Restaurant critic Marina O’Loughlin leaves the Sunday Times

Marina O’Loughlin has left the Sunday Times after five years as the broadsheet's restaurant critic.

In her final review on 30 October, she called Street Burger by Gordon Ramsay a “high street horror show”.

Announcing her departure on Twitter, O’Loughlin posted: “And for my last ever review for ST (news!), I go to a chain burger joint owned by arguably the world’s most famous chef and it pisses me RIGHT OFF.”

She added: “Said I’d do five years. And astonishingly that’s five years. Couple of months hiatus till next gig – so looking fwd to being even more of a backroom gal – which I plan to fill with restaurants for the sheer hell of ‘em.”

O’Loughlin joined the Sunday Times in September 2017, taking over from the late restaurant critic AA Gill. She was previously restaurant critic for the Guardian for five years and weekly restaurant reviewer for Metro for six.

One of her first reviews for the Sunday Times was for the JD Wetherspoon pub in Ramsgate, known to be the biggest Wetherspoons in the country.

She has since reviewed restaurants, ranging from Greggs to 8 in Birmingham.

O’Loughlin has been dubbed “one of the last British food writers to remain committed to working in absolute anonymity” by Reader’s digest.

Responding to the news on Twitter, chef Nigella Lawson commented: “What???”.

Jay Rayner, restaurant critic for the Observer, also tweeted: “Blimey. That is a bit of news. Onwards to the next great thing Marina.”