Food
‘Can’t help but exude warmth’: Paper Moon at the OWO, reviewed
Paper Moon is the Italian restaurant inside the Old War Office on Whitehall, now a hotel called Raffles London at…
Stop worrying if your child is a picky eater
One parent in our class WhatsApp chat raised a pressing concern: her daughter was coming home every day with a…
‘The food is as good as you will find in London’: Saison at Raffles London, reviewed
The Old War Office (bad acronym OWO) on Whitehall is now a Raffles hotel: you can stay in Winston Churchill’s…
‘They do better spaghetti bolognese in Hampstead for a tenner’: The Lobby at The Peninsula, reviewed
The Peninsula is a new hotel at Hyde Park Corner. It is part of the trend for absurd expense: rooms…
‘Well-priced and skilful’: Masala Zone, reviewed
There are cursed restaurants and cursed women, and this makes them no less interesting. One is Maxim’s in Paris, which…
Stark realities
Lawyers, teachers, architects and engineers all enjoy sex behind the scenes at a Houston gay bar in a novel focusing on relationships among black urban men
Fine food in a fine restaurant: Origin City reviewed
Origin City is a good name for this restaurant, whether it knows it or not. It is at West Smithfield,…
As gaudy as Versailles: The Duchess of Cornwall in Poundbury reviewed
Poundbury is the King’s idealised town in Dorchester, built on his land to his specifications: the town that sprung out…
Why I’m addicted to Australian MasterChef
Why is Australian MasterChef so much better than the English version? You’d think, with a population less than a third…
Bruton is suddenly the place to be – and I have a theory why: At the Chapel reviewed
At the Chapel, Bruton, is a restaurant and hotel in a former chapel in Bruton. This was once an ordinary…
Fish and chips: the fast food that made me
The last meal my parents had before I graced the world with my presence was fish and chips, so I…
A Margherita in Tolkien’s Middle-earth: Pizza in the Courtyard at Sarehole Mill reviewed
Sarehole Mill is four miles south of the centre of Birmingham. If this were a fairy tale, and it should…
‘Thinks of the diner, not the chef’: Claridge’s Restaurant, reviewed
The BBC made a very odd documentary about the renovation of Claridge’s: The Mayfair Hotel Megabuild. They filmed, agog, as…
Pavlova: the crumble of summer
Whenever I tell someone that I’m making a pavlova the response is the same: sheer joy. Even the most fervent…
Big Little Bavaria on Thames: Bierschenke bierkeller reviewed
I am not sure the vast Bierschenke bierkeller in Covent Garden is successful, even if it is skilful: I worry…
A taste of 1997: Pizza Express reviewed
As the government withers this column falls to ennui and visits Pizza Express. As David Cameron, who left the world…
As good as pub food gets: The Red Lion, East Chisenbury, reviewed
The Red Lion, East Chisenbury, is in the Pewsey Vale on the edge of Salisbury Plain. Wiltshire’s strangeness surpasses even…
