Le Lapin Rouge: A popup with panache

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. London’s supper club scene sometimes makes me sad.

Too many friends have acted on Time Out’s recommendation to spend £38 at Underground Dining - where you pay a premium for the pleasure of eating on a disused tube carriage. Booze isn’t included in the price, and it’s not BYOB. So once you’re there, the cost of a meal rockets to nearer £60.… 

Read More »

51 Degrees at The Rooftop Cafe

I love a post-work drink in The City, because it’s always good to catch up with friends.

There are a few downsides though.

Firstly, location. Last night’s booze seeps out of every pore of the men squeezed into The Swan on Ship Tavern Street. A fug of lunchtime gases and beer belches hang in the air and body heat radiates from under every wool-cashmere blend overcoat. There’s the chronic bottom-pinching at The Jamaica Wine House and the all-boy-boarding-school feel to Simpson’s Tavern where Etonian execs enjoy being scolded by the matronly servers. As a female freelancer, it’s always a culture shock when I cross the border from Tower Hamlets to The City of London.… 

Read More »

Pitt Cue Co.

It’s five minutes to six on a bitterly cold February evening and I’m waiting outside a bar near Carnaby Street. There are about eight people in the queue, rubbing their hands, stomping their feet and puffing cold air…. 

Read More »