Food and Drink

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

Just north of Oxford Street, Fitzrovia is fast becoming the restaurant capital of London. However, quite problematically, besides eating and drinking establishments, the area has little else to offer in terms of leisure, and as a result there’s an incredible amount of competition between local restaurateurs. Fitzrovia is home to the likes of the ever-brilliant Dabbous, The Ninth, and the latest opening of Bao, which has already garnered Kardashian-level social media hysteria, not unlike its big sister restaurant in Soho....

A certain level of culinary competence is, of course, a necessary element for a restaurant to succeed. But although the food is generally the crucial criteria associated with a perfect dining experience, often overlooked components such as service, ambience and décor are also essential contributors, and are sometimes just as important. Jason Atherton’s Berners Tavern, fortunately, is one of the few London restaurants that manages to deliver on all four of these. The all-day dining menu is made up of...

Strength: 4.2% 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 six expressions...

Creating good food isn't about being fancy. It's about doing the basic things well. Take a moment to consider some of the most successful food entrepreneurs (or fentrepreneurs) in the city. Pizza Pilgrims was started by two brothers who took a 'pilgrimage' to discover the true art of pizza making and have made a success of it because they got the fundamentals right. My oft referenced Parlour in Kensal Rise are masters of simplicity and rank among the best restaurants in London...