Good luck to my fellow Toast the City award nominees! Toast the City It is the day of City AM’s Toast the City Awards, celebrating the hospitality and placemaking that makes the Square Mile great. I could not be more proud to be attending, as both a judge and a nominee. I would like to reach out ahead of the event to wish all the best to everyone [...]
Liverpool Street Chop House: Should you go over Hawksmoor, Boisdale? Life&Style The closure of Threadneedle Street’s M Restaurant earlier this year, after a decade slinging the capital’s finest steak, was a genuine blow. One of the restaurants that helped the Square Mile shake off its stuffy reputation, it combined a meticulous, scholarly appreciation of meat with a sense of fun, even whimsy. Robot waiters, wine vending [...]
Coq d’Argent review: Is this the best rooftop restaurant in the City? Toast the City City AM’s inaugural Toast the City Awards has set off to discover the things that make the Square Mile great, from the coffee shop you always stop at to the gym class you never skip. Among the categories is the Best Restaurant, which will celebrate the top place to eat in the City of London. This [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: Foodie delights in Dubai June 25, 2025 Martin Williams is one of the judges for our first Toast the City awards. Here he tells us about his recent trip to the gastronomic paradise of ever-sunny Dubai. The Serpentine Summer Party never disappoints. After a wonderful lunch at Petrus, I found myself enjoying Mujen Sochu Cocktails, created by the bar legend Tato Giovannoni, who [...]
London food scene says farewell to Richard Vines at Quaglino’s June 18, 2025 On Tuesday evening the great and good of the London restaurant world gathered at Quaglino’s to celebrate the life of food writer Richard Vines, who died earlier this year. Vines was the restaurant critic for Bloomberg for 26 years until his retirement in 2021. Known for his natty sense of style – paisley shirts and [...]
Martin Williams: Here are my favourite places to Toast the City June 4, 2025 This month, you can let your thoughts be heard as we open the nominations for ‘Toast the City’, City AM’s inaugural hospitality awards celebrating the best of the Square Mile! For inspiration, debate and disagreement – best made over a pint, or a glass of burgundy, as per your preference – here are a few [...]
Toast the City: How we are celebrating the Square Mile! May 22, 2025 This autumn City AM will launch Toast the City, an awards celebrating all the places that make the Square Mile the vibrant, exciting location it is – and we need YOUR help. Over the 20 years we have served the Square Mile, it’s transformed from somewhere people worked hard to a place they want to [...]
Martin Williams interview: New Evolv boss on aggressive growth and the closure of M May 22, 2025 In a new series interviewing the judges of our new Toast the City awards, our Life&Style editor sat down with new Evolve Collection boss to talk Terence Conran, aggressive growth and how it feels to see M Restaurant close Few people have had a bigger impact on the City’s food and drink scene than Martin [...]
Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: Out on the town with Evolv boss Martin Williams May 21, 2025 Last week, my Evolv Collection exec team and I were invited to visit Domaine de Mirabeau, the home of pink pleasures. In a world where wild yeasts are added to wines not only to assist primary fermentation, but to ‘influence’ the flavour profiles (think apricot, raspberry or peach, regardless of grape profile), it was inspiring [...]
Exclusive: Gaucho owner to shut City icon M Restaurant next week May 12, 2025 Iconic Square Mile dining spot M Restaurant is to shut for good next week after 10 years serving steak to the City. The move comes after founder Martin Williams left M’s parent company Rare Restaurants in October. City AM understands new chief executive Baton Berisha, who assumed the role in March following spells at The [...]