Blog

A lengthy meal at 1 Lombard Street interspersed with stroppy service, but reliable fish and chips in St John Street. Fine curries at Rasa Samudra and the Brilliant.

Tasty South Indian cooking at Oottupura, reliable Chinese food at Royal China and ups and downs (but mostly downs) in Chiswick at Vacherin and new opening Carvosso's.

Excellent new chef at Sonnys in Barnes, top Indian food at Haandi and a sneak visit to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

Read about my visit to Ledbury. My review on Sabras in Willesden and also some important information about the Good Food Guide forcing councils to publish hygiene inspections of restaurants.

3 star Can Fabes near Barcelona is very good though less so than previous visits. The Michelin Guide to California comes out, and I have both a fine Indian meal at Haandi and a dismal one at Green Chilli.

Deya produces a fine meal, while the British Curry Awards is bewildering despite the glamour. Zafferano excels itself.

Sumosan is pleasant, but why not just go to Zuma? Ootapura is a different and good addition to the King Street array of Indian places.

The Square purrs along, though it lacks real excitement. Jeevan in Wembley is not worth the trip.

Cocoon is like an Austin Powers set, but the food is surprisingly good. Zafferano produces a fine wild sea bass dish.

Noisette is pleasant but expensive, and Bjorn van der Horst shows the dining room his extensive English vocabulary. Galvins Bistro is fine, but I cannot really see what the fuss is about. Excellent Indian cooking at Rasa Maricham and the Brilliant in Southall, and the usual at Zafferano.

Mark Jankels is a fine chef, and the Notting Hill Brasserie an excellent spot. Bellamys in Mayfair was rather dull, but I have enjoyable meals at Trompette, Rasa Maricham and the Thai Bistro. Le Talbooth in Essex is a tragi-comic meal: beautiful setting, shame about the truly awful food.

The Brilliant and Deya show the traditional and modern faces of Indian cooking, and both succeed very well. Zafferano is as good as ever in its newly expanded setting.

Arbutus seems perfectly pleasant to me, but I am surprised at the acclaim it is getting. Rasa Maricham serves up some tasty Keralan food, while Carluccio in W4 is downright poor.