15 JUNE 1985, Page 40

Roy Kerridge

Mary's Restaurant in Priory Park Road. just off Kilburn High Road, is my favourite London eating place. Anywhere that serves steak and kidney pudding is bound to win my approval. When puddings pall, the veal escalope can be recommended. On special occasions, toad-neo (as glottal Londoners term toad-in-the-hole) is on the menu. In summer, I switch from syrup pudding to peaches and ice-cream. Essen- tially an Irish house, Mary's is enlivened by Commonwealth students from the polytechnic down the road. Homespun philosophy comes by courtesy of a bearded Indian sage with a badge reading 'I Love Girls'.