Food and Drink

Named after an old English drink of warm ale, gin, wormwood and spices, Purl London occupies a vaulted cellar in Marylebone. Opened in 2010, the bar was one of the first to join a new wave of prohibition-era speakeasy bars, having since become renowned for an innovative approach to cocktails, often using culinary techniques. A venture from the team behind Worship Street Whistling Shop and Dach & Sons, Purl’s cocktail menu changes regularly, adhering to current trends while championing seasonal...

When you think Italian wine most people envisage a hot day spent lazily quaffing on terraces and verandas besieged by plates of bread, olives, freshly picked vine tomatoes and other assorted piattini. But switch these summer pleasers for classic beef ragu, a meaty pizza, or rich, tomato-based pastas and the best of the summer wines turn to the most idyllic picks for autumn, and we have a smashing number to kick things off. Made with indigenous local red grapes from...

This week we ventured over to 1766, the new front of house bar and restaurant at the historic Old Vic Theatre in Bristol. Turns out, we were in for a real treat.

In the spring of 2016, the team behind Trullo in Islington opened small Italian restaurant opened on the fringe of Borough Market. Reservations weren’t accepted; service was quick, making it possible to devour three courses within the hour, and the accessibly priced menu had a prominent focus on ascetic pasta dishes. An instant hit, Padella would set the blueprint for a new casual pasta restaurant. In a similar vein, restaurants such as Pastaio, Lina Stores and Bancone have since opened,...

Brewing could slump and price of pint double in as heatwaves become more common

For this month's Travel Tales interview we caught up with Michelin star-winning chef, Tom Aikens. The London-born, 48-year-old told us all about his parent's renovated 19th-Century barn in France, sailing around the Caribbean, getting caught up in a monsoon in India and, of course, how travel continues to influence his food.   Tell us about your first travel/holiday memory? When I was 6-8 years old we used to go on holiday to Cornwall to a place called Noss Mayo and...

After spending the entire summer complaining about the blistering heat (I’m British, it’s what I’m good at), I recently caved and reached for the thermostat, having been left undisturbed for the past seven months. Erstwhile, the leaves are discolouring and dropping; the days are getting shorter, and Oxford Street is already beleaguered by Christmas lights. Autumn has fallen and roast season is upon us. I’ve eaten a few roast dinners over the past month, but none have yet topped that...

Earlier this year, new figures published by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association have shown that annual rum sales in Britain have surpassed £1billion for the first time. As a result, rum now ranks alongside whisky and gin as one of the nation’s favourite spirits. Beside a collection of famed rum brands readily available in supermarkets and off licences, a number of premium sipping rums have also risen to prominence. Established in 1976 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the...

Takeaways have been warned not to serve a morbidly obese man after doctors warned he was eating himself to death.