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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The rise of London Mediterranean, the style defining the capital's hottest restaurants
What is 'London Mediterranean' dining? It's a savvy blend of food from countries along the Mediterranean coast, mostly drawing inspiration from the likes of Portugal, Spain, France and Italy but there are often elements from the likes of Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon too. It is a style that has become immensely popular of late, not just with restaurateurs but diners too. London Med – to shorten it from the off – is ultimately an amalgamation of cuisines. Menus that take flavours from Provence, an ingredient or two from Sifnos, and then add to them spices from Istanbul. And yes, this has happened for centuries. But there appears to have been a recent(ish) influx of restaurants of this style: super modern, inclusive and perhaps clearer about what comes from where. You might argue that some, like Morchella or Toklas, are roundly built on the notion. Others might be hailed as 'modern European', but that seems too broad a brush these days. And then there's the fact that all this happens in the UK, mostly London. As is always the case with food — unless you're in fascist Italy — there are no hard-and-fast rules with London Med. Chefs are just as likely to take ideas from Porto and Paris, but it's an easy term to distinguish and categorise, generally; in any case, all included will at least have a coastline on the sea in question. Here are 10 restaurants that could be defined as being London Mediterranean. Lita Lita was one of the standout restaurant openings in 2024. The food traverses Western Europe, though stops in Italy most of all by way of Sicilian red prawns and cacio e pepe. It might be London Med food in its purest form: the very best ingredients from the continent – UK too – cooked with unwavering skill, flair and expense. Head chef Luke Ahearne parted ways with the restaurant at the beginning of July but his menu and well-drilled team remains. And so, for now, the Fuentes bluefin tuna with corno peppers, coriander and capers is still one of London's best dishes; so too the strozzapreti with duck ragu. 7-9 Paddington Street, W1U 5QH, Perilla (and Morchella) Many in and around the restaurant industry ask why Perilla hasn't ever been awarded a Michelin star. The fact it hasn't been is a damning indictment on the guide. Consider Ben Marks' mussel tartare, which comes fine on top of 'yesterday's bread' and is soaked in the liquor from moules mariniere. Highly inventive and a lot of fun, much the same as the fried cod cheeks with curry sauce arriving with all manner of accoutrement. Here is the move: take half a cod cheek, cover it in a smidge of pickled gooseberry sauce, a little of the tartare and two slivers of sliced cornichon, then add to that a dollop of the curry and a sprinkling of fried capers. Email me if you find a better mouthful this side of Christmas. See also: Morchella, Perilla's sister restaurant. Get the spanikopita and the pork jowl there. 1-3 Green Lanes, N16 9BS, and 86 Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4QY, Dove Dove just about fits in this list despite the fact it's not bound too readily to Mediterranean flavours as the others generally are. Don't order the burger: instead, have octopus gildas, lovely and Spanish-edged, and grilled trout which arrives with black olives and tomatoes. Lucky diners will also find a keen blend of Greece and Italy in the form of whipped fava beans with carosello cucumbers. And then French, as you might expect from chef-patron Jackson Boxer, is uncompromising. The roast chicken with Café de Paris butter is a grand dish to share. 31 Kensington Park Road, W11 2EU, Canal The Standard's restaurant critic David Ellis visited Canal not so long ago, his review of which coined the phrase 'London Mediterranean'. It was an idea I'd long pondered and Dominic Hamdy's latest venture shored it up. To eat? According to Ellis: 'There is a sense of unity throughout the menu that makes a bad order tricky: if you have the plate of pickles — various beetroots, very gently done, the oil and beet juice together like the interior of a lava lamp — you can happily have the cheerful crab doughnut, with its light dough and pink innards. Stracciatella, sitting in a pool of olive oil — liking olive oil is a requirement for liking here — might follow, with its gently blackened turrets of courgette.' 11b Woodfield Road, W9 2BA, Town Not all the dishes at Town qualify as 'London Med'. Remember London's past incarnation as a haven to XO sauce? Actually still alive and well. There are doses of shiso and miso and so on too. No bad thing. Still, Stevie Parle's latest restaurant, this one lavish and built with big money for celebs, draws as much on Europe as its own, home-grown ingredients. There's a mighty saffron risotto, Cornish crab with Neapolitan tomatoes, Scottish scallops in 'nduja butter, and clams from Kent cooked in sherry. These dishes are the definition of high-end modern dining in town. 26-29 Drury Lane, WC2B 5RL, Toklas Mostly Italian, really, but Toklas also brings in elements from elsewhere along the Med, including some Turkish food, which is befitting of London and enjoyable. The ingredients at Toklas are impressive, all sourced carefully, with real care and attention. This but with prices staying affordable: you could dine there, main course and a side or two to share, for less than £50 per head. Those who are able to splash out will do so when they see a good pork tonnato, crab bruschetta and excellently cooked lamb chops with salsa verde. A comforting, happy restaurant on the Strand, a part of the city where the vibes are mostly terrible. 1 Surrey Street, Temple, WC2R 2ND, Sune Where else but London could you, for the timid sum of £25, begin with a pig's head terrine before easing softly into a decent lamb köfte with harissa, labneh and coleslaw? How marvellous a proposition – and not in the way of a random buffet at a Home Counties service station. Sune is solid thanks to the steering of owners Honey Spencer and Charlie Sims, not to mention head chef Michael Robins, formerly of Hackney favourite Pidgin, still much missed. 129A Pritchard's Road, E2 9AP, Quo Vadis I had reservations about this one, but the powers that be pulled rank and, thinking about it, Quo Vadis works well here. It just predates the boom of the last little while by a countless number of years. Not that dishes such as salad nicoise, peach and courgette salad and spiced aubergine with feta and chickpeas have always been on the menu. Anyway, it's Jeremy Lee in the house, bringing fresh flavours before wonderful pies and towers of fruity meringue. Don't need to say much else (other than: please bring back the herb omelettes). 26-29 Dean Street, W1D 3LL, Mountain (and Brat) When Mountain opened, 'Welsh ingredients with a Basque accent' was a line uttered more than once. Tomos Parry is a chef who's been at the forefront of modern dining in London for years, ever since he opened Brat in 2018 and introduced London to the seemingly (but not really) simple practice of grilling turbot. Parry's cooking can be unmatched and at Mountain it's at its peak: spider crab omelettes; scarlet prawns grilled and then covered in lardo blankets. Big steaks to satisfy the quiet few who still operate with monstrous expense accounts. 16-18 Beak Street, W1F 9RD, Tasca Go and order the prawn and pork cachorrinho, a take on a sandwich from Porto, Portugal, which comes flat and grilled with Ossau Iratty (sheep's milk cheese from over there) and piri-piri oil. A phenomenal sandwich, up there with Jose Pizarro's bikini (grilled cheese, jamon and truffle) and – just about – the one at Ibai in the City with boudin noir, carabinero prawns and Tomme de Brebis. Tasca's is worth every bit of the £14 it costs. There is far more than a sandwich to explore, of course. This is a residency from Josh Dalloway and Sinead Murdoch, who are currently in situ at Cav, a wine bar in Bethnal Green from the team behind Oranj and Half Cut Market. 255 Paradise Row, E2 9LE, @
Evening Standard
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
10 of the best Greek and Cypriot restaurants in London
Kima is the other Greek restaurant on Paddington Street – also home to Lita, now without its Michelin star-winning head chef Luke Ahearne, who departed in July – and which is also the work of chef Nikos Roussos, who has built a mini-empire in the shadow of the Hellenic Centre nearby. This one is about the food found on Cycladic islands, namely the fine fish and seafood landed there each day. Here, diners are asked to choose their fish before chefs go away and prepare it, using every part of it with skill, flair and respect. Anyone who's dined at Cantina, one of the greatest restaurants in Europe, will love it.
Metro
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Remember Jeffrey Campbell's sky-high shoe boots? They're back a decade later!
Metro journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission – learn more First there were rumours of Topshop returning to the high street, then there was speculation bandage dresses à la Hervé Léger are making a comeback, and now Jeffrey Campbell's killer heeled shoe boots have hit the shelves once again. Anyone would think we've hopped in a time machine and landed in 2010. Gen Z may not recognise the reference, but millennials will no doubt back us when we say you haven't lived until you've ditched your smartphone in favour of your Samsung flip phone, digital camera, physical cash, Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse caked on your face, concealer lips, your boldest bodycon dress, and a pair of Jeffrey Campbell's sky-high studded heeled ankle boots, and the tightest leather jacket you could squeeze into. What a time to be alive! Now, we know nostalgiacore is rife, but never did we see the day we would be dusting off our dancing shoes in the form of the sky-high studded heeled ankle boots, especially now kitten heels are the shoes we are reaching for on a night out, and after years of wearing trainers to bars, which felt controversial for many millennials at first. Whether you are a millennial reliving the trend once again, or you're new to the heeled shoe boot trend, Jeffrey Campbell's are the cream of the crop. The iconic heeled shoe boot is back. It boasts a sleek black leather exterior, block wooden heel and synthetic sole for comfort, as well as a lace up front. The heel measures 12.7cm in height, and available in UK shoe sizes 3 to 8, though it doesn't come in half sizes. BUY NOW FOR £154 If you don't believe us, just look at Taylor Swift who was spotted earlier this year wearing a pair of Larroudé's patent block heel lace ups, which she teamed with a lace mini dress and rara skirt (another noughties reference we lived in in our teen years to under 18s club). On a late night doomscroll we stumbled across Jeffrey Campbell heels at Schuh, and had to wipe our bleary eyes to make sure we were seeing things clearly. Though, it is also available to shop from Jeffrey Campbell's website, as well as Free People. More Trending Jeffrey Campbell's Lita heels boast the same synonymous features now as the shoes did a decade or so ago. The shoes offer a staggeringly high block heel, a pointed close toe, lace up front, and reach the ankle. While some ankle boots hug the nape of the ankle, some styles rise a little higher up the ankle. Some designs have been crafted from plain leather, while others feature a studded ankle detailing, or bold design to resemble the American flag. The statement shoes can be paired with dresses, both maxi and mini length, skirts of all lengths, as well as jeans and a biker jacket. So, don't be put off by what appears to be an ankle-breaking heel height because these heeled boots kept us upright on many a sticky Oceana dance floor (much to our surprise), and are more versatile than you assume. The heels range in price from £148 to £189 at Schuh. Considering this style has made a revival, it is a worthy investment you can hand down through the generations because we believe this trend will undoubtedly make a revival again in the future. Shop Jeffrey Campbell's at Schuh now. Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Share your views in the comments below MORE: From Nike trainers to Molly-Mae approved products, chilli glasses and more – this is what a shopping expert is buying MORE: Molly-Mae Hague shares her new holiday beauty routine including full make-up breakdown MORE: From Space NK to Mango – here's 23 items our shopping expert is buying this weekend
Hindustan Times
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Tammy Lynn Sytch to Sable: 5 WWE female wrestlers accused of cheating on their husbands
WWE is home to famous wrestlers, whose personalities and on-screen presence appear larger than life. But like everyone else, they too encounter real-life problems behind the curtain. A host of professional wrestlers have gained notoriety for being unfaithful to their husbands. Here's a look at five WWE female stars known for such cheating scandals: Sable was a big name during the WWE's Attitude Era. She was famously married to fellow wrestler Marc Mero from 1994 to 2004. Following her return to professional wrestling in 2003 after a brief hiatus, she began an affair with Brock Lesnar while she was still married. Due to cultural differences, her divorce from Mero was delayed, and the couple ultimately parted ways in 2004. After a scandalous relationship with Lesnar, she exchanged vows with him in 2006. The couple went on to welcome two kids together. Sunny was the first Diva WWE had in the early 1990s. She exhibited both confidence and looks. She had many admirers, one of whom was Shawn Michaels. The pair allegedly began seeing each other behind the scenes while she was in a serious relationship with wrestler Chris Candido. Candido did not believe rumours about his then-wife cheating on him at that time. It was later alleged that she may have also had links to wrestlers like Davey Boy Smith, Raven, Ahmed Johnson, and Sabu. However, Sunny eventually admitted to cheating on Candido more than once. Also Read: John Cena stands by his love for former controversial WWE boss Vince McMahon: 'Entitled to have an emotional connection' Lita was one of the top women in WWE in the early 2000s as part of the Women's Revolution. She was in a highly publicised relationship with Matt Hardy while they were a Team Xtreme duo. But in 2005, Lita famously had an affair with Edge (born Adam Copeland) when Matt Hardy was injured. When the news about the affair broke, Lita's relationship with Hardy ended. Over the years, Hardy and Edge developed a rivalry, with WWE highlighting their scandal. Melina, a former Divas and Women's Champion, once famously dated fellow wrestler John Morrison (AKA Johnny Nitro). While they were always seen together both in and out of the ring, it was rumoured that Melina cheated on Morrison with Batista. This caused a strain in their relationship as Morrison allegedly took a break from their relationship at the time. However, some reports claim that the alleged affair caused them to ultimately part ways. Lisa Marie Varon, famously known as Victoria, was married to Lee Varon from 1994 to 2015. Amid her growing fame, she notoriously had an affair with John Cena. The 54-year-old eventually called it quits with Lee.
Times
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
‘Crystal Palace is therapy': how London's hottest chef lets off steam
In the lead-up to opening Lita, one of London's most successful new restaurants, Luke Ahearne, its head chef, ended up in hospital three times. He was working too hard, pushing himself to the point of exhaustion. Ahearne is a self-confessed perfectionist, a 33-year-old chef whose passion for the job is all-encompassing. Well, almost. Because the highly regarded chef has another passion: Crystal Palace Football Club. Somehow, despite the 70-hour weeks, he still finds time to help run the Fanatics — the Crystal Palace 'ultras' group that sits in Block E of the Holmesdale Road stand at Selhurst Park. • FA Cup final live: Crystal Palace v Man City score and updates The Fanatics, who wear all black and never stop singing, are more like football
