Social and delicious in one June 22, 2011 THERE are restaurants that open with whimpers and others that open with bangs. Ex-Ramsay super-protégé Jason Atherton’s new eaterie, Pollen Street Social, was always going to open with a bang – and, two months in, continues with a clamour. The clamour is not of chaos, plates smashing or chefs shouting, but of the throngs trying [...]
MILLION EURO WIN FOR SILVER SPECULATOR June 20, 2011 SILVER is the stock of the moment – just ask the Slovakian kindergarten teacher who has become a euro millionaire by “transacting heavily” on the commodity to win a trading contest run by European brokerage house XTB. The 30-year-old teacher, known only by her trading name of “Rudinka”, surged ahead in the late stages of [...]
A drink with the master of UK entrepreneurship June 19, 2011 LUKE Johnson is a man who takes a while to introduce. He seems to have run, or had his hand in running, half of the middle-class high street. Pizza Express, Giraffe, Patisserie Valerie, Belgo, Strada, Feng Sushi, Baker and Spice, the Signature Restaurants that owned The Ivy and Le Caprice – to name a few. [...]
O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? LATE TIP PAYS OFF June 15, 2011 THEY thought it was all over, but City A.M.’s tips finally came good at Royal Ascot yesterday, when Rhythm of Life beat Dubai Queen in the day’s final race. Ben Dascombe, otherwise known as The Insider on City A.M.’s racing column The Punter, had been tipping Rhythm of Life all day – mainly because the [...]
Serenity and decadence at Dubai’s hottest new hotel June 12, 2011 DUBAI seems an unlikely place for a relaxing holiday at first. Even 2,700 feet up, at the top of the Burj Khalifa tower, the whirr of cranes and speeding Jeeps in every direction makes the sea view throb with activity. My guide points past the hollow half-built skyscrapers jutting across the city skyline to the [...]
Top hampers for summer picnics June 8, 2011 SUMMER is on its way and with that the promise of picnicking with friends, taking in concerts, tennis, festivals and Polo events outdoors (the vision, of course, never involves British rain.) Preparing for such affairs can be a kerfuffle, not least the task of arranging a good picnic and drinks, but thankfully London’s food purveyors [...]
Punch sees sales rise as demerger takes shape June 8, 2011 Pub landlord Punch Taverns has seen food and drink sales rise more than seven per cent in its Spirit division of managed venues in the past quarter. In a bullish trading update, the branded pub and restaurant manager said sunny weather helped like-for-like food sales grow 8.4 per cent while drink sales rose 7.3 per [...]
Two spectacular Mexican resorts, two special locations June 5, 2011 ONE is The Tides, Riviera Maya, a five star resort on Mexico’s east coast in the upmarket district of Riviera Maya, south of Cancun and surrounded by lush, tropical rainforests. The other is Las Ventanas al Paraiso, Cabo San Lucas, an equally lavish resort on Mexico’s west coast, on the Pacific side of the desert [...]
Welcome to London’s business paper June 3, 2011 WELCOME to our first ever Saturday edition to celebrate the greatest and most exciting sporting event of the year. Here at City A.M., we are truly passionate about the Investec Derby as well as horse-racing in general. Our growing numbers of readers in and around London work very hard – but they also love to [...]
WHISKY AT MIDDAY FOR ABERDEEN’S POLAR FEAT June 2, 2011 THE WHISKY came out at noon at Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday to christen the boat the fund managers are sponsoring on its voyage into the Arctic unknown. The Old Pulteney has been designed to withstand some of the harshest conditions on earth, and her six-man crew – led by Scottish explorer Jock Wishart – will [...]