Forget lugging around bottles of vino to your summer picnics, HUN is a new brand of wine served in a tin. HUN is the first canned wine to be both fairtrade and vegan, and its packaging offers an infinite recycling solution for eco-conscious wine-lovers. And don’t be fooled by its cheeky moniker. This wine brand packs a delicious punch on the taste front. HUN's three premium products include a pale Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and a low-calorie sparkling Rosé with just 69 calories per can. Only the best for our HUNs! Launching in the middle of a pandemic was never the brand's plan but what bette...
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Sat in Le Pont de la Tour on a Friday night, I was suddenly drifting to a memory of dining at the River Cafe in New York. From the classic sophisticated decor, to the classic style of service and polished menu, this place reminds lots of the revered Manhattan spot. We’d settled into a window seat looking out on to the Thames, with the place embalmed in the warm glow of candle light. Topping off the convivial atmosphere was the gentle chatter of happy diners and jazz music tootling away. 'We could be a Woody Allen movie,' I thought. From start to finish, the service was on point, with th...
Read more →'I struggled to find fine dining and good German food in Vancouver so I decided to open my own restaurant...' I'd only just met Dr Uwe Boll - a German filmmaker (once acclaimed the world's worst) who hopped to Canada more than a decade ago - but already I was liking his style. The food and film fanatic opened Bauhaus in Vancouver's Gastown district two-and-a-half years ago and it's already tipped as one of the hottest spots in town. The slickly-designed venue - a former bank - is impressive with double height ceilings, exposed brickwork and a stainless steel open plan kitchen. Each object h...
Read more →It had been a while since I’d been to a classic date spot restaurant – think red roses on the table, white linen and candlelight – but on walking into Osetra Seafood & Steaks in San Diego I instantly fell for it’s old-school charm. It was a Monday night and the large double-floor venue had a nice buzz, with a few couples and a group of friends settling in. Giovanni, the general manager, came to welcome us with a big smile and a delectable dose of Italian charm. Osetra has been open for 14 years in the Gaslamp district and continues to attract diners with its hearty seafood and meat offe...
Read more →Minus the net curtains and swathes of crochet, one new restaurant in San Diego’s Little Italy promises to transport you to the warmth of your grandmother’s house. Located in the heart of the bustling strip of bars and eateries, Nonna (meaning grandmother in Italian) welcomes you in with warm lighting and laid back furnishings. On a Friday night the place was pretty packed come 7pm and a waitress kindly revealed that there was a terrace in the back, which was much quieter. We found a table nestled in one corner and our very friendly waiter from Milan came to run us through the menu. Like it...
Read more →I found two return tickets to Bordeaux with Ryanair for £40 and that was that. On a Wednesday, after a 1 hour 40 minute flight, I'd landed in the French capital of wine. My travel buddy had found a beautiful Airbnb in the heart of the city. So after taking a fairly swift and cheap bus ride into the centre from the airport, we went to check into our homestay. A friendly local lady met us and showed us around the apartment, which oozed of old-school opulence with high ceilings, polished wooden floors and elegant fittings. With not much time to spare, we had a quick freshen up and bounced ou...
Read more →I remember living on Chapel Market in Angel ten years ago. It was well before the likes of Waitrose and vegan bakeries had landed. Instead of swank, the road contained a cocktail of pound shops and bizarre hardware outlets. There was also a menagerie of proper ‘boozers’, many of which I never made it into due to feeling a little intimidated by the blacked-out windows and glow of fruit machines illuminating out from the door. The Agricultural, located at the end of Chapel Market, was one of the pubs I failed to frequent. So when I heard that it had been transformed into a trendy bar and eat...
Read more →'I think it's a deer pelt,' my friend Tom said as I caressed the wine menu at Battersea's newest eatery, the Nutbourne. The attention to detail here is on point and even the tipples of the day are presented in a strokable binder. If you're looking for wholesome comfort food, with a invitingly relaxed atmosphere, then this is the place to pop to. Founded by the same people behind The Shed (Notting Hill) and the Rabbit (Chelsea), the Nutbourne offers the same kind of cuisine using locally sourced ingredients. Oliver Gladwin, one of the three brothers behind the culinary enterprise, i...
Read more →I've never been to Turin but last night I got a taste of the northern Italian city after discovering Savure. The new canteen-style eatery, just a stone's throw from Liverpool Street, offers a simple menu where diners are invited to have a stab at creating their own DIY pasta dishes. First they can choose a base pasta, before selecting a sauce. It's a steal, with generously-portioned plates starting at just £8. So far the restaurant has proved a hit at lunchtime, with hundreds of office workers eager to get their fill. I picked a 'filled pasta' from the dinner menu, stuffed with Ita...
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