Test Drives

Channelling The Holiday on a festive trip to the Cotswolds

Information: 27 November 2025

Instead of watching The Holiday on repeat in the run up to the festive season, we took a quick jaunt into the Cotswolds to live that life ourselves for a night or two and try a hot new restaurant and hotel into the bargain.

Test Driving Crisp Pizza at The Marlborough, next level hype manages to live up to expectations

Information: 25 November 2025

Crisp Pizza's arrival in Mayfair at The Marlborough is peak London food scene hype. We went down to see if those pizzas live up to the sky-high expectations.

Test Driving Poon's at Somerset House, a new chapter for the restaurant dynasty

Information: 20 November 2025

A mere five decades after her parents opened the much-loved Poon's, Amy Poon has followed in their footsteps by opening the deeply hospitable Poon's at Somerset House. We went to be coddled by Chinese home cooking.

Test Driving Maset - The Lurra team turn French on Chiltern Street

Information: 18 November 2025

The team behind Basque-inspired successes Lurra and Donostia have turned to Coastal France for their latest, opening on Chiltern Street. We went to one of Marylebone's fanciest streets to check it out.

Test Driving 74 Charlotte Street, a grown up affair for Ben Murphy in Fitzrovia

Information: 13 November 2025

Chef Ben Murphy settles down with a more refined offering in a restaurant that's really rather beautiful in an understated way.

Test Driving The Black Eel - a tardis-like pub in Dalston with truly great comfort food by Riley's

Information: 11 November 2025

The Black Eel is a new pub in Dalston that's taken over an absolute warren of rooms with a very talented chef in the kitchen. We went down to try it out.

Trying the Winter Scene afternoon tea at Ochre , a treat too good to leave to the tourists

Information: 06 November 2025

There's a new seasonal afternoon tea at the National Gallery's restaurant, Ochre. We headed to Trafalgar Square to try it out.

Test Driving Aki London, a glamorous new sushi spot bringing Kyoto farm-to-table food to Marylebone

Information: 04 November 2025

Marylebone has a new sushi spot that wouldn't look out of place in the heart of Mayfair. But it turns out that Aki London is more than just a looker.

Test driving Cô Thành, the hit Vietnamese restaurant makes the trip from Hong Kong to London

Information: 30 October 2025

Inspired by a street stall run by "The Lunch Lady", who shot to fame thanks to Anthony Bourdain, the London outpost of this Vietnamese restaurant has arrived in Covent Garden. We went down to try it out.

Test Driving Motorino, Luke Ahearne and Stevie Parle team up for an Italian follow-up to Town

Information: 28 October 2025

For his Town follow-up, Stevie Parle lets Lita's Luke Ahearne take the lead in new "London Italian" Motorino. We went to Fitzrovia to take a first look.

Test Driving Carbone, the American import that quickly became London's hottest restaurant

Information: 23 October 2025

Carbone has landed in London with a bang, immediately becoming the hottest restaurant in town. But what's it actually like to dine there? We went in to find out.

Test Driving Kudu, this Peckham by way of South Africa restaurant's warmth and creativity blossoms in its move to Marylebone

Information: 22 October 2025

Could popular Peckham restaurant group Kudu Collective maintain their neighbourhood vibes in the move to buzzy Marylebone? We popped in for a weekend lunch to find out.

Chasing the late summer sun at Nido in Corfu

Information: 18 October 2025

Fleeing the colder weather in London, we made a late summer visit to Corfu to check out The Mar-Bella Collection's adult-only suites hotel. If you fancy getting some last-minute sun too, here's what to expect...

Test Driving Rosi, a modern British hit for The Beaumont in Mayfair

Information: 14 October 2025

The arrival of Michelin-starred chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen has given this Mayfair hotel dining room a shake up. We went to get a taste of her Modern British cooking.

Bar crawl - squeezing into Tiny Wine, a pocket-sized wine bar with a big heart

Information: 09 October 2025

Expect low intervention wines and interesting crudos at this new Fitzrovia opening Tiny Wine.

Test Driving Alta - beautiful-looking Basque food in Carnaby

Information: 07 October 2025

Alta sees a talented chef putting together an extremely strong menu of Northern-Spanish-inspired food, inspired by working in kitchens in the region. It all left us extremely impressed.

Test Driving Nela at The Whiteley, a taste of Mayfair chic in Bayswater

Information: 30 September 2025

Live-fire restaurant Nela is the first restaurant to open in the big new Bayswater development, The Whiteley. We went down to check out a restaurant that wouldn't look out of place in the middle of Mayfair.

Test Driving Teo Hotpot, a Chinese restaurant with the best British beef and hotpots you don't have to share

Information: 25 September 2025

Bringing a taste of Chaosan to London's Bloomsbury, Teo Hotpot turns out to be a hotpot restaurant that's all about the quality from its British grass-fed beef to clear broths.

Test Driving Richoux, the return of the classic French restaurant and patisserie

Information: 23 September 2025

Classic French restaurant (and patisserie) Richoux has returned to London. This Fitzrovia restaurant is just the beginning, so we went down to see just what the modern version of Richoux has to offer.

Test Driving Lagana, the Midas touch extends to the Pachamama Group's latest Shoreditch opening

Information: 18 September 2025

The London Pachamama Group has just unveiled its latest restaurant to make the switch to a Mediterranean menu. We went to Shoreditch to check out Lagana.

Test Drives

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