Pleasure You Can Measure: Hedonism Wines, Mayfair

When flogging wine, don’t sell the sausage, sell the sozzle. The name of London’s newest wine and spirits boutique couldn’t possibly be more apt. Having opened just before Christmas, it seems that everybody and his wine-guzzling dog is talking about the Mayfair venture… and quite rightly so. Unlike your standard wine shop, Hedonism have created…
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Mendooozzaaa!

Is the place where this really good wine comes from. This isn’t about McBain’s nemesis at all. It’s not every restaurant that gets it’s very own wine. But over two years ago, Bodega Ruca Malen created Malbec magnums for Roast, the consistently great meat’n’Brit eatery nestled above Borough Market. This proved to be a jolly…
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Big City Banquet: HKK London

The tech hub of London’s been needing a decent Chinese. HKK is happy to deliver. Normally, when everyone universally agrees something is great, it means everyone is wrong. Yes, ladies, Bradley Cooper is a shark-toothed freak. Sorry. Normally, restaurants never get the kind of consensus of approval that the gurning, goblin-faced freak evokes in female…
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Patchi Up the Relationship

Nothing says ‘Please, please, please wear this underwear I bought for you’ like a non-verbal box of lady joy. More often than not, chocolate really is the way to a woman’s heart, especially when they look this gorgeous. Whilst we’re sure you’ve had your lavish Valentine’s Day plans secured for months now, here’s a little extra…
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Mid-Life Nices

Not everything that hits 50 is full of regrets… Not ones for getting involved in nonsense like gnawing on celery and sweating needlessly in a Lycra tracksuit all in the name of a post-Christmas belly shed, we’d rather continue the start of this year as we left off 2012 – with a rapidly decreasing collection…
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John Graves – Our Vintner of Discontent

So what have you been doing for the last 15 years? Time certainly does fly, especially when you’re a very successful wine trader and bon viveur, like wot I am. So what have you been doing for the last 15 years? Time certainly does fly, especially when you’re a very successful wine trader and bon…
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The Verbier to Go

For LUSSO 28, regular contributor Chris West stopped for 36 hours in Verbier to separate truth and rumour about the coming 2012-13 ski season. Verbier continues to amaze. That’s partly the stunning scenery but it’s also due to the stunning shortage of high-end luxury for the young and active European super-wealthy. The hedgie who’s happy to…
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Man Vs. Food – the £125k Christmas Dinner

It’s safe to say that Christmas dinner is the best meal of the year – if not for the food then for your darling family and the cosy, festive atmosphere. But your standard Christmas dinner pales in comparison to Ben Spalding’s Ultimate Christmas Dinner. Ben (pictured) is head chef at John Salt and one to…
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I Love You, Honey.

Christmas grocery shopping? All you need is Steens. Steens raw, cold processed, 100% pure New Zealand Manuka Honey is seriously good smothered on toast, marvellous in mulled wine, great on gammon, perfect on parsnips and a really brilliant addition to any kitchen. Taking honey seriously since 1982, Steens have over 10,000 beehives dreamily located across…
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Bodo’s Schloss, London

Perched by one of the gingham-clad wooden tables at the new Bodo’s Schloss, one of the not-quite-as-young-as-he-thinks-he-is vultures circling the room slid into the pine booth next to me. “So,” he drawled, “where do you ski?” “Banff” I replied. “Oh,” he says with evident disdain. “We ski in Méribel”. It was just too tempting. “Ergh.…
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