Invited by Fiona Maclean from London Unattached , to join her to preview the Sir John Soane’s Afternoon Tea menu at the Gilbert Scott, I was expecting an elegant few hours at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.  I have wanted to visit the hotel since its revamp some years ago turned it from a derelict building into one of London’s finest
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Invited to lunch at Kouzu, a newly opened Japanese restaurant in Belgravia, I knew I was in for a different experience from that at my local, no –frills, neighbourhood sushi bar. Located in a Grade 11 listed building, once a bank, Kouzu is not yet easy to find as planning regulations have delayed the name board being hung outside. At
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Moored on the Thames with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament to the right and the London Eye across the water, the restaurant ship, R.S. Hispaniola, is not short on iconic views. Sipping champagne at sunset as the Thames Clipper and tour boats glide past, planes fly across the darkening sky, buses and trains cross the bridges and barges
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On a warm summer’s evening, grab a bar stool overlooking the Covent Garden piazza where magicians entertain the crowds. Order a Mango Bellini or a refreshing Taryntini cocktail. Enjoy the bonhomie, the view, your fellow pleasure seekers dressed up for a night out or relaxing after a day at work. If this sounds like your kind of place then make
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You know the feeling – arriving back to your hotel, exhausted from a day of seeing the sights, hungry but just too tired to go further than the in house restaurant. Usually one wishes one had not. Well, The Brasserie at The Tower is an exception to the rule. Blessed with an enviable location, surely one of the best for
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Walking into Ibérica Farringdon on a hot London day, one could be forgiven for imagining that the underground had travelled further south than Farringdon station which is situated only steps away. This is testament to a good design team who have imported the furniture, even the panelling on the bar, thus lending an authentic Spanish feel to the interior. A
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When travelling to foreign cities I always investigate the food tours on offer. I relish the idea of walking around with an entertaining guide, being introduced not only to snippets of information about the area, but also a local’s knowledge of where to find some of the best food. Often these are places off the beaten track of the tourist
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  Every now and again one happens upon a beach that will be used as a benchmark against which to compare others one is yet to discover. One such is Cumpultitu, on the west coast of Sardinia, between the towns of Alghero and Bosa. The coastal road between these two towns is worth driving even if you are not planning
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Drive any distance along a Sardinian road and you cannot fail to notice strange stone structures dotted across the landscape. These are prehistoric dry stone wall dwellings called Nuraghe (Nuraxe) and there are some 7 000 scattered across the island. Once you start to look out for them they appear everywhere – sometimes dilapidated, often missing their roofs, occasionally so
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