Kababish

The tandoori king prawns arrive on a hot griddle, looking like they’ve been pumping iron at the gym and sitting amongst a bed of fried and lightly charred onions. The conversation halts to admire the finely tuned, turbo charged snap, crackle and pop of the sizzle… READ MORE

Eat Vietnam

The tamarind chicken—coated, deep fried wings topped with peanuts and spring onions—are crunchy, succulent, bursting with flavour and sticky too, meaning the accompanying finger bowls are absolutely necessary. This is my new fried chicken high benchmark… READ MORE

Merrymaid Bar & Grill

Before long the piles of fish pakora arrive, and it’s easy to see why they’ve achieved legendary status, being subtly spiced and beautifully succulent under the crunch of batter. The chicken wings are also a delight– plump and juicy with a hint of spicy heat… READ MORE

Poli

The ‘meat’ on the table is provided by the bone marrow, sat in a pool of oil that oozes flavour even deeper than my love for it. It’s accompanied by some warm sourdough that’s like the precocious offspring of a ciabatta loaf and pizza crust… READ MORE

Poli

Toppings are very much in the centre, leaving swathes of naked crusts, ideal for the crust dips we’ve also ordered—two squid ink aiolis and a fermented hot sauce—for a delicious dunking finale. I finish first, hovering to see if there are any crusts left by the others but, rather disappointingly, everyone has the same goal… READ MORE

Peacer

The winner, voted by both of us, was Smokey (Homemade BBQ sauce, mozzarella, smoked cheddar, southern spiced halloumi and charred onion) which I’d happily have wagered was a meat feast… READ MORE

Cork & Cage

We choose beğendi—a mushy roasted aubergine dish very much like a baba ganoush; menemen—egg poached in a tomato sauce with peppers in the style of a baked huevos rancheros without the chilli; and kuru misket köfte—beef meatballs… READ MORE