These days London is acknowledged to be a hot contender for food capital of the world, thanks to its diversity and the creativity of its concepts. And although we blasé Londoners may think that the bubbling cauldron has reached saturation point, foreign investors re still looking to join the party. The rate of enquiries in …
Decor
Baltic Bakehouse Liverpool
I have just spent a year in Liverpool off and on, dispersing and disposing of my late mother’s house and effects, and re-acquainting myself with the city. It is a place beguiling and infuriating in equal measures, and over the decades I have known it, prone to peaks and troughs which don’t necessarily chime with …
La Ferme London
In case you thought there were more than enough restaurants at the Farringdon road end of Exmouth Market, let me introduce you to another one. Quietly over the last 2 months a Chinese takeaway has metamorphosed into la Ferme, a small stylish but not-at-all-trendy restaurant and shop. It couldn’t be more French if it tried. …
Restaurant Sound
An architect designs an empty restaurant, that’s for sure. There are no people getting in the way, no piles of messy food and no wine glasses to knock over. There is also no sound. Lunchtime, it is acknowledged, is for talking, perhaps business or gossip. But functionality prevails. In the evening it’s all about the …
The Greek Larder
Theodore Kyriakou is an old hand, with great taste in spectacles. He was instrumental in 1999 in introducing Londoners to a world of Greek food away from the standard kebab, chips and salad formula, sensibly choosing bargain sites. The Real Greek opened in Hoxton Market when the area was edgy. Before this, Livebait in 1995 …
Babaji Istanbul Pide Salonu
Since Wagamama, Hakkasan and Yauatcha, Alan Yau seems to be making it increasingly tricky to pronounce the names of his enterprises. The last one, a Bangkok cafe called NaamYaa, maybe even suffered from this, although most seem now to have got their tongues round the Thai chain Busaba Eathai. Until we have the opening of …
Lima Floral – Peruvian gastro revolution (1)
What makes for a successful restaurant? The food, the food I hear you reply, but it is by no means the only factor. In fact, it is only one of many. For example the way the person who greets you is vital. That first moment of stepping on to the premises can set your mood …
Balthazar Bakery
The most eagerly awaited opening in the restaurant world this Spring was the second branch in London of Balthazar, Keith McNally’s highly successful New York restaurant. Arguably the doyen of the New York restaurant scene, McNally has opened 12 individual restaurants over the last 25 years, all in out-of-the-way places. Although, such is the self-generated …
Nordic Triangle
Scandanavian Kitchen/Nordic Bakery/Fabrique In the late 1960s my mother inherited an interior design business in Manchester. This was not quite the glamorous occupation it has now become. Much of her time was spent lugging colour cards and swatches of fabric across muddy building sites to fit out show houses for new estates which were then …
