Beer of the realm: Cobra founder Lord Bilimoria talks creativity, GM crops and cracking pubs August 31, 2014 If you haven’t enjoyed a Cobra beer yourself, you’ve probably had a curry with someone who has. Karan Bilimoria founded Cobra Beer in 1989. It’s a well-documented story by now: the entrepreneur and life peer saw the need for a beer that was less gassy than lager but not as heavy as ale. Cobra claims [...]
Chilango raises £2.2m with its burrito bond August 28, 2014 London burrito restaurant Chilango has raised a tasty sum through its so-called “burrito bond”, which it funded through crowdfunding platform CrowdCube. The Mexican food chain raised £2.2m, more than double what it was aiming for. Almost 750 investors bought into the four-year mini-bond, which offers a fixed-rate of eight per cent in cash twice a [...]
London restaurant Chilango raises tasty £2.2 million with crowdfunded burrito bond August 28, 2014 London burrito restaurant Chilango has raised a tasty sum through its so-called “burrito bond”, which it funded through crowd funding platform CrowdCube. The Mexican food chain raised £2.2m, more than double the amount it was aiming for with the retail bond. Almost 750 investors bought into the four-year mini-bond, which offers a fixed-rate of eight [...]
Why it’s high time to revisit the maligned Muscadet August 28, 2014 I was lucky enough to spend a few hours of the bank holiday enjoying a stellar meal at Rick Stein’s Seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall – that place has really moved up a gear or two since I was there last. After the pleasantries came the rather pressured task of examining the wine list; all [...]
Review: TED Restaurant August 26, 2014 I’m a sustainability hypocrite. If I were at a dinner party and the host served bluefin tuna, I’d take great pleasure in making a scene. “How very dare you? Don’t you know bluefin numbers have dropped by 96 per cent thanks to intensive fishing? And while we’re at it, did you know they can swim [...]
Dish of the Day: The Noodle House’s Pad Thai August 21, 2014 The Noodle House opened on Shaftebusry Avenue in April. Ambitious head chef Dariusz Dziadkiewicz aims to give customers a taster of the diverse food of South East Asia, from curries, to noodles to spicy broths. The restaurant serves seven different types of noodle and 17 blends of herbal tea. I joined The Noodle House [...]
Design your own holiday home in The Cotswolds August 14, 2014 It’s a stifling summer’s day in London and work is exhausting. You shut your eyes and imagine escaping to an idyllic rural retreat complete with picturesque villages, a smattering of good restaurants, pubs, and a vibrant social scene. You’ve effectively transported yourself to the Cotswolds. This fantasy of a tranquil home-away-from-home is what the owners [...]
Land Securities sells its stake in Bristol’s Cabot Circus for £270m August 13, 2014 LAND Securities has sold its 50 per cent stake in Bristol shopping centre Cabot Circus to Axa Real Estate in a £267.8m deal. Cabot Circus, home to more than 140 shops and restaurants, was developed by Land Securities in partnership with Hammerson, which is retaining its stake. It was hailed as Bristol’s largest city centre [...]
Just Eat profits sizzle in maiden results as mobile orders soar August 12, 2014 SHARES in the world’s largest online takeaway service, Just Eat, rocketed yesterday after it reported an almost 200 per cent jump in half-year profit as the business expanded in Britain and Denmark, its two biggest markets. Just Eat, which joined the London stock market in April, added more restaurants to its network and benefited from [...]
Spitbank Fort: Welcome to the UK’s craziest hotel August 8, 2014 Spitbank Fort is a granite maritime castle marooned in the home waters of The Solent, one mile out of Portsmouth harbour but a comfortable breast stroke swim from the Isle of Wight. It was built by Prime Minister Palmerston in 1878 to discourage Napoleon III in his ambitions of sailing the French fleet up the [...]