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The London Restaurant Stories of the Week, According to Instagram

In which questions continue to be asked of the ethics of influencing

by George Reynolds
Guinea fowl at Noble Rot, one of London’s best fireplace restaurants
Roast Challans guinea fowl, mash and morel velouté at Noble Rot
@noblerotbar/Instagram

Welcome back to Insta Stories, a column examining the London restaurant scene through the often-problematic medium of Instagram. This week’s filter is not this one.

News of the week

My daughter just learned that sponsored content might be subject to a decent regulatory regime for the first time.

...and here's that magnificent wee girl #todaysreview

A post shared by Marina O'Loughlin (@marinagpoloughlin) on

Feed-clogging event of the week

If someone spends three hours queuing for Michelin-starred hawker food and doesn’t commemorate it with an Insta post, did it even happen? Is Instagram leading to a mode of consumption that prioritises not enjoyment but participation? Will social media be seen in retrospect as our civilization’s equivalent of the lead piping that brought down the Roman empire, something that people thought was giving them sustenance when actually it was sending them quietly mad? Shut up and look at the pretty pictures.

Carefully worded title to indicate a generous influencer budget without necessarily giving the implication that all the content was sponsored of the week

A selective list of Insta big guns (including members of the collective @igbrunchclub) to have walked through the refurbished doors of Kettner’s Townhouse since its recent reimagining: blogger Samphire and Salsify (24k followers), competition promoter Clerkenwell Boy (174k), “Message for a personalised feature” bio-owner Alexander.Londoner (261k), blogger / wedding planner Charlotte Hu (37k), photographer tschang (101k), author, and reskinner / sharer of photographer tschang’s photographs Izy Hossack (221k), photographer Gina Wong (38k).

Laborious composition of the week

Escher was never uncannier. Is she standing on her friend’s shoulders? Is it a stepladder? Selfie stick? Vertical dolly? Drone? How? HOW?!

Menu of the week

Another theory of perfect menu design: If a reader can get more than five dishes down without finding one they wouldn’t order, it’s probably a winner. If a reader can get the whole way through without the sequence breaking, it definitely is.

Supper

A post shared by 40 Maltby Street (@40maltbystreet) on

Dish of the week

Bloooooody heeeeeeeeell

We have Roast Challans Guinea Fowl, Mash & Morel Velouté on the menu.

A post shared by Noble Rot (@noblerotbar) on

Shot of the week

Credit where it’s due — #Doortrait.

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