Why it’s high time to revisit the maligned Muscadet August 28, 2014 I was lucky enough to spend a few hours of the bank holiday enjoying a stellar meal at Rick Stein’s Seafood restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall – that place has really moved up a gear or two since I was there last. After the pleasantries came the rather pressured task of examining the wine list; all [...]
Review: TED Restaurant August 26, 2014 I’m a sustainability hypocrite. If I were at a dinner party and the host served bluefin tuna, I’d take great pleasure in making a scene. “How very dare you? Don’t you know bluefin numbers have dropped by 96 per cent thanks to intensive fishing? And while we’re at it, did you know they can swim [...]
Dish of the Day: The Noodle House’s Pad Thai August 21, 2014 The Noodle House opened on Shaftebusry Avenue in April. Ambitious head chef Dariusz Dziadkiewicz aims to give customers a taster of the diverse food of South East Asia, from curries, to noodles to spicy broths. The restaurant serves seven different types of noodle and 17 blends of herbal tea. I joined The Noodle House [...]
Edinburgh Fringe comedy awards nominations: Remember these names August 20, 2014 The largest arts festival in the world is preparing to wrap for another year. Thousands of performers have taken to hundreds of stages over the course of the month-long event, which will go out with a bang on bank holiday Monday. Originally a theatre festival, the fringe now encompassed comedy, theatre, dance, cabaret, magic and [...]
Get on the road with these famous literary trips August 19, 2014 A-level results are in and those of us with kids are preparing to put our hands in our pockets to fund their “mind-expanding” trip abroad before the hard work – or hard drinking – of university begins. According to insurance firm Endsleigh, almost a third of students have a road trip across North America as [...]
Car review: The new Bentley Flying Spur V8 is a comfortable 2.4 tonne beast August 18, 2014 I can think of worse ways to be stuck in traffic than sitting inside a Bentley, especially if you’re not driving it yourself. This is particularly true of the new four-door Flying Spur V8, which has emerged from the shadow of the two-door Continental GT range, and now stands as its own separate model line. [...]
Film Review: The Expendables 3 August 14, 2014 “Why don’t you cut me loose and I’ll open your meat shirt and show you your own heart” – In another universe this could be poetry. In actual fact the line comes from the resolutely unpoetic gob of Mel Gibson, who sits trussed-up in a military plane flying somewhere over “Uzmenistan”, a fictional country dreamt [...]
Something for the Weekend: how to fill your days off August 14, 2014 To pay tribute: Dead Poets Society Secret Cinema Secret Cinema’s organisers have had their hands full with the Back to the Future event, but they’ve found time to honour Robin Williams with a screening of Dead Poets Society this Friday. £25, visit eventbrite.co.uk To dance: Jazz Festival Canary Wharf Some soul is [...]
Film Review: Hector and the Search for Happiness August 14, 2014 You’d think a psychiatrist would understand why people are unhappy. As it happens, Hector (played by ubiquitous everyman Simon Pegg) doesn’t even know why he’s unhappy. He lives a seemingly comfortable life with his beautiful and successful (but stubbornly childless, we’re reminded) girlfriend Clara in London. But he feels like a fraud imparting worldly advice [...]
Car Review: Rolls-Royce Phantom – as big, luxurious and iconic as ever August 12, 2014 Alan Sugar drives one. So does Simon Cowell. But, by and large, owners of the Rolls-Royce Phantom prefer discretion. For every ostentatious celeb with a Roller there will be 10 discreet owners who hide behind the tinted, double-glazed windows. Yet it’s impossible to avoid people stopping and staring when you drive one. It may have [...]
