The future of post-covid drinking, from the mega beer garden to drone deliveries August 1, 2020 With the baking summer heat threatening to melt my laptop, the idea of al fresco eating and drinking seems like a no-brainer. But Britain, with its unpredictable climate, traffic-clogged streets and plethora of excellent, dingy pubs, has proven resistant to the kind of outdoor cafe culture beloved of our European neighbours. Until covid, that is. [...]
Eat Out to Help Out – the best restaurants taking part in the government hospitality scheme August 1, 2020 There was a time when dropping most of your disposable income on avocado on toast made you an idiot who will never be able to afford a house. Now it makes you a hero who will save the economy. It’s so vital that you start eating at restaurants again that, as of Monday, the government [...]
Boris Johnson’s calorie labelling plan is well-intentioned but economically inept July 27, 2020 Let me start with a concession to the Prime Minister: not all the policies in his anti-obesity drive are outright objectionable. Banning food advertising and telling shopkeepers where they can and can’t stock their products are obvious and unacceptable intrusions, whatever their intended goal. But as a liberal economist, I am prepared to consider some [...]
Mark Hix returns with a recipe for delicious home made pea soup July 25, 2020 Those of you who read this column regularly know that I love nothing more than growing my own veg, cooking it, and then banging on about the results in the pages of City A.M. Pretty soon I’ll be lusting over peas. Ideally I put them in a soup, but to be honest they’re so delicious [...]
Six by Nico: “The chippie” goes high-end as London’s newest destination opens July 25, 2020 The struggles of the hospitality industry have been well-documented. So Nico Simeone would have been entitled to be more nervous than usual opening his new London restaurant just as lockdown lifted. Not so, though, he tells City A.M. “There are always a bit of nerves when opening in a new city but we have a [...]
Back in business: Our regular round-up of London’s reopened bars and restaurants July 24, 2020 Coronavirus may have shuttered the food industry since lockdown was announced, but the restaurant business is bouncing back, with dozens of our favourite places to eat reopening every day. Lima Peruvian restaurant group Lima was one of the brave restaurants keeping us fed during lockdown with its Lima Home delivery service, giving us all a [...]
Back to Business: Jason Atherton on how he dealt with lockdown and how his empire will strike back July 24, 2020 In the first of a new series of how chefs are dealing with the strange ‘new normal’ we now find ourself in, Jason Atherton talks about the chaos covid caused to his supply chain, and the silver lining of getting to spend time with his newborn daughter. Remind us who you are I’m a Michelin [...]
Reopened restaurants in London: A new regular round-up of the latest food news July 17, 2020 Coronavirus may have shuttered the food industry since lockdown was announced, but the restaurant business is bouncing back, with dozens of our favourite places to eat reopening every day. In this new column, we’ll bring you the latest news from the front-line of the food business, complete with all the details you need to book [...]
Reopened restaurants in London: The latest news about your favourite places to eat July 17, 2020 Coronavirus may have shuttered the food industry since lockdown was announced, but the restaurant business is bouncing back, with dozens of our favourite places to eat reopening every day. In this new column, we’ll bring you the latest news from the front-line of the food business, complete with all the details you need to book [...]
1 Lombard Street hires Mark Hix as director of food and drink July 1, 2020 City restaurant 1 Lombard Street has hired chef and restauranteur Mark Hix as director of food and drink ahead of the restaurant’s reopening, as the hospitality sector begins to emerge from months of lockdown. Hix, who owns the Hix group of London restaurants, will work alongside executive chef Robin Freeman to reimagine the menu at [...]