What the experts recommend
Sugarcane London 517 Wandsworth Road, London SW8 (020-7498 8758)
The food at this “small, tidy Caribbean café” in south London has a compelling story behind it, says Jay Rayner in The Observer. Tarell Mcintosh – aka Chef Tee – grew up in care, and wanted to do something for others like him. So last year, with a budget of £3,000, the 27-year-old took out a lease on a corner shop, bought some second-hand kitchen equipment, and employed four care leavers to work with him. Months after opening, thieves broke in and filched equipment, till money and stock. The restaurant faced ruin, but swiftly got “back on its feet” thanks to a local crowd-funder. A heart-warming story, then – but is the food any good? Yes, it really is. There’s soft, flaky roti; jerk chicken with “crisped and blackened” skin; four-hour simmered curried goat with a “fiery power” to its gravy. “This is all comfort food, made by someone who knows a bit about having to find a place of safety and now wants to offer you one too.” Starters £4-£6, mains £8.50-£10.
The Little Fish Market 10 Upper Market Street, Hove, East Sussex (thelittlefishmarket.co.uk)
Located down a “weird little U-shaped lane” in Hove, this restaurant is adorably small, with maybe 20 place settings, and the staff are charming, says Tim Hayward in the FT. But if all that suggests a cosy, conventional sort of place, don’t be misled. For the cooking here is ambitious – and phenomenally good. Chef-owner Duncan Ray is a “quiet, shy chap devoid of cheffy bluster” – but he does remarkable things with fish. Take one of the “snacks” on his ten-course tasting menu. Listed as simply “Egg & Soldiers”, it proves to be a “surgically trepanned egg backfilled with a purée of Jerusalem artichoke, a layer of smoked haddock, topped with a set cream ‘white’ and a runny ‘yolk’ made of passion fruit”. I’d describe it as “jaw-dropping”, were such a response not “fundamentally prejudicial to eating”. Many more “unimpeachable” dishes follow – right down to an “extraordinarily good pineapple tatin”. It’s rare to find meals as good as this. Set menu: £85.
The Plimsoll 52 St Thomas’s Road, Finsbury Park, London N4
The Plimsoll is a former “old-school drinking den” in London’s Finsbury Park that is now a serious eatery, says Grace Dent in The Guardian. But don’t expect anything remotely gastropub: the decor remains that of a “pubby” pub: there are no “neatly folded Egyptian cotton hand towels” in the bathroom here; and the cooking is boldly unpredictable. Chefs Jamie Allan and Ed McIlroy previously ran a “well-loved semi-permanent pop-up” at the Compton Arms in nearby Islington, and some of their hit dishes are repeated here, including their “very good Dexter cheeseburger”. But the daily-changing menu contains plenty of surprises too: scallop bhuna fried pizza, perhaps, or liver with colcannon. One word of warning: tables here are “like gold dust” at the moment, and the place doesn’t take bookings (there’s no website, nor even a phone line). So turn up early, be prepared to queue for a while, and don’t expect to linger for long. The staff are “incredibly good” and knowledgeable – but they’ll have no compunction about kicking you out if someone else wants your table. Around £45 a head, plus drinks and service.