Best of London food shops , restaurants and wine establishments for 2019

Here is my list of best of London food shops , restaurants and wine establishments for 2019.

Best Restaurant(s) in London :  The Square , The Clove Club , Bibendum ,  The Ledbury, Kitchen Table , Greenhouse , The Ritz , Portland , Mao's and Pied a Terre

Best Sourcing and Ingredients :   The Square , The Greenhouse and The Clove Club

Best Restaurant Wine Lists :  Chez Bruce  , The Greenhouse , Noble Rot , Hunan , Trivet and Taillevent 110

Best New Openings :  Trivet , Bob Bob Cite , Yeni , Dulwich Lyceum Norma and The Wild Tavern

Best Argentinian : Zoilo

Best Italian Restaurant (Southern) :  Gola

Best Italian ( Sardinian) Olivo Group and Edera

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 , Darjeeling Express

Best Indian delivery : Motu

Best Indian (Modern) : Roti Chai and Gymkhana

Best Pakistani :  Saloos 

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

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

Best Thai :   Som Sa , The Heron

Best Fusion : Novikov 

Best Japanese : The Araki and Umu

Best Vietnamese : head to Paris or Vietnam

Best Lebanese/Syrian : Ishbilia  Knightsbridge

Best Greek :  Opsos , Meraki and Horvada

Best "Politiki Kouzina " Peckham Bazaar  andDulwich 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, The Square , and Bibendum

Best Vegan : Gauthier Soho

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

Best Spanish : Cambio de Tercio  and  Pizarro 

Best Tapas : Tendido Cedro , Barrafina , José

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

Best Fish/Seafood : Noble Rot ,  Parsons , Bonnie Gull , 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 : Galvin's Windows, Noble Rot and Cambio de Tercio

Best Sandwich : Kappacasein's , Cheese Toastie

Best Pub : The Guinea and The Cleveland Arms

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 and Chez Bruce

Best Mavericks : The French House, Portland , Mao's  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 and Goodman

Best Steak Restaurants : Zelman Meats ,  Hawksmoor , Flatiron ,and Goodman

Best Pizza :  Santa Maria and Pizzicotto

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 2019 . Hedone . The Square ,  The Clove Club , Portland and Peckham Bazaar.

My best meal outside London in 2019 :  The Crown Burchetts Green  and Joro , Sheffield

My best meals outside the UK in 2019 : Chez L'Ami Jean, Paris , Table , Paris ,  Alliance , Paris , Le Clarence , Paris, L'Arpege , Paris  Bastible , Dublin and Grano Dublin.

Best Bakery/Bread :  Hedone Bakery

Best  Chocolatier : William Curley

Best Patisserie :  Hedone Bakery and William Curley

Best Coffee : Prufrock Coffee and Parcafe 

Best Coffee Roaster : Difference Coffee and Square Mile

Best Tea : Lalani and Co

Best Viennoiserie : Arome , Hedone Bakery and Pophams

Best Gelato :  Oddono's 

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

Best Fish and Seafood Wholesale : Pesky Fish

Best Butchers : O'Shea's  and Provenance 

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

Best Wine Merchants Wholesale : Flint , Fortyfive 10 ,  and Fields, Morris and Verdin

Le Café Anglais , London

Last week I had Lunch at Le Café Anglais and on leaving came to the same conclusion that I have had the two previous times I visited this restaurant. My conclusion was I really should eat here more often.

I have never met co owner and Chef Rowley Leigh apart from a brief exchange of pleasantries at Kensington Place some years ago but I am old enough to have eaten his food, in several of the restaurants he was involved in, including Le Gavroche Sloane Street, Le Poulbot, Kensington Place, probably, 192 on a week end night and who knows maybe even a Hamburger at Joe Allen.

Rowley Leigh's food could be described as Franco Italian bistro/brassiere-influenced modern British cooking but this man of impeccable taste is far more open minded and Spain and Japan clearly figure in his gastronomic melting pot.

Leigh like Alistar Little and Simon Hopkinson always produced perfectly executed simple food made with excellent ingredients. What all three have in common along with another contemporary Sally Clarke is that despite the simplicity of a given dish you somehow felt the personality of the chef coming through. One also felt that these chefs developed strong views on food and a vision about how it should be cooked and presented.

Along with Bibendum I think the art deco Le Café Anglais has the most beautiful rooms in London. At lunch the huge windows overlooking Bayswater Road and Porchester Gardens flood the vast room with natural light even when the sun is not shinning which of course is more often than not.

Like the room (170 covers) the Menu is vast with Hors D’Oeuvres, Starters, Mains many side dishes and puddings. There is a daily Lunch Menu and for Dinner a daily roast ranging from Venison to Gloucester Old Spot Pork along with the permanent Rotisserie Classics (Chicken, Beef, Game and Lamb)

Probably because my mother hails from Bologna I have never resisted the Mortadella with Celeriac Remoulade (well sourced) and Parmesan Custard with Anchovy Toast (perfect) and on this occasion we also had Pike Boudain, a little bland for me however the explosion of controlled flavour from Mackerel Teriyaki certainly made up for that,

Both my companion and I love Roast Chicken choose the option to have just the leg with it's jus and some beautifully cooked Chanterelles. This is an absolute bargain at £4.50 for what I consider to be the best part of any chicken including the UK's best, Label Anglais favoured and championed by Rowley Leigh.

I finished my meal with well-made Peach Melba whilst my friend chose the Queen of Puddings that also got thumbs up.

The wine list well constructed with both Old and New World fairly represented (therefore no New World :-) ). We had a pretty decent chilled Chinon ( I failed to note the winemaker or year) which served it's purpose of more or less matching our eccentric choices of food.

The service on a fairly busy Lunch service was perfect from the moment I set foot in the restaurant to when I departed two and a half hours later.

In terms of large modern Brassiere style Restaurants in London I prefer Le Café Anglais to The Wolesley primarily because the food is better but also this well run operation has leveraged the space to create a very pleasant environment that is perfect for a business lunch, treating your elderly parent or dare I say a romantic dinner or hot date.

Having reflected on why I don't go more often it's probably because of the location and as most of my lunches are business related I become a prisoner of the City and West End. However to paraphrase the words of the most famous of all guides, Le Café Anglais is certainly worth a detour.