‘Right-wingers know better food’: Rosina reviewed
The worst areas to eat in London are the best places to live. Hampstead, Chelsea, Chiswick, St John’s Wood: all…
Andy Burnham is not a literary PM
At what point, during Team Burnham’s preparations for government, did the overture to ‘Bus Aunty’ go out? Was she contacted…
‘I hope Keir Starmer comes for the pints, not the food’: The Pineapple reviewed
It’s a Saturday afternoon and I’ve just walked into The Pineapple in north London, thus becoming the 4,825th journalist to…
‘A contradiction in terms’: Zylia reviewed
Can there be, in Britain, such a thing as a destination Greek taverna? There are some cases where proximity is…
Why the Green party abandoned its environmental roots
In the summer of 1972, Lesley Whittaker walked into a pub in rural Warwickshire. She had something for her husband…
The perils of London: a beginner’s guide
An interesting new perspective on London is doing the rounds. Our capital city is being advertised as a paradise. London,…
Strewth! Australian culture is taking over Britain
Catherine and Heathcliff. These are surely roles that every attractive British actor should aspire to. Why mope between auditions for…
Our verdict on the new In Our Time presenter
Melvyn Bragg’s first ever intro to In Our Time in 1998 clocked in at 21 seconds. Misha Glenny, meanwhile, took…
The rise and fall of the football presenter
What does it mean to be a ‘good’ sports presenter? Really, it should mean nothing. They aren’t important. They should…
David Deutsch: The Enlightenment, ‘irrational memes’ and how Wikipedia turned woke
The Amazon reviews for David Deutsch’s The Beginning of Infinity don’t alert you to the fact that this is a…
Unesco are idiots
Of all the moronic decisions made by cultural organisations over the past 50 years, probably the most insulting and retrograde…
Can American restaurants thrive in Britain?
To mark the arrival of Carbone in London and the imminent opening of Straker’s in New York, The Spectator’s Angus…
Let them eat swan
How to react to Nigel Farage’s suggestion that immigrants are killing and eating swans? You can react like LBC’s Iain…
Kate Moss’s new Bowie podcast is far too safe
In January, it will be ten years since David Bowie died. I remember Bowie songs playing out of every London…
Why In Our Time must go on
‘Hello’. It’s strange to think that Melvyn Bragg has said that for the last time on In Our Time. That was…
The brilliance of BBC Alba
During lockdown, a friend and I moved into a flat that had a difficult relationship with the TV aerial. Ineptitude…
Lunch with Thomas Straker, the chef the restaurant world loves to hate
‘It was a heavy week,’ sighs Thomas Straker, explaining why he recently ended up on a drip in New York.…
Can Trump get Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza?
Benjamin Netanyahu has landed in Washington for talks with Donald Trump about the war in Gaza. These, combined with Israel-Hamas…
Is your restaurant halal?
Dos Mas Tacos opened recently next to Spitalfields Market, one of London’s trendiest and busiest areas. Two beef birria tacos…
Are the ‘lanyard class’ the new enemy?
Globalisation, liberalism, neoliberalism, managerialism, internationalism, multiculturalism, human resources, wokeness, identity politics, progressivism, EDI, DEI, corporatism, proceduralism, elitism, environmentalism, transnationalism: there…
The creeping Dubai-ification of London
In December 2023, a TikTok influencer called Maria Vehera opened a packet of ‘Dubai chocolate’ in her car and filmed…
My Marco Pierre White obsession
Pierre White, Marco. Chef. Michelin stars: five (all handed back). Wives: three (all handed back). Restaurants owned: number unclear. Hours…
Bring back beef dripping!
For several years, a debate has raged (mainly on Twitter, now X) over whether animal fats are actually better for…
‘The worst echo chamber is your own mind’: the unconventional life of philosopher Agnes Callard
Agnes Callard is a professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and she lives with her current husband and…
Do people find Trump as scary anymore?
In the Spectator offices, my colleague Mary Wakefield and I often end up talking about young people while we’re making tea. She…
