london restaurants

Really enjoyed the food at Honey & Co (Lamb's Conduit Street) last week. Had a sharing menu of mezze then a main and would have been happy with just the former, to be honest. Not as special as Ottolenghi, I don't think ... and felt a bit squeezed in to the venue but would still recommend. Had *bonus wine* across the road at Noble Rot (there's scope to have a relatively priced drink as much as a hideously expensive one). They had a set menu that seemed decent/highly reasonable (but wasn't vegetarian, so no good for me). Seemed a venue where people were happy to dip in for a glass of wine with their book.

Holloway Road people

Have you eaten at Sambal Shiok? Newspaper, Time Out etc reviews seem to contradict user ratings. Google Maps rating is suspiciously low.

There's also a Mexican place nearby that was foisted onto me by the Instagram algorithm, and i'm weighing up the two for drinks with a friend next week. It's called 'Proper Tacos' which is alarm bells, but i think(?) the owner/chef is legit Mexican, and tacos look good, so who knows.

I haven’t eaten there yet, but that’s a big disparity between reviewers and punters. If you want fire in soup form nearby there’s Xi’an Impression but I’m not sure about their licensing situation

I've been to Sambal Shiok, thought it was really good (though I'm no kind of connoisseur of Malaysian food). Not certain I'd choose it as a place to go to for drinks with a friend, it's not necessarily the kind of spot I'd choose to take a lot of time over a meal and relax into having a few drinks before, during and after a delicious laksa.

This is probably not relevant to your decision but is interesting: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/09/costs-independent-restaurants-prices-sambal-shiok-ditto-coffee

If you're looking for great Mexican food in London may I recommend this place...

https://lachingada.co.uk/

Only been to the one in Surrey Quays but just noticed they've open one in Euston...really great authentic food and not too far from Holloway