Food and Drink

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food It’s been another brilliant year for restaurant openings in London, and with the impending arrival of 2016, here’s a roundup of our favourite new restaurants to have opened within the city throughout the past 12 months. Vinothec Compass Opened as a unique concept for up and coming North Greenwich, Vinothec Compass is adjoined to a golf driving range. As for the restaurant, there’s a particularly strong emphasis on wine, while the food menu is...

The Chase family farm in Herefordshire, originally known for setting-up Tyrells crisps, has expanded into the spirits market by producing the World’s first super premium English potato vodka. The vodka is made from potato rather than grain, and is the only distillery of its kind in the UK. It has been voted the World’s Best Vodka by the prestigious San Francisco Spirits Competition. To celebrate its success, founder William Chase is releasing his first ever book ‘One Potato : Two’. Based on...

Strength: 4% Brewed: Albourne, West Sussex Based on a farm near Brighton, Bedlam Brewery prides itself not only on its quality ingredients used throughout the brewing process of their core range, but also on the environment. All of the energy that’s required for brewing comes from onsite solar panels, the brewery plant and harvest their own hops, and they also supply local farmers with free hops and spent grain in order to feed their cattle. As for the beer, all...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Flat Iron, Burger & Lobster, Patty & Bun, Suvlaki, Chick ‘n’ Sours, Bao, Top Dog, and MEATliquor. These are just a few of the less than imaginatively titled restaurants to have opened in London over the past few years, leaving little to the imagination when guessing what each respective menu may offer. Limited menus that are practically plastered in full above the doors of these restaurants have become such a big trend on the...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food First commissioned in 1773 by Elizabeth, Countess of Home, with plans for George III’s architect James Wyatt to build a sophisticated ‘Pavilion’ designed purely for enjoyment and entertainment, at 20 Portman Square, Home House was then completed by his competitor Robert Adams, after Wyatt was sacked, and is to this day regarded as Adam’s finest surviving London town house. And since being taken over by a Quintillion UK Limited in 2004, Home House has...

Whether it’s in the form of spirit soaked puddings, boozy Christmas parties, or a glass of champagne to toast the festivities; drinking season is upon us. So with the holidays just around the corner, here’s our round up of the best (and worst) Christmas beers on the market for 2015. Anchor Brewing Co. Merry Christmas Happy New Year 2015 Strength: 5.5% ABV Brewed: San Francisco, California The Christmas offering from Californian Anchor Brewing Co. has become a tradition of America’s oldest...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Following the success of this year’s competition, with Irish chef Mark Moriarty having won the title, S. Pellegrino have announced plans to run another global Young Chef competition for 2016 – an international competition that’s dedicated to finding the best young chef in the world, under the age of 30. For the UK/Ireland regional finals, a judging panel of chefs included the likes of Clare Smyth MBE formerly of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Atul Kochhar...

Photo: Daniel Lewis By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Inspired by Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, this week’s cocktail recipe comes from Portobello Road Gin Master Blender Jake Burger. Just in time for Christmas, this hot gin punch takes time to make, but the effort certainly pays off as soon as the warming concoction touches your lips in the lead up to the festive season. Based on Dickens’ Mr Micawber’s guidelines given in David Copperfield, this drink features gin, madeira, brown...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Just in time for the celebration of the restaurant’s 25th anniversary next year, Le Pont de la Tour located at Shad Thames and famed for its fine French food has recently undergone refurbishment. First opened at the beginning of the 1990s by Sir Terence Conran, the restaurant is now owned by D&D London – the group behind some great London restaurants such as Plateau, Restaurant Sauterelle – which has also recently reopened – and...