The Swan at the Globe – restaurant review
The Swan Bar and Restaurant is part of Shakespeare’s Globe, overlooking the River Thames. I think it’s one of the best views of the river...
Bird of Smithfield – restaurant review
Sounds like a family butchers which might have been trading for a brace of centuries. It is, in fact, a newish restaurant but right next...
The Talbot for fine dining – restaurant review
The Talbot has history. It’s typical of coaching inns all over the country and this one, in particular, has a story – well, probably many....
Hotel TerraVina for Bed and Breakfast – hotel review
We are blessed with many fine hotels in the UK. All the 5* chains are well represented in all major cities. But we also have...
Hanger SW6, Fulham – restaurant review
Fulham is trendy these days, but it wasn’t always such a sought-after address. In 879 Danish invaders had a winter break at Fulham and Hammersmith....
Forman’s Restaurant, Hackney – review
London is moving east. There has been much investment in an area that already had good transport links. New building for both housing and commerce...
Gillray’s at County Hall – restaurant review
As with any building, and as any estate agent worth his clip-board will tell you, it’s all about location. Gillray’s must have one of the...
The Mayfair Chippy – restaurant review
Nothing better than traditional fish and chips. It’s nostalgic comfort food, at least if you are British. We all have memories of queueing up in...
OXBO – Hilton Bankside – restaurant review
The name intrigued me. It was either a reference to the bend in the River Thames at Bankside or an indication that this restaurant takes...
Bel & The Dragon, Godalming – restaurant review
The town of Godalming is situated in the countryside in southern England but not far from London. Its narrow streets are lined with many historic...
The Rib Room – for more than ribs – Knightsbridge – restaurant review
The food scene in London has changed so much over the past couple of decades. We have moved away from that shocking reality of poor...
Counter Vauxhall Arches – restaurant review
So many of my reviews start with ‘Well, it was worth the long journey’ and stoically ‘It’s a bit off the beaten track’. This evening...
Alexander McQueen at The Kensington Hotel – restaurant review
Well, perhaps not the man himself, but The Kensington Hotel is presenting a delightful afternoon tea that is inspired by the fashion designer who is...
Flat Iron, Beak Street – restaurant review
The second Flat Iron opened last July. This could be the start of something big, or at least lots of little somethings if the size...
The Terrace at The Montagu Arms – hotel and restaurant review
The New Forest is a beautiful and ancient area in the south of England and is in fact very far from ‘new’. It was a...
Paramount Afternoon Tea, Centre Point – restaurant review
Centre Point is iconic, at least for Londoners. It’s an imposing concrete and glass office building in central London and just above Tottenham Court Road...
Afternoon Tea at St James’s Hotel and Club – restaurant review
St James’s Hotel is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful hotels in London, a city that has some of the most beautiful hotels...
Clockjack Oven, Soho, for Chicken – restaurant review
A roasting jack was a machine popular in Tudor times. It was a mechanism for rotating meat on a skewer or spit. Often it was...
Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason – restaurant review
London! What do we think of? Historic continuity, elegance, refinement – and tea. So much of what visitors seek in this capital city includes one...
Winter Club Sandwich at Andaz Liverpool Street London – review
There seems to be no waning of the popularity of afternoon tea. It was, quite a while back, regarded as chintzy and stuffy but now...