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...
Benares for dinner – restaurant review
Situated in the heart of Mayfair, Benares serves Michelin-starred modern Indian cuisine and is famed for doing that. This is fine dining and gives other...
Canela Café at Seven Dials – restaurant review
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...
Sunday Brunch – Kurobuta Marble Arch – restaurant review
I confess, I had no idea what to expect. Yes, it was going to be Japanese. But a Sunday Brunch Buffet? How was that going...
Bunny Chow, Soho – restaurant review
The name might not entice the uninitiated across the threshold, that’s true. One might suspect that it’s only salad on offer: well, that’s chow for...
Bó Drake, Greek Street – restaurant review
It’s a part of Soho that has been the haunt of those seeking dubious nocturnal delights down the centuries, but also those associated with the...
Donna Margherita, Lavender Hill – restaurant review
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...
Opium Cocktail and Dim Sum Parlour – bar review
London’s Chinatown is broadly found between Shaftesbury Avenue to the north and Lisle Street to the south. It’s not far from Leicester Square and Theatreland....
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....
Balans Soho Society, Seven Dials – restaurant review
I have had many a vibrant Brunch at Balans and I am drawn there for the Eggs in Hell – 2 eggs poached in a...
Anise Bar at Devonshire Square – bar review
One might not have heard of Anise Bar but it’s likely the discerning diner will have heard of Cinnamon Kitchen by Vivek Singh. Perhaps one...
Olive Tree, Southampton – restaurant review
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...
Patty and Bun, Old Compton Street – restaurant review
Soho in general and this street in particular became the refuge of Huguenots, French Protestants who fled to England in the early 1680s. The street...
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...
CAU Kingston – restaurant review
People say it’s all about location. That’s probably true, as there is no finer spot than CAU in Kingston on a hot summer evening. Sitting...
The Meat Co, Westfield, Shepherds Bush – restaurant review
I live in West London and I can say with a degree of authority that a decade ago Shepherds Bush was, on a good day,...
Hotel TerraVina Dining – restaurant review
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...
Travels & Tapas in Basque Country – travel review
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...
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....
Mele e Pere for Vermouth with a Master – bar review
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...