From Mayfair to Southall

Saturday, August 29th , 2026

Watan (pictured) is a wildly popular, huge restaurant in Southall that specialises in charcoal-grilled meats. It is full of Asian families, and had a ten-minute queue for tables even on the Sunday night when I visited. The cooking is nothing remarkable but it is capable enough, and the prices are very modest indeed, which makes a nice change these days. 

Igni is a relaunch of what was called Humo, still with the open flame cooking with counter seating in Mayfair. The cooking has moved up a notch with the hiring of the gifted Theo Clench, so the tasting menu now at least shows some genuine capability for its quite steep price. A lobster dish was the highlight of the meal, but the standard of the meal was quite high throughout.