Restaurant Review: Ten Room July 22, 2014 I wonder if Ten Room at Café Royal saw it coming. A multi-million pound restaurant in an iconic London hotel… If you listened carefully in the days leading up to opening week earlier this year, you could hear the faint, metallic screech of knives being sharpened. And by all accounts, it was more than deserving [...]
Club des Chefs des Chefs members won’t say, but we’ve had a look at our world leaders’ eating habits July 8, 2014 Every year, a select group of people get together to swap state secrets. I’m not talking about the nuclear codes, trade agreements or defence budgets. These are secrets of a more intimate kind: how does Obama like his steak? What does the queen have for breakfast? Does Angela Merkel prefer ketchup or mayo? Club des [...]
Mix It Up: Why the creme de la creme of cocktails are from London July 8, 2014 IT’S tough at the top. Whether you’re a CEO, musician or bar manager, you’re only as good as your last set of earnings, song, or cocktail menu. There’s always an upstart ready to take your crown. Artesian has been voted the world’s best bar for two year’s on the trot. Last week Alex Kratena and [...]
Dish of the Day: Learn how to make Chicken Shop chicken at home July 8, 2014 Learn how to cook a bird like Ronnie Bonetti, the mastermind behind Soho House's food "WHEN Soho House decided to open a Chicken Shop, the owner Nick Jones asked me to make him the best chicken in London. I went into kebab shops, fried chicken shops, I tried supermarket rotisserie chicken and I [...]
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 [...]