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Braise

@braise.substack.com
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Braise is a London-based food newsletter covering restaurants, cookbooks, recipes and more from @dompreston.com Subscribe for free at braise.substack.com

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Braise @braise.substack.com · 3h
I was told this wine would pair well with grilled sardines and lemon juice, and who am I to disagree?
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 27/09/2026
New(ish) for paid subscribers this week: a reminder of my favourite taco spots in London to visit once Sonora is gone for good
braise.substack.com
My favourite London tacos in 2026
RIP Sonora
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 25/09/2026
I don't think I ever shared this pretty pecan pie at Cambridge's Cherry Pit from a couple weeks back. They do big American pies by the slice, and while the autumnal pumpkin did tempt me, I've never been able to resist pecan. Plus it doubles as a record store, for a double dose of retro Americana.
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 23/09/2026
I ended up in Escocesa by chance, after taco plans went awry, but what a happy accident it was: great tapas, with some September specials from the Canary Islands on when we went, in a lively, vibrant dining room
braise.substack.com
Escocesa, N16
Spanish seafood in Stoke Newington
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 20/09/2026
Is it terribly basic that Antepliler might be my favourite spot along the main stretch of Green Lanes? I know it's the obvious one, but it hits all highlights well. Great cold mezze, solid meat coming off the grill, and good lahmacun too, though they've never been a regular part of my order
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 19/09/2026
A lovely, sweaty time slurping down noodles at Lanzhou Lamian last weekend. It was hot, and humid, and I was just a little hungover still, so a hot tea and a steaming bowl of beef noodles were enough to create a sauna-esque microclimate in their pokey little basement. Very purifying for it though.
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 17/09/2026
Pretty croissant from the new(ish) Authentique in Angel. Buttery without weighing you down, and excellent lamination inside
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 16/09/2026
Allow me to sing the praises of Otto, a Berlin restaurant I have fallen deeply for
braise.substack.com
Otto, Berlin
A new Berlin favourite
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 14/09/2026
I’ve spent a decade visiting Berlin almost annually; here are the restaurants, bars, and coffee shops I go back to time and time again
braise.substack.com
My favourite places to eat and drink in Berlin in 2026
From a decade’s worth of work trips
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 09/09/2026
I’ve got no real point of reference for Yunnanese food, but I really enjoyed the unexpected — and at moments fiercely fiery — cooking at Cloud Land
braise.substack.com
Cloud Land, EC3
Sky high
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 09/09/2026
Fun read from a colleague on what it is that AI image generators find so tricky about pictures of food, and why the slop looks quite so sloppy
theverge.com
Why AI food looks like that
Worms, holes, and cracks reveal the technical weaknesses of image generators.
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Reposted by Braise
Dominic Preston @dompreston.com · 08/09/2026
Ah, I'm afraid I want absolutely all of it
theverge.com
To boldly go into the kitchen cabinet.
On sale today to mark Star Trek’s 60th anniversary (though it’s not live on their US store just yet), Le Creuset’s Star Fleet-inspired set is a joyous celebration of the original series that follows s...
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 07/09/2026
Went to Germany and ate Austrian food. Sue me.
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 06/09/2026
Napoli on the Road's reputation precedes it, so I was relieved that it mostly lives up to the hype. One of the best bases I've had from Neapolitan pizza in London: flavourful, soft, and just firm enough to hold up to the toppings — even a saucy Ragu — without ever getting soupy
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 02/09/2026
I wrote about Brutto, a restaurant I have accidentally only ever eaten at in August. I have no idea how it is the other 11 months of the year, but for those few weeks it's certainly pretty great
braise.substack.com
Brutto, EC1
An august restaurant
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 30/08/2026
Out this week, Five Tastes by Fuchsia Dunlop is more than a cookbook: it’s an introduction to the first principles of Chinese cuisine, from cooking a dish to designing a menu. I can’t remember the last cookbook I’ve learnt quite so much from.
braise.substack.com
Five Tastes, by Fuchsia Dunlop
The fundamentals of Chinese cooking
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 26/08/2026
Fun visit to Rambutan, as I continue my quest to eat at more of this city’s best (or at least bougiest) south Asian spots. Lots of good dishes, but the hot butter squid bun was extraordinary. braise.substack.com/p/rambutan-se1
braise.substack.com
Rambutan, SE1
Worth braving Borough Market
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 25/08/2026
Japanese beef curry and tofu in the sun
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 21/08/2026
Good cheeseboard at The Racketeer, especially for the chilli jam
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 19/08/2026
My last from San Sebastian: a birthday dinner at Manojo, a natural wine bar that’s nothing like the city’s tourist-heavy hot spots
braise.substack.com
Manojo, San Sebastian
And now for something completely different
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 17/08/2026
I may have done La Cuchara entirely wrong, but I did get better at the pintxos crawl — here are my favourites across San Sebastian and Hondarribia braise.substack.com/p/my-favouri...
braise.substack.com
My favourite pintxos in San Sebastian in 2026
And Hondarribia too
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 15/08/2026
First visit to The Camberwell Arms the other night; long overdue
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 13/08/2026
In retrospect, we probably could have seen the KFC x Chicken Wine collab coming
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 12/08/2026
Here’s how not to order pintxos in San Sebastian
braise.substack.com
La Cuchara de San Telmo, San Sebastian
Piles of pintxos
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 05/08/2026
Johnny Boy’s is a diner, but it’s more than that too. It’s a Los Angeles diner, for one, and a very modern one at that, and it retains that sense of place and time even when transplanted to a quiet Stoke Newington corner.
braise.substack.com
Johnny Boy's, N16
Not just another diner
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 02/08/2026
I'm on holiday right now in San Sebastian, picking my way through pintxos. So it feels like a good time to share everything I ate through my last holiday, on the comparatively blustery north Norfolk coast
braise.substack.com
In search of seafood on the north Norfolk coast
I didn't have to look very hard
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 29/07/2026
There's a certain sort of British restaurant — often a gastropub these days — with an all-too familiar menu of meat and veg. The Grain Store, in north Norfolk, fits that to a tee, but by leaning into excellent local produce it still just about stands out
braise.substack.com
The Grain Store, Weybourne
Made in Norfolk
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 25/07/2026
Very kind of @marinaoloughlin.bsky.social to write this just a few days before I head to the Basque country, staying in French Hendaye just across the water from Hondarribia. This should sort at least one pintxos crawl!
ft.com
Skip San Sebastián — its Basque neighbour is an under-the-radar treat for foodies
[FREE TO READ] The pintxos are just as good in low-key, laid-back Hondarribia
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 23/07/2026
I always thought cutting business rates made more sense than reducing hospitality VAT, but why does this cover pubs and not restaurants?
theguardian.com
Business rates to be cut by 20% for pubs, clubs and music venues in England
Burnham says relief for vape shops and other ‘non-positive’ businesses to be reviewed as part of £100m plan to fund cut
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 22/07/2026
Go to Sentosa, eat the Singaporean chilli crab, and don’t wear white. Just trust me.
braise.substack.com
Sentosa, SE1
Carcinisation
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 21/07/2026
Good read on the absolute mess of ownership behind most American cookware brands, and the almost inevitable drop in quality that follows sale after sale after sale
worseonpurpose.com
Your Cookware Got Worse On Purpose
One buyout firm quietly collected Pyrex, Corelle, Instant Pot, and Oneida. Farberware is a name on a 200-year lease. And the pans still worth buying.
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 19/07/2026
My latest cookbook review is La Trattoria, a collection of Italian creature comforts from Tiella chef Dara Klein
braise.substack.com
La Trattoria, by Dara Klein
Comfortable cooking
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 15/07/2026
After all the hype I really wanted to love Impala, a restaurant which it turns out is simply Quite Good. Bemused why everyone decided it was doing something London had never seen before.
braise.substack.com
Impala, W1
Lower your expectations
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 08/07/2026
2210 by NattyCanCook’s plating is picture-perfect and Michelin-ready. The food itself sometimes meets the same bar — the pimento duck breast is glorious — but too often it feels like form triumphs over function
braise.substack.com
2210 by NattyCanCook, SE24
Caribbean food, but make it Michelin
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 06/07/2026
I’ve made no secret of loving a great many of my local restaurants, bars, and bakeries in Islington, so for this weekend’s newsletter for paid subscribers I finally listed my favourites
braise.substack.com
My favourite places to eat and drink in Islington in 2026
North London forever
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Reposted by Braise
Dominic Preston @dompreston.com · 06/07/2026
Last week I reviewed the Sourdough Sidekick, a starter maintenance gadget I sort of understand the thinking behind, though I think the target audience is someone who bakes rather more than me
theverge.com
The Sourdough Sidekick automates the boring bit of baking
But I’d only recommend it if you bake at least a loaf a week, and ideally more.
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 04/07/2026
Back at Lucky Yu for the first time in far too long. Obviously started with my staple fuyu swirl, but my favourite today was actually the red bean custard bun, which I absolutely devoured — too fast to even remember to take a photo of its innards
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Reposted by Braise
Jay Rayner @jayrayner1.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
For today’s @ftweekend.com, marking the US 250th, I’m at Appalachia, a new counter restaurant in London’s Shoreditch which is less mountain country restaurant than Brooklyn hipster outfit, in a good way. (The forth pic is a magnificent crab and ginger omelette) www.ft.com/content/a2de...
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 01/07/2026
Angel Dabang is a place to go when what you really need from the world is something that's been deep-fried. It's a need it meets with aplomb.
braise.substack.com
Angel Dabang, N1
A banging dabang
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 30/06/2026
They're really making a feature-length ad for the worst chocolate you've had in your life
youtube.com
HERSHEY | Official Trailer | In Theaters Nov 25 | Alexandra Daddario, Finn Wittrock | Angel
YouTube video by Angel
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 28/06/2026
It's been a breakfast sandwich sort of morning
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 27/06/2026
Finally tried the sandwiches from Logma. Both good, but I don't get the hype. Good bread, and the aubergine has a lovely tangy quality. But the kofte are a bit eh. Two good sandwiches, but (inevitably) neither worth excessive queuing
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 24/06/2026
Cornelius is one of the weirder restaurants / wedding venues I’ve eaten in for some time, but don’t hold that against it
braise.substack.com
Cornelius, N8
My big fat Romanian wedding venue
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 24/06/2026
According to Google's new search statistics, this is the summer of spam hot dogs, froyo, and figuring out how to make a Hugo spritz at home trends.withgoogle.com/trends/summe...
trends.withgoogle.com
Summergeist — Google Trends
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 21/06/2026
I know less about wine than I’d probably like, as someone who writes about restaurants on the regular — here’s why I think that might be just fine, and why food critics need not be wine experts
braise.substack.com
I'm a food critic, but a wine philistine
I like chicken wine, and I think that's fine
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 20/06/2026
A pretty pint at The Pocket, which it's taken me an embarrassingly long time to get to. Clearly an excellent pub for a pint and a book.
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 19/06/2026
Two ways with stale bread and tomatoes: panzanella and pappa al pomodoro. Soggy bread and tomato salad, soggy bread and tomato soup. God bless the Italians.
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 17/06/2026
London doesn’t have a whole lot of Appalachian food, but the best move new Shoreditch opening Appalachia pulls is resting the urge to aim for pure authenticity
braise.substack.com
Appalachia, N1
Country cooking with city style
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 10/06/2026
On opening night, Jackson Boxer’s new restaurant Vesper showed great promise with a few rough edges, then stopped me in my tracks with the best dessert I’ve eaten all year
braise.substack.com
Vesper, EC1
A strong start
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Braise @braise.substack.com · 07/06/2026
The Americans are going mad for British food right now, just as the Brits are slowly beginning to see another side of American cuisine. Why have we fallen for each other’s food all of a sudden?
braise.substack.com
The special relationship
Cooking with a transatlantic accent
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