Smoked by AI · London · people

Catherine Hanly

Owner / operator · Journalist — London restaurant openings and the industry around them; the practical read on a new place (who is behind it, what it costs, where to sit).

co-founder and editor of Hot Dinners, which SOURCES.md lists as approved expert-local for London; her "Test Driving" pieces are first-visit reports with dish-by-dish prices and named suppliers.

Their own reviews and picks.

Their own judgment, in their own words, by the piece it appeared in.

• Hot Dinners ↗their review · 2026-05-21
  • IGNIMayfair

    “he's serving up wonderfully inventive food”

• Hot Dinners, 'Test Driving Town' ↗their review · 2025-05-22
  • TOWNCovent Garden

    “Ribeye Wildfarmed steak served with green sauce and Town house gravy - a beautifully cooked steak that we can't stop thinking about.”

• Hot Dinners ↗their review · 2025-03
  • HIMISoho

    “We thought the sushi experience at Roji was sublime, but we can totally see why Tamas and Tomoko wanted to liberate themselves from the constraints of classic sushi cooking and shake things up a bit. Happily London diners are the ones who win in this situation.”

• Hot Dinners, 'Test Driving Godet'. DISCLOSED: Hot Dinners were guests of the venue ↗their review · 2024-11-05
  • GodetIslington

    “the arrival of Godet on Essex Road is starting to make this part of Islington a pretty interesting place to come if you're into your wine. We like that they're not too serious about the offering and that they've picked a good food residency to kick off their bar food offering too. It's a nice laid-back spot to spend an evening and we reckon it'll do very well.”

• Hot Dinners, 'Test Driving Lolo' ↗their review · 2024-09-10
  • LoloBermondsey

    “The building itself used to be a charity offices but has been utterly transformed into one of the nicest-looking restaurants we've seen in a while.”

• Hot Dinners ↗their review · 2024-08
  • IbaiFarringdon

    “if you're in the market for great steak, interesting wine and a good time, then Ibai is the place for you”

• Hot Dinners ↗their review · 2024-04-16
  • LitaMarylebone

    “Fuentes Bluefin tuna, corno peppers, coriander, capers - a standout crudo dish that may be the best we've tried in London this year so far.”

• Hot Dinners, 'Test Driving Manteca as it finds a permanent home in Shoreditch' ↗their review · 2021-12-02
  • MantecaShoreditch

    “Tonnarelli, brown crab cacio e pepe - this is probably the dish you'll see most on Instagram and there's a reason for that - it's VERY good.”

• Hot Dinners, Test Drive ↗their review · 2020-07-07
  • The Drapers ArmsIslington

    “Order up a cracking martini from owner Nick Gibson and you're away. It really was a truly excellent martini.”

• Hot Dinners, 'Test Driving Oren, a warm fug of hospitality on Dalston's Shacklewell Lane' ↗their review · 2019-12-03
  • OrenDalston

    “On the face of it a very simple dish but here the bread is smoky and wonderfully chewy and god know where they found tomatoes that tasted this good at this time of year.”

• Hot Dinners, Test Drive ↗their review · 2019-11-19
  • Daffodil MulliganOld Street

    “The menu by Corrigan and Kelly can change as much as twice daily, keeping the restaurant on its toes and that energy really translates through to the dining room.”

• Hot Dinners, 'Test Driving Quality Chop House, 150 years old and still going strong in Farringdon' ↗their review · 2019-07-09
  • The Quality Chop HouseClerkenwell

    “It's a potent mixture of the history of the place and the work of the current owners and chef.”

Pieces they wrote about these places.

Reporting, openings and roundups. Kept for the trail, and not read as their endorsement — a writer relaying someone else's award is not recommending it.

• Hot Dinners, on Rake taking the kitchen ↗opening coverage · 2024-11-29
  • The Compton ArmsIslington

    “So far, the hit rate at Islington pub The Compton Arms for picking extremely interesting chef residencies is out of the park.”

• Hot Dinners ↗opening coverage · 2024-09-16
  • The Noodle InnSoho

    “if you like a bit of kitchen theatre when you go out to eat, then this new spot couldn't be beaten with chefs creating the noodles right in front of you.”

• Hot Dinners ↗opening coverage · 2024-04-10
  • San HaoChinatown

    “Three restaurants in three years - restaurateurs Kevin Cheong and Keng Yew Leong have been busy building their Chinatown empire. In 2022 they opened The Eight - a Hong Kong-style cafe. At the beginning of this year, they unveiled Yiqi, and now they're gearing up to open their third restaurant, SanHao.”

• Hot Dinners, 'Yuki Bar sees ex-Noma sommelier opening in London Fields' ↗opening coverage · 2024-02-12
  • Yuki BarLondon Fields

    “Kaneko was formerly the sommelier at Noma and also P Franco before working with former Koya chef Junya Yamasaki at Yess Aquatic in LA. This will be his first solo project.”

• Hot Dinners, arrival announcement (not a review) ↗opening coverage · 2023-06-02
  • 404 BakeryHammersmith

    “404 Bakery comes from a couple of Hong Kong bakers who took their home city by storm when they set up an online bakery driven by their obsession with chocolate cakes.”

• Hot Dinners, 'These Days are opening an aperitivo bar on Bermondsey Beer Mile' ↗opening coverage · 2023-04-17
  • These Days Aperitivo BarBermondsey

    “You've got to admire the chutzpah of spritz brand These Days who have picked Bermondsey's Beer Mile as the place they've decided to open their first bar.”

• Hot Dinners ↗opening coverage · 2022-09-05
  • EvernightNine Elms

    “We can see this restaurant becoming London's next big thing - so better get down there while you can still grab a table.”

• Hot Dinners, 'The Dusty Knuckle are opening a bakery and pizza restaurant on Green Lanes' ↗opening coverage · 2021-07-15
  • The Dusty Knuckle HarringayHarringay

    “They'll be selling their amazing potato sourdough and other baked goods along with top class sarnies, soups and salads. But they'll also be opening it as a pizza restaurant, three nights a week, serving pizza from their wood-fired oven.”

• Hot Dinners ↗opening coverage · 2018-05-18
  • The Newman ArmsFitzrovia

    “the 18th century boozer has also had a bit of a makeover by Truman's Brewery and has just reopened for business. The pub which was made famous by George Orwell, garnering a mention in Nineteen Eighty-Four and was also a popular drinking spot of Dylan Thomas, has expanded its beer and food offering.”

Also tagged to them.

The endorsement is cited inside these entries, but no quote has been pulled out yet.

• Shankeys