Our mission is remarkably simple. To tell it how it is!
Clos Maggiore WC2 “You feel that love is in the air!” at this “very special” destination (yet again the survey’s No. 1 choice for a romantic occasion), especially in “the inner sanctum” – “the lovely glass-roofed courtyard at the back, hung with blossom, a roof that opens in fine weather, and with an open fire […]
This is a guest blog by our friends at the Sustainable Restaurant Association, who launch a new campaign in August to get restaurants serving more veg and better meat. Mushroom risotto, butternut squash tart and pasta with tomato sauce. Three dishes stuffed away in the corner of the menu miles away from the long, eye-catching […]
French haute cuisine, the wellspring from which culinary magic seems to flow across the world, has been sidelined of late in favour of rusticity, simplicity and (let’s face it) dirty great burgers. But can the classics ever truly go out of style? Surely we all just need a gentle reminder of France’s culinary prowess? Well, […]
High-flying young chef Danny Gill has returned to his home town of Lincoln to buy the pie shop where he first worked as a 15-year-old kitchen porter. Brown’s Pie Shop, around the corner from the city’s cathedral, is a Steep Hill institution that celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. Described in the latest Harden’s Survey as “a taste of […]
Former Danesford House head chef Adam Simmonds has opened a 12-month pop-up in Soho to test the market ahead of a permanent opening in the capital. Test Kitchen, near Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in Frith Street, will be just that – a counter where diners are expected to feed back to chefs on the dishes […]
A pair of chefs with impressive kitchen credentials have teamed up to open a tiny venture in Mayfair inspired by the new wave of bistros in Paris. Launching in May, Neo Bistro will accommodate just 25 diners, with banquette tables that can be reserved and counter seats for walk-ins. Following the Parisian lead, it will offer a daily changing […]
Sommelier-turned-restaurateur Xavier Rousset is launching his third solo venture, Comptoir Café & Wine, in Mayfair next month. It follows the success of Blandford Comptoir in Marylebone – praised in the latest Harden’s Survey for its “superb wine list” – and Burgundy specialist Cabotte in the City, both of which opened last year. Tucked away behind Bond Street station […]
Former MasterChef: The Professionals winner Steven Edwards is to open his first restaurant, Etch, in Hove next month, with a focus on local Sussex produce. Edwards, 30, trained under Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons near Oxford and spent six years at The Pass restaurant in South Lodge Hotel near Horsham, winning MasterChef in […]
Chefs must use their influence to guide consumers towards more sustainable ways of eating, Andrew Stephen, CEO of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, said this week. He was speaking at a sold-out dinner hosted by Peter Harden and Raymond Blanc, president of the SRA, at the Belmond Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, and attended by a food-loving crowd including […]
Foodies’ darling Ollie Dabbous will reunite with his mentor (and professional Frenchman) Raymond Blanc this summer for a one-off event. On Tuesday 28 June Fitzrovia’s “inventive and refreshing” Dabbous restaurant will host a unique lunch and dinner – two courses of which will be prepared by Ollie and two by Raymond. Many of the vegetables used […]
