Food and Drink
Restaurant Review: The Test Kitchen
Two years on, it’s still the most unremittingly vile thing ever to have passed my lips. Served at the London pop-up of a Spanish Chef with a Milky Way of Michelin stars – what looked like a white chocolate-covered Fox’s shortcake round instead harboured raw sturgeon, crowned with a hillock of caviar. The combination of saccharine white chocolate and fish, alone, would have been bad enough, yet the sturgeon was sloppy and fusty, with a hum of waste management centres...
Beer of the Week – Hop Stuff Four Hour Session IPA
Strength: 4.2% ABV Brewed: Woolwich, London Starting life within a humble unit at Woolwich’s Royal Arsenal in 2013, Hop Stuff Brewery has since become one of the fastest growing craft breweries in London. Now with a team of 22 brewers and over 600 investors, Hop Stuff produce over 400 kegs of beer each week, available from the brewery’s own Taproom, as well as a number of bars and bottle shops. Aiming to ‘provide the perfect access point for those looking...
Spirit of the Week – Cîroc Summer Colada
While debate still rages over which nation was first to produce vodka (Russia, Poland, Sweden) the rise in popularity of super premium vodka, in recent years, is impossible to overlook. Once upon a time, Smirnoff was the brand of choice amongst those in the know, but nowadays the brand has drastically fallen out of favour in the UK – quite unsurprisingly. Instead, powerhouse brands such as classic Absolut, Grey Goose, Crystal Head, Chase and Cîroc are enjoying a tidal wave...
10ft robotic bartender hits immersive London wine bar pop-up
A 10 foot robotic bartender is set to start its first shift at an immersive London wine bar pop-up. The contraption will appear at Campo Viejo’s Fiesta de Color on Waterloo Millennium Green from today and will be dishing out wine until 11pm this Sunday. It is part of an immersive pop-up exploring the art and science behind wine blending. The experience, which is normally only offered at Campo Viejo's winery in Spain, is lead by company's wine experts and will give visitors the chance...
Decanter which keeps wine from for 2 weeks reaches funding target on Kickstarter
A decanter which promises to keep open wine fresh for nearly two WEEKS has reached three times its fundraising target on Kickstarter. The 'eto' device uses a patented design to completely eliminate air in the decanter as it is sealed. This prevents oxidation and can therefore keep open wine fresh for up to 12 days, according to its British designer Tom Cotton, 43. The inventor launched a Kickstarter campaign earlier this month to raise £55,000 to put the decanter into...
Restaurant Review: Señor Ceviche, Charlotte Street
My absolute favourite thing about London, is the number of different types of food available to experience. As a result, we Londoners are able to travel the world, without ever needing to leave the city. Señor Ceviche, for instance, is particular venue which allows us to sample distinctive national dishes from Peru. The brain child of Harry Edmeades, the restaurant originally started life as a pop-up and now has two permanent locations: one in Kingly Court and another just opened...
London bakery creates bespoke Father’s Day Éclair
A London bakery is celebrating its first Father’s Day this year with a bespoke Father’s Day Éclair. The pastry is filled with a Valrhona (dark chocolate) and Dewar’s (12 year old whisky) ganache, topped with a dark chocolate glaze and finished with a vibrant striped chocolate collar and tie. It can be purchased in-store or pre-ordered as a gift which will be beautifully packaged. Dominique Ansel was announced as World’s Best Pastry Chef 2017 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy after opening...
What to look for in a BBQ
As we get deeper into summer, you’re probably already thinking about those long evenings filled with great company, plenty of drinks and, of course, the best food. That food often comes courtesy of a BBQ when the weather is good. But if you haven’t got a BBQ yet, now is the time to change all that. Buying a BBQ is not a process that’s as straightforward or as simple as we wish, at least, not if you're going to do...
The Weekly Cocktail Recipe: Sopwell House’s ‘G&Tea’
World Gin Day takes place this weekend (Saturday 10th June), providing plenty of reasons to enjoy a drink (or twelve) containing the nation’s favourite spirit. In turn, Sopwell House – a Georgian manor house hotel in St. Albans - has fused two of the nation’s favourite drinks: tea and gin, in their ‘G&Tea’ cocktail. Created by the bar’s mixologists, the drink combines Bathtub gin with cooled Earl Grey tea and grapefruit juice for a ‘sophisticated twist’. So with World Gin...