Archive For The “European” Category
Both afternoon tea and The Criterion are icons. The first is quintessentially British; the second a long-standing London destination for fine food, and one which has been frequented by the great and the good for around a century and a half. Thomas Verity, a British architect, won a competition to build The Criterion; work began…
One Aldwych is a smart and celebrated hotel and, as its name suggests, occupies the front near-side corner of that sweeping crescent called Aldwych. Eneko is its latest restaurant, taking the basement place of Axis, which I had always enjoyed. Eneko opened in London last year. It’s a sibling of one of the Basque region’s…
This truly is a ‘garden’ house with the intimate character of a cosy cottage. (Read more about the Garden House here.) It’s part of the Beaverbrook Estate and the smaller of two hotels, the other being the lavish and imposing main house which was once the home of Lord Beaverbrook, one of the most influential…
Discerning diners in Milan and the great and the good from the rest of the world will know of Savini. It will likely have been the venue for their international business meetings, smart lunches, family celebrations and perhaps a marriage proposal or two. It is, in short, a restaurant of impeccable pedigree and holding the…
Luton Hoo is an English country house and estate with easy access to London. But what is a ‘hoo’? The unusual name “Hoo” is a Saxon word meaning the spur of a hill. Luton Hoo is not mentioned in the Domesday Book, but a family called de Hoo lived on the site for four hundred…
Champagne is the quintessential celebration drink. We enjoy it with friends and loved ones, accompanied by fine foods, perhaps in a drawing room with high ceilings, Grinling Gibbons wood carvings and sumptuous drapes. Well, OK, most of us can’t manage that stunning setting …but Luton Hoo can! Luton Hoo is an English Country House Hotel…
[This venue is now closed] The name La Mancha will be familiar to all in West London and many from further afield. It was a veritable culinary institution in Putney but it’s found a new home, and to my mind a better one. La Mancha is, in fact, a history-rich region of central Spain, south…
Yes, if you look for them, there really are seven dials and they are affixed to a column at the intersection. A blue plaque commemorates the spot where Beatles manager Brian Epstein had his music management company, NEMS – North End Music Stores. The plaque was officially unveiled in 2010 by the late Cilla Black….
This classic Italian restaurant is on Lavender Hill. The street’s name comes from the lavender that was once grown in market gardens around here. After the opening of Clapham Junction station just up the road in 1863 the surrounding area was built up with terraces of cheap housing for the workers who moved there from…
This was my first visit to Southampton but finding good food wasn’t going to be a challenge: I had a recommendation! A French/Seafood restaurant called Olive Tree. But I knew nothing of Southampton. Southampton became a popular spa town in 1740 after the discovery of a spring of chalybeate (mineral-rich) water. It became a popular…
Hotel TerraVina is a gem. It’s a well-appointed house – well, it seems like someone’s home (read the accommodation review here). A line of colourful wellies in the hall welcomes the arriving guests. The rooms are individually designed and the beds are the best I have ever slept on! One might not want to leave…
We have likely heard of it but if pinpointing this region on a map was a capital offence then it’s probable a few of us would be hung; but mention San Sebastián and more people will say that they know about it, and usually with regard to tapas. It’s an attractive seaside city and municipality…
Vermouth has been ubiquitous in and on cocktail bars since mixed drinks became popular more than a century ago, but many of us have no idea what it actually is, apart from being the bottle that stands at the back collecting dust. Now it’s enjoying something of a revival since the days of the ubiquitous…
Mele e Pere opened in the heart of Soho in February 2012, but that neighbourhood dates back centuries. In the Middle Ages, what is now Soho was known as St Giles Field, land belonging to the Convent of Abingdon, with its leper hospital. In 1536, the land was taken by Henry VIII as a royal…
Talk about London and it’s likely a conversation about financial hubs (yes, even now after Brexit), the bustle of Oxford Street, the draw of Theatreland and the Tower of London will ensue. But London is actually made up of villages which remain far more charming and welcoming than the thronging thoroughfares more familiar to tourists…
Le Garrick restaurant and wine bar is conveniently located in the heart of Covent Garden in London’s West End. I am no stranger here even though this neighbourhood has a wealth of restaurants of every culinary hue. It’s a timeless treasure and became one of my favourite restaurants after that very first visit. As I…
Dean Street is in the heart of Soho, central London. It runs from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue and has a long and colourful history, as has much of this neighbourhood. In 1764 the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a recital at number 21. Admiral Nelson lodged here the day before setting sail for…
The Balcon is a truly memorable restaurant set on Waterloo Place on the corner with Pall Mall. This wide thoroughfare is in fact an extension of Regent Street with all its smart shops. It’s a small area with a host of statues and monuments that honour heroes and statesmen of the British Empire and various…
This is a lovely spot on the River Thames and well patronised by shoppers during the day and socialisers in the evening. But despite its modern façade, Kingston has history and how a lote of restaurants such as Côte. It belonged to the king in Saxon times, as its name suggests, and was the earliest…
Le Garrick restaurant and wine bar is conveniently located in the heart of Covent Garden in London’s West End. It’s a little gem and after just one visit has become my preferred restaurant, my dining establishment of choice and a place I am almost loathe to promote for fear I won’t get a table next…