Europe
The Garth Hotel, Grantown, Scotland
It’s unusual for me to be in Scotland as a tourist, so the past few days have been an absolute delight. In the Highlands almost every bend in the road reveals another breathtaking vista, and we had the perfect weather for touring – strong winds that produced roiling clouds, localized showers and startling sunshine. We [...]
Courchevel – Rappers, Hookers, Oligarchs and Lords
Review: Biggest rip off in the French Alps. Just don’t bother staying in Courchevel unless you are the type of person who thinks it’s cool to show off to your mates that you can afford to waste thousands of dollars in a hooker Disneyland. Yes you can avoid the horrible restaurants and tacky nightlife by [...]
Cecconi’s, Mayfair – mullets, gout, pearls and Birkins
Review: The three things I like most about Cecconi’s are the jade green leather chairs, their rabbit ragu, and sitting at their bar drinking Proseco on tap. As I mostly stay in Mayfair when I’m in London, Cecconi’s is always on the list for lunch. (The Wolseley is for breakfast/brunch, Cecconi’s is for late lunch/post-shopping glass [...]
Le Bouchon aux Vins, Lyon – chilled and informal
Review: Wondering up and down rue Mercière in Lyon around 3pm on a Sunday looking for a late lunch saw my companion and I ending up at Le Bouchon aux Vins, one of Jean-Paul Lacombe’s more informal eateries. Food: Trad Lyonnais dishes, but lightly executed. I keep reading that people find Lyonnais food rather stodgy and [...]
Auberge Rabelais, Lyon – seriously addictive cheese.
Review: Considering we arrived on a cold Saturday in January, slap bang in the middle of what was meant to be the worldwide economic Apocalypse, finding somewhere to eat in Lyon was a complete nightmare at short notice. We couldn’t get into any of the restaurants our hotel concierge suggested and having been led to [...]
Lyon, France: a few tips for this gastronomic heaven.
There are two things I never realised about Lyon before I found myself there earlier this year. 1) The old city (Vieux Lyon) is a UNESCO heritage site. 2) It is the culinary capital of France. These two facts together mean that Lyon is a great place to visit for a few days of eating, [...]
Il Desco, Verona – Michelin guide has this 2* venue all wrong
Review: Il Desco is meant to be one of the best places to eat in the whole of Italy. I have to disagree 100% with that analysis. It has had 2 Michelin stars since 1997 and I just can’t see why. Food: Different menus of either traditional or creative Veronese, specialising in tripe. Now, I’ve [...]
Villa Amistà, Verona – Byblos owner has created a ludicrously good hotel.
Review: I’m going to resist the temptation to post lots of photos of this hotel, and would recommend that you don’t look at the website too deeply (or at all) before you book, leave it as a surprise… To have somewhere like the Villa Amistà sprung on you after a particularly long and harrowing journey, [...]
Mayfair – Eating, Sleeping, Shopping, Drinking
I can’t find anywhere better to be based in London when I’m visiting than Mayfair. It’s quiet, it’s got great restaurants, it’s easy to get to from the stations I use – Paddington and Marylebone, it’s on the right side of town for Heathrow, it’s close to the best shops and it’s slap bang in [...]
La Bouitte – Best Restaurant in the 3 Vallées (with rooms to boot)
Review: Surprisingly there aren’t that many Michelin star restaurants in France’s les 3 Vallées, but of the two that I’ve been to, La Bouitte is just gorgeous (the other one I’ve been to is the 2 star Chabichou in Courchevel and La Bouitte beats it hands down in my opinion). It’s in the tiny hamlet [...]