When anyone asks me a good place to eat out in west London, without exception I will suggest Osteria Basilico. The reasons are threefold: 1. the food is Italian, delicious, varied and well priced; 2. the upstairs has the great advantage that in summer they open the huge windows giving the impression of al fresco [...]

When I asked if I could take a photograph I got a grunted reply of “urgh people are always asking us that”, the main reason I think anyone comes here is for the super elevated gillie platforms with 9-inch heels and 4-inch platforms from Vivienne Westwood’s 1993 fall-winter Anglomania collection that Naomi Campbell fell over [...]

Did you know that you can actually get falafel in kebab shops? I would never go near a kebab shop. It’s less about the disgusting slab of god knows what dead animal on a stick and more about the disgusting god knows which interior designer threw up all over this pathetic excuse for a restaurant. [...]

Portobello Road is the largest antique market in the world stretching for around two miles. On a Friday and Saturday the southern end of Portobello Road is lined with antique stalls one after the other, then come the food stalls followed by the junk and vintage clothes stalls. My advice is to take the tube [...]

La Fromagerie is so much more than just a cheese shop although what a cheese shop it is. It only has one long large wooden communal table as every other spare inch is taken up by all kinds of delicious food. They serve everything from (proper) wine to tea and coffee. It’s one of the [...]

Today I feel like taking the week off and by week I mean life so I thought I’d stop by one of my favourite pubs, the Paradise by way of Kensal Green, that name is just magical isn’t it and it’s apt too. With attractive craquelure paintwork, decorative chandeliers, faux French gilt furniture, quirky knick [...]

The best kind of gastro pub is the kind that doesn’t try too hard, essentially serving up modern day comfort food just A LOT BETTER. A word of warning: the bread here is so delicious you are likely to fill up before your meal even comes. Despite being tucked away in a wholly residential area [...]

The Cow is another of Tom Conran’s (son of Terence) wonderful establishments. A fairly long standing pub and restaurant of the highest degree, the modern European food here is extremely good and plentiful with a great relaxed atmosphere. With walls lined with framed old illustrations from the Spectator and a fresh oyster tank, it’s small, [...]

I love a good French restaurant and La Bouchée is certainly that. Small, dark and narrow with well worn floor boards, the menu briskly written on blackboards and tiny tables doused in candle light, it’s the perfect romantic setting. The food is typical French bistro leaning towards the rustic side of French cuisine but just [...]

I love American diners. Nothing makes me happier than a piece of pie and a cup of coffee. It’s the main reason I love America, that and their no questions asked return policy (that reason alone would make me pledge alligance to the United States). Like with Cosco, you can literally take anything back to [...]

It’s quite possible that the best Mexican restaurant in the world is located on Westbourne Park Road, ok perhaps this is a bit of an exaggeration but it is one of the original Mexican restaurants in London and it’s still my favourite. Now there are many, Wahaca is great but it’s a chain and a [...]

All the people who work here are idiots*. I don’t think they mean to be but they have the mindset that people who work in second had book/record stores have – ie. that they are superior and know far more on the subject than you ever will. They always have industrial jazz or worse, Bob [...]

The son of Sir Terence Conran and half brother to Jasper Conran, Tom Conran followed in his father’s footsteps and came up with four of my favourite restaurants including Tom’s Deli, Lucky 7, The Cow and Crazy Homies. Tom’s Deli was the first deli in a now heaving deli area but it is still the [...]

The Coronet must be the most spectacular of all the old independent cinemas. The interior of cinema one, which is the original theatre, is decorated in a Louis XVI style with the auditorium still possessing the two original elliptically curved balconies. The ghost of a female cashier reputedly haunts the cinema. Legend has it that [...]