King’s Cross has come a long way since the days of greasy spoon cafés and grey station concourses. Now a hub of art, fashion and glossy regeneration - arguably London’s most frenetically modernised postcode - it’s also home to one of London’s most intriguing boutique hotels: The Megaro.
Gordon Ramsay has taken dining in the capital to new heights - literally. His latest venture at 22 Bishopsgate, the tallest building in the City of London, introduces three dining experiences and a bar, all set against a breathtaking skyline. With the city stretching out below, I had my first taste of the offering at Lucky Cat during its inaugural lunch, and it left a lasting impression.
The leafy south-west London village of Barnes may be one of the more sought-after districts of the capital to live in, but one thing it’s lacked on the culinary front in recent years is a restaurant of any kind serving Middle-Eastern cuisine.
Step forward ‘Omm’ (meaning "mother" in Arabic): a Lebanese venue which has just opened in the White Hart Lane building long occupied by local institution Annie’s, so has a lot to live up to already.
Casa Barú rum has been officially launched outside Panama - in the UK - at the impressive Lucy Wong subterranean cocktail bar in London’s Fitzrovia.
Produced in the heart of the Chiriqui Highlands, whose rich volcanic soil and rainforest climate provide ideal conditions for creating the spirit, Casa Barú uses only locally grown artisanal sugarcane, distilled in traditional copper pot stills and aged in carefully selected oak barrels, with no artificial additives or sweeteners used anywhere in the process.
The Kingsland Road area of Shoreditch heading into Dalston, close to the iron railway bridge, might not be the most salubrious part of town, but it means the higher-end establishments like my venue this evening – TT Restaurant & Rooftop – stand out and resonate even more.
Nestled on the banks of the River Thames, with a commanding view of Tower Bridge, Le Pont de la Tour is a landmark restaurant that intertwines French cuisine with the dynamic backdrop of London's skyline. This culinary destination has been at the forefront of London’s high-end dining scene since opening its doors in 1991. I was offered a job there as a Sommelier around 1996, but declined as I wasn’t ready to move to London. I am not sure if I regret this or not. I think retrospectively I would have thoroughly enjoyed my time there.
Meandering along the streets of Clerkenwell, I found myself pondering why it had taken me so long to dine at Luca, a stalwart of Italian food with a distinctive British twist. Owned by the Clove Club, this Michelin-starred restaurant disguises its culinary skills behind a façade reminiscent of a local trattoria, with its inviting green exterior and modest double wooden doors.
The exhibition, inserted like a ship in a bottle into the domestic proportions of the Osborne Studio Gallery, comprises a collection from the sixty of more Climping beach scenes, and one eight footer of the Arctic, following Baker’s Cummingøya expedition.
Located in Walthamstow, Burnt Faith is the first brandy distillery in London for over 200 years. This exciting venture promises to bring the art of brandy production to a community steeped in history, full of craft beer producers and even an urban winery.
Lincoln Seligman has an almost umbilical link with India. His family is connected with some of the great names in the country’s history and literature, from Mahatma Gandhi (a close friend of his paternal grandmother Hilda Seligman) and Rudyard Kipling (his mother’s godfather) to the shepherd boy Chandragupta, who became the first Emperor of the Indian Mauryan dynasty around 320 BCE. A bronze sculpture of the boy, created by Hilda Seligman, now sits in majesty on a red sandstone plinth in front of the Indian Parliament in New Delhi.
