No one knows London’s dining scene quite like Jimi Famurewa. The veteran food writer – and regular Masterchef guest judge – is revered by readers and restaurant-owners alike for his sharp insight, warmth, and unwavering passion for the people and places that shape London’s dining landscape. We’re big fans, too. In fact, we couldn’t think of anyone better to join Broadsheet London as our weekly restaurant columnist. The Counter is Jimi’s weekly dispatch where he’ll give his take on the topics everyone is talking about (or should be talking about) – and rave about the just-open spots you’ve got to visit.
We asked Jimi about the first edition of The Counter, and where he’s eating in London right now. Find out below, and sign up to get The Counter first, sent to your inbox every Tuesday.
What can readers expect from The Counter?
“A direct line to my restaurant-obsessed brain, basically. Recommendations, observations, punchy, big-picture reads that will, hopefully, expand your understanding of London’s dining landscape. Also: arcane pop culture references, probably.”
Why is the London restaurant scene so exciting right now?
“It’s the endless ability to surprise, I’d say. Despite the brutal trading environment, London endures as an unusually good incubator for bold, culture-splicing restaurants that often balance immense skill with a lack of pretension or stuffiness. That the openings of the year have included a Vietnamese-influenced Peckham small plates spot, a futurist Covent Garden neo-brasserie and a Guinness-soaked pizza speakeasy in Mayfair says it all.”
What is your first column about?
“It’s a table-setting introduction to The Counter that also details an eye-opening recent encounter at The Shaston Arms, and the surprising data on London restaurant openings in 2025. Oh and there's a hot tip (in every sense) for new wave ramen.”
How many times a week do you eat out in London?
“It ebbs and flows. But I’d say there is a baseline of three times that regularly hurtles up towards five or six, when you factor in launch dinners, lunch meetings and, well, general greed if I happen to be near the little wood-fired ribs they do at The George on Great Portland Street.”
Where are we likely to spot you dining at the moment?
“You’ll likely find me nipping into Marjorie’s and The Shaston, devouring a bifana at The Macbeth, trying to get a Toad iced finger during the afternoon queue-lull, or privately communing with a Poon’s wonton soup.”
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