Test Drives

Brilliant Basque food and great steaks a few minutes walk from Smithfield Market make Ibai worth crossing town for.

Covent Garden gets a very useful little sushi spot with the opening of Japanese hand roll bar Ukiyo in The Yards.

A ten minute drive from Hampshire you'll find this comfortable estate complete with hotel, two restaurants and even a cookery school. We checked into Lainston House for the full foodie experience.

Holy Carrot used to be a supperclub but now it's become one of London's new breed of plant-based restaurants, with an Acme Fire Cult chef behind the menu. We went to see what he's cooking up.  

Jackson Boxer has taken over the restaurant at a Covent Garden hotel to create Henri, his own take on a Parisian Bistro. We went down to get a slice of France in the heart of London.

It's already one of the buzziest new openings in the City. We took the lift up to the rooftop at Los Mochis City to check out the scene for ourselves. 

  Barely a 20-minute drive from Malaga airport is La Zambra. The resort where The Rolling Stones once holidayed has been given a proper 21st Century makeover (with excellent Andalusian-inspired food). We flew over for a look. 

Great British Menu winner Kirk Haworth has teamed up with his sister Keeley for their first permanent Plates restaurant in Shoreditch and it's already a huge success, booked out for months in advance. We went down to the plant-based restaurant to see what the fuss was all about. 

The Pelican team have scored another huge success with the opening of The Hero in Maida Vale. We pulled up a chair for a pint and a pie to see what this gorgeous new pub has to offer. 

A fish and chip shop in Finsbury Park has been given a new lease of life with the arrival of the Four Legs team. We popped down to Tollington's to check out this North London chipper meets Spanish fish bar.

After the success of Arlington, Jeremy King has brought a 21st-century grand café to Bayswater. We head down for an early look at The Park.  

Having already scored a hit in Notting Hill chef Kemal Demirasal has brought his Mediterranean and Levantine dishes to Carnaby. We went to check it out.

Kioku by Endo has opened at the top of the spectacular building that's The OWO in Whitehall. We went up to the rooftop to see if Endo Kazutoshi is the one to open the hit that The OWO really needs.  

Chef Akira Back is the man behind all the restaurants and bars at the new Mandarin Oriental Mayfair in London. We went to check out his first opening there.

We head to Carton House hotel in Ireland to see what The Dorchester's ex-head chef is cooking up in the extremely impressive surroundings of The Morrison Room. 

Gallery owner Tim Jefferies and chef Larry Jayasekara have teamed up in Mayfair for an impeccably-designed fine dining restaurant. We went in to take a look.  

A trip along the Regent's Canal paired with a seafood meal sounded like the perfect day out to us. We went on board on the Prince Regent. 

Having opened back in the sixties but fallen out of favour in recent years, the Holland Park institution that is Julie's now has a new owner, chef and lease of life.