Spuntino review – Italian and American small plates in Soho

West End bar food with a difference There are plenty of chain and independent restaurants in London, but some straddle this distinction such as the various, apparently independent Polpo restaurants that are all actually part of the same group. Although I have yet to make my way to Polpo or Da Polpo, I have dined [...]

Soho Joe review – cheap Soho pizzas and burgers

There are plenty of cheap restaurants in London, but low prices and high quality cooking don’t always go together. Although Soho Joe servers up burgers, pastas and a grab bag of other Italian dishes, its main selling point is its cheap pizzas. Soho Joe occupies what was once the site of the Dean Street branch [...]

Mele e Pere review – chic Italian comes to Brewer Street

Is there any substance underneath all that style? Soho used to have a large contingent of Italian restaurants and cafes, but many of them have since closed or faded away. Although there are a couple of new Italian places, such as Polpetto or Bocca di Lupo, that are worth visiting in the area they are [...]

Tom’s Kitchen review – laid-back British comfort food in Chelsea

Tom Aikens Restaurant’s casual little brother I love fine dining and the meal I had at Tom Aikens Restaurant was one of the best of its kind. Sometimes though I’m just not in the mood for fancy food, but Tom Aikens has that covered too. Tom’s Kitchen is a much more casual and affordable sister restaurant [...]

Obika review – mozzarella in your face!

More mozzarella than you can shake a buffalo at As all of us know Canary Wharf is an overly corporatised glass and steel hell-hole with no where to eat besides godforsaken chain restaurants. There might be an exception to this rule though in the form of Obika, a restaurant that specialises in mozzarella. Inescapably however, [...]

Trattoria Mondello review – retro Italian

Travel back in time to the 1970s Business lunches can be pot luck in terms of quality since the decision of where to dine is often out of your hands. This was how I ended up at Trattoria Mondello on Goodge Street. I didn’t know quite what to expect, so I was surprised by the [...]

Motorino review – brussel sprouts? On a pizza?!

This review of a New York restaurant is a break from The Picky Glutton’s usual London-based coverage. Of all the cuisines available in New York, pizza must seem like the most unimaginative one to try out. The Big Apple’s pizzas are reputed to especially good though and I happened to pass by Motorino in the [...]

Franco Manca Chiswick review – pizza redemption in West London

Cheap pizza done right. Pizza isn’t usually something I eat at restaurants. Apart from the fact that I eat enough of the stuff at house parties and late nights at the office, the stuff is rarely done well. If there’s one place I will sit down for a pizza however, it’s Franco Manca. The original [...]

Babbo review – fab or drab?

Does the food at this Mayfair Italian match up to its warm, inviting decor? Like most other Western cities, there’s no shortage of Italian restaurants in London, so it takes something special for a particular eatery to stand out from the rest. Babbo is memorable for its warm, inviting decor if nothing else. The chandeliers [...]

Latium review – ravishing ravioli

Italian food to write home about For most people Italian restaurants fall into one of two clichéd ruts: pasta or pizza. There’s much more to Italian cuisine than what New Yorkers would call ‘red sauce’ food and even then there can be a world of difference if one dines at a quality restaurant instead of [...]