Restaurants

Perhaps even more so than Chinese cuisine in Britain, Indian food and restaurants have evolved massively over the past few centuries. Britain’s first encounters with the food of India can be traced back to the 17th century with the introduction of The East India Company. Set up for Britain to trade produce with India, this sparked further interest in Indian food, with various spices and curry powders becoming readily available in the UK during the late 1700s. As for Indian...

It was all going so well. Arriving over half an hour early, I met with my Editor at a pub close to the restaurant for a catch up over a quick pint. Yet by the time of our dinner reservation had rolled around, we had ended up at the wrong restaurant. Positioned in the middle of Great Portland Street, the Fitzrovia branch of Picture has been operating for around four years, with the newer Marylebone outpost (the site of our...

Joining the likes of Kurobuta, Yo! Sushi and Burger & Lobster, Zelman Meats is the latest addition to the fifth floor of Knightsbridge’s Harvey Nichols. Perched next door to Burger & Lobster, Zelman Meats is also owned by Russian restaurateur Misha Zelman, who also owns a chain of popular steakhouses - Goodman - and the alpha-male Beast in Marylebone. This particular branch, however, seems very much like an overspill space for those wishing to visit Burger & Lobster during peak...

Nestled in the North of Spain, bordering the South West of France, the Basque region’s cuisine has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past eleven months, and what’s more – the trend is showing no signs of slowing down. One of the Basque-inspired restaurants to have opened this year is the first London restaurant from Eneko Atxa, the three Michelin-starred chef behind Bilbao’s Azurmendi. Although Eneko at One Aldwych does bring the chef’s cooking expertise to the Capital,...

With the new series of MasterChef: The Professionals having began last night, next Monday (14th November) will see a unique, one-off event in which 11 of the programme’s previous finalists will take over the kitchen of The Frog E1. The evening will include a five-course tasting menu with all of the proceeds donated to Dementia UK, organised by 2015 finalist Andi Walker, as a tribute to his Grandmother – Nanny Pickles - who suffers from dementia, and to who Andi...

Until recently, I was under the impression that the link between ‘gluten-free’ and flavour was strictly forbidden. Over the Summer I took part in a six-week low FODMAP research diet, completely eliminating gluten (amongst other things) from my day-to-day life. Unsurprisingly, this turned out to be very difficult when visiting restaurants and after four weeks the overbearing cravings for food with even the slightest hint of excitement became impossible to resist and the diet was left incomplete. The problem was...

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. Sakagura - Mayfair Joining the likes of Momo and Gordon Ramsay’s Heddon Street Kitchen, just behind Regent Street, Sakagura is the latest restaurant opening from The Japan Centre Group. Opening in collaboration with the team behind two Michelin-starred The Araki, the restaurant will have a Southern Japanese focus and will mainly serve ‘Washoku’ and Hakata Yakitori skewers....

The great British pub is almost dead and I, for one, am unhappy. A few weeks ago, I visited Avebury’s The Red Lion Inn – the only pub within an ancient stone circle, built during the 1600s. Ten years ago, it was impossible to leave without having been filled with great cask ale, honest pub grub and scintillating conversation with nomads, druids, vagabonds, spiritualists and hikers. Now, having been taken over by Old English Inns, the pub’s décor has about...

It is a subject that I’ve touched upon before, but after four years, the thought of paying in excess of £30 to visit the top of The Shard still baffles me. Indeed, the view across the city is exceptional, providing that the weather is clear and the clouds are higher than the 800-foot viewing platform. However, the main view to be excited about is that of the city’s other very close skyscrapers, Canary Wharf, Parliament, the London Eye and maybe...