Restaurant review: Blanchette July 2, 2014 Blanchette, 9 D'Arbly Street, W1F 8DR Tel: 020 7439 8100 Food: ★★★★☆ | Value: ★★★★☆ | Atmosphere: ★★★★☆ There's a little cinema in Soho where journalists go to see movies for free before they’re released. It’s one of the perks of the job and it fills the time nicely between eaves-dropping on your voicemails and pestering the [...]
Eat with Alain Ducasse and Wolfgang Puck June 25, 2014 President Obama’s favourite chef Wolfgang Puck will join up with Alain Ducasse this week to host an exclusive dinner showcasing the best in contemporary American and French cuisine at CUT, 45 Park Lane this Friday (27 June). The pair of superstar chefs curate a five-course menu showcasing signature dishes from the menus of their London [...]
Review: Rivea by Alain Ducasse at the Bulgari June 25, 2014 Rivea, Bulgari Hotel, 171 Knightsbridge, SW7 1DW Tel: 0207 151 1025 Food: ★★★★☆ | Value: ★★★☆☆ | Atmosphere: ★★☆☆☆ If you’ve not been to the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge – and unless you’re an oligarch there’s no reason you would have been – you probably have the same preconceptions about it as me. It brings to mind [...]
Review: Dirty Burger/Chicken Shop Stepney June 20, 2014 Food: ★★★★☆ | Value: ★★★★★ | Atmosphere: ★★★☆☆ A few months ago I swore to myself I was going to stop reviewing anywhere that’s part of a trendy chain; Dirty Burger and Honest Burger and Burger and Lobster and Patty and Bun. Not because I don’t like them – I slum it with the rest of the plebs [...]
Piña colada cocktail recipe June 17, 2014 NOW is the time to stand athwart history. Now is the time for a band of brothers to unite against the barbarian at the gates; now is the time to take up arms, to stand up (provided you’ve not drunk too much) against the skinny cocktail. There's something to the slippery slope theory of [...]
This Father’s Day our cocktail columnist says go for gin June 10, 2014 This sunday is Father’s Day. Therefore, as if by edict from some central authority, people up and down the land will mindlessly buy their dad a bottle of whiskey. I like whiskey more than the next person, but in a minor gesture of defiance against “the man”, I suggest this Father’s Day you should go [...]
Dish of the Day: Sabrina Ghayour’s lamb biryani June 10, 2014 Picture: Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton PERSIAN food is much lighter than people expect and it’s the least spiced food in the Middle East. It uses an abundance of fresh herbs, lemons, tomatoes and molasses and we tend to eat a lot of lamb, chicken and fish. It’s a really good place to start if you [...]
Dish of the Day: Sabrina Ghayour’s lamb biryani June 10, 2014 Picture: Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton PERSIAN food is much lighter than people expect and it’s the least spiced food in the Middle East. It uses an abundance of fresh herbs, lemons, tomatoes and molasses and we tend to [...]
Review: Jason Atherton’s City Social at Tower 42 June 4, 2014 I’ve eaten at altitude so many times recently I now have a permanent nosebleed. It’s all over my shirt and my shoes and my food and nobody cares, because the whole of London has the same problem. All anyone in this city does now is eat atop skyscrapers. Like one of Dr Pavlov’s dogs, I [...]
Why Devon is the capital of grape Britain May 29, 2014 The English wine industry is thriving. Kasmira Jefford marks Wine Week with a trip to see where it’s made WHEN driving south from Exeter towards the coastal town of Teignmouth, the road makes a steep ascent over the Haldon Hills where, according to local legend, the first vineyards in Britain were planted by the Romans. [...]