What a wonderful year for eating! 2023 has been the first since 2019 when there were no travel or eating restrictions anywhere in the world. Your reviewer made the most of it, visiting 14 different countries (several, on numerous occasions) and adding close on 50 new reviews to his website. The actual total of meals eaten in restaurants over the past 12 months would probably be double this number. Below follows some of the dining highlights from the period -
Best new openings: The Devonshire (opens in a new tab), a classy Soho pub with a superb upstairs grill room; Socca (opens in a new tab), for a touch of Cote d’Azur glamour in Mayfair; and Maresco (opens in a new tab), a genius pairing of Spanish tapas with Scottish ingredients.
Best surprises: Crab House Café (opens in a new tab) in Weymouth, top seafood in Dorset, where you could almost kid yourself you were in the Mediterranean; Supawan (opens in a new tab), for the best Thai meal enjoyed in a very long time; and Luca (opens in a new tab), for amazing Italian food whose taste memories lingered for days after.
Best high-end in London: Alex Dilling at the Café Royale (opens in a new tab) does a stunning job, as does Tom Sellars at Dovetale (opens in a new tab). 20 Berkeley (opens in a new tab) also impressed. Looking forward to returning to Core (opens in a new tab) again – still your reviewer’s favourite – in February.
Best international experiences: Probably the hardest category from which to choose, but Mielcke and Hurtigkarl (opens in a new tab) in Copenhagen, La (opens in a new tab)Tasqueria (opens in a new tab) in Madrid and Orfali (opens in a new tab) Brothers (opens in a new tab) in Dubai would top the tree. If you’re an offal fan, then you have to visit the Madrid venue.
Best local venues: Caveat, your reviewer lives in London’s W9 district, but close by, the Three Falcons (opens in a new tab) (Indian gastropub) and Carmel (opens in a new tab) (eastern Mediterranean) were delightful new discoveries. Most visited, without doubt, is Le (opens in a new tab)Cochonnet (opens in a new tab), for consistently good pizza.