From Chiswick to Mayfair

Saturday, October 31st , 2026

Mirtala is a new Mexican restaurant in Chiswick. It is a family-run business and what struck me was just how much better the ingredient quality was than I expected. Dishes were well made and suitably spicy, and the cooking was very good. This is an excellent addition to an area that has plenty of choices, but few really good restaurants outside La Trompette.

Cocochine continues to deliver some of the best food in central London. It has the advantage of getting first pick of the produce at a large farm owned by one its investors, and also first pick of the seafood caught by fisherman at a private island off Scotland owned by the same man. This results in top notch produce such as huge scallops and langoustines, and fine sika deer. My latest meal there was as good as ever. Cocochine outperforms almost all restaurants in London yet Michelin have ignored it (despite the chef formerly winning a star for Petrus), for reasons that elude me.