By: Steve Dinneen

Life&Style Editor I'm the editor of City A.M. The Magazine, and editor of the daily newspaper's Life&Style section. We cover food, wine, going out, culture, technology and travel. I'm also the head judge of our Toast the City awards that celebrates hospitality in the Square Mile. Find me on X @steve_dinneen

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Nessa is proof the death of Soho has been greatly exaggerated

July 12, 2023

Much has been made of the creeping corporatisation of Soho, with independent bars and restaurants attempting – and often failing – to hold back the tide of chains hoping to capitalise on London’s most debauched district. Nessa, a new modern British bistro headed up by highly-rated chef Tom Cenci, shows there’s still a place for [...]
SlowBurn review: Restaurant in a Walthamstow jeans factory is an unexpected joy

July 5, 2023

Nothing says gentrification quite like a restaurant that pops up three times a week in a jeans factory in a commercial estate at the bleak end of Walthamstow. Blackhorse Road is one of those enclaves of London that town planners forgot about until a few years ago, during which time it has gone from a [...]
Andaz Mayakoba is a near-perfect beach resort on the Mexican coast

July 3, 2023

Playa del Carmen lies halfway between Cancun and Tulum, both geographically and spiritually. It’s not quite the tourist hellscape of the former, a haven for spring breakers and the kind of traveller who wears sports socks with sandals, but neither does it have the bohemian charm of the latter, which has positioned itself as the [...]
The best espresso machines between £500 and £1000

June 28, 2023

Flat whites have been unfairly maligned as the reason millennials can’t afford to buy houses. So why not use this boomer nonsense as an excuse to buy a new home espresso machine, forgoing that daily outlay in favour of splurging a single lump sum? Upgrading from a basic automatic coffee machine – press button, out [...]
Dear Earth at the Hayward review: Vital and impressive

June 26, 2023

Group exhibitions are a tricky thing to get right but the Hayward Gallery shows how it should be done with the excellent exhibition Dear Earth. It brings together 15 artists, all working in different mediums, addressing the issue of climate change. As you walk in you’re greeted by Otobong Nkanga’s giant tree, its roots exposed, [...]
Dear England review: Gareth Southgate play hits the back of the net

June 22, 2023

There is something inherently cruel about making English people sit through a play about their national team taking penalties. Much of our collective psyche seems tied up in our ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, failing in the most heartrending possible way. This new play written by the prolific James Graham follows [...]
Oliver Stone on Putin, nuclear power and feeling like an outsider

June 22, 2023

As we sit down to start our interview, Oliver Stone makes a point of putting his own dictaphone on the table to record our conversation. “To protect ourselves,” he says, before going on to speak non-stop for 45 minutes with absolutely no filter, on virtually any topic I raise, and quite a few I don’t. [...]
Forget Marvel: Meet the Barbie Universe, says Mattel boss Ynon Kreiz

June 21, 2023

Ynon Kreiz is the CEO of a $6bn company, responsible for some of the world’s most recognisable brands, and I’m pressing him on whether or not he has a favourite Barbie. “I wish I had one so I can give you a straight answer,” he says after the third time I ask him. “But I [...]
Burnt Faith: A cool new brandy distillery in Walthamstow

June 13, 2023

When you imagine a Cognac distillery – if you imagine one at all – it’s probably a bucolic scene set around the rolling vineyards of the French countryside. It is almost certainly not a commercial estate in Walthamstow. But thanks to Burnt Faith, that’s exactly what you can now find at the rapidly-expanding Blackhorse Road [...]
The fashion crime of rucksacks over suits is growing in the Square Mile

June 10, 2023

A couple of years ago an American woman caused an international incident when she admitted to covertly chucking her husband’s cargo shorts in the bin, such was her dislike of them. The following week was littered with opinion pieces about the maligned shorts, from other women owning up to doing the same to loud-and-proud cargo [...]

Center Parcs: UK pension funds in talks for stake in holiday giant

Battle of the Sexes tennis: Billie Jean King says it’s just entertainment

The Italy holiday taking in amazing skiing and a lesser-visited city

By: Steve Dinneen

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