THREE NEW WEST END RESTAURANTS April 25, 2011 ST JOHN HOTEL The brand new West End outpost of Smithfield’s most famous restaurant is a smart, bijoux haven of white-washed calm and simple culinary brilliance. Suckling pig for two with watercress and potato is an adventure in itself, snails and bacon are heavenly, while even tripe and onions has been winning fans. 1 Leicester [...]
Zara Phillips knows a thing or two about relaxation. So if she favours a beautiful horsey resort in the rolling hills near Lisbon, it can’t be a bad place for us, either April 25, 2011 THESE are busy days for Zara Phillips, what with her wedding to rugby player Mike Tindall in July, her cousin Will’s nuptials this week and training to compete in next year’s Olympics. But judging by Zara’s choice of holiday home – a 220 sq m, four-bedroom villa with pool set on rolling Portuguese hills half [...]
TRAVEL NOTES April 25, 2011 GO PRIVATE IN PALMA Mallorca, a perennial favourite for the euro-chic, has a new enticement, in the form of a new private wing at the ultra-swanky Puro Hotel in Palma. With 11 suites, the wing is available for private hire and connected to the restored 18th century townhouse hotel so you can use the amenities. As [...]
THINK ROOMS… with LateRooms.com April 25, 2011 VINCCI BAIXA 4* Rua Do Comércio | nº 32 e 38 Rua Do S.Juliao | nº 47 e 57 | 1100-150 Lisboa Housed in an old townhouse in Baixa, the famous shopping and banking district of Lisbon, Vincci Baixa offers a truly enchanting stay. We love this bohemian part of town and the hip feel [...]
A right Royal WEDDING April 20, 2011 We at City A.M. can be a cynical bunch. We confess there have been moments in the run-up to the royal wedding on 29 April that have made us roll our eyes, such as T Mobile’s yawnsome wedding spoof video and the release of the awful-looking William & Kate: The Movie. Others, though, have raised [...]
The best of… BRITISH April 20, 2011 TECH enthusiasts like to think themselves a pretty unflappable bunch, but just now we can’t help coming over all patriotic. The fact is, one of the little-celebrated things at which the Brits are world-leaders is high-end audio technology. We’re not talking the kind of thing most people have in their sitting rooms. No, this is [...]
WHAT’S NEW IN GADGETS AND TECHNOLOGY April 20, 2011 WONDER WATCHES FOR GADGET JUNKIES At last month’s BaselWorld Watch & Jewellery fair in Switzerland, the annual shindig in which the world’s watch companies get together to show off their latest creations, the watches that held particular appeal for gadget fans ranged from the disarmingly simple to the unbelievably complicated. In the simple (red) corner [...]
Voicemail a problem? Say hello to Hullo April 20, 2011 IF you work in a financial institution, your employer is obliged to record all your mobile calls, texts and instant messages. Even your personal calls, your compliance officer will argue, are covered by the FSA regulations. So why not give the nosy jobsworth something to think about as he snoops on your private life? Get [...]
A jazz sensation comes to town April 20, 2011 THE glittering opening of Boisdale in Canary Wharf last week was one of the most exciting in the Docklands in a long while. One of the main attractions of the new Boisdale is its superlative jazz offering, in conjunction with Jazz FM and Aberdeen Asset Management. Jazz FM’s Discovery Show, supported by City firm Aberdeen [...]
Open sesame: the Porsche Targa April 19, 2011 I’VE been wanting to drive a 911 Targa for a while and here’s why. For all the clever engineering and folding tin-top balletics seen on many sports coupes in recent years, there is no getting around the fact that I am not fantastically taken with convertibles. Sure, I can appreciate what a wonderful experience it [...]