Hardy’s Brasserie and Wine Bar

Occupying the corner plot of Dorset Street and Manchester Street in Marylebone, Hardy’s is an establishment that boasts some character: there is external seating, and you enter through the main bar area which is both substantial and well set out. It is a wine bar/brasserie with some good dishes on offer, it’s worth trying.

Kitchen studies. You may begin now.

The Kitchen in Parson’s Green is preparing the nation’s youth to cook. With his first year at university coming up faster than last night’s kebab, Harry Farmer volunteered to put on chef’s whites for us and report back as he trialled a few of the courses on offer while trying to keep his typing fingers out the way of the chopper.

John Torode’s Chicken and other birds

This is Torode’s partner book to ‘Beef’ and a whole lot healthier. It’s actually titled ‘.. and other birds’ because, quite frankly, you’d be hard pushed to fill an entire book just on chickens. So pheasants, grouse, woodcock, snipe and other birds flap onto the pages, plus of course the rather more available duck.

The Abbeville, Clapham, re-launches

As we walked through the door of The Abbeville, we were struck by its old fashioned feel, the main entrance leads to a fairly small bar area, a couple of steps up from the entrance level. As we arrived we were each offered a glass of some soft bubbly Prosecco, which, of course we took and were then invited to take a look around.