Six romantic National Trust destinations for Valentine’s Day February 1, 2017 Eating out in a chain restaurant in London is hardly the most imaginative way to spend quality time with your loved one on Valentine's Day – so why not try something a little different this year? Escape the city – and the awkward sight of couples on blind dates at Pizza Express – with a visit [...]
Kricket Soho review: this former pop-up is so good it will make you question your life February 1, 2017 I’m ambivalent about pop-ups. I want to like them, to buy into the democratisation of the food business, to support the little guy who isn’t propped up by hedge-funds or millionaire parents. But my god, they can be terrible places to eat. I’m haunted by memories of burgers that seemed destined to never arrive at [...]
Som Saa review: Very likely to be the best Thai food in London January 31, 2017 A plucky Peckham-pop-up turned permanent E1 resident, Som Saa is a Thai restaurant specialising in creative regional dishes from the country’s north-eastern province. Enjoy sweet and sour comfort food from the grill or masterful curries so hot you’ll walk away feeling like you’ve just been punched in the face. In a nice way. WHERE? 43A [...]
How to buy a classic car: The Ferrari 328 GTS is a sound investment and a surprisingly sensible classic January 30, 2017 Welcome to the first in an occasional series of classic car reviews. We’ll highlight some of London’s most desirable used cars, classics that are great to drive and likely to offer a healthy return on investment. And where better to start than with one of motoring’s blue-chip brands? Ferraris make up seven out of the [...]
Now Ford has spoken out against Donald Trump’s travel ban January 30, 2017 The two top executives at the US' largest carmaker have waded into the row over Donald Trump's decision to ban citizens of seven Middle Eastern and North African countries from travelling to the US, saying it "goes against our values as a company". Reuters reported Ford's executive chairman Bill Ford Jr and chief exec Mark [...]
Opinion: Considering buying a place above a shop? Don’t do it unless you’ve thought about these factors first January 27, 2017 Whether high street or side street, look up above any shop-lined street in the capital and you are bound to see apartments. Accessed by narrow doors tucked between the various operators, these spaces are proving an increasingly tempting living proposition. More and more, we are seeing developers turning the ground floor of their new schemes [...]
New Builds: New homes are on sale in Finchley, Woolwich, Golders Green, Kew and Croydon January 27, 2017 Mantle Developments, Croydon From £430,000 and £875,000 (Help to Buy available) Buy a home and get a Michelin-starred meal cooked in it by chef Jean-Christophe Novelli. Buyers who snap up a property in one of two schemes in Croydon by the end of January through Countrywide will be able to take up the tasty offer. [...]
Bonus season: If you’re thinking of spending it on property, here are the top London hotspots you should be looking at January 27, 2017 It’s bonus season in the City and now you’ve got the enviable task of deciding what to spend it on. Historically low interest rates means putting the whole lot into an ISA isn’t quite as appealing as it once was. But house price growth particularly in the outer boroughs – Newham, Havering, Brent and Croydon [...]
Want more excitement in your food? Here are London’s most fun desserts January 27, 2017 Fire baked cookie at Temper Temper is Soho's basement playground dedicated to meat, smoke and tacos with plenty of global flavours and few boundaries. It's pretty impossible not to have a good time here, particularly if you end your meal with a dish of 'baked cookie' which doesn't give a huge amount away, so let [...]
T2 Trainspotting review: lashings of nostalgia carry this long-overdue sequel, with Ewan McGregor and Johnny Lee Miller at their magnetic best January 27, 2017 It’s 21 years since Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting became every teenage boy’s favourite movie. His meditation on wasted youth was bleak, but also tinged with an optimism that reflected the national mood. Sure, there was addiction and poverty and death and despair, but Blair was about to be elected and Britpop was playing on radios across [...]