Restaurants

As a man who eats meat, and always has, I’ve never been in the position to take the moral high ground as far as dinner table ethics are concerned. I do, however, respect peoples’ choice to follow vegetarian diets, and understand that vegetarian food is not necessarily boring food. Alas, it is only within the past five years that so many British restaurants have begun to understand the true, delicious potential of vegetables. Until recently, most token vegetarian dishes would...

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. Aster – Victoria The latest restaurant from D&D London, Aster has opened at Nova Food next to Victoria station. Set across two floors, the space comprises a 161-cover café and deli, plus an upstairs 122-cover restaurant and cocktail bar. As for the food, the kitchen will be overseen by Executive Chef Helena Puolakka, having previously held the...

Though all restaurant experiences revolve heavily around eating, so many restaurateurs fail to understand that there's more to a great restaurant than just good food. From service and general ambience down to the smallest, most pernickety details, the overall experience - from walking through the door to picking up the bill - is everything. Some of the best food I ate last year, for instance, was at a restaurant I actively despised. The culinary skill displayed was exceptional, though the...

In celebration of Scottish poet and writer Robert Burns’s Birthday (25th January), Burns Night takes place this week. Falling on Wednesday, a great number of Burns Night events are taking place across the week to celebrate. From Scottish-inspired set menus to whisky tastings and the occasional deep-fried Mars bar, here’s our pick of the best food and drink events to celebrate Burns Night in London. Mac & Wild One of London’s best Scottish restaurants, Mac & Wild will host a whole...

It’s a tremendous shame that British food has gained such an internationally dreadful reputation, yet it’s hardly surprising. Alongside a bland curry originally made from gravy, yogurt and tinned soup, the Sunday Roast stands out as one of our most prominent national dishes. Generally served as a late lunch, with portion sizes vast enough to see us through to the following weekend, the roast dinner is essentially a collation of ingredients slung into the oven then left for at least...

With an entire population smaller than that of just London, it’s easy to forget that Scotland exports an outstanding percentage of the world’s food and drink produce. Figures published by the Scottish Government show the nation’s food and drink sector hit a record high of £14.3 billion in 2013, with the £12.5 billion turnover target for 2017 surpassed in 2011. Indeed, there’s far more to Scottish cuisine than haggis, whisky and battered Mars bars. Unlike London, Scotland’s capital city is...

Over the past eighteen months, I’ve visited Mayfair’s 8 Mount Street on three different occasions – eating at a different restaurant each time. In June 2015, Le Chabanais opened on the site (named after a French brothel) and closed soon after. A few months later, the restaurant re-opened with a new name (8 Mount Street) and under new management. Though the menu of Modern-European food was fine, everything was completely let down by dining room; a narrow dining space embellished...

Just a stone’s throw from Paris’ Champs Elysees, Two-Michelin-starred Le Taillevent has become an iconic staple of French gastronomy since opening in 1946. The opening was later followed by a wine-focused sister restaurant, Les 110 de Taillevent, which crossed the channel at the end of 2015, opening in central London. Taking over a location previously occupied by a branch of Coutts bank, Les 110 de Taillevent has a feature-wall of green bottles matching rich green leather banquettes that make the...

Of London’s various ills, the tube’s Central line is amongst the ugliest. Though the trains aren't succumbed to constant disruption and the seats harbour less dust than the Bakerloo, the choice of devil-red as the line’s colour key does not appear coincidental (generally associated with heat and rage). Over crowded, under-lit and hotter than the filling of a McDonald’s apple pie; each train is a 272-seat anxiety attack, rattling through tunnels so deep that a collision with the Earth’s core...