We take a food and drink Odyssey through the Square Mile Life&Style As voting for the Toast the City Awards enters its final week, we sent our wine columnist Libby Brodie on a wine Odyssey through the City’s finest bars and restaurants. Vote for your favourites on our website here. As The Odyssey continues to smash records – it’s now Christopher Nolan’s highest ever grossing film – [...]
Could a ‘land blocking’ rule change spell danger for Aldi and Lidl? Retail German discounters Aldi and Lidl have rapidly taken control of the UK’s budget grocery market in recent years. But could new curbs on ‘land blocking’ slow their insurgency? Only a few decades ago, Lidl and Aldi were oddities. By 2008, the German discount supermarkets had been in the UK for more than 10 years but [...]
John Lewis’ new boss faces a battle to boost online sales Retail Another cloud appeared in an already gloomy sky for John Lewis on Monday, when its managing director, Peter Ruis, announced his surprise departure. Just days before, an internal interview with the group’s chair, Jason Tarry, was leaked to the press, in which he warned of a “really tough” period for the firm. Ruis’s decision to [...]
John Lewis boss quits after warnings of ‘really tough’ trading August 10, 2026 The boss of John Lewis’ department stores has quit after less than three years in charge, days after the group’s chair warned of “really tough” trading at the retail giant. Peter Ruis has said he will step down as managing director of John Lewis at the start of September, less than three years after he [...]
A tribute to wine legend Matthew Jukes by his friend Libby Brodie August 7, 2026 The wine writer and entrepreneur Matthew Jukes died suddenly this week aged just 58 years old. Our wine writer and his close friend Libby Brodie remembers a legend of the wine industry and beyond Matthew Jukes was one of the very best people I met in my career in wine. Scratch that, he was one [...]
For Albarino in the City, head to Humble Grape July 29, 2026 Not satisfied with one isolated national grape day, Albarino (or Alvarinho in Portugal) is about to kick off a week’s worth of celebrations from 1 August. This annual event began in the 1950s in Spain as a wine-tasting competition between local winemakers and was later made official, spreading internationally to highlight what makes this grape [...]
Greek wine perfectly suits summer. These 5 bottles are the best July 22, 2026 Get me to the Greek! My top bottles from a country that’s been a 6,000-year wine secret. Greek wine has been a local hit since around 4,500BC but it hasn’t always been a mainstay on UK wine lists. Thankfully that seems to have changed, with fresh, saline Assyrtiko and robust red Xinomavro being so de [...]
Why chilled red wine is the coolest thing to drink right now July 13, 2026 Rosé is a safe summer bet, but the coolest thing to be drinking right now, in more ways than one, is a chilled red. There was an inkling that this was going to be a thing last summer, but now that chilly glass of rouge has its feet well and truly under the table. I [...]
World Cup gives London restaurants and retailers Deliveroo boost July 5, 2026 England’s World Cup campaign has delivered a boost for restaurants and retailers across London, with new Deliveroo data showing a sharp increase in orders during the Three Lions’ group-stage matches. Exclusive figures shared with City AM show BBQ orders more than doubled across the capital during England’s matches against Croatia, Ghana and Panama, while picnic-related [...]
Food inflation: First signs of energy cost surge feed through to supermarket shelves as discounts fail to stem price growth June 8, 2026 Supermarket food inflation has risen significantly for the first time this year, a City AM analysis has found, flashing an early warning sign that the surge in energy and freight costs triggered by war in Iran is reaching shelf prices in the UK. City AM reporters gather data on around 200 prices of products across [...]