry hollihead's food is fabulous in a knowing, retro way.

jun tanaka's still at qc - his cooking is brilliant, but the room reminds me (i think i've said this before) of the overlook hotel in the shining. not a good look.

it opened to the paying public on monday. reservations on 0870 777 4488.

the following are all open on the day: belair house (£99 for six courses champagne reception coffee petit fours a magician and music) the capital (5 course, champagne, coffee and petit fours £125) chutney mary (£48 for four courses and champagne cocktail) granita (£32 for 3 courses including glass of champagne) sofra restaurants at normal prices and menu in christophers place, tavistock st and shepherd st) ozer (normal menu) veeraswamy (4 courses inc glass of champagne for £45) also (and pace, simon) mpw's drone's, the belvedere and the mirabelle are all open (£75 a head, i think) and no matter what you think of the food, he's hard to beat for glamour.

sausages, all sorts: salamis, saucissons, local butcher made, specialty, toulouse, chorizos and on and on and on. echire butter. a really great selection of breads. actually, just those things almost constitutes my perfect shop.

since this is just round the corner from me, i'd be really interested in an idea of average cost. i've never ventured in because from the outside it appears to be rather stuffy and middle-aged. is it?

there's also a stall that does the most sinful handmade chocolate truffles. the ginger and honey variety is cocoa-dusted sex in a bag. (and i don't much care for sweeties as a rule.)

i love babylon, but seem to be alone on this one. when it opened, it got savaged by the critics but i figure that might be more down to its richard branson ownership than anything else. its menu is appealing and reasonably priced. apart from a once-encountered pornographic sausage food is reliably good. the staff are friendly, the place - and the view - are stunning and you can go for a stagger afterwards in the gorgeously decadent roof gardens. what's not to like? (oh, and in the ladies loos, if you look through the waterfall gushing from the postmodern sink you get a clear view of the urinals. a very beautiful aussie waiter followed me into the lavs to point out this unique design feature. )

don't bother with giardinetto - had a truly average meal there and it's rather a sad, dingy little basement. (reviewers have raved about it, though. oh right, it was giles coren ... )