Recipes

“At Shola our aim is to take you back to an era of simple, clean cooking, the way it has been done in our family kitchens for decades,” explains Aida Khan, speaking on the launch of her first restaurant. Joining the likes of Waka and The Athenian at White City Place – former home to the BBC headquarters – Shola follows a successful Gourmet Karachi Supper Club, championing Pakistani cuisine through a menu rooted in family recipes passed down through...

Occupying the former site of Bag O’Nails – a live music venue renowned for hosting The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Who – The Court has the potential to become Soho’s most exciting new members’ club. Intending to honour the club’s rich musical history, The Court will act as a private members’ club with a piano stage and nightly live entertainment. The realisation of founder Harry Mead, “who’s vision is to redefine the typical private members’ experience”, the venue will...

Taking place alongside Burns Night (25th January), this year, Scotch Whisky Weekend is a new mini festival from DrinkUp.London in partnership with Scotchwhisky.com. Moreover, a number of London bars will also celebrate Scotch Whisky Weekend, with four days of cocktail tours championing £6 cocktails for Festival Pass holders. For the event, Shoreditch bar Callooh Callay has collaborated with Monkey Shoulder on a limited-edition whisky cocktail – the ‘Super Freak’ - available throughout January, served in a miniature disco ball. Speaking...

Literally meaning ‘my kitchen’, Meri Rasoi is an Indian cookery school run by food writer and cookery teacher Nidhi Verma. Having grown up in India, Nidhi Verma left a career in marketing to follow her passion for food by running cookery classes and publishing recipes on her website. Aiming to demystify Indian food with clear, detailed step-by-step recipes, Nidhi teaches from her home in South West London, with regular classes including ‘Classic Indian Home Cookery’ (sharing family recipes handed through generations) and ‘Simply...

Chef Jun Tanaka has introduced a new seasonal ‘Wild Pasta’ menu at his Michelin-starred restaurant, The Ninth, in Fitzrovia. Centered around wild British game and wild mushrooms, the menu is available for lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday throughout the game and mushroom season, using game supplied by Vicars Farm in Berkshire. The menu’s funghi sourcing, on the other hand, changes regularly to reflect the best produce available throughout the season. This agnolotti recipe, for instance, features pasta envelopes...

Using the simplest of ingredients, the Whisky Sour enjoyed much popularity before its recipe was first recorded, published in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 book, The Bartender’s Guide. Historical accounts suggest the drink was originally conceived by professional sailors to combat scurvy. Relying on sugar to be dissolved in water before adding the remaining ingredients, the drink’s original construction resembles that of punch, albeit made in small batches. This crossover therefore renders it difficult to trace the cocktail’s exact origins. Thomas’ recipe features...

In 2016, UK tequila sales reached a record £173 million, driven by an increased interest in higher end agave-spirits. Tequila has seen such an exponential rise in popularity in recent years that Mexico is currently undergoing an agave plant shortage, as reported by Reuters earlier this year. Once synonymous with shot glasses, salt and lime; tequila has become a popular cocktail component in bars across the globe, with particular focus on ultra premium spirits. With this, it’s perhaps unsurprising that...

Earlier this year, Mayfair bar and restaurant Quaglino’s hosted a pop-up at New York’s Dante (ranked sixteenth in the World’s Best Bars). Following the success of that Aperitivo pop-up, the original London institution is currently serving the specially curated offering from Bar Manager Marco Sangion and Head Mixologist Frederico Pasian. Featuring four cocktails which balance bitters and sweet Mediterranean spirits, each of the drinks are served with complimentary Aperitivo snacks, ranging from charcuterie platters and arancini to feta-stuffed peppers. “‘Into...

Classic, simple cocktails with three-pillar constructions have seen increased global popularity of late. Daiquiris, Martinis, Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, Negronis and Sours are all omnipresent throughout the menus of London’s best bars: potent and enjoyable from a consumer standpoint, while simple to assemble behind the bar. Typically using the simplest of ingredients, the Whiskey Sour enjoyed much popularity before its recipe was first recorded, published in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 book, The Bartender’s Guide. Historical accounts suggest the drink was originally conceived by...