London’s best pub crawl through our Toast the City finalists Toast the City As we prepare to reveal the City’s best boozer at our Toast the City awards, we sent wine writer Libby Brodie on a pub crawl through some of the contenders Nowhere in the world does pubs like the City of London. We have absolutely nailed it. We do firesides, board games, slowly poured pints, waxy [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: London restaurant hits and misses from Martin Williams Life&Style Explore Martin Williams’ verdict on Café Clement, Eve Bar and Fenix, from slick openings to Mayfair missteps, and plan your next London booking.
‘Bankers are people too’: Inside tongue-in-cheek bar The Pregnant Man Life&Style The Pregnant Man is celebrating a decade this January. But there may well be celebrations before their birthday as they are one of the finalists for the Best Bar gong at our Toast the City Awards. As a judge, I find it impressive and heartening to find so many original, diverse places to grab a [...]
Dave’s Wine Bar: Why I think it’s a Toast the City star September 10, 2026 Dave’s Wine Bar is one of our Toast the City finalists. Libby Brodie visits to find out what makes it such a special drinking den Dave’s Wine Bar is tucked up St James Passage, a handily central space for a glass of great wine in the City. Named for David Howden, the CEO of Howden [...]
Two of my favourite hotels for celebrating English wine September 2, 2026 While English wine tourism continues to blossom, not every vineyard has its own accommodation. These places offer luxury lovers somewhere to stay while indulging in local wines. Chilston Park HotelAn historic estate of over 900 years, this Grade I listed, red brick country house hotel comes with 77 acres of parkland and a private lake. [...]
We take a food and drink Odyssey through the Square Mile August 17, 2026 As voting for the Toast the City Awards enters its final week, we sent our wine columnist Libby Brodie on a wine Odyssey through the City’s finest bars and restaurants. Vote for your favourites on our website here. As The Odyssey continues to smash records – it’s now Christopher Nolan’s highest ever grossing film – [...]
These are the best restaurants in the City of London August 11, 2026 Bank is almost unrecognisable from when I began my career here with Gaucho in 2004. Fast forward to today and I am the CEO of the Evolv Collection, overseeing 33 venues, nine of which are in the Square Mile. It’s fair to say I love running restaurants in the heart of London. So when it [...]
A tribute to wine legend Matthew Jukes by his friend Libby Brodie August 7, 2026 The wine writer and entrepreneur Matthew Jukes died suddenly this week aged just 58 years old. Our wine writer and his close friend Libby Brodie remembers a legend of the wine industry and beyond Matthew Jukes was one of the very best people I met in my career in wine. Scratch that, he was one [...]
Humble Grape is a wine bar like no other: Here’s its origin story August 4, 2026 Is a bar only as good as its origin story? The calibre of the drinks and service are of, of course, of vital importance but it’s the mythos of a place that gives it that je nais se quoi. Humble Grape, one of our Toast the City Awards 2026 Finalists, has one of the best [...]
For Albarino in the City, head to Humble Grape July 29, 2026 Not satisfied with one isolated national grape day, Albarino (or Alvarinho in Portugal) is about to kick off a week’s worth of celebrations from 1 August. This annual event began in the 1950s in Spain as a wine-tasting competition between local winemakers and was later made official, spreading internationally to highlight what makes this grape [...]