Test Drives

Test Driving: Akira Back at the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair - glamour in the heart of town

Information: 11 June 2024

Chef Akira Back is the man behind all the restaurants and bars at the new Mandarin Oriental Mayfair in London. We went to check out his first opening there.

Test Driving The Morrison Room at Carton House - fine dining surrounded by Irish history

Information: 06 June 2024

We head to Carton House hotel in Ireland to see what The Dorchester's ex-head chef is cooking up in the extremely impressive surroundings of The Morrison Room.

Test Driving The Cocochine - fine dining meets exquisitely fine design

Information: 04 June 2024

Gallery owner Tim Jefferies and chef Larry Jayasekara have teamed up in Mayfair for an impeccably-designed fine dining restaurant. We went in to take a look.

Test Driving The Prince Regent - a boat trip along London's Regent's Canal with seafood and fizz

Information: 31 May 2024

A trip along the Regent's Canal paired with a seafood meal sounded like the perfect day out to us. We went on board on the Prince Regent.

Test Driving Julie's - a much-loved restaurant gets the reboot it deserves

Information: 29 May 2024

Having opened back in the sixties but fallen out of favour in recent years, the Holland Park institution that is Julie's now has a new owner, chef and lease of life.

Test Driving Cafe Britaly - not for the purists, but it's a lot of fun

Information: 23 May 2024

This new Peckham cafe is the result of a love-in between Italian food and British produce. We went to take a look.

Test Driving Cloth - an excellent wine-led bistro in historical City surroundings

Information: 21 May 2024

Cloth sees some very knowledgeable wine folk teaming up with a chef with an enviable CV, all in a properly historical City of London building. We went down to take a look.

Test of time - celebrating Roka's 20th anniversary with sushi and yaki on Charlotte Street

Information: 16 May 2024

Popular sushi and robata restaurant Roka is celebrating its 20th birthday this year. We made a return visit to the OG Roka on Charlotte Street to see why it's lasted so long.

Bar crawl: trying out the new Lyaness 3.0 cookbook cocktail menu

Information: 16 May 2024

It's one of the most highly rated bars in the world, now Lyaness has launched a brand new cocktail menu. It was time to make a return visit to try it out.

Test Driving All'onda - a restaurant rizzing up risotto for Londoners

Information: 14 May 2024

Lovers of risotto need to make their way to Fitzrovia where All'onda is serving it up with a fine dining twist.

Test Driving Agora and Oma - a great Greek-inspired duo in Borough Market

Information: 09 May 2024

The man behind Smokestak and Manteca comes to Borough Market with a duo of Greek-inspired restaurants. We went to the market to give both Agora and Oma a Test Drive.

Test Driving abc kitchens - Jean-Georges Vongerichten brings his NYC hits to Knightsbridge

Information: 07 May 2024

Top chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten has brought together an amalgamation of his three abc kitchen restaurants in New York and transferred them to London. We made a reservation at The Emory hotel to check out its brand new restaurant overlooking Hyde Park.

Test Driving Fish & Bubbles - XXL seafood panini and platters in Notting Hill

Information: 02 May 2024

Gigantic portions, tasty seafood and a well priced menu make this new Notting Hill seafood spot a must-try.

Test Driving Roe - the Fallow team go big in Canary Wharf

Information: 30 April 2024

After the big success of Fallow, the same team have gone much, much bigger with the opening of Roe in Canary Wharf. We went along to see just what's changed from Fallow, and it turns out to be quite a lot.

Test Driving Nijū - a pivot to sushi and homecooked dishes for Endo and his team in Mayfair

Information: 25 April 2024

Chef Endo Kazutoshi is behind the new Japanese home cooked dishes at this Mayfair restaurant. We went to see how the change of direction is working for Nijū.

Test Driving TT - smoking on the rooftops of Shoreditch

Information: 23 April 2024

TT in Shoreditch has made its rooftop restaurant permanent and brought in a chef who's behind a new wood-fired menu. We popped up to the roof to see what he's cooking.

Test Driving Thirty7 - The Oystermen's affordable neighbourhood bistro in Covent Garden

Information: 18 April 2024

The Oystermen have just opened a new bistro (where it's not all about seafood) right around the corner from their original restaurant. We went down to take a look at Thirty7.

Test Driving Lita - a rare, immediate hit for Marylebone

Information: 16 April 2024

Marylebone has a hot new restaurant that looks set to challenge Chiltern Firehouse. We pulled up a seat at Lita to see what's the reason for all that buzz.

Test Driving Unlock - unique Neapolitan pizzas in Hackney Wick

Information: 11 April 2024

Unlock sits by the canal in Hackney Wick, mixing up art and gourmet pizzas. We took a stroll down by the canal to have a closer look.

Test of time - heading back to Trivet, the approachable two Michelin star restaurant

Information: 09 April 2024

Five years and two Michelin stars later after our first visit, we make a return trip to Trivet, the London Bridge restaurant recently elevated to two Michelin-starred status.

Test Drives

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