"Obviously, one of the best blackboard menus in town. Obviously, one of the most intriguingly stocked cellars, courtesy of pioneering, city-redefining Gergovie Wines. But even this fulsome praise does 40 Maltby Street a disservice. On the blackboard, it’s not just the words themselves but the unseen dark matter between them: a judicious, stealthy additional ingredient here; an unassuming-sounding assembly there that is in fact the standout dish. On the plate, it’s the flawlessness of Steve Williams’ all-around game that soon becomes apparent: the mastery of a range of techniques (especially deep-frying and anything involving pastry) that most cooks would be content to deliver at 7/10 standard. And in the glass, it’s the sense that these are wines made for, and by, a community: not an exclusive clique, but a like-minded collective that sees the sort of wine that Gergovie curates and the sort of food that Williams cooks as two sides of the same coin. So: 40 Maltby Street, the best restaurant in London? Maybe. But it’s also so much more than that." - George Reynolds