St. Moritz Gourmet Festival St. Moritz Switzerland Crisp white stratocumulus scud beneath me on the swift 75-minute flight to Zürich. From there I take a couple of trains to that swishest of resorts where only the stylish check in and if you have to ask how much you’re in the wrong place. Or that’s
Central America A New Revolution Once the hotbed of revolution and unrest the collection of seven countries that separate the Americas are experiencing something of a renaissance, a revolution in tourism if you will. Visiting three of them gave me a flavour of what’s on offer to the more adventurous visitor. I started my
Newark Nottinghamshire The 10:30 Virgin East Coast train from London’s Kings Cross to Newcastle put me in mind of Roy Budd’s superb soundtrack to the seminal seventies movie Get Carter. He managed to build on the repetitive rattle of train on track mounting the tension as Carter returns home to uncover the truth behind
The Goldsmiths Arms 3 Croydon Road London SE20 7TJ Tel: 020 8659 1242 About 15 years ago a serious decline started in pubs. Across the country they were falling like flies. The country local was no more, the London boozer had reached its end and the world was a poorer place for it. In
Shake Shack Covent Garden Market The Piazza London WC2E 8RD Tel: 01923 555129 Shake Shack is one of those ‘rock up and order a burger and they do it for you’ places. Except that it’s a bit more than that. Sure, they do make their burgers to order but there is care and consideration
The Butcher’s Hook 115 Dalling Road W6 0ET Tel: 020 8741 6282 Sitting in the middle of the Bermuda triangle of Hammersmith, Shepherd’s Bush and Chiswick and only 500 metres from Ravenscourt Park tube station is The Butcher’s Hook. Sister to the highly successful Fulham Road branch this relatively new outpost has hit the
Saltwood on the Green The Green Saltwood Hythe Kent CT21 4PS Tel: 01303 237 800 Saltwood on the Green is a village restaurant that could very easily be a backdrop to a Midsummer Murders mystery. Such is the quaint beauty of its location and the calm demeanor of the locals. I found myself here
Tredwell’s 4A Upper St. Martin’s Lane London WC2H 9NY Tel: 020 3764 0840 Tredwell’s is Marcus Wareing’s new West End eatery that has a more relaxed approach to food than some of his other restaurants. This is no standard Michelin starred gaff with starched napkins and staff to match. This is a genuinely relaxed
Vienna Austria At the beginning of Carol Reed’s 1949 film The Third Man the narrator talks of not knowing the old Vienna before the war referring to the days of imperial splendour and pomp. That may have had validity when the movie was made but it seems a little quaint now. Today Vienna has
Venus Cafe Blackpool Sands Dartmouth Devon TQ6 0RG Tel: 01803 770209 The cove at Blackpool Sands is straight out of an Enid Blyton book. It curves round in a perfect crescent the waves lapping the shingle shore with beautiful scenery all around. This area of Devon is one unexplored by many, maybe that’s why
Glazebrook House Hotel South Brent Devon TQ10 9JE Tel: 01364 73322 Between Exeter and Plymouth is a small village called South Brent on the A38. Off a smallish county lane you will find the entrance to Glazebrook House Hotel. The gate pillars are old and as you wind up the drive you haven’t got
The Ambrette 14-15 Beer Cart Lane Canterbury Kent CT1 2NY Tel: 01227 200 777 This is the third branch of chef patron Dev Biswal’s expanding empire and is set to be the flagship. Located in the delightfully named Beer Cart Lane not far from the high street it is spacious and with beautifully designed
The Slug and Lettuce North Block (1-63) 5 Chicheley Street Southbank London SE1 7PJ Tel: 0845 129 7637 All words and pictures by Neil Hennessy-Vass I have only ever been to the strangely named Slug and Lettuce for drinks so didn’t know what to expect of their food. The branch on the Southbank is
Ping Pong Festival Terrace Southbank Centre Belvedere Road London SE1 8XX Tel: 020 7960 4160 Words and photographs by Neil Hennessy-vass Ping Pong is undoubtedly an exciting game and an exciting place. I visited with my eldest son on a rainy Friday evening and the place was buzzing. It’s full of people meeting up after
The Reach Bar and Kitchen Gallion’s Hotel Albert Basin Way E16 2QZ Tel: 020 7476 8689 The Reach is a phoenix from the ashes of a hotel. Not literally, but the Gallion’s Hotel is the name of a listed building that was once a hotel. Nowadays the upper floor of this splendid building is