Reviews and recommendations on the best of English brands and experiences
Eating

Launches of Pisco Gobernador and Highshot

  WITH temperatures fitfully beginning to rise in recent weeks, the thought of summery cocktails begins to loom large again in a drinker’s ...

April 21, 2017
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Review: Donna Margherita

- IT WAS only last autumn that I finally visited Naples for the first time, sampling some of the finest cuisine the Campania region had to offer, ...

April 21, 2017
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Restaurant Review: The Cedar, Maida Vale

IT IS always interesting to peruse the walls of certain restaurants, and what the proprietor has chosen to hang on them – some like to exhibit ...

December 07, 2016
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Silent Pool Gin showcase

THIS week, in a subterranean bar inside Southwark’s Hixter Bankside restaurant, I had the pleasure of sampling for the first time both Silent Pool ...

October 13, 2016
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Restaurant Review: Kettner’s Brasserie

  THERE’s always something special about visiting an old restaurant – not just 'old looking' but genuinely venerable, as is this Soho ...

June 03, 2015
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Carom restaurant review soho london

Restaurant Review: Carom

  On Soho’s Wardour Street in the heart of the West End sits an Indian restaurant that ticks boxes most others don’t tick, most ...

February 11, 2015
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Ristorante Frescobaldi, Mayfair, London

Review: Ristorante Frescobaldi

I was once given five minutes by a friend at a bar to come back with a free drink, after a brief conversation where he assumed I could have ‘anyone’ ...

December 12, 2014
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Review: The Balcon Restaurant

What: The Balcon Where: 8 Pall Mall, London SW1. Off Trafalgar Square. Part of the adjoining 5 Star Sofitel Hotel at 6 Waterloo Place, but the good news ...

October 16, 2014
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Restaurant Review: Bengal Clipper

You can usually estimate a restaurant’s qualities and popularity from the calibre of celebrity patron it attracts – indeed many venues like to ...

October 13, 2014
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The Gastronomical! Guide to… Fabulous Food

The debut novel of sisters Claire Bosi (Hibiscus Restaurant) and Petrie Hosken (Broadcaster), ‘The Gastronomical! Guide to… Fabulous Food’ is a ...

October 08, 2014
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Review: The Athenaeum Hotel

Welcome To Your London Home The Athenaeum is one of London’s best kept secrets - definitely the jewel in the capital’s crown. Situated in Piccadilly ...

October 06, 2014
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Summertime Gladness: The Radio Rooftop Bar at ME London

This summer, the word "rooftop" was bound to vibrato across every Londoner's voice. "But have you been to the rooftop at Selfridges yet?" competing ...

September 22, 2014
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Stunning greenery at Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons

Review: Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

In need of no introduction is Oxfordshire’s home of gastronomy, two Michelin starred Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons by Raymond Blanc OBE. In fact, ...

September 19, 2014
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Whisky Socials at The Athenaeum every last friday

Whisky Socials at The Athenaeum

The Athenaeum Hotel & Apartments acclaimed Whisky Socials take place on the last friday of every month. It’s a great chance to sample drams from ...

August 13, 2014
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Restaurant Review Zumbura

Restaurant Review Zumbura. First impressions, what a fantastic little place with wonderful subtlety and detail in the decor. I’m convinced this is lost ...

May 29, 2014
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Book Review: A London Pub For Every Occasion

This book thoughtfully and creatively lists 161 pubs in 22 unique sections. Each section is tailored towards a different whim or fancy, from pubs for ...

May 27, 2014
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Launch: The Clink Restaurant, HMP Brixton

The Clink Charity opens the doors of The Clink Restaurant at HMP Brixton – the charity’s third training restaurant. The Clink Restaurant at HMP ...

February 28, 2014
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Restaurant Review: Asian Room at Novikov

Novikov is not a Grand Slam tennis player nor a principal dancer at the Bolshoi. Both were gems offered to me by a comedic doorman at a gambling ...

February 27, 2014
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Restaurant Review: Moti Mahal

MOTI Mahal is one of the frontrunners of London’s higher-end Indian restaurants, adding a needed touch of class to a cuisine that has been sorely ...

February 12, 2014
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Caviar delights at Novikov

Caviar has long been viewed as the delicacy of aristocrats, the “food of the Tsars”, so it is only fitting that Novikov Restaurant, which in 2011 ...

December 20, 2013
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Gift: Roast. A very British Cookbook

  What's the big news? Marcus Verberne, Head Chef of Roast in Borough Market is publishing the restaurant’s first cookbook with Absolute ...

November 06, 2013
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Restaurant Review: Olivocarne

Sometimes the idea of reviewing Italian restaurants is akin to comparing Brazilian footballers - they're all so damn good! So when dining at Olivocarne I ...

October 14, 2013
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Restaurant Review: Balthazar, Covent Garden

It’s been the most hyped-up opening in London restaurants for many years - it’s as if someone has invented some new way of eating or dining. Yet ...

October 01, 2013
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Restaurant Review: Brasserie Chavot

Back in the days when such things were permissible, your intrepid restaurant critic was dispatched by the FT to go to Cannes, where an English chef was ...

September 30, 2013
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Restaurant Review: Yamal Alsham at Imperial Wharf

Central London riverside developments can sometimes be soulless places, and a windswept Imperial Wharf is no exception when the sun’s not around, no ...

August 19, 2013
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Restaurant Review: Tamarind, Mayfair

I remember 15 years ago going to the opening night of Tamarind, then the first and still one of only a few super-slick Indian restaurants in London. It ...

August 06, 2013
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Restaurant Review: China Tang at the Dorchester

Confucius say: When opening Chinese restaurant in Manhattan, make it Kosher. And when opening one in Mayfair, make it halal. There are only two ...

July 26, 2013
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