Lifestyle

  • Raising the steaks in the City
    Tuesday, 31st August 2010
    The new outpost of Mayfair’s favourite steakhouse will utterly thrill beef lovers
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    Goodman City 11 Old Jewry, EC2R 8DU www.goodmanrestaurants.com Tel: 020 7600 8220 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £50 FOR some people – sensible people – no amount of fancy presentation, molecular menus, seasonal ingredients or painstaking taste combinations will ever satisfy the taste buds in the same way as a simple, well-cooked steak. For them, the bold, honest-as-the-day-is-long conviction of a huge, juicy slab of prime beef represents the matchless pinnacle of gastronomic good living. The fact that a lot of those people are to be found in the City should make the... [Read more]

  • THREE OTHER MEAT-LOVERS’ HOTSPOTS
    Tuesday, 31st August 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    GAUCHO SMITHFIELD Most people are familiar with Gaucho’s Argentine steaks and wine. The formula is so successful – a chain, but glamorous with a hint of the gourmet – that it’s expanding at a rate of... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 31st August 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    FASHIONABLE COCKTAILS AT THE TRAFALAGAR To prepare for Fashion Week, the Trafalgar Hote’s ground floor bar Rockwell will be serving cocktails inspired by the season’s key looks. The menu includes... [Read more]
  • Go surf ‘n’ turfing in Farringdon
    Thursday, 19th August 2010
    A new steakhouse offers everything from beef to oysters. It would do well to recall that less is more
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Redhook 89 Turnmill Street, EC1M 5QU Tel: 020 7065 6800 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £40 THE restaurant industry has a huge crush on Farringdon. Farringdon is the cool girl... [Read more]

  • THREE OTHERS: OUR FAVOURITE STEAK RESTAURANTS
    Thursday, 19th August 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    GOODMAN This Russian-owned steakhouse is widely considered the epitome of red meat in London – and now there’s a City branch. The 150 day-aged corn-fed USDA beef is second to none, and there’s lots... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Thursday, 19th August 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    PATISSERIE POP-UP AT HARVEY NICKS Get the cakes in – in spectacular style – at Harvey Nichols this autumn where American super-patissiere Claire Clark will be opening a pop-up for two months. Goodies... [Read more]
  • Dreary place, bright food
    Tuesday, 27th July 2010
    An utterly charmless setting gives way to delightful, gutsy French cooking
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Brasserie Joel First Floor, Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, SE1 7UT. Tel: 020 7620 7272 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £45 MUCH has been made of the unfortunate location of... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 27th July 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    KARAOKE IN KENSAL RISE Karaoke mania continues apace with the August opening of a private room at west London’s quirkiest gastropub, Paradise By Way of Kensal Green. Expect a library of 7,500 classic... [Read more]
  • Not flashy, but still good
    Tuesday, 20th July 2010
    A plush Knightbridge stalwart has lost its star, but manages to shine nonethless
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    The Capital 22 Basil Street, SW3 1AT Tel: 020 7591 1202 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £50 IT’S all happening in Knightsbridge. Pierre Koffman, the cook who dazzled Eighties... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 20th July 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    TAKE HIGH TEA ON DEAN STREET Soho’s hottest spot for power breakfasts and gossipy dinners has launched afternoon and high tea menus in keeping with its down-to-earth English style of cooking. Retro... [Read more]
  • A superb Ambassadeur’s reception
    Tuesday, 13th July 2010
    The restaurant of the exclusive Park Lane casino is open to the public for lunch, and it’s worthy of royalty
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    The Milroy 5 Hamilton Place, W1J 7ED, Tel: 020 7317 6108 Cost per person without wine: £40 THOSE accustomed to the opulence of Les Ambassadeurs, the exclusive London casino, may not be blown away by... [Read more]
  • TASTING NOTES
    Tuesday, 13th July 2010
    Where to eat when you’re high-rolling
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    IN his current book describing London’s early Victorian gambling scene, Gentlemen & Blackguards, author Nicholas Foulkes points out that Crockford’s, then the most famous and exclusive gaming... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 13th July 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    LARDER OF LONDON REOPENS For a foodie city, one thing London is shamefully short of is quality food markets. Anyone who’s had enough of fighting their way through the Borough Market hoards can now... [Read more]
  • Expert, yes. Tasty, yes. Fun, err...
    Tuesday, 6th July 2010
    Masterchef’s Michel Roux Jr has brought top notch cuisine to Westminster. It’s a shame it lacks soul
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Roux at Parliament Square RICS, Parliament Square, SW1P 3AD Tel: 020 7334 3737 Cost per person without wine: £55 THE Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is perhaps not the sexiest-... [Read more]
  • TASTING NOTES
    Tuesday, 6th July 2010
    A healthy way to eat through the summer months
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    FEELING weighed down by picnic and barbeqcue fare??Tired of rich meals that leave you feeling fat and ill? Well, as Heinz Beck, the Rome-based German super-chef has shown, it doesn’t have to be that... [Read more]
  • Tastes of the garden in St James’s
    Tuesday, 29th June 2010
    The Avenue is a light and airy place for a business lunch in a part of London better known for fustiness
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    The Avenue 7-9 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EE www.danddlondon.com HUGE place, The Avenue. It has sat near the bottom of St James’s Street since the Nineties when its spacious minimalism was quite the... [Read more]
  • TASTING NOTES
    Tuesday, 29th June 2010
    Food tips for the best of summer parties
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    1) PREPARATION is everything when throwing a summer party. Since cold dishes are the order of the day, definitely have food ready in the fridge that can be pulled out as your guests arrive. Dishes... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 29th June 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    ANTUNES SETS UP SHOP ON SOUTH BANK French chef Joel Antunes built a laudable reputation for himself back in the Eighties and Nineties working around France, Asia and the UK before launching Les... [Read more]
  • Flawless food from a French master
    Tuesday, 22nd June 2010
    The Michelin-starred former head chef of Roussillon has made a triumphant move to the heart of Soho
    Gauthier Soho
    FLASH back five years. I’m in the new Covent Garden Market with Alexis Gauthier, then the chef patron of Gallic jewel Roussillon, researching a feature. It’s 4AM and Gauthier is getting very excited... [Read more]
  • TASTING NOTES
    Tuesday, 22nd June 2010
    Start the day the Pepys way
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    ANYONE who is a caffeine refusnik like me will know the envy that comes from watching colleagues fortify themselves on a bleak, thankless morning with weapons-grade coffee. I can’t stand the taste of... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 22nd June 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    SUMMER OFFER ON FRENCH CITY DINING Le Café Du Marché, the atmospheric French restaurant in Smithfield and firm favourite among City folk, is offering three courses for the price of two for lunch... [Read more]
  • Latitudinal thinking in Aldwych
    Tuesday, 15th June 2010
    Londoners should thank their lucky stars for every good new wine bar. This is a great excuse to do so
    28-50 140 Fetter Lane, EC4A 1BT 020 7242 8877 www.2850.co.uk Cost per person without wine: £30 THE first thing to chew on at 28-50 is its name. It gets stuck in the teeth, frankly, involving two non-... [Read more]
  • TASTING NOTES
    Tuesday, 15th June 2010
    An education in chocolate
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    FINDING an excuse to enjoy chocolate is always welcome. And – as with all the naughtiest things in life – if it is of the highest quality then it is probably a bit less bad for you. Well, still... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 15th June 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    WIMBLEDON TEA AT THE DORCHESTER Get into grand slam spirit with a Wimbledon Afternoon Tea at The Dorchester’s famous Promenade, with a selection of tennis-inspired pastries including the citrus court... [Read more]
  • Chiswick’s latest fine dining treat
    Tuesday, 8th June 2010
    After four years’ graft and a revamp, the Fish Hook chef has good reason to put his name above the door
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    Restaurant Michael Nadra 6-8 Elliott Road, W4 1PE 020 8742 0766 www.restaurant-michaelnadra.co.uk Cost per person without wine: £40 BESIDES leafy streets, expensive houses and London’s finest... [Read more]
  • Salts of the earth in Rome’s most prestigious dining room
    Tuesday, 8th June 2010
    TASTING NOTES
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    THERE’S a popular notion about chefs and salt which posits that any cook worth his, er, salt should take umbrage if customers demand more of the stuff. You don’t expect to see world class restaurants... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 8th June 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    THE PHENE SET TO REOPEN It was a sad moment some years ago when The Phene Arms, a picturesque boozer secreted upon a quiet Chelsea backstreet, shut its doors after falling on hard times. It had one... [Read more]
  • NYC sends a slice of Gallic heaven
    Tuesday, 1st June 2010
    The legendary Daniel Boulud has washed up on our shores, with the most impressive meat menu in town
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Bar Boulud Mandarin Oriental, 66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA, tel: 020 7201 3899 Cost per person without wine: £45 THE name Daniel Boulud is a huge deal in New York, where everything is either a huge... [Read more]
  • TASTING NOTES: THE EL BULLI OF COCKTAIL BARS TURNS ONE
    Tuesday, 1st June 2010
    A laboratory, a buzzy bar and a menu of unreal drinks
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    TODAY is the first anniversary of 69 Colebrooke Row, an Islington bar. Hardly a shocking statement. But when you consider the bar in question, it starts to become a good deal more interesting. The... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 1st June 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    PRÊT-À-PORTEA IS BACK AT THE BERKELEY The Berkeley’s world-famous Prêt-à-Portea is back with a new collection of goodies.?Inspired by the latest catwalk looks, the tea includes Yves Saint Laurent... [Read more]
  • Room with a brilliant view
    Tuesday, 25th May 2010
    You’re sure to impress your date in a venue with views as splendid as these. The food’s not bad, either
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Paramount Centre Point, 101-103 New Oxford Street WC1A 1DD. Tel: 020 7420 2900, www.paramount.uk.net Cost per person without wine: £45 IN the food’n’drinkosphere, the days of exclusivity seem... [Read more]
  • Guess what? M&S is heaven for hop heads this summer
    Tuesday, 25th May 2010
    Jeremy Hazlehurst
    ON a hot summer’s evening everybody deserves a nice, cold beer. For years I have despaired of poor choice in the shops I pass on my way home. Maybe I am out of the loop, but last week I made a... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER GOBSMACKING VIEWS
    Tuesday, 25th May 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    40/30 AT THE GHERKIN (MEMBERS ONLY), CITY If you’re not a member, then make sure that you know someone who is, and get them to invite you as much as possible for lunch at this extravagantly windowed... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 25th May 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    RIVERSIDE DINNER IN A YURT Taste food straight from the fields with this travelling Riverford field kitchen, which will set up shop in nine different spots round the country in May. Food is served in... [Read more]
  • Mozzarella in Mayfair goes glam
    Tuesday, 18th May 2010
    The food is clean and good, but don’t expect any bargains at this new, European-filled restaurant and club
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Cielo/Luxx 3 New Burlington Street W1S 2JF 020 7297 2893 www.cielorestaurant.co.uk, www.luxx-london.com FOOD *** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £50 THESE days, being a... [Read more]
  • Piggie-shaped cheese hits Sardinia’s chicest enclave
    Tuesday, 18th May 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    WHEN the sun doesn’t shine in southern Italy, there is one major comfort. The food. I was reminded of this over the weekend during a trip to Sardinia since it was warmer, sunnier and less windy in... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 18th May 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    THE MILROY: NOT JUST FOR MEMBERS Ever heard of The Milroy restaurant? Unless you’re a member of private casino Les Ambassadeurs, probably not. Previously only accessible to members The Milroy has... [Read more]
  • Cheap, imaginative and very tasty
    Tuesday, 11th May 2010
    A new gastropub in Notting Hill mixes low prices and a playfully nostalgic menu with serious culinary flair
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    The Mall Tavern 71-31 Palace Gardens, W8 4RU 020 7229 3374 www.themalltavern.com FOOD **** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £23 IT once would have seemed an inauspicious... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 11th May 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    M. ROUX GOES TO WESTMINSTER As the post-election fall-out rolls on, Michel Roux Jr (below), chef patron of London’s most famous French restaurant and feared critic of Masterchef’s professionals... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER RECENT GASTROPUB SUCCESSES
    Tuesday, 11th May 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    THE HARWOOD ARMS A collaboration between Brett Graham of the ultra-smart Ledbury restaurant and game specialist Mike Robinson of Berkshire’s much loved Pot Kiln country pub, the Harwood Arms is the... [Read more]
  • An El Bulli in Bethnal Green
    Tuesday, 4th May 2010
    Portuguese star Nuno Mendes has poured all his creative energy into an ingenious, exciting restaurant
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Viajante Patriot Square E2 9NF, tel: 020 7871 0461 www.viajante.co.uk FOOD ***** SERVICE ***** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £25-£85 IT was love. As I bit off some buttered mini spelt... [Read more]
  • Vinegar with your martini? When in Italy...
    Tuesday, 4th May 2010
    Zoe Strimpel
    SOMETIMES you choose something off the menu because it sounds so awful that it will either be completely horrible or totally brilliant, but either way, it will make for a good story. Faced with the... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER EAST LONDON FAVOURITES
    Tuesday, 4th May 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    GREEN & RED Buzzy and critically acclaimed Mexican restaurant and bar that’s full of hipsters guzzling the likes of octopus ceviche, cumin-roasted chicken wings and watermelon salad in the... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 4th May 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    TRINITY GOES LITERARY Recipe books are ten-a-penny, but not many leave us as watered-of-mouth as How to Eat In by Adam Byatt, chef patron of Clapham’s rather fabulous Trinity restaurant. It’s a tome... [Read more]
  • Good food under the arches
    Tuesday, 27th April 2010
    The bar is buzzy and the restaurant takes food seriously, but this SE1 newbie has a bit of an identity problem
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Platform 56-58 Tooley Street, SE1 2SZ Tel: 020 7403 6388 platformse1.co.uk FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £25 RECLAIMING still another part of London Bridge’s arches (in a... [Read more]
  • One drunken night that I’m regretting now
    Tuesday, 27th April 2010
    VEXED IN THE CITY SOLVING YOUR WORK-LIFE PROBLEMS
    DEAR VEXED: I was at a conference last week and some of our clients stayed at the hotel. Well, after a bit too much to drink, I ended up in bed with one of them. We both agreed to never mention it... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 27th April 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    SUNDAY LUNCH AT BOCCA DI LUPO Forget pub lunch on a Sunday. Head to Soho for Bocca di Lupo’s new “pasta al forno” menu, featuring authentic baked pasta dishes. Think lasagne bolognese, melanzane... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER LONDON BRIDGE RESTAURANTS
    Tuesday, 27th April 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    MAGDALENE This smart, popular restaurant is a lesson in gutsy modern European food. Have quince fizz and grilled chestnuts with butter to start with, then fried crispy pig’s head and gribiche,... [Read more]
  • Blanc goes bland in the Square Mile
    Tuesday, 20th April 2010
    It may not be exciting, but the first London branch of the celebrity chef’s chain brings affordability to EC2
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    Brasserie Blanc 60 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 8HP Tel: 020 7710 9441 Cost per person without wine: £26 IT has the name Raymond Blanc attached, but don’t be thinking Brasserie Blanc has anything to do... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER FRENCH RESTAURANTS IN THE CITY
    Tuesday, 20th April 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    RELAIS DE VENISE L’ENTRECOTE This beloved Parisian chain of steak houses doesn’t do much but what it does it does well. Well enough to have Parisians queuing outside (in Paris) for a seat. Here, we... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 20th April 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    ENOCLUB NIGHTS at POLPO Polpo, the Venetian bacaro that took?Soho by storm when it opened last year, is launching a series of events dedicated to educating the wining, dining public about northern... [Read more]
  • A palace of calm after the storm
    Tuesday, 13th April 2010
    It wasn’t a pretty ending for the old Pétrus, but Gordon Ramsay’s new version is a lesson in serenity
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    Pétrus 1 Kinnerton St, SW1X 8EA 020 7592 1609 www.gordonramsay.com Cost per person without wine: £55 IT’S hard to believe that so tranquil a restaurant as this was born of an immense falling out. We... [Read more]
  • OTHER OPTIONS IN BELGRAVIA
    Tuesday, 13th April 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    ZAFFERANO One of London’s most valued Italian restaurants, with a kitchen formerly led by Giorgio Locatelli, now by his protégé Andy Needham. Luxurious Italian dishes include duck lasagna with morel... [Read more]
  • Curry in a hurry is a bit confusing
    Tuesday, 6th April 2010
    It looks nice, but a strange menu makes this new City venue a big disappointment
    JEREMY HAZLEHURST
    Bangalore Express City 1 Corbet Court, Gracechurch Street, EC3 V0AT. www.bangaloreexpress.co.uk Cost per person without wine: £25 ONE of my first memories of arriving in London was going for a curry... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER CLASSY EXPRESS RESTAURANTS
    Tuesday, 6th April 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    WAHACA Take the laid back spirit of Mexico at its best, add the vision and inspiration of former Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers, and you’ve got some of the freshest and tastiest tostadas,... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 6th April 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    NEW LOYALTY SCHEME FOR THE PALM Palm, the US-based group of steak and lobster restaurants which opened its first London site in Knightsbridge last year, is extending its loyalty club to UK customers... [Read more]
  • A taste of the Raj in Marylebone
    Tuesday, 30th March 2010
    The new restaurant from the master of gourmet Indian food, Atul Kochhar, oozes with temptations
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    Colony Bar & Grill 7-9 Paddington Street, W1U 5QU, tel: 020 7935 3353 FOOD **** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £50 Anyone who has eaten at Benares will have a soft spot... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER MARYLEBONE GEMS
    Tuesday, 30th March 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    RISTORANTE SEMPLICE Possibly the best Italian restaurant in London, mainly for being so under-hyped. The dining room evokes swirls of honey, thanks to some great textured walls, and the food is... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 30th March 2010
    ZOE STRIMPEL
    UMAMI DINNER AT NOBU Nobu Mastuhisa, of Nobu, will be flying in to London to host a special dinner at his restaurant in Old Park Lane. The idea is to showcase the “extra” taste umami, best described... [Read more]
  • City favourite banking on a revamp
    Tuesday, 23rd March 2010
    A brasserie in an impressive building captures the new and more informal feel of the Square Mile
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    IT’S hardly as if the City’s been short of “sign of the times” changes, but another came late last year when Prism, the Harvey Nichols outpost that was one of the Square Mile’s grandest and most... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER RESTAURANTS IN FORMER BANKS
    Tuesday, 23rd March 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    1 LOMBARD STREET You could argue that 1 Lombard, with its palladian entrance opposite the Bank of England, has the most desirable restaurant location in the City, and it also has some of the best... [Read more]
  • FOOD & BOOZE NEWS
    Tuesday, 23rd March 2010
    TIMOTHY BARBER
    THAI NEW YEAR AT MANGO TREE Belgravia’s smart Thai eatery, Mango Tree on Grosvenor Square, is holding a Thai New Year Party on 14 April. The celebration of the Songkran festival will feature a show... [Read more]
  • London rejoices as maestro returns
    Tuesday, 16th March 2010
    Bruno Loubet’s Farringdon eatery delivers his classic Gallic bistrot fare with verve and style
    Zoe Strimpel
    There are two types of people that will thrill at Bistrot Bruno Loubet, the quietly trendy Zetter Hotel’s latest restaurant incarnation. Type one are the gastronomes – otherwise known as foodie geeks... [Read more]
  • THREE OTHER FINE FRENCH BISTROTS
    Tuesday, 16th March 2010
    Zoe Strimpel
    TERROIRS Charing Cross suddenly hit the foodie map with this proper French wine bar and restaurant full of charcuterie, terrines, cheeses, rich mains and clever little dishes such as Lincolnshire... [Read more]