What's on the menu – Joel Kissin's Boulestin fails to impress Metro's Joe Warwick

Joel Kissin's resurrection of London restaurant Boulestin fails to impress the Metro's Joe Warwick this week who scored it a lamentable two stars out of five. If a restaurant could have an existential crisis, Warwick thinks Boulestin would be asking itself: ‘Why am I here?'

Meanwhile the Guardian's Marina O'Loughlin headed to Manchester for a visit to Living Ventures' Artisan where she struggles to find anything she likes about the restaurant and encounters "impressively bad" food.

Giles Coren drops in to Ross Shonhans' new Covent Garden outpost Flesh & Buns for the http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/reviews/restaurant-review-rainbow-caf-9a-kings-parade-cambridge-8812104.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Times](http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/magazine/article3870395.ece) where he enjoys the its eponymous dish of flesh and buns, but his experience is let down by the restaurant's unwillingness to be sustainable.

The Independent's John Walsh predicts a great future for Karam Sethi's stylish new London venture Gymkhana, as long as they turn the lighting up a smudge.

Michael Caines' restaurant at ABode Canterbury disappoints Matthew Norman in the [Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/restaurants/10305148/Michael-Caines-at-ABode-Canterbury-restaurant-review.html) who says that while it operates under the celebrated chef's name, the food ranged from "ABout Average to ABysmal".

Grace Dent continues to be a fan of Neil Rankin's food after a visit to Smokehouse for the [Evening Standard](http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/restaurants/grace-dent-reviews-smokehouse-8824541.html).

Union Street Cafe isn't worth a three-month wait, says Guy Dimond in [Time Out](http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/union-street-cafe), but it could be good if you can get a table for lunch or a walk in.

Cambridge's Rainbow Café is rather better on the palette than the palate, says Amol Rajan in the [Independent.

A visit to the Good Life Eatery in London SW3 leaves the Sunday Times' AA Gill convinced the name is an ironic joke.

HOTELS

The Guardian's Sallly Shalam enjoys the attention of a wonderfully hospitable owner at The Church House, a cosy five-bedroom bed and breakfast in Midhurst, West Sussex.

Writing in the the Times, Tom Chesshyre is impressed by the service and seclusion of the Isle of Eriska in Oban, Argyll, despite being pricey with dinner, bed and breakfast starting at £370.

The Sunday Telegraph's Fiona Duncan is charmed by the location and flavoursome food at The Mistley Thorn in Mistley, Essex.

* Visit Guide Girl for a round up of UK restaurant and hotel reviews from the last seven days