Food and Drink

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Designed in accordance with the five elements of Chinese philosophy, (wood, metal, water, earth and fire) Chai Wu is the latest restaurant to have opened within Harrods. Opening as the sister restaurant to Pan Chai and Mango Tree, based in Harrods’ Food Halls, as well as Mango Tree in Belgravia. However, as expected by the name Chai Wu offers an exhilarating fusion of traditional and contemporary Chinese cuisine, displayed through the menu designed by...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Two decades into their magical career of crafting bespoke cakes and a whole range of extraordinary chocolate treats, Christine Taylor and Christine Garratt’s Choccywoccydoodah have finally released their first ever cook book – “Choccywoccydoodah: Chocolate, Cake and Curses”. Following on from the flourishing of two successful stores, in Brighton and in London, as well as having starred in five series of their television show with celebrity fans including Whoopi Goldberg, Gok Wan, Derren Brown,...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Tying in with World Malbec Day on April 17th – a celebration of one of the Argentina’s most popular wines – M Restaurants will be hosting a week-long celebration, between April 13th-18th, to honour the popularity of this seductive Argentine varietal. As would perhaps have been expected from Martin Williams, the former Managing Director of Gaucho Restaurants’ debut solo venture, M Grill and M Raw will be celebrating the event in style. Set to...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Located on the corner of a swanky Leicester Square hotel, Spice Market is the London outpost of World-renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, inspired by the Pan Asian street food that he fell in love with upon his travels of the Continent. Offering a menu that includes a number of tasty Asian inspired treats, although delivered in an atmosphere that’s far more refined than street huts. Instead, Spice Market obtains a stylish ambience of dark wood...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Since opening the doors of The Refinery in Bankside, back in 2008, award-winning bar and restaurant group Drake & Morgan have gone on to open a total of eight sites, each scattered around London. Situated within Regents Place, The Refinery is the latest addition to the company’s hearty line up of bars and restaurants and is there most central to date. The newly opened restaurant includes a capacious dining area, deli, outdoor dining terrace...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food The concept of socialising does become very different upon being surrounded by local bankers and city folk out on business, making more noise than a bull in a china shop. The social element of dining out is, obviously, very close to Jason Atherton’s heart – the owner of London’s City Social, Pollen St. Social, Little Social, and Social Eating House… The list goes on. Of course, there’s the conversationally riveting chance to pour glass...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Based within Mayfair’s luxurious Berkeley Square, renowned celebrity chef Atul Kochhar’s Benares has been serving incredible Indian inspired dishes since 2003. And cosily nestled alongside a Rolls Royce dealership and Celebrity hotspots such as Robert De Niro’s Nobu just a few doors along, before even entering the restaurant; we could tell that our evening out at the dining institution would be a most classy one. Fusing culinary processes from his native India with his...

By Jonathan Hatchman Having already swept America there is a new dining craze that has arrived on the streets of London. “Underground Restaurants”, or Supper Clubs, are eateries run by chefs with a real flair and passion for delicious  home cooked food and throwing paid-dinner parties. Think Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me, yet with less sarcastic commentary and more adventurous cooking. You know, the sort of food that’s actually fun to eat. It follows a trend at the end of last year where...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food   Before dining Mayfair’s Heddon Street Kitchen, my only Gordon Ramsay experiences had featured a man with a thunderous temper, shrieking profanities and hurling abuse at some poor, less competent chefs looking as though they were about to burst into floods of tears at any given moment. Not the most satiating of first impressions, needless to say. However, the sheer quality of the food served up at the celebrity chef’s newest venture, alone, has...