Latest news with #Wiltons
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Josh Barrie On the Sauce with Tom Parker Bowles: Could his posh squash be your new booze-free squeeze?
The easy way into this is to say Christopher's cordials are the Queen's favourite and leave it there. That should be propagation enough, though it must help that she had samples for free. Her son Tom Parker Bowles, one of the two entrepreneurs behind them, is generous like that. He and I are at The Devonshire so I can sample this newfangled squash. It doesn't help that the landlord — more art collector these days — Oisín Rogers is reluctant to allow us to open the blackcurrant and blueberry in case we lose our minds and make Guinness and black, a concoction banned on the premises. We distract Rogers with a painting of a horse and give it a go. The idea is that it prompts a Ratatouille moment, sending the drinker dizzyingly back to childhood glasses of cold Ribena. Then there's lemon and redcurrant, possibly fit for Wimbledon, and gooseberry and lime, the one I try to purloin while Parker Bowles — still enthralled by England's 22-run win over India a day earlier — is seeing about tickets to the next Test. This cricket fanatic tells me about how cordials were born in the Italian Renaissance, how they were conceived as medicines but hold a special place in British culture today. To that end it's a canny move: people are drinking less and searching for interesting options sans alcohol. Kombucha can't be the only answer. Cordials made with lemons from Aci Sant'Antonio, a bucolic commune in Sicily, might be an alternative. They cost £11.50 a bottle, which is a lot for squash, but then what do you expect? These are fancy creations to sip while watching cricket, picnicking on Clapham Common, or running amok in the gardens of Buckingham Palace. And yes, they'd work perfectly mixed with a good crémant. These will be stacked beside the Perelló olives and Ortiz tins in no time. They've been crafted with efficacy. Maybe your mum might like some. Bar snacks Wiltons Jermyn Street, SW1, A happy hour? At Wiltons? Even restaurants founded in 1742 embrace modernity every so often. Until August 30, the famed seafood joint is putting on a special menu of martinis and canapés between 5.30pm and 6.30pm from Monday to Saturday. It pairs, for £18 a go, variations on the classic cocktail with crostini with olive tapenade, devilled eggs with caviar, and smoked trout and soda bead. Wiltons's own gin — highly botanical — is available, so too Padstow and Belvedere vodka. Unmissable, I'd say. Oriole Slingsby Place, WC2, Jazz manouche fans should heed the call of Oriole this summer. The Covent Garden cocktail bar is launching a new 'Hot Club' series, with live performances every Thursday evening from 8pm. If you visit, have a slingsby sling (rum, cherry wine and grapefruit) and a sando — avoid the burger due to truffle oil — and punctuate your evening with a pre- or post-jazz carafe at Le Beaujolais, which is artfully nearby. Covent Garden, a good night out… who knew?
Time Out
14-05-2025
- General
- Time Out
You'll find a carving trolley here that's almost as famous as their regal regulars
If you're seeking a historical feast, you've come to the right place. One of London's most elderly restaurants, Wiltons has been in the game since 1742. Beginning life as simple shellfish mongers, Wiltons became a proper restaurant in 1841, and, after numerous address changes, moved into their current premises in 1984. Still, 40+ years in the same room is pretty good going for a city that turns restaurants over like pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Foodie lore runs deep at this London institution; they supplied oysters to Queen Victoria (there's a signed picture of Her Maj in the ladies loo), and you'll find a carving trolley here that's almost as famous as their regal regulars. The dining room itself is pitched somewhere between Victorian grandeur and Jilly Cooper camp, with giant oil paintings of be-suited board members hanging next to jolly wooden booths, perfect for politicians who might need to plot the downfall of a colleague over an ice-cold Chablis. Red velvet swags hang heavy with portent over indoor windows which seem to lead nowhere, and the female waiting staff wear matronly tea dresses. It wouldn't be a surprise if the food at Wiltons was as old school as the decor, but there's some seriously impressive cooking happening here. An implacably good, twice baked stilton soufflé is wildly cheesy, served in a sterling silver dish, perfectly crisp on the outside and cashmere-soft on the inside, while lobster bisque is funky and dank in the best possible way. There are also bountiful platters of oysters, various plates of smoked fish, dressed crab and caviar to start, but the menu of mains is fairly short. Grilled halibut is fresh and simple, while lobster thermidor – served off the shell – is richer than the monied clientele. Time Out tip Puddings here are famously good and delightfully traditional. The trifle is a sturdy, solid thing of creamy wonder. Nearby
