Fay Maschler names her favourite restaurants of 2019

Here are my 15 favourites from restaurants that I reviewed this year.

They do not necessarily adhere to predicted trends such as plant-based protein, zero waste, fermentation, market halls, Sri Lanka; they are about enjoyment, which takes many forms.

I am interested in nootropics, substances that improve cognitive function, especially in those getting on a bit. I’ll be eating more turmeric, blueberries, salmon, broccoli, walnuts, egg yolks and seaweed in 2020. Happy New Year!

Prices indicate the cost of a meal with wine for one.

In a St James’s listed building that replaced what was part of John Nash’s scheme for his Via Triumphalis, is this Michelin-starred import from China and Singapore. Now that Duddell’s has taken time out, it is here that Peking Duck is the ne plus ultra of the lacquered mahogany bird that is skinned, sliced and rolled in superlative warm flaky pancakes. Given the price — £100 — it is most easily swallowed when shared between four. A humbler dish equally impressive in its own way is poached Chinese cabbage in chicken broth. Dim sum during the day are impeccable and a savvy way into luxuriating in the Christian Liaigre interior. Read the full review here.

9 Waterloo Place, SW1Y, imperialtreasure.com/uk, £120.

The restaurant of Bethnal Green’s Town Hall Hotel is no stranger to artistry and imagination. Following on from Lee Westcott’s Typing Room, this collaboration between chefs Paulo Airaudo and Rafael Cagali, who met working at The Fat Duck, goes from strength to strength and delight to delight. Tasting menus whose contents are only revealed as the dishes arrive might induce trepidation, but you are in safe, sensitive, intelligent hands and the wide-open kitchen bestows a kind of homey reassurance. There is artistry in the compositions, an unusually profound understanding of textures, and a painter’s eye for colour. Nothing weighs too heavily and almost acrobatic balance means that the inventive desserts and delicate petits fours will be relished. “Latin flavours with an Italian heart” is their own summary. ​Read the full review here.

8 Patriot Square, E2, daterra.co.uk, £80/95 + wine pairing.

It’s not so much love that you get from chef-patron Adam Hardiman as passion driven by a sort of fury. Ingredients enthral him and he brings to them just enough invention and exoticism layered on top of convention to render them seen anew. He has been a pub chef in the past and worked at St. John. An urge to feed punters robustly lives on. Adam was one of the first to keep a pub open over Christmas to provide for the lonely and homeless, a notion that happily has been copied. He sees the way the wind is blowing; vegetarian and vegan assemblies leaven the menus. Surroundings are basic but they are evolving. Read the full review here.

480 Kingsland Road, E8, madamepigg.com, £60.

Plenty of catering operators have clocked the fact that flour and water in the guise of pizza and pasta make financial sense but it took Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux, graduates of HEC Paris business school, to raise the game in the spectacular fashion — here and at Fitzrovia’s Circolo Popolare — that brought gaiety and satiety in a year fearful of the future. Much of the produce is imported from Italy, which speaks well for the salumi and cheeses, especially when results are exaggerated as in La Gran Carbonara served in a hollowed-out pecorino. Other excesses such as the lofty quiff of meringue on the lemon pie and the high walls of bottles divert and delight. Much more is in store from the Big Mamma group next year. Read the full review here.

54-56 Great Eastern Street, bigmammagroup.com, £65.

“You go too early” is an accusation levelled at me and sometimes I do. But — so long as it’s not soft opening — I can review. And journalists like a scoop. This softly decorated restaurant, named after an island in the Outer Hebrides where Jackson Boxer’s holidays from childhood onwards are taken, marks his move to west London coinciding with an eating-out renaissance of the area. It — and maybe Jackson himself — took a little time to find its feet and fit into the neighbourhood, but now the commitment to gleamingly fresh seafood from chilly waters, game, noble meat and vegetable assemblies with some fascinating treatments is flourishing. Thoughtfulness abounds. Read the full review here.

31 Kensington Park Road, W11, orasay.london, £75.

Mourad Mazouz, the co-owner of Sketch, relaunches his North African Momo after 23 years with ever more seductive surroundings. In charge of the menu is Hervé Deville who worked for Pierre Gagnaire at the as-of-this-year three-Michelin-starred Lecture Room and Library at Sketch. Maghreb inspiration is honoured, sometimes astutely refined, but there is cohesion and an awareness of tradition that comes as a blessing in these gastronomically scrambled times. Harira, the hauntingly spiced lamb and lentil broth that traditionally closes the fast of Ramadan, is a rewarding way to start. Heritage beetroot couscous, roasted quail pastilla and lamb tagine might follow. A visit to Kwānt Bar led by Erik Lorincz in the basement should be factored in. Read the full review here.

25 Heddon Street, W1B, momo.london, £70.

“A competent Sheila” was how I deliberately understatedly described Alexis Noble who, after a worldwide walkabout from Sydney, decides to open a restaurant in London, writes a business plan, within three days finds premises in Stoke Newington, and opens a self-funded enterprise where she later builds the basement private room herself. She works in the visible kitchen almost single-handedly, supported by loyal and clued-up floor staff who are also very knowledgeable about the low-intervention wines. The best way to enjoy her locavore (championing local ingredients) menu is via the very reasonably priced Chef’s Banquet of a dozen small dishes. Memories of home such as wattle-seed crackers add an Aussie accent to what is an oft-changing ticklish list. Read the full review here.

214 Stoke Newington High St, N16, wanderrestaurant.com, £60.

For reasons of leases and landlords chef-patron Anthony Demetre moved his restaurant Wild Honey from Mayfair to take up residence in Sofitel St James. Its own entrance, interesting art, seductive seating, flattering lighting and beehives on the roof obviate to a considerable extent a hotel atmosphere. Anthony’s love of France continues to shine through his menu ably administered by head chef Simon Woodrow. Dishes mentioned in despatches include Charentais melon with lardo di Colonnata, macaroni “cacio e pepe” with boneless chicken wings, bouillabaisse Marseille style, and several on-point vegetable assemblies. English custard tart with sultanas, pine nuts and a glaze of salted butter is a masterly conclusion. Read the full review here.

8 Pall Mall, St James’s, SW1Y, wildhoneystjames.co.uk, £85.

It’s not all press releases, websites and Instagram; word-of-mouth still plays an important role in restaurant drumbeats. It is how I discovered this Sardinian restaurant in Primrose Hill. The venture is led by Giuseppe Gullo, who comes from a family of wine producers on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, in partnership with the distributor Sardinian Wines. Bottles to buy after an instructive wander through the list are part of the decor and one of the pleasures. Others are the breads with new-season grassy olive oil, the daily pasta options, pane frattau with tomatoes and 63-degree egg — a great brunch dish or first course — bistecca alla Fiorentina and pistachio ice cream. Stylish Signor Gullo oversees the venture immaculately. Read the full review here.

38 Primrose Hill Rd, NW3, lume.london, £60.

It was 25 years ago this year that Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver launched St. John in Smithfield and, in part, changed the world. This Spitalfields outlet developed out of the bakery and belief in the staff of life. “Let’s-not-make-a meal-of-things-while-we-make-a-meal-of-things” is how one companion describes the laid-back mood, which she compares to the Amish way of life and also art school. There is virtue in the cooking, but so delectable is it that you don’t need to be told to eat up your greens or get no pudding. And you wouldn’t want to miss items like damson ice cream with blackberry sorbet with a glass of Polish vodka. Lush Welsh rarebit is the perfect savoury and a springboard for another glass of red from their own vineyards. Read the full review here.

94-96 Commercial St, E1, stjohnrestaurant.com, £60.

Why did chef Ben Tish leave the Salt Yard group to go to The Stafford Hotel in St James’s? The answer was revealed in the September debut of Norma, the Sicilian/Moorish restaurant he opened in Fitzrovia — backed by the hotel owners. The restaurant name references the pasta dish involving aubergines, tomatoes and ricotta, which in turn was inspired by the beauty of Bellini’s eponymous opera. Velvet, marble and tiles distinguish the decor; exuberant flavours and Sicilian tropes adorn the menu. A raw bar offers red prawns — so very end of decade — and the snacks section notable focaccia and panelle. One of the best large plates is the overflowing aubergine parmigiana. Easy-going hours. Read the full review here.

8 Charlotte St, W1T, normalondon.com, £74.

A huge mural featuring Anthony Bourdain looms over the doorway. “Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life” is the quote from the great man. Chef-patron Peter Lloyd perhaps channelling Bourdain’s travel series No Reservations, has embraced wholeheartedly culinary traditions of South-East Asia. Crunchy tempura-coated soft-shell crab fills steamed buns with a layer of Asian slaw piqued with sriracha; crab dumplings in laksa sauce with quail’s egg are counter-intuitively elegant; duck fried rice is a tower to dismantle and mix. Desserts are extraordinary, particularly peanut nougat satay with smoked chocolate ganache and charcoal ice cream. Service is edifying. Read the full review here.

33 Coin St, SE1, stickymango.co.uk, £65.

Is the Mexican-influenced cooking from Peter Sanchez-Iglesias more thrilling than the interior on the 10th (top) floor of The Standard hotel or vice versa? For me it is the latter with its evocation of Arizona and echoes of Frank Lloyd Wright plus, of course, the wrap-around view embracing St Pancras. Food might tip the balance were it not so spendy, but it is up to the punter to avoid ordering tortilla topped with caviar for £75. The Mexteca “finish” of pork fat flavoured with oregano on grilled turbot is luscious, although a booby trap for the unwary pescatarian. Proper study has gone into the acoustics and music. Is this The Chiltern Firehouse of 2019? Maybe. Read the full review here.

10 Argyle St, NW1, decimo.london, £100.

Damian Clisby, once of Petersham Nurseries, is in partnership with Nick Gibson from The Drapers Arms in this new Shoreditch bistro/wine bar. He has been quoted as saying that he is pleased to be getting back to doing what he likes, which is cooking. It makes you wonder how many other chefs get separated from what is actually most gratifying in their lives. He is a natural, turning out expert but unaffected Anglo-French dishes to go with vibrant bottles from a tempting list. It is a grown-up enterprise. As one pal says: “No one feels the need to ask us if we know how to order food.” Additional thoughtfulness is Emile Lates on Fridays with 20 per cent off wine. Read the full review here.

26 Curtain Rd, EC2A, emilerestaurant.co.uk, £65.

Just when we need it most, Richard Corrigan opens a restaurant with two Irish cohorts dedicated to the notion of a good time. Away from Mayfair, Corrigan’s cooking style interpreted by head chef Simon Merrick is more romantic, nostalgic, more in the spirit of his memoir cum cookery book The Clatter of Forks and Spoons. His son Richie is in charge of the room which has at its heart an open grill, a wood-fired oven and a bar, and downstairs another bar run by Tony Gibney, where of an evening there might be live fiddle music. A dish to pounce on should it be on the blackboard is whole chicken in a salted dough crust. Christmas: ’tis the season to be jolly. Read the full review here.

70-74 City Rd, EC1Y, daffodilmulligan.com, £74