NYT restaurant reviewer on his previous trip to London, c. 2008
From the New York Times:
Beyond Porridge and Boiled Mutton: A Taste of London
A newcomer to the city’s recent flowering as a culinary destination samples restaurants from Shoreditch to the West End, and finds flavors from India, Basque Country, the Mediterranean and more.
By Robert Draper
Aug. 15, 2018As Britain — like its younger sibling across the pond — gruffly proclaims its distance from the outside world (at least for the political moment), we can all be thankful that Brexit came too late to halt the culinary globalization of London.
Put ideology aside. This otherwise noble capital inclining its palate to devotees of porridge and boiled mutton was never a thing to celebrate. … The drab baseline held longer than it should have — even through the roaring ‘90s, which brought higher restaurant prices without a corresponding leap in adventurousness.
A decade had passed before I returned to London and discovered that I’d missed the revolution…. What was once a sallow and predictable dining experience is now salubrious and full of surprises, befitting a metropolis of such diversity and ingenuity.
