I should come clean. Although I’m a particular fan of the cuisine - no stranger to jerk chicken and plantain chips are one of my favourite snacks - I am by no means a connoisseur of Caribbean food. This can, perhaps, be attributed to spending the past 16 years living...
London is no stranger to a themed bar – just think of the number of speakeasies that seem to pop up each year. While this can become tedious, I genuinely believe there’s at least one gem out there, somewhere. The Rotunda Bar at London’s Trinity Square Four Seasons Hotel, is...
London definitely doesn’t suffer from a lack of Vietnamese cuisine offerings - and thanks to my previous living quarters in Hoxton, I’ve sampled a lion’s share. That said, London still hasn’t reached saturation, so far as Vietnamese food is concerned. A healthy walk from Kings Cross station, CoBa is the...
I suspect it’s safe to say few, if any, Londoners consider themselves novices when it comes to dim sum. With an extensive number of Chinatown restaurants including it on the menu, we like to think there’s nothing that could possibly surprise us. Enter Courtesan. This restaurant, tea room, cocktail bar...
On the ground floor of the Marriott Hotel, just off Edgware Road, The Pickled Hen promises a ‘selection of authentic British food and drink, with a pickled twist’. I enjoy good pub food and pickles as much as the next person, but the signature Pickleback (Jameson with a chaser of...
Eccentric, but warm and welcoming - Oslo is housed within Hackney Central’s redeveloped railway station building. Built in 1870 by the North London Railway Company, the two-storey building serves as not only a restaurant, but a bar and event space, hosting regular gigs throughout the week. The décor, which I...
In amongst the shops of Bethnal Green Road you’ll find the 160-year old, inconspicuous blue façade of what used to be a pub called The Albion. Since this summer, though, this the home of Coupette, the presence merely given away by a wholly unremarkable branded doormat. Blink and you’ll miss...
From the onset, I must admit I’ve never felt the need to visit a restaurant in the middle of the night. A bit of a traditionalist, perhaps; I feel night time is meant for sleeping, although admittedly, I have been partial to a midnight snack. VQ in Aldgate is by...
Lewisham, in South London, has seen significant change in recent years. Long gone are the days of the Battle of Lewisham (celebrating its 40th anniversary this month). The area has become somewhat unrecognisable, even compared to my student years at nearby Goldsmith’s College, not so long ago (relatively speaking: I...