Restaurant review: One Kensington April 15, 2014 @steve_dinneen RESTAURANT 1 Kensington High Street, W8 5NP Tel: 0207 795 6533 FOOD Two Stars VALUE Two Stars ATMOSPHERE Two Stars Cost for two without booze: £100 I’m pretty sure Jason Atherton’s Berner’s Tavern featured prominently on the mood-board for Tamarind Collection’s new opening, One Kensington. They’re both big, high, grand old halls that have [...]
Let’s get cracking | Six of the best Easter eggs April 15, 2014 Fortnum & Mason’s hand decorated milk chocolate egg Billed as a “work of art in chocolate”, this oval marvel was hand-crafted in England. Available with a pink or blue ribbon, the egg is filled with chocolate treats. £39.95 fortnumandmason.com Harrod’s milk chocolate easter egg with dolly mix The deep groove detailing that runs down the [...]
Thali joins the growing Indian food renaissance April 8, 2014 @steve_dinneen RESTAURANT THALI 166 Old Brompton Road, SW5 0BA Tel: 020 7373 2626 FOOD Four Stars VALUE Four Stars ATMOSPHERE Four Stars Cost for two with some wine: £107 SO LAST month everything was plodding along nicely, all work, work, pub, pub, pub, taxi, take-away, bottle of red, quick whisky, sleep, aspirin, coffee, coffee, work, [...]
Mix it up: Take some time to consider the ryes and the wherefores April 8, 2014 @philip_salter WE LIVE in an age obsessed with what we eat. We want to know it all – down to whether the dead animal on our plate had an emotionally fulfilling life; if her parents were of good stock; and whether she suffered from dandruff. Yet many of us throw back alcohol without even knowing [...]
Restaurant review: Big Easy, Covent Garden April 1, 2014 Big Easy, 12 Maiden Lane London WC2E 7NA Tel: 0203 728 4888 Food: ★★★★☆ | Value: ★★☆☆☆ | Atmosphere: ★★★☆☆ Cost for two with wine: £150 @steve_dinneen “Crab shack” evokes images of rickety seaside restaurants held together by Sellotape and folksy charm; mom-and-pop joints that only make $7 a day but put a big smile [...]
The Bottle Opener: How wine buffs should spend that bonus April 1, 2014 CHATEAU Pontet-Canet, a lovely domaine in Paulliac but normally overshadowed by its more famous neighbours, has been making the headlines recently. Last week it announced the price of its 2013 wines, €60 a bottle in bond, the same price as 2012. So what? you might ask. Well you see, this is the week the world’s [...]
Alfresco v Aldesco March 25, 2014 With the sun out, it’s time to eat alfresco, says Alex Dymoke – but for those poor souls stuck to your desks, we have some special take away options as well… THE CITY (NORTH)The Water Poet9-11 Folgate Street, E1 6BX The Water Poet pub is located at the very northern tip of the Square Mile. [...]
Mix it up: Can a cocktail be subject to copyright? March 25, 2014 @philip_salter WHAT’S in a name? I’m with Juliet on this one: a Rose Petal Martini by any other name would taste as sweet. A few years ago, US bartender Eben Freeman put his head above the parapet and suggested cocktails should be protected by intellectual copyright. He may now wish he hadn’t – the idea [...]
Great culinary feats can still be achieved, even if you only have a microwave in your office kitchen March 25, 2014 FOREVER associated with the processed, the prepackaged and the unsophisticated, the microwave gets a bad rep within foodie circles. The microwave meal has come to symbolise everything that’s wrong with today’s food culture. They make our cooking easy and unhealthy, fast and fatty, and facilitate our tendency to prioritise convenience over care, The way that [...]
Melissa York on London’s top ten set menu lunches March 25, 2014 Aqua Shard, SouthwarkTwo courses for £24 or three for £28 A trip up London’s highest landmark doesn’t come cheap but this set menu at lunch time keeps the cost neatly under £30 with three or four options per course. And, of course, you get the added bonus of a spectacular aerial view over London. Not [...]