Smoked by AI · London · people

Jonathan Nunn

Critic · Journalist — London restaurants, especially outer-London, migrant and working-class food cultures; the benchmark for non-central London.

founder, publisher and editor of Vittles (launched March 2020); Restaurant Writing Award AND Outstanding Contribution Award, Guild of Food Writers 2025; Vittles won Food Magazine or Supplement, Guild of Food Writers 2026.

Their own reviews and picks.

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

• Vittles, The Vittles 99 (ranked 4th of 99); quote reaches us through reporting of the paywalled list ↗their review · 2025-12-12
  • Neco Tantuni ve Künefe SalonuEnfield

    “one of London's few perfect, no-notes dishes”

• Vittles ↗their review · 2025-10-08
  • Kaieteur Kitchen OriginalElephant & Castle

    “the owner of the exceptional Guyanese restaurant Kaieteur Kitchen and one of my favourite cooks in London”

• Vittles, 99 Places to Eat Lunch in Central ↗their review · 2025-09-05
  • DapurHolborn

    “A nasi campur specialist and arguably the best Malaysian restaurant in London.”

• Vittles, 'Bangladesh and bhorthas: The many lives of Brick Lane' (Jonathan Nunn), which also names it one of only three Sylheti kitchens on the street ↗their review · 2024-07-05
  • Graam BanglaBrick Lane

    “when Graam Bangla closed in 2016 after almost two decades in business, it felt like a huge loss for London”

• Vittles, 'Vittles Reviews: Return to the Silk Road' ↗their review · 2024-04-26
  • Lao DaoWalworth

    “Tim Pan left and started Lao Dao (think Silk Road but with natural wine) in Kennedy's sausage shop on Walworth Road, where his kitchen produces exceptional lamb skewers with blistered amber fat from a Xinjiang tandoor.”

• Vittles, best and worst of London food ↗their review · 2023-12-29
  • The Waterman's ArmsBarnes

    “A recent Sunday lunch there featured a GBP 80 Hereford beef rump big enough for three, but cooked in a way you just couldn't at home, with the smoke of the grill amplified by a smoked garlic butter.”

• Vittles, There Is Always Another Province ↗their review · 2023-12-08
  • Cloud LandAldgate

    “Cloud Land's statement dish is written on the menu as Yunnan spicy chicken, a fierce braise of on-the-bone chicken shrapnel whose heat is tempered by Yunnanese black cardamom, which infuses a frankincense smokiness throughout the dish.”