Wine & Spice Series 2015 at Cinnamon Club – restaurant review
It’s without doubt one of the best Indian restaurants in London. It’s housed in a historic grade II listed building near Westminster Abbey. It was...
Champagne – a brief encounter – drinks review
One is spoilt for restaurants in London. Highend Michelin-starred, white-tableclothed establishments abound. The weather becomes warmer. We dream of those balmy days and longer evenings...
Southern Oregon – sleep and eat in style – travel review
The average British tourist heading for the US on vacation will likely have limited horizons. There is the Big Apple with the draw of bright...
Discover Japanese Sake with Discovery Channel – travel review
We are invited to ‘Travel with Sam to Japan and uncover the secrets of sake’. But the first questions are likely to be ‘Who is...
Koichi Saura – Samurai for Sake – interview
We, at least in London, are becoming more familiar with Japan’s iconic national beverage. We are tempted to take our first sips in the increasingly...
Toshie Hiraide, Sake Samurai Japan – interview
Japan has many icons. Sumo, sushi, kimonos are among the first that spring to the non-Japanese mind …along with sake! Japanese food and sake are...
Sake in London? It’s an education – drinks review
Half a decade ago one could find Japanese Sake in London. Yes, of course one could. The ordering of such a beverage would usually elicit...
Winter Cocktails by Maria del Mar Sacasa – review
Cocktails! We tend to have a vision of summer evenings, flowery dresses, sipping colourful libations in some place exotic. But for those of us who...
The Saké Handbook by John Gauntner – review
Saké has become more popular than ever in both restaurants and bars. One can find good quality saké by the bottle and made into cocktails,...
Vila Vita Parc and Herdade dos Grous – travel review
Vila Vita Parc enchants the guest with its exotic gardens; it invigorates the visitor with its pools and spa; it tempts with its food and...
Port and the Douro – travel review
I would love to tell my readers that I am an expert on that full and iconic beverage but until recently Port was that festive...
Visiting and sharing Japan – travel review
Planning a trip to Asia? I can almost guarantee that Japan isn’t first on most people’s destination list, if indeed it is a part of...
Taylor’s Port and Fladgate Hospitality – travel review
Port is enjoying something of a revival with the addition of both white and pink varieties to its classic styles. It’s a wine with a...
The Yeatman Hotel and the first couple of Port – hotel review
The Yeatman Hotel doesn’t sound, to the ill-informed, a particularly Portuguese name for a hotel. One would more readily expect a name like “Henry the...
The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion by Duane Swierczynski – review
Well the title The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion encouraged me to think that this was going to be a rather serious tome, probably penned...
Whisky & Cheese Matching at the Athenaeum – bar review
This was our first visit to this most charming of central London hotels. Its location is hard to beat, being on Piccadilly and between Green...
500 Beers by Zak Avery – review
Yes, dear reader, another in the 500 series from Apple Press. I make no apology for its inclusion in this cookbook review journal because they...
500 Red Wines and 500 White Wines – reviews
Life was easier back then. A bottle of sherry for Christmas or when the vicar was coming to tea, some brown ale for dad on...
World Whisky by Charles Maclean – review
Who knew? There are many hundreds of whiskies. I had suspected that there might be perhaps a hundred from small distilleries in Scotland and Ireland...
Guinness by Paul Hartley – review
Paul Hartley has penned several brand cookbooks including the Lyles Golden Syrup Cookbook and the HP Sauce Cookbook (both reviewed on this site), Marmite Cookbook...