Food and Drink

By James Walker I had a date – a rare occasion for a guy that looks like a bargain bucket Damian Lewis. How did I decide to impress her? By taking to her to a restaurant that happened to be renowned for its queues. I’m not opposed to queueing. I’ve queued for far less than the Taiwanese street food served at BAO: a Pizza Hut, train tickets and urinals. But I usually have the comfort of waiting indoors. We spent...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Discerning cocktail lovers and fans of Made in Chelsea are in for a treat on Tuesday March 22nd. Dirty Martini – one of London’s fastest growing bar groups, with seven venues spread across the capital – have teamed up with Made in Chelsea’s Mark Francis-Vandelli for a one off Martini etiquette masterclass at Dirty Martini’s Hanover Square outpost in Mayfair. Offering guests an exclusive opportunity to embrace their inner James Bond with one of...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food A gentle introduction for drinkers new to the whiskey category, The Wild Geese Honey Liqueur is the first and only premium honey liqueur produced in Ireland. Created and designed by Protégé International Limited, The Wild Geese Irish Liqueur joins the likes of the world’s first super premium Irish whiskey collection, a rum collection, an Irish vodka and an Irish gin, amongst other products from the brand. And having been highly rated with a ‘Very...

Private Members Club. Three words often translated as: inaccessible, aloof and affected. Add ‘in London’ and it’s as good as an outstretched hand held vertically in front of your face. So, when I was invited for lunch at Blacks - a PMC in Soho, no less - my first thought was to check the dress code online, assuming I’d need to visit a long-forgotten area of my wardrobe for suitably smart attire. But, aside from a well-buried, ambiguous mention of ‘an...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food If some sort of culinary prohibition were introduced, limiting each national cuisine to be served only within its own motherland and thus forbidding any nation to serve even the slightest morsel of foreign food - would you choose to stay in Britain? It’s a question I’m asked surprisingly often, and my answer always ventures along the lines of applying for an ID card and boarding the first one way 12-hour flight to Tokyo. Yes,...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Strength: 4.8% Brewed: Southfields, London Set up by a small group of friends in the summer of 2012, Rocky Head Brewery is heavily inspired by the American craft beer scene, operating as a microbrewery from a site in South West London. Although a somewhat ramshackle organisation, using equipment sourced from various sources, the brewery is becoming known to produce some of London’s finest beer, having even collaborated with the likes of Selfridges in order...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Although many of the year’s St Patrick’s Day events took place last weekend, notably featuring the huge parade and celebrations in Trafalgar Square on Sunday, many of London’s bars and restaurants have plans for this week, with many specifically taking place on the traditional date of March 17th. Here’s our last minute guide to some of the best food and drink events taking place in celebration of the Patron Saint of Ireland for this...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food With an already strong independent restaurant scene, it’s no secret that Brighton has witnessed a boom in popularity of the American-inspired gourmet burger trend in recent years. What with the local-favourite Burger Brothers close to the North Laines, gaining rapturous rave reviews from visitors, as well as the opening of MEATliquor, a London export that’s joined various restaurant chains within the city. At the very end of last year, InterContinental Hotels Group jumped on...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food At some point during our lives, many of us have spent at least one evening (still one too many) within the confines of an overly ostentatious themed pub or restaurant. Those that inspire us to lie, even to ourselves, in the hope of forgetting an establishment that is to good taste what Donald Trump is to common decency. Establishments that reap every opportunity to charge through the nose for an experience that’s often best...