Ibérica Restaurants Regional Spanish Cuisine – Asturias It’s difficult to overstate the influence of Spanish cuisine on British food culture; Ferran Adria’s El Bulli restaurant completely reinvented our conception of what fine dining could be, and at a less esoteric level the small sharing plate ‘tapas’ revolution that swept through Soho a few years is […]
Wild Rice Restaurant – Review
Wild Rice Thai Restaurant, Soho: Starting your own restaurant is never an easy business. However first-time restaurateurs Mike Asavarut and Pan Serirak have just opened two. Both Thai restaurants and both at the same address – offering two alternative takes on classic Thai dishes.The first floor in their central Soho site houses Mamasan – a […]
Opium London – Review
A Soho Nightclub and Restaurant with Style – Opium London: (invited press review) Opium London is a brand new restaurant and nightclub in Soho’s Rupert St from the Costa Este Group – recently awarded ‘Best Nightlife Business Group 2018’ by The International Nightlife Association – so they should know what they are doing! There are […]
Yamato at The Peacock Theatre- Review
Japanese Taiko Drumming in London – Yamato: Even if you don’t know the name, you’ve probably all heard Japanese taiko drumming. It’s that massive hollow drum sound used in fantasy film soundtracks when the ‘final battle’ is about to commence. Of course in the movies, the drums have actually been played by orchestral percussionists called […]
Thai Square Fulham – Review
A Touch of Thai in Fulham at Thai Square: (invited press review) The Thai Square group of restaurants started in 1996 with the opening of their branch in the Strand. They now have 13 restaurants in all, mostly in London alongside Windsor and St Albans, all combining the same offer of delicious Thai food served […]
Vintry & Mercer – DND and Mercer Roof Terrace reviews
Vintry & Mercer Boutique Hotel, City of London: (invited press review) Vintry & Mercer is a brand new boutique hotel on Garlick Hill in the City of London from the same group who own South Kensington’s The Ampersand Hotel (which I reviewed recently). I’ve now been invited to their cocktail bar DND (Do Not Disturb) […]
The Nadler Covent Garden – Review
Covent Garden Staycation at The Nadler: (invited press review) Suddenly the future has arrived! Folding phones and self-driving cars are everywhere (nearly) so how will the hotel sector respond to this brave new world? I’ve been invited to review The Nadler, Covent Garden, a brand new urban boutique hotel that sits on the corner of […]
Tartuffe at the National Theatre – Review
Molière’s Tartuffe re-imagined, National Theatre, London: John Donnelly’s new version of Tartuffe, Molière’s 1664 comedy, showing now at the Lyttelton, is a contemporary morality tale, stripping away the hypocrisy of both the political left and the right, attacking neo-liberalism as much as the radical pretensions of contemporary art and taking a pop at pretty […]
Burger and Lobster Leicester Square – Review
Burger and Lobster: Hailing from the same group as the Goodman steak Restaurants and Zelman Meats, Burger and Lobster feels as if has been around forever. I remember the excitement surrounding the opening of the original Mayfair branch of Burger and Lobster a few years ago. It was the place to be seen and we are all […]
Great Guns Social – Review
A Convivial Evening at Great Guns Social: Just a hop and a skip from Borough tube is Great Guns Social, a self-styled ‘creative hub and restaurant’. Located in a stylishly converted pub on the Southwark Bridge Road, Great Guns Social is renown for hosting a rolling programme of restaurant pop-up residencies curated by chef Maria Elia. If like […]