Food and Drink

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Flat Iron, Burger & Lobster, Patty & Bun, Suvlaki, Chick ‘n’ Sours, Bao, Top Dog, and MEATliquor. These are just a few of the less than imaginatively titled restaurants to have opened in London over the past few years, leaving little to the imagination when guessing what each respective menu may offer. Limited menus that are practically plastered in full above the doors of these restaurants have become such a big trend on the...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food First commissioned in 1773 by Elizabeth, Countess of Home, with plans for George III’s architect James Wyatt to build a sophisticated ‘Pavilion’ designed purely for enjoyment and entertainment, at 20 Portman Square, Home House was then completed by his competitor Robert Adams, after Wyatt was sacked, and is to this day regarded as Adam’s finest surviving London town house. And since being taken over by a Quintillion UK Limited in 2004, Home House has...

Whether it’s in the form of spirit soaked puddings, boozy Christmas parties, or a glass of champagne to toast the festivities; drinking season is upon us. So with the holidays just around the corner, here’s our round up of the best (and worst) Christmas beers on the market for 2015. Anchor Brewing Co. Merry Christmas Happy New Year 2015 Strength: 5.5% ABV Brewed: San Francisco, California The Christmas offering from Californian Anchor Brewing Co. has become a tradition of America’s oldest...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Following the success of this year’s competition, with Irish chef Mark Moriarty having won the title, S. Pellegrino have announced plans to run another global Young Chef competition for 2016 – an international competition that’s dedicated to finding the best young chef in the world, under the age of 30. For the UK/Ireland regional finals, a judging panel of chefs included the likes of Clare Smyth MBE formerly of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Atul Kochhar...

Photo: Daniel Lewis By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Inspired by Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, this week’s cocktail recipe comes from Portobello Road Gin Master Blender Jake Burger. Just in time for Christmas, this hot gin punch takes time to make, but the effort certainly pays off as soon as the warming concoction touches your lips in the lead up to the festive season. Based on Dickens’ Mr Micawber’s guidelines given in David Copperfield, this drink features gin, madeira, brown...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Just in time for the celebration of the restaurant’s 25th anniversary next year, Le Pont de la Tour located at Shad Thames and famed for its fine French food has recently undergone refurbishment. First opened at the beginning of the 1990s by Sir Terence Conran, the restaurant is now owned by D&D London – the group behind some great London restaurants such as Plateau, Restaurant Sauterelle – which has also recently reopened – and...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Having grown up in the 1990s, steak house restaurants are something that I’ve grown to constantly associate with the part of London that surrounds Leicester Square and The Strand. Harking back to early memories of eating overpriced, overcooked and underwhelming cuts at one of the many ‘Aberdeen Angus Steakhouses’ that the area has to offer - reeling in tourists with their neon red signage and a promise of offering the very best steak that...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food With December finally here, Christmas is drawing very close. So with the shops filling up, the weather changing, and as a time of true indulgence - we’ve compiled a gift guide of all of the best food and drink gifts to buy for your favourite foodies and drinks connoisseurs this Christmas. Aurora Crystal Head Vodka Arriving just in time for Christmas, Crystal Head Vodka - founded in 2008 by Hollywood actor Dan Aykroyd –...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food With plenty of exciting restaurant openings constantly taking place across the Capital, here’s our pick of the best new restaurants arriving in London over the coming month. Flat Iron – Covent Garden Ever since their initial inception as a pop-up restaurant, Flat Iron has become increasingly popular. So popular, in fact, that they’re set to open a third restaurant this month, in Covent Garden’s Henrietta Street. As is the case with the two restaurants already open in Soho,...