Chocolates from Benoit Nihant
At 74% concentration the chocolate bar from Benoit Nihant is powerful, with a long and smooth melt that slowly reveals hints of stone fruits after the initial cocoa burst.
Brunch at House of Ho
Small plates include a few curvy summer rolls, stuffed full of noodles and served with a buttery peanut dip, and Pho Cuon rolls, lined with confit duck and crispy onions.
Afternoon Tea at Chateau Dessert
Miniatures include lemon meringues, banoffee bites, fruit tarts, coffee and praline domes, berries and assorted macarons and naughty little chocolates of ganache and biscuit.
Five Guys, Shepherds Bush
The burgers are tepid - the meat is a passionless patty of miscellaneous cow, set in a wad of hardened processed cheese in a characterless white bun. Don't do it.
Mabel’s, Covent Garden
Try the Tarte Tatin cocktail of sugar laced Calvados and Sipsmith vodka, or the Rhubarb and Raspberry Martini with Chase Rhubarb Vodka, Chambord and a lick of lemon.
Laduree – French toast & Chantilly cream
Buttery, eggy french toast under a cloud of Chantilly cream from Laduree, Covent Garden...
Dinner at Canvas, Chelsea
Maroon fleshelets of confit pigeon are smartly paired with sweet corn puree and kernals of popped corn, the combination of both is sweet and rich. It is only the start, and I am undone.
Afternoon Tea at One Aldwych
A ruby red ‘Cocktail Charlie’, bubbling away under a cloud of smoking dry ice in a teapot, made up of a mixture of whisky, cherry marnier, chocolate bitters and champagne.
Tapas Revolution, Shoreditch
A tapas bar goes hand in hand with a plate of pulpo, and the octopus here is steamed to a good texture and served with new potatoes and smoked pimentón.
Smokehouse Comes To Chiswick
The spuds start off well - boiled so that they are fluffy first, then mercilessly roasted to form a hard exterior, and later crusted with a thin layer of solid caramel that cracks in the best way.
Desserts-on-fire at The Drift, Liverpool Street
The Drift has the unmistakable vibe of a Drake & Morgan restaurant, with the same sort of feel as its sister restaurants The Folly, Anthologist, The Parlour and Refinery.
A Stunning Lunch at Dysart, Richmond
Confit leeks with 36-month aged Comté is a proper little number, insistently salty and impossible not to ravage, balanced with risotto and buttery strands of spring-green leek.
Sunday Roast at 64 Degrees, Victoria
The original restaurant opened up in Brighton a few years ago to great reviews, and has been regularly referenced as one to watch for an elusive Michelin star.
Dinner at Holborn Dining Room
Holborn Dining Room provides the perfect foil for head chef Calum Franklin and owner Des McDonald, executive of the Caprice Group, to showcase British favourites.
Carom – Indian Food in Soho
From the £15 set lunch menu deal the butterflied prawns are the best - doused in a fiercely vibrant curry marinade and splintered open with heat.
Sloane Square’s Medlar
Medlar offers tremendously good hearted dining, and though there is a certain lack of refinement, it should nevertheless be thought of as a good neighbourhood restaurant.
Brunch at Modern Pantry, Clerkenwell
Fusion in Farringdon that includes a global pick & mix of ingredients and cuisines in things like curry leaf waffles, plantain fritters and black sesame labneh, and that’s just the brunch menu.
Corinthia – A Gorgeous Afternoon Tea Spot
Corinthia is perfect for Christmas; it's domed glass cupola spills natural light through 1000 baccarat crystals of the Full Moon chandelier, and room is transformed with festive finery.
Lebanese Bites at Comptoir Libanais
Falafel, lamb kibbeh, hommos and baklawa – they are what they are and if you’re in the mood for any of them you’ll be set right at Comptoir Libanais.
Flaming Crepes Suzette at The Cavendish
Order from a lively cocktail list featuring an Old Fashioned with saffron infused bourbon, or an espresso martini with cardamom.
