The Fish Place, a fish restaurant by the river Thames in London

The menu isn’t all fish, but as it’s the speciality what else would you want to eat? I like their mission statement “We aim to serve top quality fish, caught in British waters without too much fuss… food is to be eaten not photographed”. A a brief glance at the interweb blogs proves that this latter gentle admonition hasn’t stopped a succession of food twitchers levelling their Canons at the Poissons all the same.

From pork to fork, Peaches pubs, butchery course

The day would one day come, I knew, when I’d be confronted with pig carcass. And that day came to pass in rural Oxfordshire this winter, and I was armed with a handsaw. I’m not vegetarian so when Peaches, the 13-strong chain of gastropubs, invited me to a butchery session at their headquarters near Bicester I reckoned it was only honest to go.

New restaurant openings in 2011

Enough with 2010 already, what’s in store for 2011? We predict that the craze for burgers will finally die down and the next logical contender will step up – yes the Doner kebab. The ‘elephant’s leg’ in your local takeaway will be elevated to iconic status by the bloggerati and Twitter will be buzzing with people swapping tips on the best places get your fix.

Tricolore Takeaway

Douglas Blyde was recently whisked to a Loire so frozen that Charolais cattle couldn’t break ice to quench their thirst. Back in an equally frozen Blighty, his task, from Monnières to Mosnes is to summarise summery wines sipped in foot numbing cellars…

Zing for a free supper at Zizzis

After the success of the December Sessions at St Giles, Zizzi is carrying the musical evenings into January and like before, diners can sing for their supper. Diners at Zizzi’s newest London restaurant who get up and sing in front of the restaurant audience will get their supper for free, and raise money for youth charity The Prince’s Trust in the process.

Look no further than the Hoxton Hotel for a stress-free Christmas

It can all get very cozy and almost personal when you stay at a hotel for a few days over Christmas. Particularly a hotel with a damned good bar and restaurant. So it was for me and the husband this year at the Hoxton Hotel in Shoreditch. This place is definitely worth considering for a relaxing Christmas or other special occasion.