iStarvin.com

Welcome to the weekly round-up of the national critics' restaurant reviews by food writer and blogger Oliver Thring.

AA Gill is on familiar West London turf at Kitchen W8, Phil Howard and Rebecca Mascarenhas's posh-neighbourhood joint which opened last October. 'The food isn't as immaculately pristine as The Square', where Howard has two Michelin stars, but mushroom ravioli was 'loamy and generous'. Overall, it's 'far better than anything else you can eat in Kensington, though it occasionally suffers from ingredient generosity.'

Giles Coren lavishes it with even more praise. Smoked eel with grilled mackerel was 'utterly adorable in conception', and a vegetarian main course of chanterelles, cauliflower, leeks, spaetzle and parmesan was 'a dish to make me sure I could live for ever without meat, if I had to'.

Marina O'Loughlin is the third critic reviewing Kitchen this week - the fourth if you include Dylan Jones's brief piece in Saturday's Independent. She found that velouté 'undeniably gorgeous but as cloyingly rich as Ivana Trump', a criticism that runs through her review. Sauces were all 'boosted with cream and butter', while a side dish of butternut squash and chestnuts was 'dosed with so much buerre noisette you could sell it in Thorntons'.

Zoe Williams troops to roaringly successful Pizza East in Shoreditch, where the lamb meatballs are 'fatty' but good, and where liver 'could have been cooked two or three seconds fewer' but was 'nevertheless delicious'. Both pizzas were ordered with cream instead of tomato toppings: 'delicious for a while, but the tomato influence was much missed'. In all, the place 'reinvigorates the [pizza] genre'.

Jay Rayner visits Polpo – and what is left to be said about the place? It's 'a highly studied, minutely finessed urban restaurant' where the 'pricing is forgiving and the portions generous'. Fritto misto was 'greaseless', while cuttlefish with gremolata 'was black in the way Darth Vader's helmet was black'.

Fay Maschler heads to Mansons, which was called Balthazar until recently. The young chef is Gemma Tuley, a protégé of Uncle Gordon; Maschler likes her 'demotic style'. An amuse of potato with brandade is 'well presented and soft', while veal chop with chips and anchovy butter is 'rosy and juicy'. Puddings aren't great, though, and include a 'seemingly mad' 'Jerusalem artichoke cheesecake with peanut butter'. Overall, the critic broadly welcomes 'something a bit different and with some decent prices'.

John Walsh leads the Indie to Mennula, the pricey Sicilian on Charlotte Street. Its menu is 'lip-smackingly appealing': scallops with lentils and baby spinach are 'a lesson in how to blend the crunchy and the al dente', while rabbit with pancetta and aubergine is 'lovely'. Walsh believes the chef is 'personally devoted to surprising and pleasing each of his customers'.

Toby Young likes the 'raffish, aristocratic' air of Brompton Bar & Grill, on the site of the old Brasserie St Quentin. But the food is mixed: leek gratin is 'dull' and sandy, though roast pheasant is 'good'. Chocolate and blood orange mousse lacks any 'discernible orange flavour', and overall the place needs to 'up the ante'.

Matthew Norman loves My Old Place in E1: 'gutsy, scary [Szechuan] food that cauterises the tongue'. Poached beef with chilli oil is 'an absolute classic of unctuous delight', while sweet and sour fish is 'majestic'. Even French beans are 'wonderful, all spicy and crunchy'. This is a 'brilliant little restaurant', and on the strength of this review, I'm booking a table.

For Time Out, Charmaine Mok reckons Angels & Gypsies is Camberwell's first 'destination eatery'. Roast pork belly with Cox apple is 'tender' and 'milky', while black beans cooked in pork fat are 'deep-flavoured and rich'. Desserts aren't 'a strong point', but service is 'sweet, boisterous and accommodating' in a new 'treasured local'.

Jasper Gerard, like everyone else (including me) loves the food at The Kitchin in Edinburgh, which he reckons offers 'Britain's best set lunch for under £25'. Quail's egg with pork terrine is 'fun and tasty', while pork belly with snails is a 'highlight'. 'Great restaurant,' he happily affirms.

And Dan Vaux-Nobes from the blog Essex Eating is 'instantly charmed' by the 'fabulous' art deco interior of Le Café Anglais. The celebrated parmesan custard with anchovy toast is 'rich, seriously cheesy and seriously fishy', but while 'unusual', 'it works'. Salsify fritters are 'tasteless,' though, and roast partridge is 'dry'. Overall, he finds it a mixed meal and something of a 'disappointment' – though he partially attributes this to 'bad menu decisions'.