There is no folly in eating here November 22, 2010 The Folly 41 Gracechurch Street, EC3V 0BT Tel: 0845 468 0102 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £20 THE City, it appears, has been truly starved of a good, affordable restaurant/bar with funky design (yes, funky, rather than drab, formal, sticky or cafe-style). Because from the moment the Folly, the enormous, windowy multi-story [...]
THREE OTHER HEAVING CITY RESTAURANTS November 22, 2010 THE ANTHOLOGIST Nearly the same as the Folly, but “darker” as the Folly manager puts it, with a pink butterfly as its logo. It’s also smaller. But passing down Gresham Street it’s more of a mellow, tempting den than a dingy dive. A proper nightspot, with “Soul Saturdays”, a good wine list and a huge [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS November 22, 2010 THE BIG EASY DOES THANKSGIVING This iconic King’s Road American diner takes Thanksgiving (this Thursday) very seriously. There will be a live band from 8:30, by which time you’ll have tucked into your roasted breast of Norfolk turkey with giblet gravy, chestnut stuffing, green beans and candied sweet potatoes with toasted hazelnuts. Afterwards, it’ll be [...]
Glimpse the Big Five in Zambia’s beautiful (and quiet) savannah November 21, 2010 WE’RE sitting in the back of an open-topped jeep, manoeuvering our way over some rough terrain. The sherbet pink sun set around half an hour ago and already it is dark, the night sky inky black. Fannuel, our guide, has spotted something. He veers off the track and gingerly pulls up to the crest of [...]
SKI NOTES November 21, 2010 Courchevel’s new retreat Courchevel addicts (with extra cash) rejoice: a fabulous new opening in 1850 is setting tongues aflutter. Le Strato has just 25 bedrooms, an 800sq m spa by Nuxe, a gastro restaurant with a famous French starred chef – and, wait for it, a a champagne bar in the ski room. Open from [...]
FOCUS ON: HERTFORD November 18, 2010 VILLIERS STREET Price: £599,995 This four-bedroom townhouse is close to the town centre and it has been refurbished. Period features such as sash windows and fireplaces have been kept. There is a back garden. Contact: Hetheringtons on 01992 440000, hetheringtons.co.uk REVELLS HALL Price: £2.75m This Grade II-listed 16th century house has panoramic views across Ware [...]
SELLING November 18, 2010 MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROPERTY HUNT Q.Dear Russell, what can I do to increase the value of my property? A.There are very simple and obvious things that can be done to improve the value of a property but it is amazing how often people forget them. For example, it will not help the value of your property [...]
PROPERTY NEWS November 18, 2010 RENTS ON THE RISE Rents rose for the ninth consecutive month in October to £691 while tenant arrears fell significantly for the second month in a row, according to the latest buy-to-let index from LSL Property Services. Unpaid rent totalled £221m, down from £229.3m in the previous month. This accounted for just 9.3 per cent [...]
Twenty per cent off property in paradise November 18, 2010 IT FEELS wrong to be delighted by the financial crisis, doesn’t it? But if you were reclining on a sun-lounger in 30°C heat with a sparkling ocean stretching out in front of you, it would be difficult not to. Especially if you had managed to buy a Caribbean dream home on the cheap. The numbers [...]
Investing your love in bricks and mortar November 18, 2010 1 BUDGET Before you start the fun stuff – househunting – make sure you have covered the boring stuff: finances. Work out how much you can afford to put towards mortgage repayments each month, based on your joint net income, and joint outgoings. If, like Kate and William, you are thoroughly modern and are already [...]