The Petersham Hotel for a Stay
The Petersham is a 4-Star stunner with the best views of the River Thames, which winds below past idyllic pastures. The hotel is on Nightingale...
Carl Goes London Islands
Carl Goes London Islands is one of a series of alternative travel guide books, and a collection with which I am rather taken. These books...
Lee Kum Kee and Smokin’ Lotus Lamb and Salmon
Lee Kum Kee is collaborating with Rosie Chik of Smokin’ Lotus, a street food company, that has a regular slot at Kerb in London (King’s...
Copperpot Fudge – creamy and rich
Fudge has long been a favourite sweet indulgence, and at any time of year. It’s creamy and rich and somehow takes one back to an...
Hokusai: The Master’s Legacy
We have likely all heard of Hokusai but in truth most people would only recognise The Great Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great...
Pink Grapefruit Gin by Pickering
This is a summer winner. Pickering’s Pink Grapefruit and Lemongrass Gin Liqueur is complex and surprisingly refreshing for a drink that describes itself as a...
The Garden House Restaurant for Lunch
We had visited this delightful and intimate hotel before (read my reviews here). The Garden House is part of the Beaverbrook Estate and the smaller...
Jean-Didier Gouges at The Petersham
There are few hotels I like more than the characterful Petersham, overlooking the River Thames in Richmond. And to compound the joy, there is a...
Maraschino Luxardo
We all, I am sure, remember our Nan’s cherry brandy on the sideboard at Christmas; and then there is the cherry alcohol one uses...
Barcelona Sketchbook – book review
Barcelona is a beautiful city and famed for its buildings. Barcelona Sketchbook: Homage to Catalan Architecture allows the reader to view these façades in something...
Las Iguanas Sunday Brunch
In the heart of Bloomsbury, not far from Russell Square Underground station, one finds a new area of restaurants, cafés and retail outlets. It’s popular...
Abokado for Breakfast – High Holborn
Abokado is a chain, but it has become just that because it delivers what people want and it has regulars, and that, these days, is...
The House Japanese Grill at Beaverbrook
The Beaverbrook Estate seems a quintessentially English retreat with a country house hotel, and that would obviously have a quintessentially English dining room and menu....
The Book of Ices by Mrs. Agnes Marshall
This is a pleasure in pocket-size. A book on ices, but from an age when such things were sheer luxury, a holiday treat, and seldom...
Tokyo Direct Ginza Curry and Noodles
Tokyo Direct is an online company and new to me. They specialise in Japanese food, drink, kitchen goods, stationery and bathroom items. Japanese food is...
YUU Kitchen for Dinner
Well, this was a surprise, and what a lovely one. Not often you can say that in these times of over-priced and under-achieving restaurants. YUU...
The Indian Vegetarian Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant
The Indian Vegetarian Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant is a must-have tome from one of the most respected Indian food writers. It’s bound to spend more...