Food and Drink

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Best known for his simplistic style of cooking, attempting to make the kitchen an approachable environment for even the least competent of cooks, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has recently introduced a new Sunday menu to the mother ship of his restaurant empire – Fifteen. Proving a welcome break from the a la carte menu that’s on offer throughout the week, Jamie’s Sunday roast menu provides a reasonably priced, informal dining experience, while the food...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food With the continuing success of acclaimed Pizzeria Homeslice, it’s been announced that the restaurant is set to take over a brand new premises in Fitzrovia. Beginning as a street food vendor attached to an East London brewery, Homeslice opened their first permanent restaurant in 2013, located in Covent Garden’s Neal’s Yard, where they’ve been serving their 20-inch Pizzas over the past couple of years. Few details surrounding the new Fitzrovia outpost have been confirmed...

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 and bars arriving in London over the coming month. The Melt Room – Soho The latest single menu restaurant to open in Central London is Soho’s The Melt Room – a small shop that specialises in grilled Cheese Sandwiches. The 12-seat diner is set to offer a limited menu that includes a range of grilled Cheese Sandwiches, including...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Branded simply online as “E17”, thankfully there’s absolutely no connection to Brian Harvey’s band, of the same name, present at the latest outpost of Grillstock. Just a short walk from Walthamstow Central station, the chain’s latest Smokehouse follows the success of the music festival of the same name: taking places across three cities and bringing a weekend of “meat, music and mayhem.” This year’s music headliners include Grandmaster Flash (Manchester), De La Soul (Bristol),...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food “Well at least Michel Roux came to greet us,” one ageing gentleman bellows from a few tables away, adapting the audacity of a dated Town Crier. Unfortunately Marcus Wareing isn’t present at his mother ship restaurant at The Berkeley Hotel but he can be forgiven the day off, especially due to an injury that he's currently recovering from, as was explained on our earlier tour of the surprisingly calm kitchen. In fact, if that’s...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor @TLE_Food Having first opened its doors in November, M is the relatively new, debut solo venture from Gaucho’s Managing Director Martin Williams. Located just a stones throw from The Royal Exchange, on Threadneedle Street, the restaurant’s downstairs is split into two contrasting dining concepts, while the upstairs features a range of private areas as well as a well equipped cocktail bar. The most popular of the two M restaurants – Grill – specialises in high-end steaks,...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Upon entering a relatively late restaurant service, escaping from the abhorrent coolness of a springtime evening, the overwhelming aroma of rich spices is always a welcome greeting for any food enthusiast. Situated within a large former Bank building, Zaika has recently reopened its doors after originally opening way back in 1999, boasting high ceilings with huge walls covered in Empirical artworks and a kitchen that delivers a vast range of delicious Northern Indian inspired...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food As Londoners, year after year we find ourselves lacking the enthusiasm and pride that a day regarding our patron saint should be filled with, constantly becoming put to shame by the wide scale city celebrations that surround St. Patrick’s Day in March. And with April 23rd marking our national “feast day” for St. George, albeit not referring to the type of feast that includes a large banquet, it seems fitting for us to provide...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor   Upon approaching acclaimed chef Mark Hix’s first outpost situated south of the river, you’d be forgiven for instantly relating the neon signage and general exterior demeanour to one of those seedy clubs in Soho. However, after being escorted through a corridor that contains just one of the restaurant’s impressive bars, you’ll end up feeling comforted by the unexpectedly airy dining space (unless a trip to a sordid bar and an STD was, in fact,...