Lower Marsh is the rather grim street at the side of Waterloo station with its unloved charity shops, tatty vintage and sex stores.  A couple of greasy spoons complete the picture, although I do confess a liking for the homely Camel & Artichoke pub, which dates back to the days when the Artichoke was an old hostellery past which artichokes were transported from the docks to the tables of Westminster and the City

It’s a safe bet you’ll eat well at Royal Ascot this year. Nick Harman gets a preview and finds some odd on favourites to put your shirt on. Then runs out of racing puns.

It’s an unmistakably Australian style of wine making; direct, assertive, intensely fruity and mellow, delivering ‘first sip satisfaction’ to UK consumers who love the reliability and approachable prices.

You may not have realised, but an iconic British food institution opened its second location in over three hundred years late last year. I am talking about the inventors of the Scotch egg and purveyors of fine foodstuffs and picnic hampers for the bourgeoisie. I am talking, of course, about Fortnum and Mason.

Restaurants which span multiple cuisines usually make Alex nauseous. In Dock Kitchen, he discovers an exception as he tries out their new Sri Lankan set menu.

Now Brixton’s demanding attention, and it’s been pulling punters south, giving previously established London foodie hangouts a rest from the culinary headlines. That’s because it has one thing that many other areas don’t: an idiosyncratic space with a unique dining vibe.

We all know that cooking after getting home from a day at the office is a faff. Luckily, there is a solution. Alex tries out Simply Cook, purveyors of quick and easy recipe kits.

As an individual plighted by the symbiotic ailments of chocoholism and sugar addiction, it nigh-on kills me to painstakingly extract the Chocally box intact from its bubblewrap when I’d rather tear into it like a frenzied, feral animal who hasn’t eaten for a week. Wipe that smirk off your face imagining my agony. Did no-one inform you that it’s unkind to mock the afflicted?

London is facing a gastronomic crisis. Throughout the capital, hungry office workers are being forced to visit the same tired lunchtime chains serving cardboard sandwiches and dry, limp salads, washed down with calorie bomb imitation coffee. Something has to be done, and now the capital may finally have a saviour – Souli. 

Is polenta the least known Italian food in the UK? Sure we love our pasta, we pack away pizzas and we aren’t averse to a bit of risotto, but mention polenta to many a Brit and you’ll basically get a blank look.