Bethnal Green is a funny place: studded with gems like Hurwundeki, the V&A Museum of Childhood and the lovely Gallery Cafe, but still rough enough for me to spot a man snorting coke off a bus stop in broad daylight (yes, really). Nestled amongst all of this is the Town Hall, a decidedly upmarket hotel…
-
The Gilbert Scott, St Pancras
Keep readingI was invited to try the Gilbert Scott, a new London restaurant from Marcus Wareing housed in the glorious St Pancras station. It was a treat just to visit place and have a peek at the adjoining Renaissance hotel – it’s breathtakingly grand, although sadly we couldn’t nose much as most of it is ‘for…
-
Caravan & Exmouth Arms
Keep readingI used to work around Exmouth Market, and I quite miss it: it’s got cute shops and cafes and several outstanding pubs and restaurants – Moro, Medcalf, The Easton, The Wilmington Arms… Caravan is probably my favourite, though: It’s an all-day Antipodean eatery in the vein of Workshop (previously St Ali), with those small sharing…
-
Kopi: coffee by post
Keep readingKopi is a new coffee subscription service which delivers a new gourmet coffee to your door every month. They asked me to try out their January blend, and of course I was happy to oblige. The coffee comes nicely packaged in a resealable bag alongside a beautifully-designed booklet explaining the origins and tasting notes of…
-
Spuntino, Soho – review
Keep readingSpuntino has been on my to-try list for ages, and what better time to go for it than on my birthday weekend? It’s been getting rave reviews since it opened last year for its speakeasy-come-diner brand of American comfort food, and the length of the queues to get a space in the tiny 25-seater restaurant…
-
SF: Dinners & drinks
Keep readingBack to San Fran posts, even though the holiday feels like a long time ago now… A large part of our reason for visiting SF was the food and drink – it’s known for great Mexican food as well as a thriving microbrewery scene and of course the local Napa Valley wines. All my favourite…
-
Brunch & coffee
Keep readingWhere better to start talking about San Francisco than with breakfast? There’s a real brunch culture in SF, with nearly every cafe on our nearby Fillmore Street full to bursting with chatting couples or people on their laptops come 9am (for some reason our body clocks became attuned to getting up pretty early every day,…
-
St Ali, Clerkenwell
Keep readingThere seems to have been an Aussie/NZ invasion in the London food scene of late: a slew of laid-back eateries popping up with a focus on fusion food made for sharing, great ingredients, and good coffee. Of course I’m totally in favour of this because it’s produced some brilliant new cafes and restaurants – Caravan…
-
Lunch at Riding House Cafe
Keep readingThe Riding House Cafe has been on my to-try in London list since its April opening, and since we found ourselves in the area on Saturday we popped in. Photo above by Richard Lewisohn It’s much more chi-chi than I was expecting from the name, with the feel of a classy brasserie rather than ‘caff’.…
-
Franco Manca, Chiswick
Keep readingSince the wonderful London Overground train route opened, it’s a lot easier for us to get over to West London — previously held in my mind as a posh suburb miles away from the ‘real’ part of town. But there are some lovely places to explore over there, like Chiswick, which rather reminds me of…
-
Foody weekend
Keep readingI appear to have accidentally eaten my way around London this weekend! Micro-reviews follow… It might be derided as a poncy hipster hangout, but Dalston Superstore serves a yummy eggs on toast with friendly non-pretentious service. Killed my Saturday morning hangover. Delicious Monmouth coffee and baked goodies (and a sweet doggy, Bruce!) at new charming…
-
Dinner at Dishoom
Keep readingWe found ourselves in at a loose end in Covent Garden on Sunday, having tried to get into a 4 o’clock cinema viewing only for it to sell out, and the next one not until six. (We saw Inside Job, a rather sobering account of the global financial crisis – recommended if you’re into that…
-
Dinner at NOPI
Keep readingNopi is a new restaurant from the team behind the much-loved London chain Ottolenghi, headed up by chef and Guardian columnist Yotam Ottolenghi. Poke has designed both their websites, so it seemed right that a couple of us go check out the new venture… Located NOrth of PIccadilly (hence the name), Nopi is an all-day…
About
