Patara Thai, Soho

If you like Thai food then you’ll love Patara and if you don’t then I’d give it a shot anyway because you might just change your mind. It’s a good-looking venue and a great place to meet up with friends for some relaxing indulgence and a few bottles of lovely Singha beer – service is assured and the food demonstrates enough skill to put it head and shoulders above much of the competition

Cha Cha Moon, Soho, London

I know some people expected more from Alan Yau of Wagamama fame, and it seems Cha Cha has reverted to a slow waltz since he stopped being in charge day to day. Even so, it’s cheap and it’s cheerful and, unlike some of Chinatown’s finest, you don’t get the feeling you’re a nuisance to the staff. For a fast feed, everyone can comfortably still keep going to the Moon.

Turning Leaf Zinfandel California 2010

Named after a town in California, Zinfandel is a characteristic grape variety of the U.S.A with its early ripening fruit producing a juice with relatively high sugar levels. This means that the resulting red wines are rich and powerful and ones that will appeal strongly to all those with a taste for the New World.

The Hot Toddy. The Perfect Winter Warmer

The first cocktail book ever written contains hot punch, hot buttered rums, blazers and toddies by the dozen. You couldn’t nip out for a bag of ice or make it easily at home, so cooling drinks was an expensive practice. Setting fire to liquid soon became a phenomenon, and as taverns reopened as upmarket hotel bars, bar men honed their skills, and so, out of the heated punch the much loved toddy was born.

What the Dickens! The Return of the Courvoisier Dickens Punch Tour

Building on the success of the tour in 2010, The Courvoisier Dickens Punch Tour this year returns on a larger scale with even more to satisfy your Christmas spirits; Running for two weeks from 23 November, guests will be taken on an interactive hour long walking tour of Dickensian London. Foodepedia was lucky enough to get a sneak preview recently, which is how I found myself outside Bow Street Magistrates Court, pulling my coat tighter against the cold.