Cutting Edge

I have noticed a burgeoning trend in the London dining scene that is very exciting to me. This trend begins to fill a gap that is begging to be filled, although the gap is quite wide. The opening of smaller restaurants that are owned and run by primarily the often young chef is something that I hope continues to accelerate. I was at Wizzy last weekend and had a great experience. The food, ambiance, the care that went into the whole experience made it a holistic, fun experience. And when the bill came, I did not go into debt. The London dining scene seems very class based. There is the upper class (fine dining) and the lower class (chains or all day brekkie cafes). There isn't much of the in-between. Please don't argue that Conran type restaurants fill this gap. I have been to several, and they are mismanaged, with inconsistent but poor food quality. Does anyone from the Conran family even go to their restaurants for pop quizzes? They should, they wouldn't be too proud.

London needs restaurants that are small, innovative in terms of menu, contain a sense of ambiance and style, and are run as if they are someone's love child because then that care comes across to you as a diner and you get a better experience.

Wizzy and Glas are two restaurants that fit in this category. NYC has multiple restaurants in this category. It is what makes the dining scene so vibrant. The London scene is not vibrant. It is black and white. Either you go to people watch or you can search for a while and find a place to eat really good food. Trendy buzzy restaurants are rarely so because they have good food. I am not saying Nobu is not excellent. But there should be 8 other restaurants with price poins several notches down that are similar but flexible in what they offer in terms of menu and ambiance.

Lastly, I don't think you can over estimate the power of thinking the experience through so that on many levels you enjoy your meal. Music, lighting, greenery, the tablewear and the seating arrangements, all conspire to make an ambiance. I really become uncomfortable in restaurants with bad acoustics. I don't want to eat and yell. Although, that is really just my fear of spitting food in someone's face accidentally, a fear well founded because i am a particularly ungraceful girl.