Restaurants

There was a time when rum in the UK existed in little more than Bacardi and Malibu varieties to be enjoyed with a splash of diet coke for the conservative sorts or a mix of pineapple juice for the more adventurous. But the Caribbean spirit has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence over the past decade. Two years ago it was cocktails, with a craze for the mojito cocktail helping rum to become the UK's fastest-growing spirit, but today it’s a demand...

In modern day life, there are uncountable sources of irritation constantly flung at us from all directions, especially when eating out is involved. Dining companions immersed in the screen of their mobile phones, slates instead of real crockery, argumentative waiters, ‘gourmet’ burgers that are insistently over-cooked and over-sized... The list could go on and on - yet one thing that’s more infuriating than almost anything else is the ‘no-reservation’ culture that’s sweeping London’s restaurant scene – forcing us to queue...

Although of British descent, Theo Randall is a name that’s become synonymous with Italian food. Tracing back to family holiday road-trips through rural Italy, garnering plenty of food and wine along the way, Theo then spent a total of 17 years working at The River Café in Hammersmith – 10 of which were spent as Head Chef. It was here that he achieved his first Michelin star. In 2006, however, the chef decided to open his first solo venture, an...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food When opening a new restaurant, there are many important factors to take in to consideration. However, no restaurant is able to open and survive without a name. Some withhold interesting stories based around heritage, history or the food itself, others are less adventurous and named after addresses, while others are often eponymous – named after the chef or owner. On the other hand, some restaurants are even named after passions of the restaurateur, combining...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Strength: 6.5% ABV Brewed: Ellon, Scotland Tired of a market dominated by industrially brewed lagers and ales, the team behind BrewDog set up the world’s first crowd-funded brewery in 2007. Now operating from a site in Ellon, just north of Aberdeen, a community of over 35000 investors own shares in the business, with shares still available. And what’s more, the brewery that’s made for the people, by the people is still constantly striving to encourage passion for craft...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Call me sentimentalist, call me old fashioned – but like others, I’m sure, turkey (the bird) is something that I do not generally associate with the month of July. Generally reserved for Christmas time, often sentenced to hours withering at the bottom of a hot oven, turkey has gained a negative reputation for being dry and generally unexciting - unless you are a child and enjoy eating food that has been cut into the shape of...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food With so many restaurants specialising in American-inspired barbecue having opened across the city within the past five years, Bodean's is facing an uphill battle to remain relevant. First launched in 2012, Bodean’s was, in fact, one of the first restaurants of this ilk to arrive in London, set up as the brainchild of restaurateur Andre Blais, obsessed with the food of Kansas City. The first restaurant was opened on Soho’s Poland Street, and now, some 14...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Although the food of China has been popular in the UK for many years, it is only more recently that the tired stereotype of Anglicised Chinese cuisine has began to positively evolve. For a very long time, alas, there has been an ignorant British belief that the globe’s most populous nation has little more to offer than chow mein, special fried rice, and sweet and sour pork that’s to be drowned in incandescent orange...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, TLE_Food With plenty of exciting restaurant openings constantly taking place across the Capital, here’s our pick of the best new restaurants arriving in London over the coming month. Bao – Fitzrovia One of last year’s hottest new openings, Soho’s Bao still demands queues around the block during peak lunch and dinner hours. Having began life as a still ridiculously popular street food stall in East London’s Netil Street Market, Bao arrived in Soho last summer with a tiny 32-cover permanent...