Bel Canto, London

I hate restaurants with a concept, yet at Bel Canto the basic idea is a sound one, pardon le pun. Here, every evening, up-and-coming opera singers perform whilst serving a three course meal, which sounds convivial enough. At this very minute, however, bug-eyed S is choking over his snail cassolette as a quartet of strolling performers belt out Bella Figlia Dell’Amore from Rigoletto inches from his trembling ear. It is not a cultural experience he ever wants to repeat. Yet it is not the music that he objects to. Indeed, the pianist is tremendous, the young singers are very good. The food is…how can I put this? The food makes you want to hurl yourself off the nearest battlements. ‘The cassolette,’ gasps S, poking at some scraps of rubbery puddle life under a coffin flap of uncooked pastry, ‘is one of the worst things that has ever been served to me in a restaurant.’ ... read more

St Pancras Grand,

Initial impressions? Not bad! St Pancras Grand is housed in a large room with a gilt-edged ceiling and a confident sense of its own importance. Golden lights suffuse the well-spaced tables while comfortable banquettes, smart napery and the presence on the menu of English lobster and potted salmon almost evoke the halcyon days of gracious rail travel. I say almost. Inside the muffling restaurant on the upper concourse, there is no proper view of the soaring splendour of St Pancras station, which is one of the joys of going to St Pancras station in the first place. Big mistake. Big shame. ... read more

Murano, London

Murano is discreet, opulent, quiet, lush. It is hushed, silvery, polished and plush. It has beautiful glassware and exquisite wall lamps with shimmering, nacreous drops. It is a proper little restaurant, of which there are surprisingly few in London. It wants to be generous, which is even rarer. Before the food you order arrives, you are given canapé bowls of crispy arancini, then a wooden platter covered with folds of sweet, rich ham; the slices as thin as silk. A wooden box of breads includes shards of crisp carta da musica and squares of moist, savoury focaccio. Olive oil is poured into a folksy ceramic bowl with great ceremony. ‘It is Planeta. From Sicily,’ says a waitress, as if it was holy water. Perhaps it is! Although it wasn’t the last time I consulted my book of Twaddle de Ristoranti (Vol 1; Pre-Pre Starters). ... read more

The Modern Pantry, London

The Modern Pantry started life as a book concept, not a restaurant. Once you understand that, you understand everything. For there is something rather transient and fry-by-night about the Pantry. Something a little cursory about its execution and lack of purpose that might well unsettle the sensitive diner. It’s not just the wham bang bang knocked-up MDF furniture or the workmen still hammering away on site. Nor is it the tamarind yoghurt, served with pea shoots pocking its surface and looking as if a gummy toddler had been licking it for half an hour. (Appalling! Didn’t anyone in the kitchen look at it before they sent it out?) It is more that in the ephemeral world of fashionable restaurants, this one seems more mortal than most. ... read more

The Giaconda Dining Room, London

Chef Paul Merrony has done a really smart thing. He has moved into an old Indian restaurant on London’s decrepit Tin Pan Alley and spent zip on it. Sixpence at the very most. Including VAT. Inside the room, the fixtures and fittings groan with the ghosts of repasts past. Merrony still serves food and drinks on the old curry house crockery and glassware used by the previous owners, and maybe even the owners before that. There are thin, tin chafing dishes that have seen the radioactive underside of a thousand chicken tikka masalas. Wine is served in those depressing small-bowl glasses with the measure etched on the side – and never breached! Yet none of this really matters. What is important is that this Australian chef, a big name in the Sydney restaurant scene throughout the Nineties, is cooking up a storm in the tiny kitchen – he claims it is the smallest in London – and keeping the prices down. This is excellent, considering the degree of care and down home talent that goes into producing nosh-some dishes such as rich chicken liver and juniper pate; fishcakes with tartare sauce; roast chicken and roast potatoes with garlic for two; and ham hock hash with a fried egg. Indeed, there is a lot of hearty egg action, which suits old boilers like me right down to the ground. There is also an interesting selection of vegetarian dishes, including pumpkin risotto with oregano and mascarpone; eggs baked with spinach, cheese and cream; plus lots of good salads. Of course the best thing is that all the main courses are under £14 and the quality is excellent. There is even a bit of luxe. How about a starter of pan-fried foie gras? It is terrific; cooked to the minute with a lovely glaze, and served majestically on a haystack of extra fine French beans and frizee lettuce, both anointed with a classic, artful dressing. It is melting, delicious and all yours for £9.50. It is notable that this simple dish is better than the foie gras preparation S had at Helene Darroze at the Connaught the other week. And Merrony cleaned it properly, unlike the slapdash two Michelin star madame! ... read more

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