Nice ice baby August 12, 2009 ICE cream never used to be a gourmet dinner’s crowning glory. Yet London has become a capital for the stuff – from street vendors to high gastronomy. Take Michel Roux at Michelin-starred Le Gavroche, who makes all his ice cream fresh daily – this week that includes fresh mint and peanut butter. Or Justin Saunders [...]
Spas for the mind are the new cure-all August 10, 2009 NOT long ago I found myself lying on a Freudian-looking couch in a small, neat room. Rather than a psychoanalyst sitting by my head with a clock and a contemplative expression, there was a lithe young woman at my feet, skimming over my bare soles with her fingers, asking me in a soft voice about [...]
OUT OF OFFICE August 10, 2009 GLORIOUS GROUSE AT LE BOUCHON BRETONSpitalfields’ most glamorous – and unabashedly – French restaurant will put a unique twist on game season with a selection of platters that combine the traditional with the Gallic. Traditional roast grouse will come wrapped in bacon with forcemeat pate and roasted breadcrumbs, while jugged hare comes in its own [...]
Opulence, ostrich and eggs benedict as West End landmark goes weird August 10, 2009 The Criterion224 Piccadilly W1J 9HP Tel: 020 7930 0488 Cost per person without wine: £43 OUTSIDE the Criterion’s grand entrance it’s like Piccadilly Circus – a grim, heaving mass of tourists and traffic that swarms in every direction. Okay, it is Piccadilly Circus, and as you arrive it’s hard not to feel a bit sorry [...]
THREE OTHER GRAND WEST END DINING ROOMS August 10, 2009 JUST ST JAMESOccupying a cavernous former bank on St James’s Street, Just St James is all marble columns, chandeliers and huge mirrors. The food is hearty old-school English dishes – not sure about the hi-tech glass lift occupying the centre of the room, however. 16 St James Street, SW1A 1ER, www.juststjames.com THE WOLSELEYThe arching building [...]
Mix banging techno with minke whales in spectacular, friendly Iceland August 9, 2009 THE high cost of a pint of beer used to mean that Iceland was out of bounds for all but the most well-heeled traveller. But the financial catastrophe the country has suffered in the wake of the credit crunch, while devastating for its population, has made it far more accessible, and tourism is expected to [...]
Q&A: BUYING August 6, 2009 Camilla DellMANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q. Dear Camilla, I’m thinking of buying a property for investment. Are there any particular areas or hot spots in London that I should be considering at the moment? A.Well, an area that we quite like at the moment is Fulham, which is on the edge of Chelsea and [...]
The chick flick that’s an insult to womankind August 6, 2009 FilmTHE UGLY TRUTHCert: 15 SHE did it in Knocked Up and in 27 Dresses. Once again, Katherine Heigl steps into the role of a woman starved of love for being too uptight, too successful and too much of a control freak. And, of course, for not being a sexy enough dresser. Her plight was portrayed [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS August 6, 2009 FILM MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT Vincent Cassell stars in part one of this French gangster biopic. ADAM Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne star in a film about a relationship between two outsiders. MEGA SHARK VS GIANT OCTOPUS The race for next year’s Oscars starts here. DVD17 AGAIN Zac Efron stars as a man who finds himself [...]
Pumping it up for the summer August 6, 2009 THE tricky question of what footwear a chap should sport with his shorts raises its head every summer, and never gets properly resolved (though there’s one iron rule – leave those socks in the drawer, daddio). This year it’s all about the new breed of plimsolls, the sports shoe that’s been brought back from the [...]