Drink

Reviews and opinions on London bars, pubs, wine shops and other places to procure alcohol.


Eating Jersey

Hands up if you know Jersey has its own currency, Nope?   A ‘fiver’ in Jersey is very much like the English five pound note, except for one small, but critical detail. The queen is smiling. Yes, beaming from ear to ear. It’s somewhat alarming, but having spent a few […]

Jersey sunset

Rose wine at Portland restaurant

Is Pink the New White? The Rise of Rosé

Hands up if you’ve ever been embarrassed to admit you like your wine, pink. Come on now, be honest. Thought so.   Until recently rosés were served with a sneer and a shooter of judgement; dismissed as a girly tipple for the ‘little lady’ or worse, the effeminate man. But […]


Bar Termini - Review

Marco Arrigo has opinions. On all sorts of things, I imagine, but the ones he holds on coffee are intractable, unyielding and often controversial. I like an opinion. Prefer a super-sized one to none at all. Marco and I got on. In ‘Bar Termini’, his wee 1950s-esque Italian-styled café at […]

Bar Termini Coffee Shots

Cocktail Recipes from London’s Bar of the Year

The Polo Bar at The Westbury recently won the coveted “London Bar of the Year” at the 2014 London Lifestyle Awards. Only London’s Bar of the Year. If you don’t mind. To celebrate, they pulled out their beakers and bunsen burners and have come up with some specialty cocktails to […]

Metropolitan Belini Cocktail Recipe

London’s Best Bars For Gin Drinking 1

Gin’s having a bit of a ‘Thing’ in London at the moment. The ‘Thing’ actually started some years ago, but shows no signs of morphing into a momentary “Fad”, so I think we can continue to call it a ‘Thing’.  In the 80s and 90s no woman worth her extra […]


Best Coffee in London? Here’s Five.

Coffee is a prickly subject. I regularly disagree with one of my friends about where to find the best coffee in central London. She takes a long black and I tend towards a milky brew.  I haven’t undertaken research in the strictest sense of the word, but my feeling is that baristas […]


PURL: drinking den not knitting circle

PURL is grubby. And that’s why it took me three and a half years to check it out.  Even though it’s only a 6 and a half minute walk from my place. And even though I love cocktails. But - and this is why it’s on this London Blog of […]

Purl cocktail bar