Food and Drink
London Dubbed “Beer Boom City”
London has been dubbed a 'Beer Boom City' by the Campaign for Real Ale, CAMRA. The 2017 edition of the Good Beer Guide (GBG) charts the remarkable rebirth of brewing in London, naming the capital a beer boom city almost half a century after dubbing it a “beer desert”. The guide lists 69 breweries, with five more due to open in the near future. “London is once again one of the world’s great brewing cities,” editor Roger Protz says. “Choice for...
Beer of the Week – The London Beer Factory’s ‘Beyond The Pale’
Strength: 4.2% Brewed: West Norwood, London Founded in 2014 by brothers Ed and Sim Cotton, The London Beer Factory operates from South-East London’s increasingly trendy West Norwood. Dedicated to crafting beers with character, unique flavours and distinctive qualities, they are also the first ever UK brewery to use 360° cans, with a unique ring pull design that allows the lid to be removed completely, allowing a full spectrum of tastes and aromas to be enjoyed, without the need for any...
Restaurant Review – 100 Islington
Trends and crazes come and go with the turn of the season, yet it’s unlikely that the kitchens focussing on small sharing plates that arrive at the table as and when they are ready will be vanishing any time soon. And though this rapid increase in popularity has managed to divide opinion over the past year or so; it’s clear that sharing plates venues are the in thing for 2016. They are the the Pokémon Go, the Facebook politicians, and...
Free Beer in London From This Friday!
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as free beer from this Friday in London. Czech lager Kozel is giving away two free pints from 16th-23rd September through it's Pint Finder app. All you have to do is download the app and receive one of their beer vouchers for two free drinks. With the sun set to continue well into the weekend, cool down with a nice refreshing pint at one of the participating venues below. It...
Five Yorkshire Pudding Dishes That Will Make You Drool
There's a lot of reasons why Yorkshire can claim to be God’s Own County, but its famous puddings have to top the list. From the tea to its real ale, cheese and glorious countryside, that county up t'north certainly has its perks. In fact, so good is it that there is even a genuine campaign to make it an independent state! But before that happens and we start paying export duty on Aunt Bessie's puds and tea bags, we thought we would join in...
Restaurant Review – The Crown, Bray
When Heston Blumenthal decided to take over the premises of his third restaurant in the village of Bray, in 2010, there was a certain amount of uproar between the local villagers. Fifteen years beforehand, the celebrity chef famed for his idiosyncratic approach to food and molecular gastronomy purchased The Ringers pub and turned it into The Fat Duck, which has since gained three Michelin-stars and was named the World’s best restaurant in 2005. Next, not content with owning just one...
Oasis/ Blur Amnesty Launched by Pizza Pilgrims
After years of rivalry, an Oasis/ Blur amnesty finally looks in sight. Starting from this week (Tuesday 13th September), Pizza Pilgrims will give a free pizza to everyone that brings in an Oasis CD. The promotion is to mark the collaboration with Blur basis Alex James' cheese company, which comes about after they were neighbours at Big Feastival last month near James’ Country House. Thom and James Elliot, Founders of Pizza Pilgrims said "We had an amazing weekend serving pizzas out of...
The Weekly Cocktail Recipe – Oskar’s Bar’s ‘Basil Fawlty’
Tying in with London Cocktail Week, Oskar Kinberg – the man behind the brilliant Oskar’s Bar beneath Michelin-starred Dabbous in Fitzrovia – is set to launch his first recipe book next month. The simply titled ‘Cocktail Cookbook’ features a compendium of 75 cocktails, many of which are seasonally available at the bar, and most are relatively simple to follow at home. As expected, like the kitchen at upstairs Dabbous, there’s also a massive focus on unique ingredients, encouraging readers to set...
WIN a Meal at the Graffigna London Steak Awards 2016 Winner MASH
To celebrate the recent announcement of MASH as the London Steak Awards 2016 winner, Graffigna is offering one lucky reader the chance to dine at the winning restaurant. Five runners up will receive a bottle of Graffigna Centenario Malbec and a Graffigna steak chopping board. This summer an expert panel of judges visited the four top steak venues that made it to a shortlist following a public vote: MASH, Hawksmoor, Goodman and Gaucho. The lucky judges, including chef Neil Rankin,...