Akara, Borough Market, London West African and Brazilian restaurant review

I've not eaten much West African or Brazilian cooking before, so I can’t exactly tell you the difference between a Nigerian akara osu and a Brazilian acaraje.

So, my assessment of the reimagined akara on offer at the eponymous restaurant in Borough Market is going to be about as nuanced as a seagull assessing the relative merits of French fries compared to triple cooked chips.

All I can say is that these deep-fried black bean fritters are bloody tasty and so too is the rest of Akara’s West African and Brazilian cooking. Thankfully, their menu also includes a helpful glossary to provide a primer of dish components like kokoro yaji and noir yassa.

Owned by restaurateur Aji Akokomi, Akara holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand whilst its sibling restaurant Akoko holds a Michelin star. Located in a cavernous, converted railway arch with huge bifold doors, Akara is a cool and airy space to spend a summer’s evening.

We were catching up with a group of friends and so ordered a load of dishes to share. We focused on Akara’s snacks and small plates, but eye-catching larger plate include grilled pork feijoada (£24) and cod fillet moqueqa (£24). Whilst I was lost in conversation, Akara’s spice and texture packed cooking couldn’t help but draw my attention back with each mouthful.

On the booze front, we kicked off with a pair of excellent cocktails - a fruity and boozy Akojo (£13) made with Planteray coconut and pineapple rums and a citrus packed Caiprinha (£13). We followed it up with a bottle of super fruity Jumi-Juma Moldovan Chardonnay-Riesling (£45) and schooners of Lost and Grounded Keller Pils (£6).

Bowls of crisps were both great – green plantain lengths (£5) with an aubergine sauce and spiced cassava chips (£6) with kelewele spice topped cashew sauce.

My favourite of the picky bits, however, were a quartet of soft and airy sinasir rice pancakes (£5) which were accompanied by nutty black bean hummus with a deceptive chilli kick.

Akara, the restaurant’s headline dish, were most definitely worth naming the restaurant after. Golden, crisp and fluffy crumbed, the savoury black-eyed bean fritters were stuffed with a variety of fillings, including sweet barbecue prawn (£12) and shreds of slow cooked beef short rib (£12). They were excellent dipped in a savoury Senegalese hot sauce.

It’s saying something when the rice is the standout dish of a meal. But Akara’s efike rice (£8) was so good that it could also appropriately be named epic rice. Served in a striking cauldron with an equally impressive wooden spoon, the fluffy fried grains were turbocharged with the decadent umami-intensity of coconut, shellfish and chicken broth.

Smoky chicken alata skewers (£20 for two) with a sticky, sweet and fiery scotch bonnet glaze were superb. And so too was garnish of crisp seeds and crushed chicken skin.

Nuggets of yielding, slow-cooked lamb dibi (£14) were accompanied by a tangy mustard onion sauce.

Tender barbecued aubergine (£14), meanwhile, was crowned with crispy kale and paired with a slightly sweet carrot sauce and a vibrant Senegalese green herb and chilli rof paste.

Blushing pink and char-kissed flat iron steak (£14) was good but arguably the weakest link in the meal as I did find a few bits a little too chewy. Accompanied by kulikuli yaji, a spicy Nigerian peanut powder, it certainly wasn’t short of flavour.

For dessert, a squidgy warm plantain cake (£9) was accompanied by milk ice cream and smoked butter sauce. Combining toasty caramel and sweet fruit notes, it was an excellent sticky toffee pudding and banana bread hybrid.

With its reasonably priced spiced-laden cooking, cool setting and friendly service, Akara is exactly my kind of restaurant. It’s another big win for Borough Market’s excellent restaurant scene and it’s certainly given me the taste to try more West African and Brazilian cooking.

The Details:

Address - Akara, Arch 208, 18 Stoney Street, Borough Market, London SE1 9AD

Web - https://www.akaralondon.co.uk/

Telephone - 0203 8615190

Monty's Burger Bar, Bicester ribs review - Guest post by PizzaFaves

In a break from my usual proceedings, this latest post is another guest review from Correspondent at Large, PizzaFaves, who is the son of an old university friend. This budding young food writer (and driver) may still be in primary school, but he has a bright future in food criticism ahead of him:

On Wednesday 19 August 2026 I went for my third driving lesson of the year, and then after that I got very, very, very hungry and thought “what food do I want?”

My mind popped and said “RIBS!”

I started thinking about when Homer Simpson gurgles “ahhhh!” and then someone said “Yes, we’ve found ribs close by!”

I did my driving lesson hastily and we went to get ribs at Monty’s Burger Bar in Bicester. It’s right by the Phoenix car park, so if you are driving it’s easy to get to.

When we got there, I immediately ordered ribs. The people who worked there were very nice and knew how much I wanted ribs. The service was good, and the food came extremely quickly. My family got chicken burgers (£15.45), which were good, but oozed juice a bit too much.

First, the BBQ pork ribs (£19.95). What I noticed first taste-wise was that the glaze was amazing because it was balanced, had loads of flavour, and it had texture. The meat was very soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, and very tasty. I devoured a whole adult portion of ribs very quickly. The portion was very generous even for my small size.

Second, underneath the ribs were chips. The chips were thick regular chips and were pretty big. The one thing I felt meh about was there wasn’t much salt on them. But when I tried the truffle chips, they were very savoury, had lots of seasoning, their taste was herby and they were really good compared to the regular chips. I would recommend the truffle chips over the regular chips.

The staff were kind and gave us a takeaway box. My only criticism about the restaurant was the bathroom - it could have been cleaner.

But overall, the entire restaurant was good, the food was great, the service was excellent and we had a good time. If you’re looking for something flavourful and meaty, with big portions, I recommend Monty’s Burger Bar at Bicester.

The Details:

Address - Monty’s Burger Bar, Unit C1 Bure Place, Bicester OX26 6FA
Web - https://www.montysburgerbar.co.uk/
Telephone - 01869 574939

Roos, Cardiff city centre restaurant review

I normally think of chefs and restauranteurs moving from the city to the countryside, rather than the other way around.

In comparison to the grey hustle and bustle of urban life, I can certainly see the appeal of opening somewhere rural with an abundance of local produce, beautiful scenery and a slower pace of life.

Inn at the Sticks, Osip, Coombeshead Farm and Holm are all examples of places that are owned by chefs and restaurateurs who made their name in the city before moving to the sticks (quite literally in the case of Inn at the Sticks).

So, it’s interesting to see that the owners of two Pembrokeshire pubs, The Golden Lion in Newport and The Boars Head in Templeton, have expanded in the opposite direction by opening a restaurant in Cardiff.

Roos, which is located in the warden’s bungalow on the edge of Bute Park, feels about as close to the countryside as you can get whilst still being in the heart of the city.

The team have done a lovely job with the former home of Kindle, which always faced an uphill battle due to its lack of inside dining space. The main building, where the bar and a dining room are located, has an upmarket pub feel and exposed ceilings that give it a distinctly un-bungalowy vibe. They’ve also added a clever construction at the back where there’s a second dining room with verdant views over of the park.

However, it’s arguably the courtyard area at the front of the building that holds the most appeal on a sunny day – I can imagine it’s going to be very popular with match day crowds and Pontcantonites stopping off for a drink on their way home from work.

Considering the owners’ backgrounds, it’s understandable that Roos menu feels like the kind of thing you might find in a country pub. Starters and small plates are where the most excitement lies with dishes like charred leeks and smoked Teifi Caerphilly croquettes. Mains are less exciting, with grilled meat and fish and pasta providing the bulk of the available options.

On the drinks front, beers lean towards to the macro brewing end of the scale. Mrs G enjoyed a fruity pint of Tiny Rebel’s Clwb Tropica (£6.80), the only local offering available, whilst I knocked back an easy drinking pint of Salt’s Alpacalypse pale ale (£5.90).

I followed it up with a small glass of crisp and fruity Royal Tokaji Furmint (£7.50) whilst Mrs G sipped on a glass of sticky Pedro Ximinez sherry (£ no price on menu) in lieu of dessert.

Whilst we waited for our starters, we ordered a couple of breads for the table. However, as it turned out, they arrived at the same time as our first course. Both options were pretty good – warm and soft focaccia (£6) and crisped olive bread (£6) both served with vivid green basil oil and balsamic.

To start, I kicked off with a lovely ’nduja scotch egg (£11) that comprised of a jammy yolked egg surrounded by juicy sausage meat seasoned with the fiery hit of Calabrian sausage. On the side, a pile of creamy mustard seasoned celeriac remoulade would definitely have benefited from more crunch to provide some texture contrast.

Mrs G enjoyed her portion of beef rib croquetas (£9), which were nicely filled with tender slow-cooked beef and creamy bechamel. But they didn’t deliver the same intense bovine hit of the city’s best.

There was also a thumbs up for a portion of grilled celeriac and oyster mushroom skewers (£9) that a were ordered by a friend across the table.

Onto the mains, and three of us ordered the epically portioned mussels (£19). A huge bowlful of plump bivalves were bathed in a thick creamy sauce with heaps of crisp bacon pieces, sweet soft leeks and a cream sauce with a fruity hit of cider and savouriness of mussel liquor. On the side were four crisp slices of toasted bread for mopping. Arguably, a glug more cider would have made the sauce a touch less rich. But, it’s a dish that I’d very gladly order again. 

In fact, I already have because I forgot to take a photo the first time around. It was still very good on my second visit but a few of the mussels were overcooked and starting to lose their plumpness. 

The other two mains were decent but didn’t fully hit the mark.

A pea risotto (£17) was laden with colourful vegetables, and the loose textured rice was well cooked. It lacked a bit of seasoning, however, or perhaps even a handful of parmesan cheese. Fortunately, there was a salt mill on the table that my friend put to good use.

A crab ravioli dish (£20) had pleasingly thin pasta and was drenched with butter and topped with diced tomatoes, green herbs and onions. The one flavour that was lacking was the headline hit of crustacean – neither sweet white flesh nor earthy brown meat really came to the fore.

Both the desserts we ordered were quite tasty but not exactly as expected from their menu descriptions.

A crumble de cassis (£8) wasn’t a comfortingly hot fruit crumble but in fact a cold dish that combined a crunchy crumbly base topped with blackcurrant mousse, a fruity and sharp dark fruit compote, and a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Similarly, my chocolate cremeux (£9) wasn’t the glossy and “luxuriously smooth” dessert that I’d envisaged. Instead, a bar of solid chocolate ganache was sat on a crisp biscuit base and joined by sherberty cherry sorbet and more of that dark fruit compote.

Overall, we had an enjoyable evening at Roos with a couple of standout dishes alongside others that were middling. They’ve certainly succeeded in bringing a countryside vibe to Cardiff and I’d gladly go back again for another bowl of mussels and drink or two in their sunny courtyard.

The Details:

Address - ROOS, The Bungalow, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, CF11 9SZ

Web - https://rooscardiff.co.uk/

Telephone - 07961073512

Burgers on my Brain, Cathays, Cardiff burger review

If you wait long enough then everything comes back in fashion, both the good and the bad.

It’s a travesty to see mullets, super baggy jeans, tie dye t-shirts and ‘dad’ trainers once again surge in popularity.

In contrast, I’m glad to see a lot more people birdwatching, wired earphones, beans (especially in glass jars) and thick patty burgers.

When it comes to burgers, over the last few years it feels like every menu now features a burger with a couple of thinly smashed patties and thicker patties have fallen by the wayside.

But the signs are there that they’re coming back in fashion.

Firstly, the arbiters of style, British Vogue say that thick patties are back in.

And secondly, Cardiff’s newest burger joint, Burgers On My Brain, focuses on thick patty burgers.

Located in Dalton Yard, a cosy covered outdoor event space just off the top of Crwys Road, Burgers On My Brain has only been open for a few weeks. Currently operating on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, it’s run by the former owner of Chronic Fried Chicken.

When it comes to making a good burger, the crucial starting point is buying good ingredients and not messing around with them too much. So, Burgers On My Brain is in a good position as they use dry aged Welsh beef from legendary Cardiff butchers Oriel Jones and potato buns from Newport bakery Nos Da.

On the menu, is a choice of three cheeseburgers, and two different fry options. I can understand why the menu is so compact as it’s all prepared singlehandedly by the chef-owner Tyler, who was working full tilt on the Sunday we visited

On tap, there’s normally local draft beer from Caerphilly’s excellent Dark Element. But, they’d just sold out when we arrived, so Tyler kindly let us bring in a few cans from Cathays Beer House around the corner. We sank a couple of lovely pale ales from Burnt Mill and Left Handed Giant.

When it came to our burgers, the intensely beefy dry aged patties combined the juiciness of a thick patty with the caramelised crust of a smashed patty. It was excellent but I’d have probably liked the option for it to have been cooked medium.

A bacon cheeseburger (£13.50) combined a soft yet sturdy and not too sweet potato roll that well held the thick patty topped with crisp smoked streaky bacon, a good poke of melted cheddar, tangy burger sauce and the balance of a little bit of raw white onion.

A Carolina (£12.50) saw the melted cheddar topped beef patty combined with sweet and punchy honey mustard barbecue sauce, pink pickled onions and a token scattering of lettuce. 

Super crisp skin on loaded fries (£7.50) were dusted with umami chicken salt and topped with heaps of crispy bacon nuggets as well as generous drizzles of burger sauce and honey mustard barbecue sauce. Dirty and delicious, I regret sharing a portion with Mrs G.

We had a belter of a lunch at Burgers On My Brain and it’s up there with the best burger joints in Cardiff. We were told that they're planning on sticking around in Dalton Yard for the long term and this makes me very happy indeed because it’s great to have somewhere like Burgers On My Brain on our side of the city.

The Details:

Address - Burgers On My Brain, Dalton Yard, Dalton Street, Cathays, Cardiff CF24 4HB

Web - https://www.instagram.com/burgersonmy_brain/

Fallow, London restaurant review

In the age of social media, the viral chef rules supreme. 

It must be frustrating for some chefs these days. When all you want to do is focus on cooking and running a kitchen, success can seem to depend just as much on being a social media personality as it does on your culinary skills. I’m sure many chefs choose a back-of-house career for a reason, and constantly being expected to create content probably isn’t one of them.

Chefs like Matthew Ryle, Adam Byatt, Will Murray and Jack Croft have all enhanced their reputations by pulling back the curtain on how to prepare restaurant style dishes. Each has amassed hundreds of thousands of social media followers and, I’m sure, bolstered their booking sheets as a result.

Will and Jack are the duo behind @fallowchefs, which currently has an eyepopping 1.6 million followers on Instagram. They’re also the chef patrons of Fallow, a restaurant that’s located just a minute’s walk from Piccadilly Circus and is currently ranked at 89 in the National Restaurant Awards.

Billed as serving “conscious gastronomy”, Will and Jack have done a fine job of creating menus that are both aspirational yet accessible. Dishes include crowd pleasers like a dairy cow burger (£19) or crispy fried chicken buns (£10) as well as more challenging plates such as sweet and sour pig head (£59).

As we sat at lovely high table in the window at Fallow on a Sunday lunchtime, we were surrounded by families with toddlers, groups of tourists and chichi couples, many of whom were getting stuck into a Sunday roast. Fallow have certainly succeeded in pulling in a broad customer base – a bit like Cardiff’s Pasture, which seems to appeal to everyone.

As we’d been on the booze on Saturday night, we stuck to alcohol free drinks - a fresh and fruity Dragon Punch (£11) made with tea, apricots and mint, and a highly gluggable Beavertown 0% (£8) pale ale.

We ordered a bunch of snacks, small plates and larger dishes to share, and a smoked leek Caesar salad (£16) was the first to arrive. Layered with sweet charred leeks, crisp leaves, nuggets of salty pancetta and crunchy croutons coated in a briny anchovy charged dressing, it was a first-rate salad. 

Next to show up was a silky smooth, creamy and umami rich mushroom parfait (£18) with a wonderfully complex boozy twang of port, madeira, and brandy. It was served alongside slabs of charred sourdough. I thought Tom Simmons’ version was as brilliant as mushroom pâtés could get, but somehow this was even better.  

Crisp and sweet corn ribs (£9) were coated in a compellingly savoury and smoky spice rub made with kombu and smoked paprika. They were a simple yet highly addictive snack. 

Smoked beef dairy ribs (£15), with just a few mouthfuls of meat left on the bone, were also just the right size to live up to their snack billing. I'd love to have had a go at one before it had been stripped of most of its meat. Stupidly tender and richly beefy, they were excellent dredged through a pool of intensely umami reduced cooking juices.

A cod’s head (£29) was our main event and it looked like a monster, both in portion size and personality. But in fact, it was a delicate beast that required plenty of burrowing around its various nooks and crannies to extract the equivalent of a small fillet of fish. It was well worth the effort as the meaty fish was glorious drenched in a spicy and glossy sauce that tasted like it was 50% sriracha and 50% butter.

Finally, sweet and juicy heritage tomatoes (£12) were piled on top of a bed of creamy labneh and cleverly seasoned with the crunch of seeds and fragrance of deep-fried curry leaves.

At this point, the efficient yet standoffish service that we’d experienced up until now, ground to a halt and after fifteen minutes of waiting for our table to be cleared, we gave up and asked for the bill (which included an eyebrow raising 15% service charge). 

I was seriously impressed by the elevated yet crowd-pleasing food at Fallow and I can see why Will and Jack’s cooking has amassed them over a million followers on social media. It’s slightly frustrating that it was let down by indifferent service as it didn’t come close to the level of the excellent cooking. 

The Details:

Address - Fallow, 52 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RP
Web - https://fallowrestaurant.com/
Telephone - 020 8017 1788

Pane Olio, Rhiwbina, Cardiff Italian restaurant and deli review

Rhiwbina doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being one of Cardiff’s liveliest suburbs.

Well at least it never did when Mrs G grew up around there.

Until fairly recently, the Juboraj and Deri Inn were about as exciting as it got when it came to places to eat and drink.

But, over the last few years there’s been a string of exciting independent hospitality openings.

First, the Rhiwbina Tap opened in 2021, followed by Mesen in 2023, and a branch of Pettigrew Bakery in 2025.

And just last month, the long-awaited Pane Olio finally opened its doors.

This Italian restaurant and delicatessen is owned by chef David Thomas, a Rhiwbina native with an impressive CV to his name. He initially trained under Stephen Terry at the Hardwick before working in top kitchens in Tuscany for eight years. Returning to Cardiff during the pandemic, David then cooked at the brilliant Casanova for five years before finally striking out on his own.

By day, Pane Olio’s deli serves freshly baked bread, cold cuts, and pantry items whilst the next-door restaurant offers a set lunch menu with three courses for less than thirty quid.

When we visited on a Wednesday evening, the outside terrace was humming with people enjoying aperitivi. The classy dining room, which is less pile-it-high pizza pasta joint and more classy Tuscan trattoria, quickly filled to capacity.

Pane Olio’s compact focuses on a tight selection of antipasti, primi and secondi. Dishes include panzanella (£10), fresh taglioni pasta with king prawns and chilli (£21) and sirloin steak with rocket and parmesan (£30).

On the booze front, a red-focused all Italian list, includes a few well-priced house wines by the glass. Fruity Fiano (£7 for a medium glass), super gluggable Chianti (£7), and prosecco (£7.50) all very much did the job.

Airy crumbed focaccia and toasty crusted sourdough (£5.50) were accompanied by a bowl of grassy olive oil.

A golden arancino (£7), which was sat on a pool of fruity and creamy tomato and mascarpone sauce, was the standout of the starters. Beneath its hyper crisp exterior was a layer of courgette-flecked and mint-scented rice surrounding a core of compellingly molten cheese. Classy yet hearty, it was a sign of things to come.

Caponata (£8) saw soft aubergines and crunchy celery bound together with a palate enlivening sweet and sour tomato sauce. Nuggets of crumbly ricotta cheese and toasted almonds provided flavour and texture contrast.

I can’t see mortadella (£9) on a menu and not order it. Here, the thin slices of luxury Billy Bear sausage were nicely flecked with pistachios. Each mouthful transported me back to last year’s guzzling trip to Bologna.

Wild mushroom risotto (£18) was a decadent bit of comfort food with a bang on texture that balanced intense umami and funky mushroom flavours with luxurious cream and cheese notes. I suspect a background kick of booze might have added even more complexity.

Coarse and meaty sausage ragu (£18) was accompanied by al dente trottole pasta and a generous dusting of fresh parmesan. It was very tasty but less memorable than the risotto.

A lot of care had gone into a side salad (£5) too – mini cucumbers, baby plum tomatoes, thinly sliced shallots and an interesting mix of leaves all had plenty of flavour, were properly dressed and precisely plated.

Just the two desserts were on offer on our visit during our meal as they’d run out of panna cotta.

Thankfully, there was no shortage of tiramisu (£9). Light yet decadent, it was very good indeed. A big dollop had just the right ratio of coffee-soaked sponge, mascarpone cream, and bitter cocoa.

 A ramekin of rich and thick chocolate mousse (£9) dusted with crushed hazelnuts hit the spot too.

We had a lovely meal at Pane Olio and their classy yet big flavoured Italian cooking is another welcome addition to Rhiwbina's restaurant scene. This North Cardiff suburb has most definitely found its groove when it comes to independent hospitality.

The Details:

Address - Pane Olio, 2B Heol y Deri, Rhiwbina, Cardiff CF14 6HF
Web - https://paneolio.co.uk/