The West End’s smart new club for card sharps October 18, 2010 FOR poker enthusiasts who don’t want to play for thousands of pounds, finding a comfortable environment to get stuck into a live game of poker isn’t easy. You can dabble in piddling pub tournaments (maximum buy-in: £5), try your luck in the rather daunting atmospherve of the few lower-stakes casinos offering poker, or in the [...]
The English queen of the felt October 18, 2010 IS LIV Boeree too good to be true? An astrophysics grad and sometime model with the looks of a Bond girl and a penchant for heavy metal – a YouTube video she’s uploaded proves she’s no mean guitarist – she’s also the sixth biggest winner in tournament poker this year, with $1.8m from the last [...]
High-rollers get charitable for sick kids October 18, 2010 WHEN you’re trying to win chips off your opponents at the poker table, charity’s the last thing on your mind. That would particularly be the case if you were slinging chips around in the cardroom of Les Ambassadeurs casino in Mayfair, which hosts the biggest (by which I mean highest stakes) poker games in Europe. [...]
Spanish favourite hits mark again October 18, 2010 Camino 28 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, E14 8RR. www.camino.uk.com/canarywharf Tel: 020 7239 9077 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £35 IT must be tricky designing a Spanish restaurant. One route is to go rustic, with wine barrels, crates, bull-fighting memorabilia and castanets everywhere, and instructions to staff to wipe their hands on their [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS October 18, 2010 IN CONVERSATION WITH FERRAN ADRIA If you’re one of the many foodies that is fascinated by El Bulli chef Ferran Adria, then don’t miss this chance to hear him in conversation with acclaimed food author Colman Andrews at the Royal Geographical Society. The event is in celebration of the chef’s first biography, published by Phaidon [...]
THREE OTHER SPOT-ON TAPAS RESTAURANTS October 18, 2010 BARRICA Goodge Street has become like mini-Madrid, with two great tapas bars a stone’s throw from each other – Salt Yard and this one. Everything is delicious here, from the melty pork loin to the whole juicy courgettes with almonds and lemon. 62 Goodge Street, W1T 4NE. Tel: 020 7436 9448. DEHESA From the people [...]
The past lives on as Agatha Christie’s top hotel reopens October 17, 2010 ONCE you’ve been to Istanbul, Paris, Berlin and even London seem somehow paltry, a bit small-scale and even a touch banal. The enormity and seductiveness of the Bosphorous, especially at sunset, and the mesmeric mixture of ancient history, Ottoman splendour and Islamic architecture beguile every traveller. Its appeal was just as strong for the most [...]
HOTEL REVIEW October 17, 2010 The Oberoi – Mumbai THE GLEAMING five-star Oberoi hotel has spent a lot of time and money trying to forget the past. The Mumbai landmark, a playground for the megacity’s elite as well as foreign VIPs like former US President Bill Clinton, was reopened in April following an 18-month, $40m renovation after being at the [...]
TRAVEL NOTES October 17, 2010 London’s helipad hotel Take that, Claridges. The new Hotel Verta in Battersea (of all places) comes with a helipad for those who don’t want to deal with traffic. The 70-room Von Essen hotel is located within the London Heliport complex, and is the first of its type in Europe. Aside from the Bond-style arrival possibilities, [...]
Being eco-friendly can make you richer October 14, 2010 YOU may think that making your home eco-friendly is the kind of bore only liberal do-gooders relish. Think again. Jumping on the green bandwagon can add up to 5 per cent to the value of your property, make it more competitive on the housing market and help you save on energy bills. CityA.M. has taken [...]