For a taste of old-school London, Le Caprice hits the spot. This classic restaurant, tucked away in the heart of Mayfair, oozes sophistication without being stuffy. Think Art Deco-style interiors, David Bailey photographs and smartly-dressed waiters brimming with charm. I hit the restaurant on a Monday night and the place was abuzz, with a bubbling of chatter and jazz piano lifting the mood. The outside terrace was full, but we were shown to a lovely little table towards the back of the restaurant, with light flooding in through the window. To set things off, we went for a couple of vodka...
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Pizza slices, popcorn, Jammie Dodgers and hot chocolate were our go-to accoutrements for sleepover when we were 12. But more than a decade later, my childhood friend Stephanie and I had decided to do a PJ party all grown up. Now both based in London and no longer in the Nottinghamshire wilds where we attended ballet school, we decided to check out the newly-revamped Blakes hotel in the Kensington area of town. Tucked away on a quiet residential street where houses go for a handsome sum, this place is a treasure box to explore. Over the years this secluded spot has welcomed a host of A-liste...
Read more →New Orleans or New A'wlins as the locals call it is a city of Southern comfort, soul food and soul music at its heart!! There are also extremes, on one hand you have laid back neighbourhoods put back together after Katrina and then there's the infamous Bourbon Street, which is debaucherous and dirty and not at all what you'd expect from New Orleans. Tourists from around the world come here and drink themselves to oblivion on $3 shots and whilst we were happy to have seen this, we were much happier to leave it for the local’s version. Frenchmen St. was everything we hoped it would be, authentic...
Read more →This month, the Deep South is coming to East London. Expect live jazz from Professor Longhair, authentic soul food and plenty of cocktails at The Caledonia Club's The Closing Night.
Read more →Inspired by the swinging, hedonistic atmosphere of the one American city that overcame the Great Depression, this is not another vintage dress up party. Lying virtually untouched since its foundation in 1901 sits the recently rediscovered Peckham Liberal Club. Kansas Smitty’s is taking it over and breathing life into the turn of the century venue with The Kansas Smitty’s House Band, formed of some of the best young jazz men and women currently residing in this country, playing original material and new arrangements of rare and long forgotten tracks in a way that hasn't been seen or heard in an...
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