Restaurants, Venice

Palazzina Grassi – Best Brunch in Venice

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Italians are not very big on breakfast or ‘la colazione’, just an espresso and one piece of pastry will usually do the job. So what to do if you’re spending a weekend in Venice and you happen to be really into Sunday brunch like we are? After a bit of research we quickly filtered our options down to three upmarket hotel restaurants. Thank heaven that the first two places we called had already been booked out, so we ended up with a reservation at the magnificent five-star American boutique hotel Palazzina Grassi (alternatively Palazzina G) right next to the Grand Canal, very close to the Westernmost point of the San Marco neighbourhood, roughly 15 to 20 minutes’ walk from St. Mark’s Square.     It took us longer, because we didn’t find the entrance in Calle Morolin/Ramo Grassi right away, there’s not much in terms of signs and not a […]

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London, London restaurants, Michelin restaurants

Two-Starred Hélène Darroze at The Connaught

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I had been enjoying two two-starred and several one-starred dining experiences over the past year or so without Ms B, because I was working abroad during most weeks, only coming back to London over the weekend. For a long time I had been planning on making this up to her, at least to some extent, by taking her out to a two- or three-star restaurant in London. Besides, our ten-year wedding anniversary was approaching fast, so time was of the essence. When we found out that two-starred Hélène Darroze at The Connaught offered a “weekday dinner formule” for a mere £60 per person, including three courses, two glasses of wine, mineral water, and coffee, we immediately made a reservation. From several food-loving friends we had heard plenty of great things over the years about this fine culinary establishment on the ground floor of one of London’s most luxurious hotels. We […]

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London, London restaurants, Michelin restaurants

Galvin La Chapelle – London’s Most Romantic Restaurant

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Ms B and Mr B celebrated their wedding anniversary yesterday, so Mr B thought, why not do the obvious thing, and book us in for dinner at London’s most romantic restaurant: Michelin-starred Galvin la Chapelle. We had recently already enjoyed two of the Galvin brothers’ other ventures: Galvin at the Athenaeum (post here)  and the (also Michelin-starred) Galvin at Windows (post here). Galvin la Chapelle had been on our list for a long time, so we were truly excited when we arrived there by chauffeur-driven limousine (read our post about the awesome chauffeur service here).    We had seen many pictures of the marvellous space inside Spitalfields’ St. Botolph’s Hall (built 1890 and now home to la Chapelle), but it still exceeded our expectations. The friendly waiter led us to our table at the perfect spot: the far right-hand corner, with the best view of the hall, the décor, and […]

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London restaurants

Galvin at Windows – Our Restaurant Review

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[UPDATE 25 April 2024: This restaurant has permanently closed] We’re just back from our visit to Chef Patron Chris Galvin‘s Michelin-starred Galvin at Windows, which boasts incredible 360 degree views of London from the 28th floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane. I should say “usually boasts”, because we picked the worst time to visit, considering that it was a dark, rainy, cloudy day, but the friends we met up with (two other couples) and us, we were still immediately bought in on the atmosphere. The interior décor combines modern elegance and state-of-the-art comfort with the glamour of the 1930s. Everyone I know hates 1960s architecture, and rightly so, but this true gem, which was completed in 1963, is one of the nicest buildings I’ve seen. It looks surprisingly modern from the outside, but the main selling point is its Y-shaped layout, which means you are always next to […]

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London, London restaurants, Michelin restaurants

Benares Restaurant – Best Indian in Town

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My wife Ms B and I have just returned from a tapas sharing platter lunch at Benares, Atul Kochhar‘s Michelin-starred Indian restaurant on Berkeley Square. The 5-dish street food sharing platter cost a mere £30 for the two of us and we topped it up with two cocktails for another £10 in total. A mind-boggingly marvellously brilliant deal. You pay more at most pubs in this town to get two portions of rubbery, battered cod with sliced, oily, deep-fried potatoes and some luke-warm IPA.    Right from the moment we arrived at the ground-floor reception, the service staff were very friendly, polite, helpful, relaxed, unpretentious and knowledgeable, a true delight. The atmosphere is also very pleasant, with dimmed light, sound-absorbing décor, warm colours, a nicely decorated bar and a lounge area with a little pool where lovely gerberas were peacefully floating around. It was in the lounge area where we […]

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