There’s certainly one thing that kept me sane through lockdown and that’s coffee. Lots of it. From pods to drip filters, I’ve been drinking caffeine by the litre load and here some of my faves… Caravan We all love Caravan restaurants for their avo on toast and baked eggs but it’s their coffee they’re really known for. They take an ethical standpoint to source ‘green … Continue reading The best caffeine hits to start your day
The Berkeley hotel, in Knightsbridge, has transformed a former car park into The Garden at The Berkeley, a gorgeous outdoor restaurant. There are real trees strewn with fairy lights. Generously spaced tables, each topped with an automated hand sanitiser dispenser. There’s music pumping loudly enough to feel fun but so you can hear yourself talk with it. On a balmy Thursday evening it feels like … Continue reading The Garden at The Berkeley
Restaurants may be reopening their doors (hallelujah!) but if you’re not ready to step outside your own door just yet here are some of the best DIY kits to get your restaurant fix in your own home. Arabica DIY falafel kit Middle Eastern food with bags of flavour is what you’ll find at Arabica’s restaurants in Borough Market and King’s Cross. Their DIY falafel kits … Continue reading 11 restaurant DIY kits you need to try
One thing Lockdown certainly taught us is our home bars need a little love – a 12 year old bottle of Sangria just won’t cut it anymore. Here are some fun tipples to keep your drinks cabinet looking tantalising. Aluna Coconut Rum Throw out your Malibu, this blend of rums from Guatemala and the Caribbean has heaps of toasted coconut flavour. It’s low in sugar, … Continue reading Drinking at home: the new normal
While I would never encourage getting rat arsed during Lockdown, everyone needs a little libation to cheer their souls once in a while. Here are some favourites that have been whetting my whistle during isolation… Blackcow Vodka This is an interesting one – ‘pure milk vodka’. Jason Barber and Paul Archard decided to change the path laid out for them by their great grandparents who … Continue reading Lockdown thirst quenchers
Healthy fast food chain and all round good guys, Leon, have launched Feed Britain, a food delivery service which offers gigantic boxes of goodies from ready meals to glorious meat to fresh fruit and veggies. There’s a specific focus on producers whose business has suddenly vanished with the closure of the city’s once thriving hospitality scene. Leon Family Meals (£36) sees bags of menu highlights … Continue reading Feed Britain with Leon
Big Mamma Group is a collection of fun, Italian restaurants across Paris and Lilles, which have proved rather popular. Their latest venture is Gloria, a trattoria in Shoreditch, based on 1970s Capri. I like it already. Inside it’s stunning with something pretty at every turn. We sink into the thousands of cushions in our booth, admiring the specially designed crockery, from the candle holder to … Continue reading Gloria, Shoreditch
Take a look at Fischer’s or Colbert and you’ll see Corbin and King know how to make a bloody good neighbourhood restaurant. The latest addition to this subtle empire is Soutine on St John’s Wood High Street, North London. Arguably their nicest looking yet, Giles Coren best sums it up in his Times review: “It has been magnificently overhauled to look just like the sexiest … Continue reading Soutine, St John’s Wood
Bored yet? Furloughed? Hungry? Here are some of my favourite bits to eat and drink around London Town, from socially distant shopping to delivered-to-your-door goodies. Ampersand Butter The best butter around? You betcha. This cultured butter is made by the lovely Grant Harrington on a farm in Oxfordshire. Michelin starred restaurants aplenty use his butter and now you can get your hands on it in … Continue reading What to eat from where during Lockdown
Meat Lovers Rejoice! While we can’t sit down in a gorgeous dining room tucking in to a bone-in prime rib while glugging Claret we can order some of the country’s finest meat to enjoy in our own home. Here is the best of the best… Blacklock at Home It’s the restaurant I’m missing most so a Blacklock at home meat box was always going to … Continue reading 7 must have meat boxes to get your chops around
I do love a bit of dim sum; steamed, fried or baked those little parcels of yumminess always go down a treat. In London, the best I’ve had would be at Hutong and Duddell’s. The only problem there is they’re a little pricey. BaoziInn in Soho offers all dim sum for just £3.80 at lunch and I have to say, it’s got to be the … Continue reading BaoziInn, Soho
Fresh from the UK’s first lockdown, now closed again, these are the London restaurants, old and new, you really need to be eating in – when they reopen again. From dumplings to crudités, skinny chops to waffles, give this a read if you’re hungry… Baozilnn Borough If you’re after that sweet, salty, sugary explosion of flavour you often get with Chinese cooking then Baozilnn London … Continue reading London’s best restaurants
It’s not often new theatres are built – especially in the heart of Soho – so it’s exciting to see The Boulevard fling open its theatrical doors. It’s an impressive setup which can boast Europe’s most advanced revolving theatre. We see a two man play, The Sunset Limited, which doesn’t make use of this technical wizardry yet still keeps ups captivated for the full 95 … Continue reading The Boulevard Theatre, Soho
This is the new restaurant from Mr. Hospitality himself, Richard Corrigan, fellow Irishman and bloody-nice-bloke, John Nugent, and Tony Gibney, taking over the old Nuala site just off Old Street roundabout. The gorgeous basement bar remains, which serves a mighty-fine Guinness, while the ground floor dining room has the addition of an oyster bar, where we perch while watching the open fire cooking. It’s all … Continue reading Daffodil Mulligan, Old Street
Head chef at The Grill at The Dorchester, Tom Booton, is a sprightly 26 years old. He’s the youngest head chef in London. I think? Surely. He’s ex-Alyn Williams at The Westbury, which was certainly a brilliant restaurant before the fall out. The handsome space, all low lighting and gold galore, features a dessert bar where guests can stuff their faces on puds like banoffee … Continue reading The Grill at The Dorchester
