Raise your glass to last orders for restaurant no-show slackers
What a rude bunch we’ve become. So rude that restaurateurs and pub landlords are calling last orders on customers who fail to honour their bookings. Last-minute apologies and no-shows…
William Sitwell reviews Jöro, Sheffield: ‘It might be one of the great restaurants of the world’
Approach from one direction, and the location of Jöro looks like a makeshift shelter on the edge of some wasteland. Shipping containers are piled high, windowless and…
Calorie counts on menus won’t work – and they’ll suck the fun out of eating out
And so, coming to a takeaway, a café or a pub near you, is this sledgehammer of calorie-hating force that will paint devil’s horns on the scones…
Would you pay a restaurant to eat your own cake?
Not everyone agrees. “The thing we get to do, which is the greatest privilege, is to be the place where people mark the moments in their life,”…
The last breakfast at Britain’s most stylish restaurant
On Friday morning, The Wolseley looked and sounded just like it always has. Stepping over the threshold out of the spring sunshine on Piccadilly, through the big…
Corbin & King lose control of company behind The Wolseley
One of the UK’s most renowned restaurateurs has lost control of the group which owns The Wolseley after a late night auction which saw Thai investor Minor…
William Sitwell reviews Bob Bob Ricard: ‘This could be the most raucous ride in the City’
Enter into the vortex of the City of London’s Bob Bob Ricard and even before you hit the famous ‘Press for Champagne’ button or throw back the…
How a tiny Cumbrian village became the nation’s gourmet capital
Still, Cumbria was a different place when L’Enclume opened in 2002. Yes, there were fine-dining restaurants, primarily in grand country hotels. But while they were excellent, they…
William Sitwell reviews The Crossing, Barnes: ‘It made you glad to be alive – a thing of epic wonder’
The Crossing in Barnes is surely designed with the mothers of young children in mind. The place feels so clean that little Tarquin with his pals Myrtle,…
Home meal kits are here to stay – why top chefs are sticking to ‘makeaways’
His theory seems borne out by data from Dishpatch, an online marketplace for makeaway boxes, which works with top chefs such as Tom Kerridge, Michel Roux Jr…
Brain food: why Britain is falling in love with offal again
Traditionally cheap, offal has historically been associated with peasant food, eaten primarily by poorer members of society – a key component of ‘cucina povera’ in Italy. This…
The restaurants helping Ukraine, one plate at a time
The Carousel menu will feature classic Ukrainian dishes, such as pickled vegetables with trout, borsch with duck and prunes, vareniki dumplings with potatoes and porcini and Ukrainian…
William Sitwell reviews Pulpo Negro, Alresford: ‘Ought to be the most famous thing that has ever happened in Alresford’
Alresford is one of those words that reminds me of a South African friend of my father who came to London in the ’50s and tried to…
It’s going to get Messi: we try the world’s best footballer’s brand-new burger
Seven Ballon d’Ors, four Champions Leagues, 10 Spanish titles, a Copa America, 786 goals, one enormous burger. It would be a stretch to call this the highlight…
Owner of celebrity Mayfair restaurant Scott’s in planning row over riverside venue
However, he has become embroiled in a planning row and now faces vehement opposition from renowned architect Quinlan Terry, as well as the Richmond Society, which campaigns…
William Sitwell reviews The Colony Grill Room, London: ‘A sparkling gem – despite that pudding’
The crime against the rice pudding, a vicious assault on an established classic, stirred me more perhaps because I was so comfortable. On a banquette, opposite my…
The inside story of the world’s most exclusive ingredient
Most celebrity chefs attempt a commercial cash-in at some point. Titans of French cuisine, Joel Robuchon and Paul Bocuse, already had their own ranges of ready meals…
My death row final meal? The prawn toast from this Lake District stay is straight on the list
There was a time when running your own restaurant was seen as living the dream. You love food and people? Basically, you host a dinner party every…
William Sitwell reviews Miscusi, London: ‘The food and wine I was offered was an abomination’
Miscusi sashays into London with breezy confidence. There are 12 branches across Italy, in seven cities. Its founder, Alberto Cartasegna, pronounces that this is not just a…
It’s glam up north: Cumbria’s L’Enclume wins its third Michelin star
Ynyshir in Wales and Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen in Dublin are the other new two-star spots. Of the new one-star restaurants, seven are in London, including…
Where are all the brilliant women? Michelin are missing out on future female stars
But in one area Michelin still has a problem – it’s not keeping pace with the speed with which change is happening in the UK’s restaurant scene….
Dodgy CVs and tattoos from the coalface: the perilous journey to Michelin stardom
Yet, true or not, some chefs around Martin might have heard the news and looked a little sheepish. Because as everybody knows in the hospitality world, massaging…
Is there any point to restaurant dress codes at all in 2022?
Since the backlash about these unquestionably sexist rules (not to mention clumsy phrasing), Beluga Bar has removed the offending text from its website and issued an apology….
The only people who can take a joke are old Etonian toffs like me
Holm is situated in the centre of the village, adjacent to the church, round the corner from the chemist, a few doors from the pub and just…
From beige mush to cheesy duck: our expert taste test of supermarket Chinese New Year food
Today marks the start of Chinese New Year, the first day of festivities as the year of the ox turns into the year of the tiger. While…