‘Life Begins at 40’ said American psychologist Walter Pitkin in his 1932 self-help book of the same name. ‘This is the revolutionary outcome of our New Era. Today it is half a truth. Tomorrow it will be an axiom.’ Life expectancy in medieval England was around 25 years and only reached forty sometime around the…
Last week saw the reopening of the eagerly anticipated private member’s club pop up at 19 Greek Street. La Maison Rémy Martin is back, slicker and sexier than ever. Exploring hidden talents of those involved, the opening party saw the delicious actress Gemma Chan pick up (and play) a violin for a captive audience, whilst…
Through the unassuming entrance and down the gilded stairway, the dark mezzanine bar at Quaglino’s is the perfect setting for its Prohibition-themed afternoon Tea. The black trays delicately balanced on a gold frame offer a selection on classic tea-time favourites hop over to here. Think mini sandwiches, scones, berry tarts and macaroons. All to be…
Cosy tavern, gin parlour and salon styled in the period when Phileas Fogg set off around the world, the new cocktail bar from Inception Group brings their famously eccentric touch to London’s Covent Garden. Sister venue to the award-winning Mr Fogg’s Residence in Mayfair, Mr Fogg’s Tavern is the latest quirky bar to come from Charlie Gilkes and…
In the immortal words of J.R.R Tolkien, deep roots are not reached by the frost, and the site of Chelsea’s very first Indian restaurant may well reap the benefits of its age-old heritage. Where Chutney Mary once stood, down the gilded stairway, through the richly encrusted décor with the signature central tree remaining sprawls…
Some things go off quicker than others. House guests, like fish, go off after three days (or so Benjamin Franklin advised), whilst an opened tin of yellow bean paste I have in my fridge has been prodigiously enhancing my Chinese stir-fries for the past year. Earlier in the summer a friendship with an Antipodean blogger…
Contrary to popular belief, my lunchtimes rarely involve strings of Martinis punctuated by amuse-bouches, but rather a more conventional sandwich or perhaps an impromptu reformulating of last night’s culinary experiment (dinner). On Wednesday the 2nd of September however, I had the pleasure of being invited to a somewhat hush-hush unveiling at the Royal Opera House,…
So the soundtrack sounds like something from a lift? It would still be the slickest, smoothest, creamiest lift available to humanity. Going up? A quick livener upstairs at the Club at the Ivy, for starters. My dining companion is a member and, as I am treating him to lunch, it seems only fair to…
On opening in 1927, L’Escargot became Britain’s first restaurant to serve snails. ‘Amusingly enough, the word oleaginous comes to mind when describing Tony, our snail man,’ purrs the Soho stack’s co-owner and reviver, Brian Clivaz, as we appraise salted morsels roasted over coals and bathed in butter. ‘He’s a wonderful fellow with two-to-three million Herefordshire…
Julian de Feral wants you not to go to Original Sin. Okay? *tappy nose thing* Don’t go to Original Sin if you think a good drink is made good by precariously attaching an elaborately crimped zest fashioned in the shape of a hummingbird on to a burning lavender sprig with a mini-peg and served…
