Food and Drink

It’s perhaps unsurprising that London is now filled with so many neighbourhood restaurants. Extortionate rates and continuous gentrification are, of course, a contributing factor, plus after a long day at work; it’s difficult to blame those hoping to avoid trudging back into central London for dinner. Of all the brilliant neighbourhood restaurants, Islington and neighbouring Farringdon are home to an outstanding number, including Galley, Oldroyd, Black Axe Mangal, Morito and many more. Opened earlier in the summer, Humble Grape –...

Strength: 4.5% ABV  Brewed: Žatec, Czech Republic Batch brewed in the cellars of a 14th century castle in the historic Czech town of Žatec, CELIA produces two different beers. Both are notably vegan-friendly and gluten-free, thanks to a silicon filtration technique used during the brewing process. As a result, the brewery takes great pride on providing beer that doesn’t leave drinkers feeling uncomfortably bloated, without compromising on flavour. Made with just three ingredients – organic Saaz hops, Moravian malt and sand-filtered water –...

Forget Peckham, Shoreditch and Dalston – one of London’s most exciting neighbourhoods for eating out, at the moment, can be found in a considerably more central location. Tucked between Islington, King’s Cross and the square mile, Farringdon (commonly known as Clerkenwell) has always been deeply rooted in food history, but has – in the past ten years - finally become recognised as such an exciting cornucopia of brilliant restaurants, cafés and bars. Smithfield meat market, for instance, has operated continuously...

If there were superheroes of the wine world, Masi's Tour would undoubtedly be one of them. Considered “the Valpolicella of tomorrow” this is intense and full-bodied wine would fill out a muscle chest Superman outfit with ease. It's name, which derives from the volcanic rocks of its vineyards of origin, has kryptonite qualities and its punchy qualities owe their heritage to Oseleta, the forgotten native variety rediscovered by Masi. The nose combines familiar Corvina aromas with the firm character, power and...

With Michelin-starred restaurants Galvin at Windows and Galvin La Chapelle, chefs Chris and Jeff Galvin’s set-lunch menu offers some of the best value fine dining in London. The same can be said for each of the other restaurants in the pair’s constantly growing restaurant empire (Galvin HOP, Bistrot de Luxe, etc.) within their respective price brackets. Speaking to The London Economic in a recent interview, Chris Galvin said: “Both of us feel strongly that when you visit an establishment such...

A bottle of one of the world's most sought after whiskies has sold for a whopping £11,450 -- more than 150 times its original price. The Black Bowmore 1964 1st edition has legendary status in the whisky world. But even specialists were astounded at the price paid for the bottle, setting what is believed to be a record auction price for this particular dram. Whisky expert, Laurie Black from auctioneers McTear's, said: "The Black Bowmore has been rising in price...

A petrolhead has made sure his local is never far away - after converting his VW campervan into a PUB. Ben Levy, 29, spent months painstakingly transformed his Volkswagen 1957 Splitscreen into a mobile boozer - which comes complete with an optical bar, pub seating and even a dart board. The car nut has splashed out thousands of pounds fitting it out with beer taps, wine racks, disco lights as well as a bell to ring for service. The pub...

Occupying an underground space near Holland Park tube station, Flat Three has become renowned for serving brilliant Japanese, Scandinavian and Korean-inspired dishes since opening in 2015. In addition to the rest of Flat Three’s menu, the restaurant has a dedicated ‘Plant-Based’ section on the menu – hoping to end perceptions that vegan food can’t match meat or fish on taste and variety. Flat Three chef and co-owner Pavel Kanja says: “We extract every flavour we can, using fermentation, smoking and...

Festival organisers in Brighton are in for a grilling after punters turned up to their cheese extravaganza only to realise they had sold out of cheese. The "Cheese Fest" event sent Twitter into a storm last night as punters faced long queues and deplenished stock. According to one source the organisers had said in their defence that "the demand for the cheese on offer wasn't anticipated". Odd, for a "cheese" festival. It's a cheese festival and they didn't anticipate a demand...