Best of London food shops , restaurants and wine establishments for 2020

 Here is my list of best of London food shops , restaurants and wine establishments for 2020.

Best Restaurant(s) in London : The Clove Club , Claude Bosi at Bibendum , , Kitchen Table , The Ritz , Portland (with Theo Clench) , Sola Soho , Maos and Pied a Terre

Best Sourcing and Ingredients :   Sola Soho , The River Cafe 

Best Restaurant Wine Lists :  Chez Bruce  , Medlar , Noble Rot , Hunan, Wild Tavern and Hide

Best New Openings : Noble Rot Soho , Maison Francois , Darjeeling Express 2.0 and  Pantechnicon

Best Argentinian : Zoilo

Best Italian Restaurant (Southern) :  Gola

Best Italian ( Sardinian) Olivo Group 

Best Italian Restaurant (Northern) :  Novikov ,  Locanda Locatelli

Best Pan Italian :  , River Café  ,  Boca di Lupo , (Francesco Mazzei 's) Sartoria and L'Amorosa

Best Trattoria : Mele e Pere  , Radici and L'Amorosa

Best Indian : Jamvar , Gymkhana and Roti Chai/Chai Ki

Best Casual Indian :  Chai Ki 

Best Indian delivery : Motu

Best Indian (Modern) : Roti Chai and Gymkhana

Best Pakistani :  Saloos and Tayyabs

Best Chinese : Hunan , Kai , Silk Road and A Wong

Best Dim Sum :  A Wong  and Royal China (Baker St)

Best Thai :   Som Saa , The Heron

Best Fusion : Novikov and Maos

Best Japanese : The Araki , Endo at the Rotunda and Umu

Best Vietnamese : head to Paris or Vietnam

Best Singapore/Malaysian : Rasa Sayang

Best Lebanese/Syrian : Ishbilia  Knightsbridge

Best Greek :  Opsos , Meraki and Horvada

Best "Politiki Kouzina " Peckham Bazaar  and Dulwich Lyceum

Best Turkish : Gökyüzü and Yeni 

Best Iranian/Persian : Kateh and Berenjak

Best Sushi : The Araki and Endo at the Rotunda

Best French :  Gauthier Soho , Club Gascon, Claude Bosi at Bibendum

Best Vegan : Gauthier Soho

Best Modern British/European : Kitchen Table , Core and The Clove Club

Best Spanish : Cambio de Tercio  and  Pizarro 

Best Tapas : Tendido Cero , Barrafina , José

Best English : St John's , The Guinea Grill , Parlour and Quality Chop House

Best Fish/Seafood : Noble Rot ,  Parsons ,  The Sea The Sea and Bentley's

Best Oysters : Noble Rot , Wright Bros , The French House  and Bentley's

Best Gastro Pubs : Parlour , Harwood Arms , Anchor and Hope and Eagle

Best Service : Noble Rot and Cambio de Tercio

Best Sandwich : Kappacasein's , Cheese Toastie

Best Pub : The Guinea 

Best Selection of Craft Beer :  The Rake 

Best Wine Bar : 40 Maltby St , Antidote Wine Bar, 10 Cases and Noble Rot

Best Brasserie : Bob Bob Ricard and Bob Bob Cite

Best Neighbourhood Restaurants : L'Amorosa , Peckham Baazar , Myrtle and Chez Bruce

Best Mavericks : Quality Wines , Mao's  Catalyst Cafe & Roasters and 40 Maltby St 

Best French Bistro/Bourgeois Cooking :  Casse Croûte  

Best Burger :  Zoilo

Best "joint" Burger :  Patty and Bun and Meat Liquor 

Best Chain Burger : Patty and Bun

Best Steak : Guinea Grill , Zelman Meats , Flat Iron and Goodman

Best Steak Restaurants : Zelman Meats ,  Hawksmoor , Flat Iron , and Goodman

Best Pizza :  Santa Maria and Pizzicotto

Best Pizza chain : Franco Manca

Best Italian Deli : Prezzemolo e Vitale 

Best Street Food : Mr Falafel ( Shepherds Bush )

Best Value for money Wine List : Noble Rot, The Wild Tavern , Hunan and Andrew Edmunds

Best Value for Money Restaurants : Koya Bar ,  Flatiron and Peckham Bazaar

Best Breakfast : Koya Bar and The Guinea

My best meals in London 2020 . Calude Bosi at Bibendum , Sola Soho  and Peckham Bazaar.

My best meal outside London in 2020 :  The Crown Burchetts Green  , Scran and Scallie , Edinburgh, The Star Inn, Harome

My best meals outside the UK in 2020 : Chez L'Ami Jean,  , Table ( Bruno Verjus) ,  Alliance, Le Clarence, and  L'Ambroisie , all in Paris. Aimsir , County Kildare , Ireland. 

Best Bakery/Bread :  Hedone Bakery

Best  Chocolatier : William Curley

Best Patisserie :  Hedone Bakery , Arome Bakery Cafe Kitsune at Pantechnicon and William Curley

Best Coffee : Prufrock Coffee , Queens Mayfair and Parcafe 

Best Coffee Roaster : Difference Coffee and Square Mile

Best Tea : Lalani and Co

Best Viennoiserie :  Hedone Bakery and Arome Bakery

Best Gelato :  Oddono's 

Best Fishmonger : The Chelsea Fishmonger (Rex Goldsmith), Chelsea Green 

Best Fish and Seafood  Online : Pesky Fish

Best Butchers : South East - O'Shea's  * ,  South West - Provenence - West  - Brown's Artisan Butchers , North - Godfrey's

Best Greengrocer : Andreas Veg , Chelsea .

Best Cheese Shops : La Fromagerie , Mons, Buchanans and Neal's Yard 

Best Purveyor of French Charcuterie  : The Ham and Cheese Company

Best Purveyors of Italian Salumi : The Ham and Cheese Company 

Best Purveyor of British Charcuterie : Cannon and Cannon

Best Purveyor of Greek food and wine : Maltby and Greek *

Best Wine Merchants Retail :  Hedonism , Hansen Hayes and Clark , Nysa , Lea and Sandeman and Handford

Best Wine Merchants Wholesale : Flint , Fortyfive 10 ,  and Field Morris and Verdun

* Disclosure - In the past I was involved with these businesses in a non executive capacity.

Rousillion, London

I returned to Roussillion last week after an absence of several years , having first enjoyed the always perfectly executed cuisine of Alexis Gauthier and his team in the late 1990's .

For some reason I always leave thinking I really should eat here more often as this restaurant really does have everything I normally expect to find in a fine restaurant. The food and service are very good and there is an excellent serious wine list in what remains a very understated restaurant hidden away half way down a side street on the Belgravia/Pimlico border.

On this occasion I was asked to choose a restaurant by an epicurean Greek technology entrepreneur where the food was good and we could actually talk at ease without intrusive service or noisy patrons . We had to eat fairly early as Tony K had to catch a flight to Cologne early the next day.

Saying that I ran into to a friend of mine who is amongst other things a member of the Chelsea FC medical team and we of course discussed the Serbian Horse Placenta wonder treatment.

Everything at Roussillion is as the French sometimes say is "correct" from the excellent homemade bread , the two (salted & unsalted) butters to the actual pace the staff move around the main room. Michael Lear runs the front of house with elegance and good humour and Roberto Della Pietra is one of the UK's top Sommelier's.

Alexis Gauthier who worked in amongst other places Chanteclerc at Hotel Negresco, Nice and Alain Ducasse’s Louis XV temple of gastronomy in Monte Carlo continues to produce beautifully executed dishes that wherever possible use locally sourced ingredients.

The amuse bouche included Chickpea Beignets with Mustard; and Canapés of Smoked Eel & Beetroot Purée which I have had before and a new one on me delicious pigeon heart pictured below.

I am afraid that the Black Truffle Risotto is really too good to resist and I didn't it was a perfectly balanced and executed combination of truffle , rice , butter and parmigiano .

My Veal and Morel main course was again perfectly cooked and presented but I found the Isle of Wight Veal lacked flavour maybe I should pluck up courage and introduce Alexis to my butcher who not only has the best beef and pork I can get my hands on in the UK but superb Irish Rose Veal. We drank a Montagny 1er Cru,Château de la Saule 2007 that worked well with all our courses. Tony had :

SCALLOPS & PEAR ROASTED LARDED SCALLOPS, LIGHT CAULIFLOWER CREAM, CRISPY & CRUNCHY PEAR, JUS DE ROTI

BLACK OLD SPOT PIG & BRAMLEY APPLE BRAISED BELLY RUBBED WITH INDONESIAN PEPPER, ROASTED MIGNON, GLOBE ARTICHOKE,FOIE GRAS & GRILLED APPLE


After a pre desert of clafoutis of pear and choclolat we both ended our fine meal with a circular version of Ducasse's Louis XV - hazelnut praline, over thin biscuit base, sandwiched between chocolate ganache and covered in dark chocolate sauce , finished with with gold leaf.

I think I need to come here more often or at least as often as I go to Hunan around the corner !




Amuse Bouche. PIGEON HEART , CONFIT TOMATO , CARAMALISED BABY ONION AND CRISPY LARDON



Entrée. BLACK TRUFFLE RISOTTO



Plat Principal. VEAL & MORELS THIN & SOFT CUT OF CALVES SHANK, BATTERED SWEETBREAD, CREAMED MORELS & CABBAGE,
BACON & LIVER PARCELS




Desert. LOUIS XV