Food and Drink

The Square Mile has a different, prettier, face at the weekend. A playground for bumbling business men during the other five days of the week, this part of the city becomes unpredictably sedate at seven o’clock each Friday, as the wolves of Wormwood Street return to Kent and Essex. Come Friday evening, however, City Social springs to life. A high-rise restaurant from chef-turned-restaurateur Jason Atherton, City Social has been operating from the 24th floor of Tower 42 for the past...

Although best known for brewing ‘the black stuff’, an experimental Guinness brewery has existed at St. James’s Gate in Dublin for over 100 years. The latest in a line of the brand’s experimental breweries, Guinness Open Gate Brewery was set up with an aim for brewers to explore new ideas and develop small batch beers to be served in the onsite tap room. Beers selected for further development are then brewed in greater quantities in Brew House 4 at St. James’s Gate,...

A leading authority on the edible wild fungi of Northern Europe, Geoff Dann published a comprehensive book on the subject – ‘Edible Mushrooms’ - in 2016 (through Green Books). Tying in with next month’s launch of a new Hardback edition, we asked Geoff to share some of his knowledge; describing five wild mushrooms you should never eat. Everybody knows there are seriously poisonous mushrooms lurking in the British countryside, but the gruesome details of their varying types of toxicity are...

Following the huge success of their much talked about ‘Ultimate Roast Burger’, Roast Restaurant has introduced a new ‘Ultimate Breakfast Burger’ to their menu. Embracing consumers’ love of over the top hybrids, the ‘Ultimate Roast Burger’ encapsulated elements of the Borough Market restaurant’s renowned roast dinners, sandwiched between a chunky potato and focaccia bun. A similar creation is now available in breakfast form. A hangover remedy like no other, Roast’s ‘Ultimate Breakfast Burger’ features a Bavarian smoked pork patty, crispy...

Ever since the Magic Roundabout opened I have been there pretty much three times a week, come, wind, rain, shine and even when no mates want to come with me, that happens a lot more often than you would think. The venue has sat upon Old Street station for a few years, helping to rejuvenate the tube station and surrounding roundabout exits, making the area feel safer and more importantly fun. However, the luxury development of flats around Old Street...

A restaurant for people who simply love food, St. JOHN is a rare Michelin starred gastro temple without redundant affectation.

Tying in with the Mexican festival of Cinco de Mayo, Patrón Tequila will reveal the winner of their fourth annual ‘Margarita of the Year’ this weekend (5th May). Celebrating Mexico’s most famous cocktail, three finalists have been selected from the seven cocktails entered. These include the ‘Verde Margarita’ inspired by Mexico City, a ‘Salted Plum Margarita’ inspired by Osaka, Japan, and ‘La Margarita’ enthused by Los Angeles, California. Like the ‘Mediterranean Margarita’ entered by Yanaida Prado (recipe below), ‘La Margarita’...

Exit Vauxhall Station at the foot of the bridge and head west, following the path of the Thames. Pass the 50 storey glass syringe, trailing the road to the right as it forks onto Nine Elms Lane and keep walking; crossing the invisible border between Lambeth and Wandsworth. Lapse the blocks of flats veiled with trailing ivy and the new (controversially located) American Embassy. Keep walking. The road then continues its winding tour of unaffordable industrial rubble. Keep walking. Past...

In the year between April 2017 and April 2018, UK wine producers planted a record one million vines, meaning an extra two million bottles will enter the market in 2018. The UK’s wine production has been on the up for well over a decade now, and with British summers becoming warmer, that trend is set to continue. There are over 500 vineyards in the UK producing different types of grapes, with Chardonnay taking the number one spot as the most...