Food and Drink

It would be quite fair to say that the discovery of poke (pronounced ‘poh-kay’, not like that thing your weird Uncle keeps doing on Facebook) is relatively fresh here in London. Until around 18 months ago, the Hawaiian dish would only have been known to the most food-savvy of city dwellers, but quite thankfully that’s beginning to change. Literally meaning “section”, or “to slice or cut”, poke is a Hawaiian salad, of sorts, traditionally focussing on cubes of raw fish...

Even the absolute best food isn’t necessarily memorable, all of the time. Yet food that does standout as being memorable, is not always remembered for the right reasons. A combination of the two, however, is an extraordinarily rare occurrence. From hundreds of dishes sampled over the past two years, less than half of my top ten most memorable dishes have been particularly desirable. Most, in fact, have been so deplorable, so utterly grotesque they’re borderline offensive. At the top of...

Have you ever robbed a casino? No, nor have I. But after visiting the Heliot Steakhouse at The Hippodrome, I found the outstanding value enough to make most anyone feel like a member of the Rat Pack in Oceans 11. Quite honestly, I had my doubts about the restaurant before visiting. Although having heard nothing but praise, my partisan preconceptions of the place included an unsavoury concoction of Leicester Square, men in polyester suits vaunting their wealth while supping dry...

Nottingham residents have been urged to ditch takeaways for homemade "fakeaways" after new statistics revealed how unhealthy take-out meals are risking the health of families. Takeaways often contain more fat, salt and calories than your recommended government guideline amount and can increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory disease – two largely preventable conditions. Despite this one in five adults and children are reportedly eating a takeaway once a week, the National Charity Partnership between Diabetes UK, the British...

St Mark’s Community Centre, based in Newham, East London has opened the borough’s first ever deaf café. Café No.43 is run by Luca Cusini, an Italian chef with impaired hearing who grew up with the dream of one day running his own eatery. Despite the barriers Luca has faced, St Mark’s Community Centre which is managed by Caritas Anchor House, a homelessness and social action charity, has supported Luca to realise this dream. Café No. 43 opened in January 2017...

With plenty of exciting restaurant openings constantly taking place across the Capital, we pick the best new restaurants arriving in London over the coming month. Lupins - Southwark Named after the English garden flower, Lupins is the latest project from Lucy Pedder and Natasha Cooke – set to open this month in Flat Iron Square near London Bridge. Having previously worked together in the kitchen of Medlar in Chelsea, The Sand’s End, and having opened The Cross Keys together in 2015 –...

If the vegetable crisis that struck earlier this year taught us anything it is that we are now so far removed from the production of our food that we barely know how it gets from field to table. The extreme weather in the Mediterranean and in other parts of the continent literally left the country bewildered. People compared the empty supermarket shelves to conditions akin to a third world country, while others took to Twitter to berate the lack of courgettes...

Ideal for spring, this week’s recipe from Andy Oliver (Head Chef of critically acclaimed Som Saa) in collaboration with Singha Beer is completely vegetarian. A Thai aubergine salad with soft boiled eggs and roasted rice powder, the dish is healthy and quick to prepare – ready in just 30 minutes. In addition, the flavours of this dish are perfectly paired with Singha Beer, brewed using a blend of sweet, earthy and spicy flavours to complement Thai cuisine. “This is a...

With such a boom in e-commerce, is the future of Master Butchery really as depressing as we're often informed? Royal Warrant-awarded online meat suppliers Donald Russell champion Master Butchery and lesser-known cuts of meat. It’s a curiously warm Tuesday morning on the brink of winter rolling aside for spring to frolic on to the scene like a new born lamb, and there’s a knock at the door. A man carrying a polystyrene container almost as big as a chest freezer...