Salt & Honey restaurant review: London’s modern European Bistro is the bees knees September 8, 2015 28 Sussex Pl, W2 2TH Tel: 020 7706 7900 FOOD ★★★★★ VALUE ★★★★★ ATMOSPHERE ★★★☆☆ Cost for two with wine: £100 The internet has done for the food scene what cheap international flights did for travel: it made it accessible. There are no secrets – a new restaurants barely needs to open its doors before an army of [...]
Exploring Oman, the wild west of the east September 7, 2015 Camping always evokes familiar memories: pitching tents at night, muddy fields, the taste of a stodgy pasta meal cooked over a gas stove in the rain, and a chorus of sheep baa-ing at dawn like a congregation of tone-deaf pensioners at a Sunday service. At least it did for me until earlier this year when [...]
How the City got its mojo back September 6, 2015 A decade is a long time, and a decade in the City feels like a lifetime. You only need to look out the window to see how much things have changed. New cathedrals of glass and steel climb over the horizon – to the chagrin of traditionalists – while others are quietly and efficiently razed [...]
Burrito boom: How Mexican restaurants Chipotle, Chilangos, Tortilla, Benito’s Hat and Poncho 8 have taken over London September 4, 2015 Fast food has become fashionable in London and the burrito has become one of the trendiest meals in town. The biggest Mexican food chains Chilangos, Benito's Hat, Tortilla, Poncho 8 and Chipotle account for 47 outlets in the capital when in 2007 only Chilangos existed. Read more: Four charts showing the rise of the posh burger [...]
Pizza Express bows to pressure on tips September 3, 2015 Pizza Express has bowed to growing pressure over its tipping system and agreed to remove the eight per cent administration fee it charges for customers paying their bill with card. The move, which workers and unions have been calling for over the last few months, means staff will receive the full amount left for [...]
London Linen lifts Johnson Service profits September 2, 2015 Johnson Service Group, the textile service company, yesterday posted a 20.2 per cent rise in adjusted operating profit for the first half of the year, thanks to the expansion of its textile rental business. The London-listed firm reported a 7.5 per cent increase in first-half revenue to £109.2m, ahead of management’s expectations. Its textile rental [...]
Exclusive video: Canary Wharf Group unveils prices for homes at former Shell Centre Southbank Place September 2, 2015 Prices for homes in Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar’s controversial Shell Centre scheme on London’s South Bank were unveiled today, with a two-bedroom flat setting buyers back as much as £1m. Read more: Almacantar buys Shell Centre offices on South Bank for £550m Around 863 homes are due to be built on the the 5.25-acre riverside site, [...]
Card spending via contactless jumps to £2.5bn in the UK as the payment limit rises to £30 August 31, 2015 The spending limit on contactless cards has today increased from £20 to £30, as new figures show a surge in spending to £2.5bn in the first six months of the year. The use of contactless technology to pay in restaurants and shops has soared in popularity since it was first introduced in 2007, when [...]
This is why the world needs Facebook M: Its new AI and people-powered virtual personal assistant in Messenger app could be better than Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Google Now August 27, 2015 Soon Facebook will be able to answer any question you have, book a restaurant on your behalf and give you the weather forecast for the day. The social network is working on creating its very own virtual assistant like the already well-known and commonly used Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Google Now. Facebook is testing the service, called [...]
UK property: Britain’s struggling pub trade is yielding opportunities for supermarkets and residential developers August 25, 2015 The Grotto Inn on the top of Monument Hill in Weybridge was a thriving pub before falling on hard times three years ago. It was forced to call last orders after succumbing to competition from nearby bars and pubs and has lain empty since – its windows boarded up and beer taps gathering dust. [...]