An El Bulli in Bethnal Green May 3, 2010 Viajante Patriot Square E2 9NF, tel: 020 7871 0461 www.viajante.co.uk FOOD ***** SERVICE ***** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £25-£85 IT was love. As I bit off some buttered mini spelt-dusted baguette, lovingly served by Viajante’s chef and ex-El Bulli ingénu Nuno Mendes himself, I froze. My eyes began to roll back in [...]
Vinegar with your martini? When in Italy… May 3, 2010 SOMETIMES you choose something off the menu because it sounds so awful that it will either be completely horrible or totally brilliant, but either way, it will make for a good story. Faced with the cocktail menu at the Four Seasons Florence, a former Medici palace and papal residence that has been lovingly restored into [...]
THREE OTHER EAST LONDON FAVOURITES May 3, 2010 GREEN & RED Buzzy and critically acclaimed Mexican restaurant and bar that’s full of hipsters guzzling the likes of octopus ceviche, cumin-roasted chicken wings and watermelon salad in the cantina. In the bar, they’re sipping from the 200-strong tequila menu. Great non-alcoholic drinks include hibiscus and tamarind juice. 51 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA, tel: [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS May 3, 2010 TRINITY GOES LITERARY Recipe books are ten-a-penny, but not many leave us as watered-of-mouth as How to Eat In by Adam Byatt, chef patron of Clapham’s rather fabulous Trinity restaurant. It’s a tome of serious beauty – the full-page pictures of boiled goose eggs with asparagus soldiers and a sensational fish pie topped with cockles [...]
South London set to soar in 2012 April 29, 2010 WITH the opening of a segment of the East London Line extension this week, Hackney, Wapping and Shoreditch just became a lot more desirable. Yet the best property moves are made well in advance of such obvious bonuses, so if you’re looking to buy now, consider the areas of south-east and south-west London that will [...]
FOCUS ON: REIGATE, SURREY April 29, 2010 MANSEFIELD COTTAGE, CROYDON RD, RH2 0PG Price: £895,000 This former bakehouse has been refurbished and extended to create a family home with four double bedrooms. It has a separate dining room, sitting room and orangery overlooking the garden. The property is to the northeast of Reigate town centre and is close to local schools. Reigate [...]
BUYING April 29, 2010 Camilla Dell MANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q.Dear Camilla, what is the UK market likely to do after the election and what advice would you give to buyers? A.A hung parliament is bound to weaken sterling further, which could spell price rises for the London property market, where approximately 60 per cent of transactions over [...]
Iron-clad entertainment April 29, 2010 Film IRON MAN II Cert: 12A Compared to the brooding darkness of the Batman films or the commercial cynicism of the Transformers franchise, 2008’s Iron Man was a breezy joy of a blockbuster, and so is its sequel. It may lose the thread of its plot from time to time, and the final showdown is [...]
Preview: the City’s own music festival April 29, 2010 IAN RITCHIE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR Canada Festival sees the great and good of classical music join the avant-garde and the unusual each summer in the midst of the City. Concerts take place in all the Square Mile’s most beautiful – and often unknown or unused – historical buildings such as St Bartholemew the [...]