Test Drives

What can you tell me about the Bell? Having just spent a night at the newly spruced up Bell at Ticehurst, we have to confess to feeling pretty jealous of the locals and their spanking new inn. The sign outside points one way to a 14th century church and the other way (towards the Bell) to 21st century ding-dong, but the origins of the Bell are...

We've been to a few speakeasy spots in New York and it's always great fun walking through noodle shops to find hidden cocktail bars - it's an easy way to feel like you have the run of the city. That's clearly the vibe that Young Turks chefs Isaac Mchale and James Lowe are after with their new Shoreditch spot at The Ten Bells. On a Friday night we...

So what can you tell me about The Rookery? Recently opened on the South Side of Clapham Common - and just within view of the grassy stretch where virtuous Londoners sweat it out at military-style bootcamps - The Rookery is the new kid in SW London. Modelled after "a great NYC neighbourhood bar in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side", it's a bold...

What do you know about Copita It's a new restaurant set up by the people behind award-winning Barrica (in Fitzrovia). It's going for an authentic Spanish tapas bar style, something similar to Jose in Bermondsey. It's a small room with no bookings, ideal for a quick stop in Soho. Who's it aimed at? More so than traditional Spanish restaurants in...

What can you tell us about Alyn Williams at the Westbury? This is the first solo venture from Williams, the former head chef at Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley and the second new restaurant to open at the Westbury hotel in a matter of months (following The Gallery), making the Westbury a plausible new destination for eating out in London. Williams honed...

We freely admit to being about as barking mad about burgers as most London foodies. So when we heard that the signature dish at the weekend brunch two-Michelin-starred chef Helene Darroze was serving up at the Connaught was an ox cheek burger with foie gras, we knew it fell upon us to go and try it out for you. Selfless and greedy – that’s us. The...

So what can you tell me about Galoupet? Nestled away in a Knightsbridge side-street, Galoupet is an all-day restaurant/wine bar with a strong focus on its wine list and the seasonal aspect of its sharing menu. Who's it aimed at? Given the emphasis placed on wine - there's a string of enomatic machines as you enter the restaurant - it's certainly looking...

Forget Hastings. Forget Trafalgar, and Waterloo. From the 29th November 2011 the lines are drawn for one of the greatest battles ever fought. Swords and guns will be replaced by bottle-openers, glasses and foot long pork scratchings, as Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh takes on Wine Chap Tom Harrow in the ultimate showdown between beer and...

What can you tell us about Bonnie and Wild? If you’ve ever seen a group of market tradesman in kilts hawking venison and duck on Saturdays at Broadway Market, you’ve already had a glimpse at the team behind this weekend-only pop-up restaurant in North London. Based on a collaboration between Bonnie Gull Ltd – a seafood specialist caterers – and...

What can you tell us about The Balcon? The restaurant attached to the Sofitel on Pall Mall used to be a Brasserie Roux but has recently changed hands and undergone a major refit. The chef is Vincent Menager who was sous chef in the previous incarnation and the room has been completely redesigned under the auspices of Russell Sage, recently famed...

Why's Thirty Six by Nigel Mendham of interest? In tandem with general manager, Debrah Dhugga, chef Nigel Mendham has brought the restaurant at much-loved five-star, Duke’s of St. James up to the standard of its attendant bar. It’s long been a favourite on account of its balanced but - if you’re not watchful - unbalancing martinis. Where is it? Following a...

What can you tell us about Bread Street Kitchen? It's the first new opening from Gordon Ramsay since he relaunched Petrus and sees the TV chef opening in the One New Change shopping complex just across the road from St Paul's.  The restaurant has been a long time in the offing, so expectations are high. The entrance to BSK is right opposite Jamie...

With the notable exception of the Harwood Arms, there isn't much in the way of decent restaurants that would tempt non-residents to head down to Fulham in search of good tuck. But a meal Hot Dinners had at Manson last week made us think that might be about to change. Manson's owner, Eamonn Manson - who also owns nearby gastropub Sand's End - has...

What can you tell us about Joe's? Smack bang in the middle of the ritzy Brompton Cross area, there's every chance you might walk by Joe's without noticing it at first glance. A breezy bar takes up most of it's front, making it almost indistinguishable from the other bistros that dotted around this expensive shopping area.  On closer look, a...

What is Cut? This is the first London restaurant for American celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck - the man behind Spago and the chef who's the official caterer for the Academy Awards. On paper it's a steakhouse in a luxury hotel, in practice our lunch here was one of the best meals of the year. Where is it? Cut is the hotel restaurant for 45 Park Lane,...

What can you tell us about the The Northall? It's one of two restaurants in the new Corinthia hotel (the other being Massimo), the huge new hotel near Whitehall. It focuses on sustainable British food (the menu shows the provenance of all the ingredients) and is under the direction of Michelin-starred Executive Chef Garry Hollihead (who has...

What can you tell us about the Admiral Codrington? Once the roaming ground of the determined and thirsty Sloane ranger, the Admiral Codrington has somewhat sobered in its reputation, and clientele of late, and adopted a much more tranquil and food-focused approach. Still first and foremostly a pub, The Admiral’s front bar area is nicely decorated with...

It's our favourite bar in London at the moment, so when Hot Dinners were invited to try the new cocktail selection at the ZTH bar in the Zetter Townhouse, we were more than eager to rush down to the Clerkenwell bar. The new cocktails have been designed by Zetter/69 Colebrooke Row master mixoligist Tony Conigliaro and stick to the ZTH's mantra of...

On a balmy London evening, Hot Dinners were invited to try out the Pichounettes at West London's Angelus, the fine dining restaurant just a few minutes walk from Paddington station. What on earth is a pichounette? Essentially it's a bunch of small dishes combined to make one great big plate. The Chef at Angelus, Martin Nisbet, has pulled together two...

What can you tell us about the Devonshire Arms? As an ex-Gordon Ramsay location ‘at the wrong end’ of a leafy Chiswick street, new gastropub The Devonshire Arms may have some cynics to convince. Stocking the kitchen with a heavyweight in the form of David Philpot, previously of Le Caprice and Dean Street Townhouse, was the first step to...