Restaurants
Why Channel 4 shouldn’t be privatised
Enough of stagflation forecasts, each more frightening than the last. Enough – for now – of energy policy sermons, as…
The best lamb in London: Blacklock reviewed
Blacklock is the fourth restaurant of that name – there are others in Soho, Shoreditch and the City of London.…
Food ruined by an existential crisis: Fallow reviewed
I was going to be jolly this week, for variety and denial, but I changed my mind. Instead, I wonder…
A victim of its own mythology: Langan’s Brasserie reviewed
Langan’s, a brasserie off Piccadilly with curling orange neon signage calling its name, is under new management after it fell…
Why restaurant food at home beats eating out
‘The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be…
The best schnitzel in London: Schnitzel Forever reviewed
It is a truism that there is never enough schnitzel (‘slice’, German); or, rather, schnitzel does not get the attention…
Gastro-nomics: a foodie’s guide to a changing world
Twice recently I’ve been asked my opinion of ‘Doughnut Economics’. The first time, I was tempted to cover my ignorance…
Dancing on Terence Conran’s grave
‘Who,’ asks Stephen Bayley, in one of the ‘S.B’ chapters of this irresistibly spiky co-written book, ‘could countenance working for…
Dregs of fake Provence: Whitcomb’s reviewed
Whitcomb’s is in The Londoner hotel on the south-west corner of Leicester Square. The Londoner calls itself ‘the world’s first…
Has Covid killed criticism?
A world without criticism is just advertising
Scarface’s lair with nibbles: Louie reviewed
A French creole restaurant rises in the sullen ruins of London. It is called Louie, for French king or trumpeter,…
Is it time for a Dad’s Army of lorry drivers?
Here’s a patriotic proposal: let’s form a Dad’s Army of lorry drivers, of which the Road Haulage Association reckons there’s…
A Damascene moment in London: Imad’s Syrian Kitchen reviewed
Imad’s Syrian Kitchen is an eyrie off Carnaby Street, a once-famous road which seems to exist nowadays to sell trainers…
Cake expectations: afternoon tea has gone OTT
Afternoon tea has gone OTT
How many people are self-isolating when they’re told to?
Isolated cases Large numbers of people are still being ordered to self-isolate in spite of having been vaccinated — 137,560…
Bad food is back: The Roof Garden at Pantechnicon reviewed
The Roof Garden is a pale, Nordic-style restaurant at the top of the glorious Pantechnicon in Belgravia — formerly a…
Pretty food with a side order of pollution: 28-50 reviewed
You cannot have cars and dining tables in the same dreamscape: it doesn’t work, unless you think carbon monoxide is…
Pleasing perversity: St Pancras Brasserie and Champagne Bar by Searcys reviewed
The St Pancras Brasserie and Champagne Bar by Searcys is as expansive as its name, but ghostly. It is an…
Back to the future: Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill reviewed
The west end of London is still pale and necrotic, but there are points of light. Hatchards the bookseller is…
After London lockdown, LA is like Disneyland
When I arrived a month ago, one wouldn’t believe LA was suffering a major pandemic. The roads were still busy…
The finest humous in England: Arabica food boxes reviewed
Restaurant-goers who cannot let go of restaurants — for professional or other reasons — are floating on a sea of…
The car industry is accelerating towards an electric future
Back in November, when Downing Street’s pandemic responses looked daily more incompetent, the announcement of a ban on sales of…
Piccadilly Circus, delivered: the Wolseley’s home dining reviewed
The Corbin & King dining and home entertaining box includes dishes from the Delaunay, the Wolseley and Brasserie Zédel ‘delivered…
A magical field hospital for vegetables: Turnips reviewed
Turnips is an haute cuisine restaurant inside a greengrocer in Borough Market in London. I suspect others will try this…
This replica is better than the original: The Ivy Oxford Brasserie reviewed
Oxford is not an easy city to homogenise; but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. I found a vast shopping…
