Restaurants
EC4Y 1AE
London
85 Fleet Street,
Lutyens restaurant
Located in the former Reuters building on Fleet Street, Lutyens is Terence Conran and Peter Prescott’s second restaurant project this year. And once again Conran delivers his formulaic and sleek design, but this time it’s aimed more at the local well-heeled bankers. Arriving on a Monday evening, the restaurant was practically empty (I guess the recession is taking a toll on expense accounts!
Read More →
E8 1LA
London
230 Dalston Lane
L’Entrepôt,
Living so close to Stoke Newington Church Street, where it’s not unusual to find loaves of bread costing £3, I find bargains a source of intense joy. This is why the ‘barrel to bottle’ wine refills from Borough Wines in nearby Hackney mean so much to me. For just £5 I can buy a litre of exceedingly drinkable wine that’s made all the more luscious by my consuming it in the knowledge that I haven’t been fleeced.
Read More →
NW1 8EH
London
Chalk Farm Road
Roundhouse,
Made in Camden, the new bar and restaurant attached to the Roundhouse is one of those places you mentally bank as a place to re-visit. It's location at the front of the Roundhouse, will no doubt draw in a decent chunk of the pre and post-show crowd, but its accomplished menu and laid back atmosphere is likely to bolster this new restaurant's reputation all the more.
Read More →
SW7 3DL
London
20 Old Brompton Road,
Scandinavia might bring to mind any number of Nordic greats: Ikea, Abba, Hans Christian Anderson, Ulrika Johnson... the list is long. It is unlikely that much more than Danish pastries would come to mind when thinking of appealing Scandinavian food though. However, Madsen, a Scandinavian restaurant in South Kensington, puts Scandinavian food firmly on the map. With much Danish family, I have sat down to many an unpronounceable bowlful of “rødgrød med fløde” and many a pickled herring.
Read More →
This Thai restaurant just off Hyde Park Corner offers it diners a quite different experience: Thai High Tea. Instead of cucumber sandwiches with their crusts cut off, Mango Tree has served up High Tea with a Thai twist. From 3pm – 5.30pm on Mondays to Fridays, diners can fill a gap with a Thai platter of miniature bites, along with a steaming pot of tea.
We decided on pots of steaming hot mint citrus and jasmine green tea to accompany our platter.
Read More →
W2 6BG
(corner with inverness terrace)
75 bishops bridge road
Masala Zone
Walking into Masala Zone in Bayswater will definitely help you to wind away any bleak weather blues (at least until you leave again). The walls are brightly decorated with kitsch pop art collages of firecracker labels from the town of Sivakasi, in India. The cheerful staff bounce around the restaurant, bending down at tables to talk to the diners.
Read More →
KT11 2LW
Surrey
Cobham
19 Anyards Road,
Massala is an Indian restaurant in Cobham, situated at the end of a road that houses chains such as Carluccio’s, Strada, etc. However, if you can walk past these other restaurants, it's very much worth holding out until you get to Massala, as this restaurant serves up some of the best Indian food there is. Massala is not much to look at from the outside.
Read More →
YO1 9TX
York
25 Walmgate,
There is always something happening at Melton’s Too. They run four fortnight-long festivals over the year – pies in January, Asparagus in May, Lobster in July, and Game in November. They also run wine tastings with a different theme each month. It’s easy to fall into the trap or habit of abbreviating Melton’s Too to Melton’s. However MToo, as the restaurant staff call it, is a safer abbreviation.
Read More →
ABode Canterbury sits smartly on the city’s main high street, just a short walk away from the cathedral and its grandeur. The interior of the hotel is stylishly laid out, with chic bedrooms and ABode’s champagne and cocktail bar offering guests and diners a sophisticated drinking destination. As with all the hotels in the ABode group, Michael Caines has looked after fine dining since the brand was conceived. Michael Caines at ABode Canterbury is a plush affair with polished wooden floors, white linen-covered tables and an expansive glass wine rack dividing the 70-seat restaurant in two.
Read More →