Barbican resident and owner of Short Eats gives her bitesize take on lockdown, life and food. There’s a lot going on right now, isn’t there? This Covid/lockdown/pandemic period has set into motion a whole cacophony of chaos; destruction of global trade, record-breaking moves in stock markets, and the doom-and-gloom of recession. Yet, whilst those issues affect us all in a very real way, the majority of us are left feeling the ripples of Covid-19 in our simpler, everyday rituals. For some of us, that means having to go home after forgetting to bring a facemask to the shops (because now we … [Read more...]
Casa do Frango: Memories of the Algarve
Around 30 years ago (how time flies) I have fond memories of a very pleasant summer holiday based at Carvoeiro on Portugal’s Algarve, but I only have retained two food memories thereof – magnificent, and enormous, freshly caught sardines cooked and eaten on the dockside at Portimão and piri piri chicken from close by where we were staying. The sardines were easily the best I have ever tasted and the piri piri chicken I had been unable to match – until now at the Shoreditch branch of Casa do Frango, which opened in December. The light and airy restaurant on the first floor The … [Read more...]
The Ivy City Garden
With this review, we had the opportunity to enjoy one of those experiences we all cherish as new City dwellers: the discovery of a backwater route and haven tucked away off Old Broad Street which we never knew existed. Of course, I’d passed the church before, but I never realised that the St Botolph without Bishopsgate gardens also host tennis and netball courts (if you are interested, you can book with the church). The Ivy extended its branches this way into East London a few years ago and is part of The Ivy Collection of 36 (and counting) restaurants and cafes which are firmly planted in … [Read more...]
A Rooftop Bar to Savour
Savage Garden rooftop bar is a good choice for a weekday lunch. We visited on a Monday following a river walk. Savage Garden rooftop bar It’s just off Trinity Square, near the Thames, on the 12th floor of Hilton’s Doubletree hotel. The bar itself has great views through floor to ceiling windows on three sides - Tower Bridge and the Tower of London directly in front, spanning out to Canary Wharf to the east and the Shard to the west. Seating in this part of the venue is high bar tables and chairs. There is a cosier more colourful bistro-style space to the back/side of the bar area, … [Read more...]