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Three historic bars in Ho Chi Minh City
I really didn’t love Ho Chi Minh City. It was my first experience of Vietnam, a country I’d heard was a slow burner, so maybe I should have started somewhere that was less of a brick to the face. But I was sucked in by my romantic ideas of Saigon…a town full of history with a seedy, decadent underbelly. The reality was the polar opposite. Obviously things have moved on and the name change isn’t all that’s different about Saigon these days. Ho Chi Minh City is a sweaty, traffic-choked, ostensibly unwelcoming, modern metropolis. It’s deeply pedestrian-unfriendly which, for someone who likes to walk, was often frustrating to the…
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10 crazy London cocktails that you need to try
It takes a lot to satisfy the jaded palates of London. We’ve seen it all in this fair city. From restaurants that sell only crisps to boozy ball pits for adults; when it comes to “different” the bar just keeps getting raised higher and higher. So it’s no great surprise that many of London’s drinking dens offer more than just a pint of beer and a packet of pork scratchings. I’ve crawled my way around the capital’s bars to seek out the weirdest, the strangest, the craziest cocktails that this town has to offer. The cactus one – Artesian Bar Artesian is renowned for its cocktails and rightly deserves its…
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7 of the prettiest cafes in London
London’s cafes have got so much more going on than the stereotypical greasy spoon (although I do love a good old fashioned caff fry-up). And there’s NO excuse to head for a Starbucks or Cafe Nero. Although the march of the bland chain cafes relentlessly continues its grubby, tax-dodging way across town, there are a vast number of gorgeous and inherently Instagrammable independent cafes waiting for your business. Here’s my pick of the prettiest: Palm Vaults, Hackney It’s an obvious choice, but it’s obvious for a good reason. IT’S BLOODY LUSH! Palm Vaults has already graced the Instagram accounts of a thousand Londoners, with its exposed brickwork, its baby…
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Coach and Horses: Where everybody knows your name
“La la la….where everybody knows your name”. The theme song for Cheers set out the show’s premise of that friendly local boozer where you’re surrounded by friends. But of course that isn’t the real world, is it? Maybe in a small village where there’s only one place to go drinking and you have no choice but to get to know the bar staff, but in London?? That most unfriendly of places?? You’re kidding. So when I visited the Coach and Horses in Clapham for the second time, handed my card over the bar to start a tab and the barmaid couldn’t spot my name, it was a pleasant surprise to hear her…
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5 top places to drink a Negroni in London
I discovered the pleasures of a well-mixed Negroni a couple of years ago and have been addicted to them ever since. A Negroni is a cocktail made with one part gin, Campari and vermouth, served over ice, usually with a slice of orange. It’s not for the faint-hearted. Dry and packing a pretty punch, with no mixer this is all thriller, no filler. The last few years have seen Negronis become increasingly fashionable, and you’ll likely find one on most cocktail menus throughout town. Here are 5 of my top picks: Bar Termini Bar Termini is THE place to go for a Negroni. It’s the where I popped my Negroni cherry…
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Boulogne Bar
A few months ago I wrote about the “London bubble“. How it’s easy to get complacent, shuttling along from home to work to home, rarely visiting new areas. Or maybe that’s just me? Anyway, as per previous post, I have lived in London for a long time but there are still parts of town that I have never been to. One of these is Kentish Town. Which is a bit embarrassing actually, as it’s not like it’s on the furthest fringes of the city, like Edgware, or in a public transport vacuum like most of south-east London. Although, in my defence, I’ve never really had any reason to go there. But then I…
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The Best Food and Drink of 2016
Yes, everyone keeps saying that 2016 has been the worst year ever. But when it comes to food and drink, this year has been a cracker. With more new restaurants and more foodie entrepreneurs than ever, there is no excuse to eat badly. Here are the best things that I snaffled into my greedy face this year: Chicken and pistachio shish from Arabica Bar & Kitchen I wanted to eat everything on Arabica Bar & Kitchen’s menu. I’ve eaten a lot of samey mezze over the years, but these guys really know how to sex it up. It’s easy to be bamboozled by choice; however, you should definitely include the…
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Pascual Toso: Tasting Argentinian Wine
I don’t write about wine very often. I think this is probably for two reasons. Firstly, despite attending many wine tastings, I still don’t know that much about wine. This is probably because of the second reason: I always end up drinking too much wine and forgetting everything. However, it’s safe to say that I am very enthusiastic about drinking wine, so hopefully that makes up for my lack of expertise. Recently, I made a big dent in a selection of wines by the Argentinan winery Pascual Toso. This was a really fun experience, not only because I got to hang out with loads of lovely bloggers, but also because we got to learn all about…
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London Cocktail Week 2016
My poor liver. It’s taken a bit of a battering lately. All in the name of research, you understand…. Recently one of my favourite events took place – London Cocktail Week. Now, usually I try and pace myself, spread my “investigations” throughout the week, break it up a bit. But this year? No. This year I decided to cram it all into the final weekend. So it was less “London Cocktail Week”, more “London Cocktail Weekend”. Never before have I planned a drinking sesh with such military precision, and never before have I necked drinks with such speed when it’s not closing time. However, I lived to tell the tale so here are my highlights…
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Tequila, mezcal and all things agave
Hands up if you have ever had a “bad experience” with tequila. Ok, hands up if you think tequila tastes pretty nasty. Just so you know – my hand was up both times. I may like alcohol to bite back, but tequila has never floated my boat. To me, it’s just firewater with about as much subtlety as a house brick. Now, hands up if you have heard of mezcal. Until recently, this drink wasn’t even on my radar, let alone my palate. So when I had the opportunity to go to a festival celebrating all things agave, I jumped at it. I would get to do some mezcal tasting and maybe…
