Best of London Food and Beverage 2014

Here is my list of best of London food shops , restaurants and wine establishments for 2014.

Best Restaurant(s) in London : Hedone , Dinner , Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road , The Greenhouse and The Ledbury

Best Sourcing and Ingredients : Hedone

Best Restaurant Wine Lists : Pollen St Social , Chez Bruce , Tinello , L'Anima , The Greenhouse and Hedone

Best Argentinian : Zoilo

Best Italian Restaurant (Southern) : L'Anima , Quattro Passi

Best Italian Restaurant (Northern) :  Novikov , Locanda Locatelli

Best Pan Italian :  , River Café , Tinello  and  Zafferano

Best Trattoria : Mele e Pere and Antico

Best Casual Indian : Roti Chai

Best Indian (Modern) : Benares and Rasoi

Best Pakistani : Shezan , Saloos and New Tayabbs

Best Chinese : Hunan , Kai , HKK and A Wong

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

Best Thai :  Heron

Best Fusion : Apero , Novikov ,  Zuma and Moro

Best Japanese : Umu and Sake No Hana

Best Vietnamese : head to Paris or Vietnam

Best Lebanese/Syrian : Ishbilia , Knightsbridge and Meza , Tooting

Best Greek : The Greek Larder

Best "Politiki Kouzina " Peckham Bazaar 

Best Turkish : Mangal Ocakbasi (Stoke Newington)

Best Sushi : Sushi Tetsu , Yashin Sushi

Best French : Hibiscus , Gauthier Soho , Club Gascon and The Greenhouse

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

Best Spanish : Cambio de Tercio , Fino , Pizarro and Iberica

Best Tapas : Tendido Cedro , Barrafina and José

Best English : St John's , Aqua Shard , Gillrays

Best Fish/Seafood : One - O - One , Knightsbridge 

Best Gastro Pub : Harwood Arms , Anchor and Hope , Great Queen St

Best Service : Galvin's Windows , Goodman Maddox St , Hedone  , Bar Boulud and Cambio de Tercio

Best Sandwich : Kappacaseins Cheese Toastie

Best Pub : The Ship (Wandsworth)  and Black Friar

Best Selection of Craft Beer :  The Rake

Best Wine Bar : 40 Maltby St , Antidote Wine Bar , Sager and Wilde

Best Brasserie : Bob Bob Ricard , Brasserie Chavot 

Best Mavericks : Apero , Brunswick House Café , Dock Kitchen , Five Fields , and 40 Maltby St

Best French Bistro/Bourgeois Cooking : Brasserie Chavot , Racine , Bistro Bruno, Casse Croûte

 and Koffmann's

Best Burger :  Little Social ,   Elliot's

Best "joint" Burger :  Tommi's , Meat Market , Meat Liquor and Patty Bun

Best Chain Burger : Byron and  Honest Burgers

Best Steak : Gillrays and Goodman

Best Steak Restaurants : Gillrays, Hawksmoor , Sophie's and Goodman

Best Grill : The Dorchester Grill

Best Pizza :  Santa Maria

Best Pizza Chain : Franco Manca

Best Street Food : Mr Falafel ( Shepherds Bush )

Best Value for money Wine List : Bob Bob Ricard and Andrew Edmunds

Best Value for Money Restaurants : Koya , Sophie's ,   and Mangal Ocakbasi

Best Newcomers in London 2014 : Rex and Mariano , Little Water , L'Amorosa , Lyle's

Best Bakery/Bread :  Hedone

Best  Chocolatier : William Curley

Best Patisserie : La Pâtisserie des Rêves

Best Coffee : Prufork Coffee

Best Coffee Roaster : Square Mile , Monmouth and Caravan

Best Croissants : Little Bread Pedlar

Best Gelato :  Oddono's 

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

Best Greengrocer : Andreas Veg , Chelsea

Best Cheese Shops : La Fromagerie , Rippon , Neal's Yard , Paxton Whitfield and Beillevaire

Best Purveyor of French Charcuterie  : The Ham and Cheese Company

Best Purveyors of Italian Salumi : The Ham and Cheese Company and L'Emporio Fine Foods

Best Purveyor of British Chacuterie : Cannon and Cannon

Best Wine Merchants Retail : Lea and Sandeman, Philglas and Swiggot , Market Row Wines , Bottle Apostle , Hansen Hayes & Clark and Handford

Best Wine Merchants Wholesale : Liberty , Fortyfive 10  and Bibendum

Hibiscus in London

It is always difficult to move a restaurant within a city but to bring it down from Ludlow the little gastro hub in Shropshire is very brave indeed.

All I can say after eating there recently week is bravo Monsieur Bosi ! you and your wife have done a great job.

The food is superb and original from the amuse bouche to a remarkable light chocolat tart infused with liquid choc and flavoured with indonesian basil.

Claude Bosi does remarkable things with vegetables somehow concentrating the flavours through pulverisation and blending with other compatible ingredients.

My one criticism is that the portions are slightly too small if you are going for 3-4 courses a la carte including cheese.

The wine list needs a bit of beefing up in terms of choice especially red and white Burgundy and a wider range of red Bordeaux to include some cru bourgeois and lesser grand cru classes' ( of at least 8 years of age)

As in Ludlow this is two star cooking and with some small changes this could become along with The Square and Pied a Terre a contender for a 3rd.

My experience here reminded me of another great French Chef who thrived in London - Pierre Koffman at Tante Claire (Royal Hospital Road) - the approach and philosophy is obviously different but the technical skill and execution from the kitchen was really impressive.